A Jacksonville man has been sentenced to probation after he pled guilty to manslaughter for the shooting death of a 16-year-old girl. Damon Wilson, aged 28, will not serve additional jail time beyond the year he has already spent behind bars for the incident that occurred on February 23, 2024, in Jacksonville's New Town neighborhood. Instead, he will spend five years on probation according to court documents.
During his probation period, Wilson is required to actively participate in gun safety events or classes and to also willingly submit to a mental health evaluation along with any follow-up treatment, as reported by First Coast News. Additionally, he has been ordered to pay $4,000 in restitution to the mother of the victim, Layla Johnson.
The incident that led to Layla Johnson's death began when Wilson visited a home on West 2nd Street with an AR-15-style rifle. News4Jax reported that while showing the rifle to others in the home, Wilson mentioned a malfunction where the magazine would not stay seated in the weapon. According to a witness, as Wilson was manipulating the gun, it discharged and struck Johnson in the head. In the aftermath of the shooting, Wilson fled the scene with the weapon.
Detectives from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office responded to the scene after the shooting was reported. A subsequent warrant led them to search Wilson's home where they found an AR-15-style rifle laid out on a table. Wilson was arrested later that day and originally faced up to 15 years in prison. According to Action News Jax, Wilson eventually changed his plea to guilty last Tuesday, a move that resulted in his probation sentence.
