Euclid man with previous conviction of involuntary manslaughter charged in string of armed robberies

 U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman announced that a federal grand jury sitting in Cleveland has returned a nine-count indictment charging David C. Johnson, age 33, of Euclid with four counts of robbery, four counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The indictment states that between November 27, 2019, and January 25, 2020, the defendant is alleged to have committed a series of armed robberies of individuals and businesses in Cleveland, Euclid, Parkman, and Chardon. The following is a list of the alleged armed robberies charged in the indictment:

• Sunoco gas station in Euclid on November 27, 2019.
• BP gas station in Parkman on January 18, 2020.
• Dollar General in Chardon on January 18, 2020.
• Gas Mart gas station in Euclid on January 25, 2020.

According to the criminal complaint, investigators located a stolen vehicle used in the alleged robberies at the known residence of the defendant. A search of the residence and the defendant produced several items of clothing and a .40 caliber, semi-automatic pistol, all observed in surveillance video. In addition, law enforcement officers performed a review of a Google account connected to a cell phone seized during the search of the defendant. GPS coordinates of the account were consistent with the dates and times of several of the alleged robberies.

The defendant is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to previous convictions for felon in possession of a firearm, involuntary manslaughter and aggravated robbery.  

This matter is part of Operation Legend in Cleveland, a  systematic and coordinated law enforcement initiative in which federal law enforcement agencies work in conjunction with state and local law enforcement officials to fight violent crime.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.     

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after a review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offenses and the characteristics of the violations. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

The investigation preceding this indictment was conducted by the FBI, the ATF, Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Geauga County Sheriff’s Office, Geauga County Prosecutor’s Office, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office Crime Strategies Unit, Euclid Police Department, Willoughby Police Department and the Cleveland Division of Police. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kelly Galvin and Margaret Kane.