For Immediate Release:
February 10, 2023
For press inquiries only, contact:
Cameron Mixon (334) 242-7491
Attorney General Steve Marshall Announces Court of Criminal Appeals Upholds Capital Murder and Other Convictions in Mobile County
(MONTGOMERY) Attorney General Steve Marshall announced that the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the convictions of Patrick William Johnson, age 28, of Mobile, for capital murder, attempted murder, and shooting into an occupied vehicle. Johnson was convicted in the Mobile County Circuit Court on January 27, 2022, for the capital murder of Justin Mooney, attempted murder, and shooting into an occupied vehicle.
The evidence at the trial demonstrated that on October 20, 2018, Justin Mooney and several of his siblings were visiting his mother’s home in Mobile. Mr. Mooney, who was an employee of the City of Mobile, was merely an innocent bystander when a shootout between rival gang members ensued outside his mother’s residence resulting in his death. Two of the rival gang members were also wounded in the shootout and were identified when they sought medical treatment at USA Medical Center.
Attorney General Steve Marshall said, “While we are pleased that the tragic death of Mr. Mooney will not go unpunished, at some point, we must get serious about cracking down on the reckless gang violence that is affecting our communities. No one should senselessly lose their life, like Mr. Mooney.”
Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood’s office successfully prosecuted this case and obtained the guilty verdicts. Johnson was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for his capital murder conviction and to life imprisonment for his remaining convictions. Johnson sought to have his convictions reversed on appeal.
The Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Division handled the case during the appeals process, arguing for the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to affirm Johnson’s convictions. The Court did so in a decision issued Friday, February 3, 2023.
Attorney General Marshall commended Assistant Attorney General Riggs Walker for his successful work on this case and thanks District Attorney Keith Blackwood and his staff for their valuable assistance in defending the convictions.
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