WASHINGTON — A District man faces 21 years in prison after pleading guilty Monday to murdering a woman in broad daylight in 2022.
Johnwann Elliott, 31, pleaded guilty to felony counts of second-degree murder while armed and attempted assault with a dangerous weapon for fatally shooting 37-year-old Nikia Young near the intersection of Minnesota Avenue and 23rd Street Southeast on March 15, 2022.
According to an affidavit filed in D.C. Superior Court, a friend told police Young had taken a firearm belonging to Elliott from his home after seeing his “shadow waving his gun toward her head.” Other witnesses told police Elliott had been complaining about the theft of his gun and, later, saying he’d shot Young because of the theft.
“That d*** b**** had to get it,” a witness reported Elliott saying. “That’s the b**** that stole my dog.”
As the affidavit notes, “dog” is a slang term used in to refer to guns.
On the day of the shooting, Young and another person were walking northbound on the 2200 block of Minnesota Avenue when Elliott spotted them while riding on a Metrobus. Surveillance footage shows Elliott immediately pulling the cord and then exiting a block up from where he’d spotted Young.
While Young was crossing the street, Elliott charged up to her and fired seven times with a .380-caliber handgun – striking her five times. One of the bullets struck Young in the face. Three others struck her in the chest.
Young, who was under GPS monitoring from a prior case at the time of the shooting, was charged with first-degree murder while armed in May 2022 and indicted on six counts in January 2023. His plea offer Monday to a lesser second-degree murder charge includes an agreement that he will not contest a requested sentence of 21 years in prison.
Elliott was scheduled to be sentenced on March 14, 2024 – nearly two years to the day since Young’s shooting. He will receive credit for the time he has spent in pretrial detention since his arrest.