Violent Felon Pleads Guilty Under Project EJECT to Robbery and Shooting

Defendant Robbed Store Clerks and Customers at Gunpoint

Jackson, Miss. – Joshua Johnson, 25, of Jackson, pled guilty today before Senior U.S. District Judge Tom S. Lee to robbing a local business, brandishing a firearm during the commission of a violent crime, and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Christopher Freeze with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

On November 21, 2018, around 3:00 a.m., officers with Jackson Police Department responded to an armed robbery at the Exxon Service Station at 4611 I-55 North in Jackson. Witnesses reported that a gunman, later identified as Joshua Johnson, entered the business, pointed a gun at the business clerks, and exited with approximately $374 in cash from the cash drawers and a customer. Johnson was apprehended by Jackson police officers a short time later.

Johnson will be sentenced on September 12, 2019, before Judge Lee and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The case was investigated by the Jackson Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Candace Mayberry.

This case is part of Project EJECT, an initiative by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi under the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). EJECT is a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to fighting and reducing violent crime through prosecution, prevention, re-entry and awareness. EJECT stands for "Empower Justice Expel Crime Together." PSN is bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing our offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime..