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Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Former Cedar Rapids man faces attempted murder charges after June shooting
Damian Johnson taken into custody last month in Indiana
Jan. 11, 2022 11:48 am, Updated: Jun. 20, 2022 3:42 pm
UPDATE: Pleaded down from three felony charges to one felony and one misdemeanor
Damian Johnson in March 2022 pleaded down to assault with intent to inflict serious injury (aggravated misdemeanor) and assault causing bodily injury or mental illness (serious misdemeanor). The going armed with intent charge (Class D felony) was dismissed.
A former Cedar Rapids man faces attempted murder charges after a June 25 shooting that injured another man.
Damian L. Johnson, 42, was arrested Dec. 9 in Gary, Ind., on outstanding warrants of attempted murder, willful injury, going armed with intent and being a felon in possession of a firearm, Cedar Rapids police reported Tuesday.
The charges stem from an incident June 25 in the 5000 block of First Avenue SW, where police got a report at 9:30 a.m. of shots fired.
“Initial information indicated there was a verbal altercation between two males in the parking lot behind the apartment complex in which shots were fired,” police reported in a news release. “A short time later, the victim, Shawn Kelly, age 46, arrived by personal vehicle at a Cedar Rapids hospital with a gunshot wound to the leg.”
Investigators determined Kelly had gotten into an argument with Johnson over Kelly’s estranged wife. During the argument, Johnson pulled out a handgun and fired several shots, one of which struck Kelly in the lower left leg and lodged behind his knee cap, courts records state.
Kelly was treated for the non-life-threatening injury and released.
Johnson left the area in a vehicle and was not located until Dec. 9, police said. Law enforcement agencies brought Johnson back from Indiana, and he was served with the warrants Tuesday at the Linn County Correctional Center, police reported.
Attempted murder, the most serious charge Johnson faces, is a Class B felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison.
Comments: (319) 339-3157; erin.jordan@thegazette.com
A booking photo of Damian L. Johnson, who faces charges of attempted murder, willful injury, going armed with intent and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
