LOS ANGELES : Man Pleads Guilty to Murder at Restaurant
A Los Angeles man pleaded guilty Thursday to shooting a woman to death in front of her children during a robbery in the drive-through line of a Jack in the Box restaurant.
Shawn Paul Johnson, 25, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and attempted robbery in connection with the slaying July 31 of 30-year-old Anita Robertson. Johnson faces a maximum sentence of 34 years to life in prison when he is sentenced April 22.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Gary Nielsen said that under the original charges, Johnson could have faced the death penalty. “But (we) agreed to strike the special circumstance allegation of murder committed during an attempted robbery,” he said.
A surveillance camera videotaped two gunmen approaching vehicles in the drive-through line of the eatery at South Central Avenue and 103rd Street before coming up to Robertson’s van. The gunman demanded Robertson’s purse and then shot her. The woman’s two children, along with a friend and her three children, were in the van during the shooting. Police have a second suspect in custody but no charges have been filed against him.
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