Hyattsville Man Gets 115-Years for Stalking Ex-wife, her Kids

A 33-year-old Hyattsville man will likely spend the rest of his life in jail for stalking his ex-wife and her children.   

Michael Anthony Johnson, who lived on Kirkwood Place in Hyattsville, was given a 115-year sentence in Prince George’s County Circuit Court Thursday. He was ordered to serve 85 years – the balance of his sentence will be served concurrently.

Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks said in a statement that the sentencing “saved a life,” and “Ensured that we won’t have something potentially more horrible happen to our victim.” 

According to prosecutors, Johnson sent vulgar, threatening emails to his ex-wife in June and July 2012. According to the State’s Attorney’s office, he also made fake online profiles on Facebook, Craiglist, Blackplanet and other websites.

According to the indictment, Johnson claimed to be his ex-wife on these sites and asked men to come to the house for sex with her and her daughters and, once, telling them to come to her house and rape her.

In a statement to police, his ex-wife wrote that Johnson “sent me an email which addresses the police and is written as if he has already killed me.”

When Johnson was arrested at his mother’s house in July 2012, authorities took his computer. On it, police found emails he had sent to his ex-wife. Johnson said that the email accounts were, in fact, his, but said that he did not send the emails.

The fake accounts postings and emails stopped after he was arrested, according to the State’s Attorney’s Office. 

Before he was arrested for these crimes, Johnson had served 18 months in jail for assaulting his ex-wife. According to the State’s Attorney’s Office, he once hid in her car and tried to strangler her when she opened the door. He had also violated a protection order prior to the one he was convicted of violating in this case.

In June of this year, a jury took three hours to find Johnson guilty one count of stalking; 10 counts of reckless endangerment; two counts of harassment; seven counts of harassment by electronic mail; and 53 counts of violation of a protective order.    

Judge Maureen Lamasney told Johnson Thursday that she chose the maximum sentence because he had ignored previous judgements, ordering him to stay away from his ex-wife.

“Mr. Johnson is a dangerous domestic violence offender,” Alsobrooks said in a statement.  “With the sentence he received today, we are confident that will never be able to victimize another woman in our community.”