Two men involved in a 2022 shooting at an Arlington lounge have been sentenced to a combined 20 years in federal prison
Arlington TX March 2nd, 2023
Two men involved in a 2022 shooting at an Arlington lounge have been sentenced to a combined 20 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.
Simonton said in a Tuesday news release that James Edward Johnson, 34, and Leroy Harold White Jr., 53, were charged via criminal complaint in August and indicted the following month.
Both are felons who illegally possessed firearms during the shooting incident.
White pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm in October.
Johnson pleaded guilty to the same charge two weeks later.
They were sentenced on Friday to 10 years each in federal prison.
Johnson was a customer at JJ’s Corner Lounge in Arlington in July, while White was a security guard at the bar when the two got into an altercation that ended with a shooting.
“Mr. Johnson and Mr. White will now have ten years to think about carrying guns illegally in Arlington, Texas. Gun crime will always equal hard time.”
Johnson and another patron got into a fight with White and another security guard at JJ’s Corner Lounge just before midnight on July 29, 2022, according to federal court documents.
During the fight, White fired a Smith & Wesson pistol, missing the unidentified patron involved in the incident.
In response, Johnson fired his Ruger at a random group of people who had just entered the business, hitting a victim in their right foot.
White then approached Johnson from behind, hitting him in the head with his hand, federal authorities said. Johnson whirled around and fired at White, shooting him two times in the front of his body armor and one time in his left arm.
In plea papers, the two men admitted that they were convicted felons and prohibited from possessing guns or ammunition.
