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Murder trial halted, defendant takes plea deal during testimony from lead detective

Johnathan Johnson was facing life in prison if found guilty

SAN ANTONIO – A man on trial for capital murder, accused of killing two people inside their South Side apartment in 2019, has agreed to a plea deal in the case after several days of testimony.

Johnathan Johnson agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of murder after contents from his phone were about to be revealed to the jury during testimony by the lead detective on the case.

According to the plea deal, Johnson will be sentenced to 40 years in prison. He had faced a sentence of up to life in prison if convicted.

Johnson also pled guilty to an aggravated assault of a peace officer charge. He was sentenced to 5 years on that charge which will run concurrently with the 40 year sentence.

Johnson was arrested in Feb. 2019 and accused of killing 19-year-old Andre Rangel and 18-year-old Katrina Casarez inside their apartment in the 500 block of Hot Wells Boulevard.

Rangel’s mother, Cynthia Hernandez who was also shot during this incident gave an impact statement after the sentencing.

“I don’t know if I could ever forgive you for taking my baby,” Hernandez said. “I hope God will because I won’t.”

Johnson is eligible for parole after serving half of his sentence.

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About the Authors
Erica Hernandez headshot

Erica Hernandez is an Emmy award-winning journalist with 15 years of experience in the broadcast news business. Erica has covered a wide array of stories all over Central and South Texas. She's currently the court reporter and cohost of the podcast Texas Crime Stories.

Misael Gomez headshot

Misael started at KSAT-TV as a photojournalist in 1987.

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