MONROE - A Tennessee man was sentenced to life in prison without parole Tuesday for his involvement in the 1999 murder of a 25-year-old Monroe woman in Cleveland, Tenn.
Maurice A. Johnson, was found guilty on three counts of first-degree murder and one count of especially aggravated robbery, Monday. According to the Cleveland (Tenn.) Daily Banner, a jury of eight women and four men deliberated for more than five hours before reaching its verdict.
Dawn Rogers, who lived for a time in Monroe with her parents, brothers and sisters, was shot to death in her Cleveland, Tenn., apartment during the early-morning hours of Feb. 14, 1999.
Two other people were found dead in the apartment that morning and a fourth victim, though wounded, recovered.
Mary Buol Walters, Rogers' sister, lives in Palmyra. She said the conviction doesn't bring her relief. She is grateful to the detectives who solved the case, she said.
Twanna Blair, 31, and Mike Younger, 34, were charged in connection to the murders. Their cases haven't gone to trial.
Younger was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and Blair was charged with three counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and aggravated perjury.
According to the Cleveland Daily Banner, police reports indicate Blair was in the apartment at the time of the shootings and called 911 to report she had been shot and her friends had been killed.
According to the Feb. 18, 1999, edition of The Monroe Times, all three victims were shot in the back of the head and some of them were shot more than once.
Investigators later found inconsistencies in Blair's statements.
Rogers' two children, Totianna and Johnny, were 6 and 4 years old, respectively, when the killings occurred. They were not at the residence the night of the murders.
Maurice A. Johnson, was found guilty on three counts of first-degree murder and one count of especially aggravated robbery, Monday. According to the Cleveland (Tenn.) Daily Banner, a jury of eight women and four men deliberated for more than five hours before reaching its verdict.
Dawn Rogers, who lived for a time in Monroe with her parents, brothers and sisters, was shot to death in her Cleveland, Tenn., apartment during the early-morning hours of Feb. 14, 1999.
Two other people were found dead in the apartment that morning and a fourth victim, though wounded, recovered.
Mary Buol Walters, Rogers' sister, lives in Palmyra. She said the conviction doesn't bring her relief. She is grateful to the detectives who solved the case, she said.
Twanna Blair, 31, and Mike Younger, 34, were charged in connection to the murders. Their cases haven't gone to trial.
Younger was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and Blair was charged with three counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and aggravated perjury.
According to the Cleveland Daily Banner, police reports indicate Blair was in the apartment at the time of the shootings and called 911 to report she had been shot and her friends had been killed.
According to the Feb. 18, 1999, edition of The Monroe Times, all three victims were shot in the back of the head and some of them were shot more than once.
Investigators later found inconsistencies in Blair's statements.
Rogers' two children, Totianna and Johnny, were 6 and 4 years old, respectively, when the killings occurred. They were not at the residence the night of the murders.