After conviction, family of slain Charlotte man says violence must end

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte man will spend at least 12 years in prison for shooting and killing a neighbor during an argument in October 2015, but the victim’s family hopes their message will echo longer than that.

Garrett Johnson, 28, pleaded guilty Thursday to second-degree murder in the death of Aaron Shealey and was sentenced to between 12 and 15 years in prison.

A prosecutor said Johnson shot Shealey point blank following a party at a home off The Plaza in northeast Charlotte, and that police arrested him shortly after.

Shealey’s father, Avery Ballard, told the judge the murder caused his family great pain, and that he wanted Johnson to know the impact of his actions.

After court, Ballard and Shealey’s mother, Pam Shealey, told Eyewitness News the killing has to stop.

“There's enough black-on-black crime,” the mother said. “We don't need this going on,” Pam Shealey said.

“I think there just needs to be more communications, positive communications, with young men these days,” Ballard said. “A lot of them feel they don't have any options, you know, they don't really a way out.”

He is hoping that telling his family’s story will help others avoid the same pain.

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