Brandon Dewayne Johnson

Brandon Dewayne Johnson (born January 18, 1988) is an American serial killer who killed three men and wounded eight others during a series of violent robberies between September 2008 and January 2009 in Little Rock, Arkansas. After he was found to be mentally disabled, Johnson pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and other charges and was sentenced to 100 years in prison.

Murders In September 2008, Johnson, who was on probation for a misdemeanor car theft and a misdemeanor check fraud charge, embarked on a violent crime spree in Little Rock, Arkansas. He committed multiple armed robberies. Most of the victims were Hispanic. Three men were killed and eight others were wounded. Johnson later pleaded guilty to four specific shootings, including all of the fatal ones. He used a .380-caliber handgun to commit his crimes.

On November 15, Armando Guerrero and his friend, Andy Tapia, were leaving a friend's apartment when Johnson approached them and asked to use cellphone. When Tapia and Guerrero said they didn't have a phone, Johnson robbed them at gunpoint. Afterwards, he shot Guerrero in the torso. Guerrero survived his injuries.

On November 17, Jairo Castorena-Mendez was leaving his sister's apartment to go to work when he saw Johnson, who was wearing a mask from the movie Scream standing near the doorway. Castorena-Mendez shut the door, but Johnson fired through it, hitting him in his right arm. Castorena-Mendez survived his injuries.

On December 18, Johnson robbed Carlos Lario at his Barrington Hills apartment and stole his wallet before fleeing. However, Johnson quickly returned and shot him in the hand. Lario survived his injuries. Roughly 10 minutes after Lario was shot, Johnson fatally shot 50-year-old Joseph Bittengle, a University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences associate professor, who lived in the same apartment complex, in the stomach as he helped his 71-year-old mother, Hazel Bittengle, pack her car to return to her home in Ohio after a visit. Johnson shot Joseph after taking his wallet. He also took Hazel's purse before fleeing. Johnson later said he targeted Joseph since he looked vulnerable. He'd previously shot a different man in the same parking lot. That man survived his injuries.

On January 13, 2009, Johnson fatally shot 26-year-old Akshaya Nandam, who he thought was Hispanic, and 24-year-old Eric German on the same day. Nandam, who'd moved to America from India four years earlier, had just dropped his girlfriend off at their apartment home and was walking outside when Johnson confronted him and demanded his wallet. While in jail, Johnson was given medication for anxiety and high blood pressure, but only took it for three days.

Guilty plea and incarceration Johnson was charged with four of the robberies he committed, including the three fatal ones. Prosecutors charged him with three counts of capital murder and announced that they would pursue a death sentence. However, they dropped their request after Johnson's lawyers raised questions about his mental state. IQ testing by state doctors found that he was mentally disabled and thus ineligible for execution.