On a tragic night in Waterloo, Iowa, the life of Jada J. Young-Mills, a 27-year-old Black/African American woman, was cut short on November 14, 2020. The incident that led to her untimely death unfolded just after midnight when deputies in the area of Edison Street and Grandview Avenue heard gunshots. Responding officers discovered Young-Mills inside a residence at 723 Dawson St. with a gunshot wound.
She was rushed to a local hospital, but tragically, she succumbed to her injuries.
In the immediate aftermath, authorities arrested 36-year-old Lasondra Johnson of Waterloo in connection with the shooting. Johnson was subsequently charged with first-degree murder and booked into the Black Hawk County Jail. The investigation revealed that the fatal encounter stemmed from a dispute between Johnson and Young-Mills. The argument escalated to a physical altercation, after which Johnson retrieved a handgun from her vehicle and fired the shot that struck Young-Mills in the chest.
The case against Lasondra Johnson proceeded to trial, where she claimed self-defense under Iowa's "stand your ground" law. A jury ultimately acquitted Johnson of the first-degree murder charge but found her guilty of the lesser offense of assault causing serious injury. She was sentenced to up to five years in prison. However, the legal battle did not end there. Johnson appealed her conviction, arguing that the jury had been given confusing instructions regarding her self-defense claim. In a significant turn of events, the Iowa Supreme Court agreed with this assertion, finding the instructions to be misleading. Consequently, Johnson's conviction was overturned, and the case was remanded for a new trial to ensure a fair and clear understanding of the law for the jury.
