The woman who illegally purchased a Glock handgun and 50-round drum magazine for her boyfriend—a convicted felon and known gang member who used the gun to kill an Omaha police officer—was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross to a year of probation.
Jalita Johnson, 26, who admitted she’d made the illegal straw purchase and supplied the firearm to the killer, could have been sentenced to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Police Officer Kerrie Orozco was working her last shift before taking maternity leave when she was slain by Johnson’s boyfriend, Marcus Wheeler, 36, who was killed in the shootout with police.
The Omaha police union called the court date the “day the federal justice system failed,” and asked, “What kind of message does this send to offenders in the future that will purchase guns for violent felons that are prohibited from possessing firearms?”
