On Wednesday, August 24, 2016, in the Circuit Court of Taney County, GREGORY M. JOHNSON a/k/a GREGOR JOHNSON, d/o/b 5-24-1981, of Branson, was sentenced to twenty (20) years in prison for the class A felony of pharmacy robbery in the first degree, twenty (20) years in prison for the unclassified felony of armed criminal action, and seven (7) years in prison for the class C felony of unlawful possession of a concealable firearm. Circuit Court Judge Laura Johnson sentenced the defendant after hearing arguments from the Taney County Prosecutor’s office and defendant’s lawyer for well over an hour. Defendant had entered his guilty plea on May 19, 2016, without any plea agreement with the Taney County Prosecutor’s Office.

Johnson’s convictions stem from his armed robbery of a pharmacy in Branson, on September 30, 2016, where he entered the business wearing a ski mask and brandishing a .45 caliber automatic handgun, demanding oxycodone pills from the employees. As Johnson was being handed a bag of pills, a pharmacist shot Johnson in the chest. Johnson fled the pharmacy, dropping the bag of pills, and firing his handgun in the direction of the employees. Johnson was found a short time later driving the vehicle he had fled the crime scene in. When interviewed by Detective Shane Keys of the Taney County Sheriff’s Office, Johnson confessed to committing the robbery. Johnson explained that his wife had stitched-up his gunshot wound and helped him dispose of his bloody clothes.

Johnson had a previous conviction from Colorado for felony tampering, which made his possession of the handgun a separate felony charge. The class A felony of pharmacy robbery carries a minimum sentence of ten (10) calendar years in the Missouri Department of Corrections – without the possibility of parole – and a maximum penalty of thirty (30) years. The felony of armed criminal action carries minimum punishment of three (3) years in the Missouri Department of Corrections – without the possibility of parole – and no maximum sentence. The class C felony of unlawful possession of a concealable firearm carries a maximum penalty of seven (7) years in the Missouri Department of Corrections and/or a $5,000.00 fine.