A northeastern Indiana man convicted of fatally shooting two people while trying to retrieve a luxury purse is appealing his convictions and 170-year sentence.
The appeal filed by Michael J. Johnson of Fort Wayne includes a request that the Indiana Court of Appeals either reverse his two murder convictions or reduce them to voluntary manslaughter and cut his sentence to 70 years.
Johnson’s appeal raises five issues, including whether his 170-year sentence was appropriate.
Johnson was sentenced in January following his murder convictions in the March 2018 killings of 30-year-old Justin Adams and 39-year-old Amanda Feldstein in Ligonier.
Authorities say Johnson fatally shot them during an attempt to retrieve a Prada purse worth nearly $10,000 that was stolen from his car.
