A Queens man convicted of robbing and shooting a retired NYPD officer tried to maintain his innocence today, but the judge shot down his defense and gave him a “big league” sentence.
“I’m innocent,” said Michael Johnson, 28, to Queens Supreme Court Justice Gregory Lasak before he was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison. Johnson was found guilty after a four-week trial for the gun-point robbery and attempted murder of Milton Miller outside of his Laurelton home on May 11, 2009.
The two-time felon approached the retired officer and demanded the keys to his 2007 black BMW. When Miller stood up to cowardly thug, he fired eight shots at close range, but only hit the victim twice in the chest and fled the scene in the car.
“My life has changed, I still have the bullet in my chest,” said Miller who is a mentor to several young people in Brooklyn and Queens schools and is thankful for the lengthy sentence.
The well-dressed and soft spoken defendant, was found three days later with forged money, a forged JFK Airport security photo identification card, a forged Louisiana driver’s license as well as keys for Johnson’s BMW and another car that was stolen earlier that day in Suffolk County.
As the judge read through the 15-count indictment he told Johnson, “You’re in the big leagues now and this sentence is in the big leagues.”
The judge continued to scold Johnson for maintaining his innocence, disregarded his clean-cut appearance and said, “You have no business walking on the streets anymore.”
“This could have been a homicide…sentence him to the maximum,” said prosecutor Rosemary Chao, who revealed that Johnson pleaded guilty to the Suffolk County car jacking and will be sentenced to 13 years in prison next month.
“I’m not violent, I don’t wear baggy clothes, this is me, not a show or a charade,” said Johnson as he contested the prosecutor’s argument that he still is not remorseful for his actions.
Johnson has a prior conviction in Brooklyn where he pleaded guilty to assault and served a minimum three-and-a-half year sentence for shooting someone in the leg.