Captured Sarasota fugitive headed to prison after pleading guilty to murder ahead of 'Stand Your Ground' trial
Courtesy: Sarasota Police Department
SARASOTA, Fla. - A Florida fugitive who was captured in Mississippi after being on the run for one month has pleaded guilty to killing a Sarasota man and will spend the next three decades behind bars.
According to the Sarasota Police Department, Johnny Evans, 23, shot and killed a man outside of Moore's Grocery, located at 1993 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Sarasota on January 6, 2022.
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According to officers, Evans shot the victim twice and then fled in his father's 1997 Toyota Camry. Police say Evans then fled to Mississippi in a rental car and evaded capture for about one month.
He was eventually arrested with the help of the U.S. Marshals Service on February 5, 2022.
Police say Evans had a ‘Stand Your Ground’ hearing on July 14, 2023, and a jury trial was supposed to begin on Monday, but while in court Evans pleaded guilty to murder.
He was sentenced to 35 years in prison.