Two Cincinnati men have recently been handed down hefty prison sentences for their part in a series of violent crimes, including the fatal shooting of a store owner, as confirmed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Willie James Attaway, 33, will serve 40 years for murder, among other charges, while his accomplice, Lamond Johnson, 38, received a 23-year sentence.
The string of offenses perpetrated by the duo spanned just two days in February 2021 but left an indelible mark on the community. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Attaway sought to forcibly extract the contents of cash registers at various locations, escalating to a deadly confrontation with Roop C. Gupta, the owner of Madeira Beverage, who was tragically killed during the robbery.
Their crime spree began on February 8, with Attaway threatening clerks and demanding money at two separate Shell gas stations. The following day, he confronted and shot Gupta, later moving on to rob another gas station in Blue Ash before trying and failing to rob a Marathon station when confronted by a clerk feigning also to be armed.
Johnson, who played the role of the getaway driver, was involved in at least three instances of using a firearm during a crime of violence and two attempted robberies. Their actions prompted a joint investigation by several law enforcement agencies, leading to their recent sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Susan J. Dlott.
Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge at the ATF, made public the outcomes of this case. With the coordination between the ATF, U.S. Attorney's Office, and multiple local police departments, these sentences mark a conclusion to their destructive crime spree and a fraction of justice for the communities affected.
