Joliet Man Guilty Of 1st Degree Murder In Girlfriend's Shooting

JOLIET, IL — A two-week-long trial for Jasper Johnson came to an end Friday afternoon when a Will County jury found him guilty of first-degree murder in connection with the Joliet shooting death of his 30-year-old girlfriend Kia Johnson.

"Kia Johnson lost her life in a senseless shooting by a convicted felon,” Will County State's Attorney Jim Glasgow said in Friday's news release. “When you pull the trigger of a gun pointed in someone’s direction, it’s not playing; it’s murder. I thank the jury for taking its job seriously, listening to the evidence, and convicting this murderer."

After three hours of deliberations, the jury returned guilty verdicts against Jasper Johnson on one count of first-degree murder and two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. The minimum sentence will be 45 years of imprisonment, Will County prosecutors told Joliet Patch.

Kia Johnson was found face down on the floor of her Evergreen Terrace apartment unit in early June 2017. She died from her gunshot wound a few days later.

Jasper Johnson, a former Chicago man, has remained in custody since Joliet police detectives arrested him on the day of the shooting, June 5, 2017.

According to prosecutors, despite having been told by the victim not to play with the gun, he manipulated the gun he knew to be loaded by spinning the cylinder, cocking the hammer, and pulling the trigger. He fired the gun, striking the victim in the left side of her head. The victim subsequently died in the hospital as a result of the shooting.

Johnson will be sentenced to a minimum of 45 years. The next court date is February 3, 2022, for motions and scheduling of the sentencing date before Circuit Judge Sarah Jones, who presided over the trial.

Glasgow commended Assistant State’s Attorneys Deborah Mills, Britt Florin, and Marie Griffin, Nichole Pasteris, Director of Victim Witness Services, and Gus Martinucci for helping achieve justice on behalf of the victim in this case.

At the time of Johnson's arrest, Joliet Patch reported that Jasper Johnson and Kia Johnson lived together in the North Broadway Street public housing complex, and Jasper Johnson told the Joliet police officers, "I shot her accidentally, I shot her accidentally, I shot my girlfriend."