Vancouver man gets 15 months for road rage, brandishing gun

A Vancouver man who brandished a handgun toward a family and later fired several rounds in the parking lot of an apartment complex was sentenced Wednesday to more than a year in prison.

Myreon T. Johnson, 30, pleaded guilty last month in Clark County Superior Court to two counts of second-degree assault and one count of third-degree assault as part of a plea agreement with the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. His standard sentencing range was 13 to 17 months for each count of second-degree assault and up to eight months for third-degree assault.

Judge Bernard Veljacic followed the attorneys’ previously agreed-upon recommendation of 15 months in prison.

Vancouver police officers were dispatched shortly before 7:30 p.m. Nov. 27 to the 6500 block of Northeast 18th Street for a report of a brandishing. A woman told police that a man in a silver Hyundai SUV pointed a small, black handgun at her, her husband and her son, 4, while they were driving alongside each other, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

The SUV then stopped in front of the victims’ vehicle, a man “exited the passenger side door, walked up to (the victims’) driver side door and said ‘do we have a problem?’ with the gun down by his side,” according to the affidavit.

A short time later, after the woman reported the incident, officers responded to the Villas at Bridgecreek Apartments in the 2010 block of Brandt Road for a report of gunshots in the parking lot, according to the affidavit. Officers found shell casings, a handgun and the SUV, the affidavit said.

On Wednesday, Johnson apologized, adding that he is thankful no one was hurt.

“I’m not a violent person at all and my intention was not to harm them,” he said.

On the day of the incident, Johnson consumed alcohol and medication, he said, in celebration of finding a job.

“I’m not in front of you playing the role of a saint because I’m far from it. But I’m not a bad person at all,” he said.

His sister, Courtney Johnson, was present during the incident and faces charges of obstructing a law enforcement officer and third-degree assault. She ignored officer commands, tried to push through them when she was told her vehicle “was being seized for a search warrant” and kicked an officer while being placed in the back of a patrol vehicle, according to a probable cause affidavit.

A trial in her case is scheduled to begin May 6.