He was 19 when he killed a man. The judge sentenced him to 75 years to life

Gang member Dijonte Johnson, 24, was sentenced Friday to 75 years to life in prison for the murder of an unarmed man in 2012.

Although Johnson told Fresno County Superior Court Judge Gary Hoff that he’s remorseful, Hoff rejected a motion asking him to ignore Johnson’s prior juvenile conviction for robbery.

That means a mandatory 25 years to life sentence for murder was automatically doubled to 50 years to life under the Three Strikes law. Johnson was also sentenced to an additional 25 years in prison for using a gun.

In April, a jury found Johnson guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of Jamal Rashad Muhammad, 21, and that the homicide was done to promote the Modoc Boys street gang.

On Friday, Johnson, wearing red jail overalls, stood and read a prepared statement when asked if he wanted to address the court.

“I would like to apologize to the Muhammad family,” he said in a clear voice. “I’m remorseful. I’d like to apologize to my family for the whole situation.”

As the sentence was handed down, some members of Johnson’s family left the courtroom in tears. The victim’s family was not in court.

Muhammad was gunned down in the parking lot of the Bag-O-Bag convenience store at Olive and Cedar avenues in southeast Fresno in the late evening hours of Aug. 10, 2012, the same day Johnson turned 19.

The victim was not a member of a street gang but was with his cousin, Jovan Beard, who is associated with the 107 Hoover Crips street gang, prosecutor Noelle Pebet said during the trial.

Johnson’s defense was that his gun went off accidentally. He testified that he believed Muhammad was taking a gun out of his waistband and was going to shoot him. But the prosecutors said Johnson knew Muhammad was not armed and still fired four times.

At the sentencing, Pebet said Johnson was not taking full responsibility: “It’s like it happened to him … he was the who armed himself and didn’t walk away.”

Defense attorney Pauline Brickey said Johnson was only 19 at the time.

Hoff said Johnson had “indeed matured” and is involved in jail activities such as a prayer group, but “I have to hold you responsible.”

This story was originally published December 15, 2017 at 4:14 PM with the headline "He was 19 when he killed a man. The judge sentenced him to 75 years to life."