Lindsey Johnson Carjacking Conviction Affirmed

Jackson, Miss. - In a published opinion issued yesterday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the carjacking and firearms convictions and sentence of Lindsey Johnson, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst.

A federal grand jury previously returned a three-count indictment against Johnson, charging him with carjacking, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, stemming from an incident occurring in Jackson, Mississippi, on August 2, 2015.

In May 2016, Johnson was prosecuted for these crimes in Jackson before Senior U.S. District Judge William H. Barbour. A jury found Johnson guilty on all counts. Johnson was subsequently sentenced to 180 months of in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

Johnson appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, challenging his conviction and sentence, arguing that the trial court had erred in denying the admission of evidence during trial, penalizing him during sentencing by finding that he had lied on the stand, and categorizing his prior convictions as crimes of violence resulting in an enhanced sentence. Johnson also argued that the prosecutor violated the law by cross-examining Johnson about his prior convictions.

In its ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld Johnson’s conviction and sentence. The Court denied Johnson’s first argument, holding that it could not conclude that admitting the evidence Johnson requested (Facebook posts) would have had a substantial impact on the jury’s ultimate verdict. The Court also upheld the district court’s finding that Johnson had lied on the stand and thus qualified for a higher sentence. In addition, the Court sustained the trial court’s finding that Johnson’s two prior state convictions for carjacking qualified for an increased sentence as a crime of violence.

Finally, the Court held that the prosecutor’s reference to the number of Johnson’s prior convictions did not violate the law and Johnson had failed to prove that he had suffered prejudice sufficient to require a new trial.

The case was investigated by the Jackson Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case was prosecuted at trial by Assistant United States Attorneys Abe McGlothin and Darren LaMarca. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gaines Cleveland handled the appeal.