(Michigan City, IN) - A Michigan City man has been given what could be viewed as life sentence for the slayings of a former girlfriend and her new boyfriend that authorities say was driven by revenge.
Armann Johnson, 28, was given a 110 year sentence Thursday, October 22 in La Porte Superior Court 1 on two counts of murder.
He was convicted by a jury in August of fatally shooting Kiara Hootman, 22, and Travis Pennington, 35, at Normandy Village Apartments in Michigan City in August of 2024.
Police said Pennington was about to drive Hootman to work at Hearthside Food Solutions, the maker of baked goods and other edible products on the city’s west side, when they were shot.
The victims were inside a car in the apartment complex parking lot when Pennington was shot three times in the head and neck while Hootman suffered four gunshot wounds to the left arm and back, according to the La Porte County Coroner’s Office.
According to court documents, Johnson and Hootman were in a brief relationship until she left him due to physical abuse.
Police said she had recently been staying with Pennington at Normandy Village after moving from her apartment due to fears of Johnson returning. It appears the gunfire came about a week after Johnson warned Pennington to stay away from Hootman or “be dealt with,” court documents revealed.
A major break in the investigation came from the use of a license plate reading camera tracking the vehicle the gunman fled in to Johnson’s residence in the 800 block of Pine St.
The next day, a search of the vehicle and home turned up shards of glass similar to the ones from a passenger side mirror collected from where the victims were parked along with a black cloth gun holster fitted for a semi-automatic handgun.
Police said there was also dirt on Johnson’s vehicle to explain the tire tracks left by the gunman from driving through the grass at the apartment complex after the shooting.
Johnson and Pennington were employed at the same bakery with Hootman until they were both terminated a few weeks prior to the shootings for missing too many days at work, authorities said.
He could have received an up to 65 year sentence for each murder.
