A woman has learned her fate for shooting and killing a teenager she believed had tried to break into her sister’s vehicle.

Zariah Johnson, age 23, was sentenced to 32 years in prison with an additional 15 years of extended supervision for the death of 14-year-old Alijah Golden-Richmond last year, according to Milwaukee news sources, such as Fox affiliate WITI. Johnson entered a guilty plea in July for first-degree reckless homicide.

The tragic shooting took place on August 15, 2024, near the intersection of 39th and Vliet streets in Milwaukee. As outlined in a criminal complaint reviewed by Law&Crime, Johnson was at home when she discovered her sister’s car was being tampered with. Upon investigation, she observed four individuals near the car and armed herself with her mother’s handgun.

A witness who was with Golden-Richmond explained that he “wanted to steal a car,” and while they were roaming the neighborhood, they spotted the blue Hyundai belonging to Johnson’s sister. However, after breaking the car window, they heard someone inside a nearby building exclaim “mmhmmm,” prompting them to flee, as reported by WITI.

Despite their efforts to escape, Johnson pursued them as described in the complaint. She got into her sister’s car and, still armed, drove after the former car window smashers.

The witness recounted seeing Johnson’s car coming from an alleyway, prompting them to hide on a nearby porch as the car stopped. When Johnson fired into the air, they attempted to make a run for it, but she “began shooting in their direction,” striking dirt near their feet, the complaint continues. The witness claimed they were unarmed.

Johnson would later tell police that she had no intent to do anyone physical harm; she merely wanted to “scare” them.

But she had done physical harm.

When detectives arrived, they discovered locals believed the victim was suffering from an overdose, administering him two doses of Narcan. In reality, he had been struck by a bullet that traversed his liver, heart, and chest cavity, leading to his death. Five bullet casings were collected at the scene.

Johnson initially deflected the blame, saying a man named “Neff” was the shooter. But when she learned someone close to her pegged her for the crime, she changed her tune.

“After [Johnson] was advised that a witness said the shooter was a female and that her own mother had said she was the shooter, [Johnson] began to cry and said she did not intend to kill anyone,” police said. She then “admitted she was the shooter.”

The 23-year-old woman said when she drove near the four individuals, “she was not sure if they were the ones who broke into her car.” She circled the block and returned, yelling something at them to get their attention, she told police.

This caused two of them to run – ostensibly the witness and Golden-Richmond – and then Johnson opened fire “until her gun jammed.” She told police “she did not observe actually hitting anyone,” saying the two individuals continued to run.

But Johnson would soon get an indication that she was in trouble. When she returned home, she “located a Facebook Live stream with the person she shot. The person recording was saying that the person was overdosing, but then it was discovered that he was shot in the back and was dead,” the complaint states.

“She then realized that this was in the area she had fired shots and that she likely is the person who killed him,” it goes on. “She then told her mother and left the area with a gun.”

While Johnson reportedly told police where she disposed of the gun, when they searched the spot, they did not find it. Her mother – who told police she rode shotgun when her daughter went on the hunt for the individuals – said Johnson told her she had thrown her gun down a sewer.