Jury finds Johnson not guilty

 

BUTLER — A jury has found Michael Angelo Johnson not guilty of Capital Murder in the March 2021 death of an unborn baby.

Johnson was accused of shooting his pregnant girlfriend, LaQuinesha Chaney, at their residence in Ward on the night of March 13, 2021 and consequently killing their unborn daughter. Chaney was reportedly 26 to 28 weeks pregnant at the time.

Johnson was indicted on two counts, including Capital Murder of a child under the age of 14, and Capital Murder by shooting into an occupied vehicle.

The trial began in Choctaw County Circuit Court on Monday and included testimony from Chaney, her sister, law enforcement officers, forensic experts, and a physician who treated her for gunshot wounds at Choctaw General Hospital.

District Attorney Stephen Winters and Assistant DA Mason Bonner argued the case for the prosecution, with Ernest McCorquodale and Brian Smith representing the defendant. Judge Robert Montgomery presided over the trial.

After two days of testimony, the verdict came in at about 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, with the jury finding Johnson not guilty on both counts.

(An in-depth story on the trial will be published in next week’s issue of the Sun-Advocate.)