FOND DU LAC (NBC 26) — A judge has sentenced Timothy Brown of Fond du Lac to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the August 2022 homicide of Brandon Johnson.
- Brown was convicted of homicide in January. Prosecutors say Brown and Brandon Johnson got into an argument before Brown shot and killed Johnson.
- Prosecutors say Johnson had been celebrating his 40th birthday shortly before he died.
- Brown was also sentenced to five years for possessing a gun as a felon.
The sentencing came after emotional testimony in court from Johnson's family and friends.
"We all suffered a great loss and continue to suffer a great loss," said Derrick Turner, speaking on behalf of Johnson's loved ones.
In January, a jury found Brown guilty of first-degree intentional homicide with a dangerous weapon and felon in possession of a firearm.
The judge said there is a mandatory life sentence for first-degree intentional homicide, but the court could allow a possibility of parole after 20 years.
"I will say that while I do believe he deserves a 20 year sentence, I also believe in restorative practices and a chance of a second chance," Amber Kilawee, the mother of Johnson's sons, said.
Several family members offered testimony, both in written letters to the judge and statements in court.
"He deserves the maximum sentence for we have lost, someone, my youngest brother, my only brother, you know, near and dear to all of us," Chereese Turner, Johnson's sister, said. "His boys lost their father."
Kilawee gave a statement (in video below) on behalf of Johnson's family after the sentencing:
Prosecutors said Johnson was found dead at 7:20 a.m. by police in the 200 block of Marquette Street.
According to police, officers executed a search warrant of Brown’s residence on West Cotton Street and found clothes matching those worn by the suspect in surveillance footage from the night. They then arrested Brown.
The criminal complaint stated that crime lab data later revealed that a blood stain on one of Brown’s shoes matched Johnson’s DNA.
The state said they pieced together a timeline of the night using surveillance footage from nearby residences and business and witness testimony.
The criminal complaint stated that Johnson and Brown began arguing near a beer garden outside of Leon’s Corner Pub on North Main Street around 3 a.m.
Several witnesses interviewed by police said they attempted to calm Johnson down during the argument, according to the criminal complaint.
A few minutes later, detectives said the two men were observed walking off camera toward the area where Johnson’s body was later found.
Detective Kristina Melihan said in the criminal complaint that she heard the four gunshots on audio and video surveillance from an address on North Main Street. A neighbor also told detectives that he or she heard about 3-4 gunshots around 3 a.m.
In the criminal complaint, detectives stated that they interviewed Brown on the day of the incident, but he denied being at the scene and said he had not communicated with Johnson in “a couple of months.”
Brown said he was at a friend’s house in Waupun and returned home at 10:46 p.m. He said he did not leave the house for the rest of the night.
Two days later, police said they interviewed Brown again. This time, he admitted he had previously lied to detectives, and had been at the scene when he got into a “little argument” with Johnson. The criminal complaint states that Brown maintained that he did not kill Johnson and did not possess a firearm.
Brown was convicted of manufacturing and delivering cocaine in 2013, a felony that prohibits him from owning a firearm.
According to Detective Lee Mikulec in the criminal complaint, 0.8 grams of suspected cocaine was found in Johnson’s pocket when police examined his body.
Brown was also sentenced to a consecutive sentence of five years of initial confinement and five years of extended supervision, though the judge said in court that this was academic, as his homicide sentence will not permit extended supervision.
