A Bemidji woman was sentenced to more than 28 years in prison Tuesday after being found guilty of murdering her brother-in-law in 2020.
Bemidji woman gets prison for brother-in-law's shooting death
Following a two-week trial, Janelle Johnson was found guilty of Jesse Farris' death at his home.
May 31, 2023 at 1:34AM
Janelle Johnson, 38, was sentenced to prison in Shakopee for the fatal shooting of Jesse Farris, 48, in December that year.
Before the shooting, Johnson and her husband had decided to confront Farris regarding his alleged abusive treatment of his wife and children, according to the original criminal complaint.
Johnson asked her husband to bring his handgun as protection when they went to Farris' house in the 5000 block of Lavinia Road NE. in Bemidji, the charges state.
The three began arguing inside the house before moving to the deck outside, where Farris pushed Johnson's husband down in an attempt to walk away. Johnson took the concealed handgun from her husband's pocket and shot Farris, the complaint said.
Farris was found face-down in the snow, shot in the back and hip.
The jury's guilty verdict was produced following a two-week jury trial in March.
The Bemidji Pioneer reported that Johnson would serve only 228 months in prison, and that for the remaining months she would be under supervised release.
Terrance Kern, Farris' uncle, said the trial "told the truth of a heinous, preventable murder."
"Her punishment will not bring Jessie Farris back," Kern said in an email. "His three sons, brother, three sisters and the rest of our family are left with only memories of a really good man."
Attorney General Keith Ellison's office prosecuted the case at the request of Beltrami County Attorney David Hanson.
The returns were filed on behalf of themselves and others, according to federal prosecutors.
