A Broward judge dismissed a second-degree murder charge Thursday against an Orlando woman accused of shooting and killing her boyfriend in North Lauderdale in 2017.
Satoya Johnson, 36, was arrested in March 2018 and served a brief time in jail before being released on a $60,000 bond, but the prospect of a life sentence on a second-degree murder charge hung over her head the entire time.
Johnson was charged with killing Alton Montina , 30, on Oct. 28, 2017, in his apartment in North Lauderdale, but she claimed self-defense from the start. On Thursday, Broward Circuit Judge Barbara Duffy agreed.
“I was so busy shaking and crying I didn’t hear her,” Johnson said Thursday after the electronic monitoring device she has worn for nearly seven years was taken off. “After my name had been smeared for seven years, after all the lies that were told, I can finally say my name is cleared.”
Johnson was tried in January, but the jury could not agree on a verdict. Five of the six jurors voted to convict. The last refused.