Man cleared in 2010 Phylicia Barnes killing gets 2 life terms in rape case

Michael Maurice Johnson, who was convicted and later cleared in the high-profile 2010 killing of 16-year-old Phylicia Barnes, was sentenced Monday to two consecutive life terms plus 25 years for raping a young woman.

The victim and her family, along with Barnes’ family members and law enforcement officials who handled that case, filled rows of the courtroom as Baltimore County Circuit Judge Jan Alexander handed down the sentence.

Johnson, 42, showed no apparent reaction.

He was charged two years ago with attacking a then-19-year-old woman he had been romantically involved with. The woman told jurors she had kicked him out of her apartment and he had returned, strangling and raping her for hours. Images showed her face bruised and her eyes bloodshot.

“You showed her no mercy,” Alexander said Monday.

Barnes’ family members became emotional after the sentence was delivered. Outside the courtroom, Barnes’ father, Russell Barnes, embraced Michael Dunty, chief of the Baltimore Office of the State’s Attorney’s homicide unit, who observed the proceedings. Dunty was the prosecutor on the final Barnes case.

“I know you did your part. I know you guys tried,” Russell Barnes said through tears.

It has been 16 years since Johnson was accused of killing Phylicia Barnes in a case that shocked the region and left the family feeling that justice was not served, although multiple judges found the evidence lacking.

The latest case echoed allegations from Johnson’s earlier prosecution, in which city prosecutors said he had become obsessed with Barnes, strangled her and disposed of her body, which was later found floating in the Susquehanna River.

In that case, Johnson was convicted by a jury, but the decision was overturned prior to sentencing and he was acquitted by a judge at a second trial. Another judge tossed refiled charges in 2018.

Jurors in the county case were not told of the prior murder charge, though it was raised by prosecutors at Monday’s sentencing over an objection from Amy Stone, Johnson’s defense attorney.

Assistant State’s Attorney John Magee said the victim told investigators that Johnson had alluded to Barnes’ death while attacking her.

The victim said Johnson told her he was going to “send me right to her” and “you’re going to die quick like I did her,” Magee said.

The victim testified at the trial that she was 18 and living in foster care when she met Johnson, who was 40. She was waiting for a ride in West Baltimore and climbed into Johnson’s car, mistakenly thinking he was her Lyft driver. But they hit it off and began dating.

In a statement read by her cousin, the victim said that because of challenges in her life, she was particularly vulnerable and looking for companionship. Johnson not only hurt her physically but also impacted her ability to trust.

“It has changed how I interact with people and view the world around me,” she said.

Johnson did not speak when given the chance to address the judge. Earlier in the hearing, he spoke briefly to argue he should get a new trial. He said he had insisted to Stone that he take the stand, but she advised against it because prosecutors would be able to invoke the Barnes case.

Stone, the defense attorney, noted Monday that Johnson’s case is listed in a national registry of exonerations.

She had conceded throughout the trial that Johnson had committed a second-degree assault, saying the victim’s injuries were consistent with being struck with hands, not with the harrowing six hours of strangling and rape that the victim described.

“Both sides needed to speak about what really happened that day,” Johnson said Monday, describing the victim’s testimony as “all over the place.”

Magee, the prosecutor, praised the victim for her strength in coming forward.

“She is remarkable,” he said. “She is truly a survivor.”

Russell Barnes said outside the courthouse that knowing Johnson will be locked up was like a belated Father’s Day present.

“It’s a new day,” he said.