An Oakland County jury returned with a guilty verdict this week for a man charged with killing another man at a Royal Oak Township home and injuring a purported prostitute.
He now faces life in prison, while the co-defendant in the case could be out of prison in about 12 years after making a plea deal with prosecutors.
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At the conclusion of his trial on Feb. 14, Christian Amari Johnson, 22, was convicted of first-degree felony murder, assault with intent to murder and two counts of possessing a firearm in the commission of a felony for the June 2, 2021 shootings at the Baymont Inn on Eight Mile Road. Brandon Walters, 24, was killed. A woman described as Walters’ girlfriend, Kierra Arnold, suffered a bullet wound to her shoulder.
The co-defendant, Aurelius Juan Williams, 22, opted out of trial last month, pleading no contest to assault with intent to murder and an added charge of manslaughter. Sentenced as a habitual offender to 15-50 years, he was given credit for 987 days — more than two and a half years — already served in the Oakland County Jail.
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Prosecutors dropped an open murder charge and two counts of felony firearm against Williams in exchange for the plea.
The shootings happened after Arnold reportedly set up a sex-for-money meet-up at the hotel. Walters suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head and Arnold was shot as she ran from the room.
Johnson is scheduled to be sentenced on March 18 by Oakland County Circuit Judge David Cohen, who also was sentencing judge for Williams. First-degree murder carries a mandatory penalty of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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