CHARLOTTE — A 52-year-old Charlotte man was sentenced to life in prison without parole Friday after a jury found him guilty of killing 33-year-old Justin Johnson in 2023.
Lawrence Jackson was convicted of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. His trial began Aug. 17 after Jackson asserted his right to a speedy trial.
Prosecutors said Johnson was packing to move out of an apartment off Peppervine Lane on June 9, 2023, when Jackson shot him once in the side of the head.
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According to the District Attorney’s Office, Jackson moved Johnson’s body and attempted to clean up blood from the floor before leaving the apartment.
Johnson’s body was discovered the next morning after his mother asked a neighbor to check on him. The neighbor found blood inside the apartment and called 911. Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene.
CMPD detectives later recovered .380 ammunition and a bullet from Johnson’s body. Investigators also found suspected blood on the lid of a washing machine that forensic analysts determined belonged to Johnson.
Jackson was arrested June 11, 2023, after he was found sleeping in his car at a motel off Brookshire Boulevard.
Because Jackson had a prior felony conviction in New York in 2005, prosecutors said he was prohibited from possessing a firearm.