'Located a Facebook Live stream with the person she shot': Woman killed 14-year-old she thought was breaking into her sister's car — and her mom gave her up

A pistillate has learned her destiny for shooting and sidesplitting a teenager she believed had tried to interruption into her sister's vehicle.

Zariah Johnson, 23, was sentenced connected Thursday to 32 years successful situation positive 15 years of extended supervision successful the decease of 14-year-old Alijah Golden-Richmond past year, according to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, quality outlets, including Fox affiliate WITI. Johnson had pleaded blameworthy successful July to first-degree reckless homicide.

The fatal shooting occurred connected Aug. 15, 2024, successful the country of 39th and Vliet streets successful Milwaukee. According to a transgression ailment reviewed by Law&Crime, Johnson was astatine location with her household erstwhile she learned her sister's car was being breached into. When she looked outside, she saw 4 radical adjacent her car and "armed herself with her mother's achromatic handgun."

A witnesser with the unfortunate said Golden-Richmond "wanted to bargain a car," and arsenic they were moving astir the neighborhood, they spotted the blue-green Hyundai that belonged to Johnson's sister. However, aft the unfortunate reportedly broke the car window, they heard a dependable from wrong a adjacent gathering exclaim "mmhmmm," according to WITI, and they ran.

Their departure wasn't capable to guarantee their safety, according to the complaint, arsenic Johnson sought to spell aft them. Still equipped with the gun, she got successful her sister's conveyance and drove aft the fleeing individuals.

The aforesaid witnesser said they saw the car coming aft them from an alley, truthful they "hid connected the beforehand structure of a location and the car stopped." After Johnson fired successful the air, they took disconnected running, and she "started shooting successful their absorption and deed ungraded by his feet," the ailment adds. None of them were armed, the witnesser said.

Johnson would aboriginal archer constabulary that she had nary intent to bash anyone carnal harm; she simply wanted to "scare" them.

But she had done carnal harm.

Love existent crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life transgression stories delivered close to your inbox.

Once detectives arrived astatine the scene, they realized citizens thought the unfortunate was overdosing and frankincense gave him 2 doses of Narcan. In reality, helium had been changeable successful the back, with the slug going done his liver, heart, and entering his thorax cavity. He was dead, and 5 slug casings were recovered successful the area.

Johnson initially deflected the blame, saying a antheral named "Neff" was the shooter. But erstwhile she learned idiosyncratic adjacent to her pegged her for the crime, she changed her tune.

"After [Johnson] was advised that a witnesser said the shooter was a pistillate and that her ain parent had said she was the shooter, [Johnson] began to outcry and said she did not mean to termination anyone," constabulary said. She past "admitted she was the shooter."

The 23-year-old pistillate said erstwhile she drove adjacent the 4 individuals, "she was not definite if they were the ones who broke into her car." She circled the artifact and returned, yelling thing astatine them to get their attention, she told police.

This caused 2 of them to tally – ostensibly the witnesser and Golden-Richmond – and past Johnson opened occurrence "until her weapon jammed." She told constabulary "she did not observe really hitting anyone," saying the 2 individuals continued to run.

But Johnson would soon get an denotation that she was successful trouble. When she returned home, she "located a Facebook Live watercourse with the idiosyncratic she shot. The idiosyncratic signaling was saying that the idiosyncratic was overdosing, but past it was discovered that helium was changeable successful the backmost and was dead," the ailment states.

"She past realized that this was successful the country she had fired shots and that she apt is the idiosyncratic who killed him," it goes on. "She past told her parent and near the country with a gun."

While Johnson reportedly told constabulary wherever she disposed of the gun, erstwhile they searched the spot, they did not find it. Her parent – who told constabulary she rode shotgun erstwhile her girl went connected the hunt for the individuals – said Johnson told her she had thrown her weapon down a sewer.