A 74-year-old man likely will spend the rest of his life in a Virginia prison for gunning down a man who mistakenly knocked on his apartment door after confusing the home for a friend’s.
Leroy King was sentenced to 25 years in prison for fatally shooting 38-year-old Albert Johnson in June 2023, according to the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors say Johnson was in the neighborhood to visit one of King’s neighbors, but knocked on the 74-year-old’s door by mistake.
He knocked once, left, and returned to King’s home later that day and knocked again. King then shouted at Johnson for standing at his front door, walked outside armed with a handgun, and shot the 38-year-old twice in his neck and torso.
The person Johnson was trying to visit lived right next door to King.
Medics pronounced Johnson dead at the scene, and police arrested King.
The 74-year-old was charged with second-degree murder and using a firearm in the commission of a murder.
He pleaded not guilty, but a jury convicted King at his trial in April.
During his sentencing hearing, he continued to maintain his innocence and incorrectly asserted that he had the right to use lethal force against Johnson even after admitting that he had never come in contact with the victim before the shooting.
“Mr. King had no right to shoot the victim, and, both at his age and with his prior conduct, he absolutely should have known better,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “I extend my condolences to Mr. Johnson’s family for losing their loved one in such a senseless way. He did nothing wrong. The fact that Mr. King does not see that he committed a crime means that Mr. King poses a continuing danger to the public and that his sentence fits his crime. My prosecutors and I will continue to focus our resources on prosecuting the individuals who kill in our city.”
A judge sentenced King to 25 years in prison and suspended another 20 years on the condition that he complete 20 years of good behavior and three years of supervised probation should he be released from prison.
Prosecutors say King was previously convicted of a similar incident in 2003 in Lynchburg, Virginia, where he shot his neighbor. The victim in that shooting survived their injuries.
In Johnson’s online obituary, loved ones wrote that he “had a captivating spirit, and an aura that would light up any room he entered,” adding that he “was strong and triumphant, overcoming many adversities in his life,” and had a “larger-than-life personality.”
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