DETROIT (WXYZ) — Tonya Johnson, 41, appeared in court Thursday after prosecutors say she left a loaded, unsecured handgun in her minivan with her five children while she stepped away to pick up a DoorDash order. Her 11-year-old son found the weapon and fired it, striking his 6-year-old sister in the back of the head. The girl later died.
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Johnson now faces eight felony charges, including three counts of child abuse and charges under Michigan's safe storage gun law — legislation passed in the wake of the Oxford High School shooting. If convicted, she could face nearly 20 years in prison.
The incident happened in a shopping center parking lot on Harper near Gratiot around noon Monday. Investigators say Johnson left her five children, ranging in age from 2 to 11 years old, unattended in her minivan while she was inside a restaurant picking up an order.
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The magistrate overseeing the case did not hold back in describing the circumstances.
"These facts are just — you know — egregious," the magistrate said.
Prosecutors argued Johnson had a pattern of failing to secure her firearms. Aniela Bosca of the City of Detroit Law Department said evidence gathered during a search of Johnson's home supported that claim.
"When officers arrived at her house to execute a search warrant, they noted that the other guns that she has registered to her name were also unsecured within the home, even though she told officers she always locks her guns up," Bosca said.
Defense attorney Phil Ragan pushed back on that characterization.
"I know probably more than anybody about these guns that they talk about at home, where these guns were, if these guns were out, why they were out, who put them out after the fact, because she always keeps them locked up," Ragan said.
Prosecutors also told the court that police found Johnson's minivan in what they described as deplorable conditions, with human waste inside the vehicle, suggesting she may be a neglectful parent.
Johnson's sister, Fredricka Johnson, said Tonya carried the handgun for protection while working as a DoorDash delivery driver. She said the children are homeschooled and were accompanying their mother on her delivery route that day.
"You get to DoorDash, you come right back out, and that's what she was doing. She was making ends meet with — well, you gotta get your money — so she was doing a living for her kids, her 5 kids," Fredricka Johnson said. "I wish everybody stop painting my sister as a bad person. She's not. She is a good, good mother. A good mother of her kids."
Fredricka Johnson said the loss has been devastating for the entire family.
"Nobody expected this to happen, but my sister was good. My sister is good, and I was trying not to cry, but I lost, I'm losing a sister, and I lost a niece, and ain't no bounce back from this," Fredricka Johnson said.
Chad King, Midwest Regional Director of the National African American Gun Association, said the case is a stark reminder of the importance of safe firearm storage and that affordable options are widely available.
"This whole situation is tough, it's heartbreaking," King said. "You can get a small metal lockbox from several different hardware stores for as low as $20. You know, you can get a small lockbox that's secured to the vehicle using a braided cable, and that's always an option. I tell people to make sure that when you purchase a firearm, include in your budget for the firearm safe storage device or a safe storage mechanism."
Johnson was given a $30,000 bond. Her next court date is set for next Monday.
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