WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — A man learned in court Wednesday that he will spend the rest of his life behind bars after a deadly shooting in Wilkes-Barre. He also had to face the families of the victims.
"The pain is still there. My son is still missing, and all I could say is that I'm glad justice was served," said the father of Damian Thomas, Courtney.
It was an emotional day at the Luzerne County Courthouse for the families of those who were shot to death back in January of 2021 by Jayshawn Johnson.
Johnson was convicted of the shooting deaths of 32-year-old Damian Thomas and 31-year-old Maurice Chapman outside a lounge on South Main Street in Wilkes-Barre.
A third victim was left badly injured.
After the shootings, Johnson fled the state and was later arrested in Miami.
Wednesday, he learned his sentence, life without parole for both victims and an additional 240 months for the attempted homicide of the third victim.
The victims' families addressed Johnson in court.
"He has destroyed four lives—three and including himself. So, in that sense, there's no justice. We all are suffering, but today was closure for us, the whole family," says Maurice's mother, Natasha Chapman.
She wasn't alone in those feelings.
The father of Damian Thomas agrees.
"All I could say for him I hope he realized what he has done has destroyed other people's lives and also his," said Courtney Thomas.
Jayshawn Johnson will never again be a free man.
"So he won't be home ever. Which is good in a sense because my son is never gonna be here again."
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