Two men accused of fatally shooting a 46-year-old man during a robbery attempt will spend decades in prison, Manatee County court records say.
Benjamin Johnson Jr., 33, and Larry Johnson Jr., 34, pleaded no contest to charges of second-degree murder with a firearm ahead of their scheduled joint trial for the 2021 killing of Andre Cummins , according to court records.
Circuit Court Judge Frederick Mercurio sentenced the two men to 25 years in prison with credit for time served.
Larry Johnson Jr.’s attorney declined to comment when contacted by the Bradenton Herald. An attorney for Benjamin Johnson Jr. did not immediately respond to the Bradenton Herald’s request for comment.
Deputies with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said they received a report on July 17, 2021, about shots fired in the 5800 block of Third Street East in Bradenton.
When deputies arrived at the Bradenton house where the shooting was reported, they said the alleged shooters were no longer there.
But surveillance footage appeared to capture the shooting, according to arrest records.
Bradenton men sentenced in murder case
The sheriff’s office said the video shows Cummins backing down the driveway with his hands up while Larry Johnson Jr. followed him. During the video, detectives say Cummins appeared to fall to the ground as if he was shot.
After the shooting, detectives said the video showed Larry Johnson Jr. getting into the driver’s seat of a beige Ford Taurus while Benjamin Johnson Jr. got into the passenger’s seat and the two drove away.
When detectives interviewed one witness captured in the video, he told them the motive for the shooting was robbery.
The witness told detectives that in the moments leading up to the shooting, he was inside playing video games with Cummins when Benjamin Johnson Jr. came into the house waving two guns, telling him to get on the ground and demanding money. While he was on the ground, the witness said he heard Larry tell Benjamin to shoot him, so he jumped up, pushed Benjamin and ran out of the house.
The witness also said he heard gunshots and Cummins cry out as he was struck by the gunfire, according to arrest records.
When Cummins’ brother arrived at the house moments later, the witness helped load Cummins into a gold sedan, according to arrest records.
Robbery ends with fatal shooting
While en route to the call, deputies say they encountered that gold sedan matching the description of a vehicle involved in the incident. After stopping the car, deputies say they learned from the driver that his brother had been shot. When deputies checked on Cummins in the passenger seat, they said they couldn’t find a pulse.
Cummins died from his gunshot wounds shortly after deputies brought him to Manatee Memorial Hospital, the Bradenton Herald previously reported.
Both the witness and Cummins’ brother were able to pick out Benjamin Johnson Jr. in a photo lineup, according to arrest records. The brother also identified Larry Johnson Jr. from a photo lineup as being at the house just before the shooting happened.
Detectives said they found the Ford Taurus, which was registered to Larry Johnson Jr., parked in the backyard of a Bradenton home.
After reviewing the security footage and talking to witnesses, the sheriff’s office arrested Benjamin Johnson Jr. and Larry Johnson Jr. a few days after the shooting and charged them with second-degree murder, according to arrest records.
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