Photo courtesy of Hoover Police Department
Ahmad Jaquan Johnson
Ahmad Johnson
A Jefferson County jury today found a 19-year-old Bessemer man not guilty of murder in the January 2016 shooting death of Lake Cyrus resident Mike Gilotti in Gilotti’s front yard.
Hoover police had contended that Ahmad Jaquan Johnson of Bessemer, who was 17 when Gilotti was killed, was one of four teenagers present when Gilotti was shot to death after spotting the youths breaking into vehicles in his neighborhood.
“We never said he was the shooter and didn’t present that in court, but we felt like he was complicit in the act,” Hoover police Lt. Keith Czeskleba said today. “We do think he was one of main core of this group — this gang that was running around terrorizing everybody in multiple areas in the latter part of 2015, early part of 2016.”
Johnson in court was facing a murder charge, seven counts of breaking and entering vehicles and two counts of receiving stolen property (a vehicle stolen from Fultondale and a stolen gun).
The jury today found him not guilty of murder and the auto burglary charges but convicted him of receiving the stolen vehicle and gun, Czeskleba said. He will be sentenced later.
Efforts to reach Johnson’s attorney for comment were unsuccessful.
Hoover police said they were extremely disappointed in today’s verdict.
“Certainly we don’t feel like justice was served in this case,” Hoover police Capt. Gregg Rector said. “We know we had the right four people identified, and we gathered the evidence as best we could. But when a case goes to a jury, you don’t know what you’re going to get. This is certainly not justice for Mike’s family.”
This is the second time prosecutors have failed to get a murder conviction in relation to Gilotti’s death.
A Jefferson County jury in May of last year found Charleston Wells of Bessemer not guilty of murder as well. Police contended Wells, who was 16 at the time of Gilotti’s death, was the shooter, but the jury was not convinced. Wells was, however, convicted of breaking and entering nine vehicles and remains in the Jefferson County Jail in Bessemer. He also still faces a robbery charge in Pelham and a rape charge in Bessemer, police said.
The other two suspects charged with murder, 18-year-old Darrian Bryant of Bessemer and 21-year-old De'Ron Keith Lucas of McCalla, remain in the Jefferson County Jail in Bessemer and still have trials pending. Bryant, who was 16 at the time of Gilotti’s death and initially charged as an adult, is seeking youthful offender status, Czeskleba said. Bryant cooperated with authorities in the investigation, Czeskleba said.
