NORFOLK, VA — A Norfolk man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for fatally shooting a 38-year-old man who mistakenly knocked on his front door in the Ocean View neighborhood last year, the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.
Leroy Frank King, 74, was convicted by a jury on April 1 of second-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of murder in the June 20, 2023 killing of Albert Patrick Johnson.
According to evidence presented at trial, Johnson knocked on King’s door by mistake earlier in the day. When he returned around 5:30 p.m. and knocked a second time, King emerged from his apartment in the 2900 block of Pleasant Avenue, shouted at Johnson, and shot him twice in the neck and torso. Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene. King was arrested shortly afterward.
King denied guilt during his July 11 sentencing hearing, maintaining that he was justified in the shooting—despite acknowledging that Johnson never physically engaged with him. Judge Tasha D. Scott sentenced King to 25 years in prison and suspended an additional 20 years, conditional on good behavior and future supervision.
King had a prior conviction in Lynchburg in 2003 for shooting another neighbor in a separate incident.
Prosecutors said King “had no right to shoot the victim,” and emphasized that his failure to recognize his wrongdoing demonstrated ongoing risk to public safety.