Victim's mom urges 'no mercy' for Fresno County landlord sentenced for murder
Roger Johnson didn't show any visible emotion when he heard he was sentenced to 15-years to life in prison.
FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- A man convicted of a Yokuts Valley murder learned his sentence on Tuesday.
During the sentencing, there were harsh words from the mother of the victim, Gary Duane Smith.
"Your honor, show no mercy for Mr. Johnson. May the good lord have mercy on your soul," said Linda Smith.
Smith asked the judge to impose the maximum sentence for the man convicted of killing her son.
She was just feet away from Roger Johnson when she turned to address him, saying she wanted to look him in the eye.
"Remember, Roger, you had a choice. You made the choice to harm, to kill, to take a life," Smith said.
That stunning moment in court comes five-and-a-half years after Gary died in the Yokuts Valley area in July of 2018.
The 47-year-old was living in a mobile home on Johnson's property for free.
There was tension between the two men, and Johnson wanted Smith out.
"Mr. Johnson took a .22, went to that locked front door of his mobile home where Gary was on the other side, and fires one round," explained Deputy District Liz Owen during her opening statement in court.
Prosecutors said it was murder, but defense attorney Richard Dunia argued his client didn't intend for Smith to die.
Dunia said Johnson broke down after it happened and wished things would've gone differently.
That argument wasn't enough to convince jurors, though.
They found Johnson guilty of second-degree murder in December.
On Tuesday, he sat shackled in a wheelchair as he learned his sentence.
"The court will order the imposition of the 15 to life term for second-degree murder," said Judge Brian Alvarez.
Johnson didn't show any visible emotion when he heard that 15-year to life in prison sentence.
It came just moments after the judge seemed to show some mercy. He dismissed an enhancement that would have brought more prison time because Johnson used a gun.
After shooting Gary through the door, Johnson enlisted the help of another man.
It was Billy Silks who gruesomely dismembered Smith's body, moving it a total of four times.
Silks ultimately testified against Johnson at his trial and pleaded no contest to being involved.
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