March 24, 1998. Westside Middle School, Jonesboro, AR. Two students, Mitchell Johnson, 13 and Andrew Golden, 11, pull the fire alarm and dash outside. The night before, they had swiped a Remington .30-06, .30 M1 carbine, .44 Magnum rifle, two .38 Special and one .357 revolver, .two .380 pistols, a .38 and .22 two-shot derringer from Golden’s grandparents. The two hid in the bushes and trained the guns to the building’s main exit. As students and faculty began filing out, Johnson and Golden opened fire. Four classmates and a teacher were murdered and ten others wounded before the shooters began their escape. They were apprehended by police before they could reach Golden’s mom’s van. Johnson and Golden were tried as juveniles and found guilty on five counts of murder.
According to Debbie Spencer, a science teacher at Westside:
Mitchell Johnson “was one of the most polite students I’ve ever had. Always, ‘Yes ma’am, no ma’am.” While awaiting trial, he wrote the following: "Hi. My name is Mitchell. My thoughts and prayers are with those people who were killed, or shot, and their families. I am really sad inside about everything. My thoughts and prayers are with those kids that I go to school with. I really want people to know the real Mitchell someday. Sincerely, Mitchell Johnson.”
By contrast, Andrew Golden “was sneaky. He would do enough to get by. I remember the conversation we had the day before [the shooting]. I was going over to see if they wanted to know what their grades were so far," Spencer said, remembering that Golden had just barely gotten a B. "You just got by by the skin of your teeth, didn't you?" she recalled saying to him. "And he said, 'Yup, I always do,'"
[From Murderpedia, 2009]
"Johnson was released on August 11, 2005, on his 21st birthday due to federal gun crimes. Originally he was to only be held until he turned 18 years old. He spent less than 2 years in jail for each murder that he committed. He is allowed to buy and own firearms.
In interviews with Johnson's mother, she has said that he plans to leave Jonesboro and become a Baptist minister. However in a deposition taken for the civil case, he stated that he wanted to become a Seventh Day Adventist Minister, but hasn't found a Seventh Day Adventist church that he liked.
On January 1, 2007, Johnson was arrested after a traffic stop in Fayetteville, Arkansas on misdemeanor charges of carrying a weapon — a loaded 9 mm pistol — and possession of 21.2 grams of marijuana. Johnson was arrested for possession of marijuana and a loaded weapon and later released on a $1,000 bond. He had a court appearance on January 26, 2007 at the Washington County, Arkansas courthouse.
Johnson was indicted by a federal grand jury on October 24, 2007 for possession of a firearm while either using or addicted to a controlled substance. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Arkansas reported that Johnson pleaded not guilty and was released on a $5,000 bond. Johnson's trial began on January 28, 2008. After two days of testimony from the prosecution and the defense witnesses, Johnson was found guilty on a charge of possessing a weapon while being a drug user.
In February 2008, just days after his conviction, Johnson was arrested again, this time for possession of marijuana at the convenience store he worked at and on suspicion of using a stolen credit card.
On September 2008, US District Judge Jimm Larry Hendren sentenced Mitchell Johnson to four years in prison on the weapon and drug charges. In his sentencing, the Judge expressed dismay that Johnson had not taken advantage of the chance he had to go straight. He told him "No matter your sentence, you still have a life, those killed in 1998 do not". On October 7, 2008, Johnson plead guilty a felony theft charge and misdemeanor possession of marijuana. Johnson admitted that he stole a debit card left by a disabled man at the Bentonville gas station where he worked and subsequently used it to purchase a meal at a local Burger King. He also admitted that, at the time he was arrested, he was in possession of marijuana.
On November 14, 2008, Johnson, now 24 years old, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for the theft charge and misdemeanor possession charges. Although Johnson could have faced up to 30 years, the sentence of 12 years was chosen because Johnson technically had no criminal record from the Jonesboro shooting.
On January 23, 2009, Johnson was sentenced to six additional years in prison for an additional charge of theft by receiving and financial identity fraud for using the stolen card to purchase a meal from a local Burger King. Circuit Judge William Storey told Johnson "You continue to run afoul of the law. I am hopeful this is the last time." This brought Johnson's combined state sentences to 18 years.
Johnson will have to complete his federal sentence of four years before serving his 18-year state sentence. He will likely remain incarcerated well into his 30s."
