November 17, 2015- Commonwealth v Eric Johnson:  Eric Johnson, 36, of Harrisburg,  was sentenced this morning for the November 2012 shooting death of Marcus Garner in the City of Harrisburg.  On August 6, 2015, Johnson pleaded "no contest" to Third Degree Murder pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement.  A jury trial was scheduled to begin in this case on August 10th.  Pursuant to the plea agreement, Dauphin County Common Pleas Judge Deborah E. Curcillo sentenced Johnson to 13 years to 40 years in a state penitentiary.  While Johnson officially pleaded "no contest" to the charges, the consequences of this plea are the same as a guilty plea.        

This case stems from the death of Marcus Garner on November 21, 2012.  Garner, who was reported missing on November 25, 2012, had last been seen in the company of Eric Johnson the day before Thanksgiving on November 21, 2012.  On December 5, 2012, Garner's body was discovered in a detached garage behind a home on North 18th Street in Harrisburg.  An autopsy revealed that Marcus Garner had been shot one time, close range, to the left forehead.  

One of the last people Marcus Garner had contact with on November 21, 2012, both in person and by phone, was Eric Johnson.  Marcus Garner is seen on surveillance video at the former City Gas & Diesel station on State Street in Harrisburg, exiting and then re-entering a Chrysler mini-van.  Eric Johnson owned a Chrysler mini-van.  On November 23, 2012, Eric Johnson drove his mini-van to Rochester, New York.  He brought the van to his brother's home in Rochester.  Upon seeing the van, Johnson's brother noticed blood in the van and asked Eric Johnson what happened.  Eric Johnson told his brother that he had shot a man in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  The brother indicated to the police that the man Eric Johnson shot was dead.  The van was ultimately destroyed in Rochester, New York, at a salvage yard.  A few weeks later, the brother wrote a letter to the Dauphin County District Attorney's Office indicating that he had information about a homicide in Pennsylvania.  This ultimately led to Eric Johnson's arrest for Marcus Garner's death.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Seán M. McCormack explained the reasons for the plea agreement, "Factually this was an extremely complicated case.  What started out as a missing person case turned into a homicide investigation.  There were no eyewitnesses, at least that we know of, to the actual murder.  Complicating matters was the fact that Johnson's brother, one of our critical witnesses linking Johnson to the bloody van, went into hiding and we were unable to find him to testify at trial."  As the trial approached in August, McCormack consulted with Marcus Garner's family prior to the District Attorney's Office entering into the plea agreement, and the family agreed to the Third Degree Murder plea and the negotiated sentence.  McCormack complimented Retired Harrisburg Police Detective Victor Rivera for his investigation into Garner's death.  "The same week Eric Johnson pleaded in court, Detective Rivera retired.  It is fitting that this was Detective Rivera's last case.  This case was a prime example of the solid investigations that Det. Rivera conducted throughout his career."       

Many of Marcus Garner's family members attended today's court proceeding.  They sat quietly in court today and listened as Judge Curcillo sentenced Johnson.  Johnson said nothing during the sentencing.  In addition to the 13 to 40 year state prison sentence Johnson received today, he is also facing a potential additional five years in a federal penitentiary for violating his federal parole in an unrelated federal case.  Deputy District Attorney Kristy Falbo assisted McCormack in the prosecution of this case.