SPOKANE, Wash. — The man charged in connection to a drive-by shooting outside a downtown Spokane bar is now admitting guilt.
Johnathan Love, 30, pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of first-degree assault and one count of second-degree assault. The charges stem from a 2022 drive-by shooting outside Lucky's Bar in downtown Spokane, where three people were injured, two of whom had life-threatening injuries. Love is set to be sentenced on Nov. 3, 2023.
Love shot three people outside Lucky's Bar in the early morning of April 9, 2022. Witnesses told police Love was driving the wrong way on Sprague Avenue when he started shooting at people outside the bar. A taxi cab driver and a man standing in front of the bar were shot in the head, and a woman in front of the bar was shot in the leg.
Spokane police originally said the two victims shot in the head died from their injuries but later retracted that statement and said the victims were in critical condition.
Surveillance footage from nearby businesses shows a person matching Love’s description getting into the suspect vehicle, according to court documents. The SUV then drives out of a parking lot and, about a minute later, drives eastbound on Sprague as shots are fired.
Officers tracked Love down after the shooting with help from a partial license plate. A state trooper pulled Love over for driving erratically and spotted a shell casing on the front driver's floorboard, according to documents. One detective said Love was intoxicated and threw up multiple times.
According to court documents, Love claimed he had left Lucky’s Bar with friends and dropped them off at their homes. He said he was driving to another friend’s house when he was pulled over.
During another police interview later in the day, Love said he had been with two friends. He dropped one off at their house and then went to Lucky’s Bar. Love stated his friend was asked to leave the bar due to his behavior. Love said he drove his friend home, and the next thing he remembers was being pulled over in Airway Heights.
Love was originally charged with three counts of drive-by shooting and three counts of first-degree assault. He ultimately pled guilty to amended charges of second-degree assault and two counts of first-degree assault. His sentencing is set to take place at 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 3, 2023.
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