Background: The apartment complex where Johnny Brown killed his girlfriend Kesha Moore in Minneapolis, Minn. on Dec. 17, 2023 (KMSP/YouTube). Inset top: Kesha Moore (Violence Free Minnesota/Facebook). Inset bottom: Johnny Brown (KSTP/YouTube).
A Minnesota man who killed his girlfriend after she accused him of cheating — and then allegedly called his new girlfriend from jail to deny ever dating the victim — may spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Johnny Leroy Brown, 52, was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday for the 2023 shooting death of Kesha Moore. 43. As Law&Crime previously reported, Brown was accused of multiple counts of murder when Moore, his girlfriend at the time, was shot to death in their apartment in Minneapolis. Police tracked down Brown the following day, discovering him in a car with his new girlfriend, and he was taken into custody — during which time he reportedly called his new girlfriend and denied ever being in a relationship with Moore.
In February, Brown was convicted of first-degree murder while committing domestic abuse with a past pattern of abuse, as well as one count of second-degree unintentional murder while committing a felony, and unlawful possession of a firearm. On Thursday, he was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
According to local NBC affiliate KARE, Brown maintained his innocence, having previously claimed that Moore had pulled the gun on him and that she was shot after he “accidentally bumped the trigger,” resulting in Moore being shot in the head.
“You all don’t know what happened that Sunday,” he said. “I do. And I know she pulled a gun on me. And I tried to retreat. And I tried to get away from that.”
Brown also reportedly objected to the trial itself, insisting that he was the victim of gender discrimination because the prosecutor, defense attorney, and judge were all women. According to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, “numerous women — survivors of Mr. Brown’s past domestic violence — assisted the prosecution of Mr. Brown, with some traveling great distances to testify in court.”
Moore’s sister Kena Johnson said in an impact statement that Moore’s “soul can rest now knowing that he can never hurt another woman again.”
According to the probable cause affidavit, Brown had told police when he was arrested he and Moore had been dating for about two years and had been living together in her apartment for several months before the shooting.
Brown reportedly said on Sunday, he and Moore got into a heated argument because Moore believed that Brown was cheating on her. During the argument, Brown claimed that Moore shoved her finger into his face.
According to the affidavit, Brown claimed he went to make himself a drink, and Moore pulled out a 9 mm handgun — which police said was registered to her — and pointed it at him. Brown reportedly said he tried to wrestle the gun away from Moore, but he ended up accidentally hitting the trigger, firing the fatal shot.
The Star Tribune reported that investigators doubted the claim because Moore’s weapon, a Luger EC9s, has a trigger that requires more than five pounds of pull. Investigators also said that Brown claimed he did not touch Moore’s body after she was shot, a claim they say is undercut by large smears of blood that surrounded her body.
Jerry Lambe contributed to this report.
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