CLEVELAND — A jury in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas has found Armond Johnson guilty on multiple counts for the 2019 murders of four people in Slavic Village. Because he was found guilty on 14 counts of aggravated murder, Johnson faces the death penalty.
The jury returned the following guilty verdicts on Friday evening:
- 14 counts of aggravated murder
- 3 counts of aggravated arson
- 1 count of kidnapping
- 2 counts of child endangerment
- 1 count of tampering with evidence
Johnson was found not guilty on two counts of aggravated burglary.
Among the four people who died was Johnson's son, 6-year-old Armond Johnson Jr. The others killed in the incident include 2-year-old Aubree Stone and 25-year-old Takeyra Collins. Their neighbor, 35-year-old David Cousin Jr., was found shot to death outside.
“Armond Johnson brutally murdered four people including his own son,” said Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley following the indictments. “His callous actions demand that he face the ultimate punishment.”
The incident on July 8, 2019, began when Cousin was found shot in the head and chest in a vacant field near East 63rd Street. Police say they believe Cousin was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he encountered Johnson.
When police began knocking on doors to find potential witnesses, officers could see the bodies of both children through a window of a nearby home. Once inside, officers also found the body of Collins, who had been shot in the back and stomach.
Police say evidence of arson was found at the scene, including accelerant and a heavy smell of smoke. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office determined that the two children died as a direct result of the fire.
The jury will reconvene at a later date for the penalty phase of the trial. If they unanimously recommend a death sentence, Judge Timothy McCormick will have the final say as to whether or not Johnson will be executed (judges rarely overrule juries in capital cases). If at least one juror dissents, then the most Johnson could receive under Ohio law would be life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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