EDWARDSVILLE — A 35-year-old Granite City man received a 55-year prison sentence on Wednesday for his role in a highway shooting that killed one man and injured a woman, according to Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine.
The defendant, Mantia Johnson Jr., was sentenced to 30 years in prison on a charge of first-degree murder, 15 years in prison on a charge of attempted first-degree murder and 10 years in prison on a charge of aggravated discharge of a firearm.
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“This sentence ensures that Mantia Johnson will be an old man if he’s ever released from prison,” Haine said. “Hopefully, he’ll never again be a threat to our community or a menace to motorists.”
A jury in August convicted Johnson of the three charges. Evidence showed that the shooting, which happened on Illinois 3 in Granite City in 2021, may have been in retaliation for a previous shooting.
A flurry of gunfire from one vehicle to another resulted in the death of Ahmaad Nunley, 31, of Granite City, and injuries to a 27-year-old woman. At Johnson’s sentencing hearing on Wednesday, Assistant State’s Attorney Lauren Maricle asked Circuit Judge Kyle Napp to hand down a sentence that ensured Johnson “spends the rest of his life in prison.”
Maricle argued that Johnson’s actions not only involved planning, stalking and chasing the victims, but that the gunfire “put everyone else on the road at risk.”
Nunley’s mother, Antoinette Compton-Loving, gave a victim-impact statement. “I have no mercy on you,” Compton-Loving said. “I hope you spend the rest of your life behind bars.” Johnson will have to serve 100 percent of the sentence for first-degree murder, and 85 percent of the sentences for attempted first-degree murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm.
The three sentences have to be served consecutively, or back-to-back-to-back. Haine thanked Maricle and Assistant State’s Attorney Ryan Kemper for their work on the case. He also commended the Granite City Police Department and Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis for their thorough detective work, along with the U.S. Marshal's office for assisting in the apprehension of Johnson.
The cases of two co-defendants in the case remain pending.
