A 43-year-old Iowa man has been found guilty of first-degree murder for gunning down a woman on a Des Moines sidewalk after she rejected his advances in the early morning hours last summer.
James Johnson, of West Des Moines, was convicted by a Polk County jury for the July 2023 shooting death of 42-year-old Nikkie Loffredo, a woman he had never met before the deadly encounter.
According to a press release from the Polk County Attorney’s Office, Johnson had been driving around Des Moines on the morning of July 27, under the influence of cocaine and marijuana, when he spotted Loffredo walking on Euclid Avenue.
Later, around 3:48 a.m., he saw her again near East Ovid Avenue and Cambridge Street and pulled up in his SUV to proposition her.
“Come get high with me,” Johnson allegedly said.
“Who are you? Never mind, f— off,” Loffredo responded, according to prosecutors.
Enraged by the rejection, Johnson admitted to pulling out a handgun and firing four shots from his vehicle, striking Loffredo multiple times. She succumbed to her injuries two days later.
Though Johnson claimed during the trial that he only intended to “scare her”, not kill her, prosecutors argued the act was deliberate and cold-blooded.
There was no previous connection between the victim and defendant,” the DA’s office said. “This was a random act of violence driven by anger and a need to use his weapon.”
Johnson, a convicted felon prohibited from owning firearms, testified that he was trying to avoid a fight with his girlfriend that night and chose to cruise the streets instead. Prosecutor Levi Grove argued it was boredom and the desire to use his gun that ultimately led to the killing.
“He was trolling the neighborhood looking for a reason to use that gun,” Grove told the jury.
Johnson admitted on the stand that he had lied to investigators and tried to manipulate the narrative during police interviews. But ultimately, he said guilt overwhelmed him.
“I never wanted to be responsible for something like that,” Johnson told the court. “I feel bad, I feel terrible. I didn’t mean to hurt her, I certainly didn’t mean to kill her.”
Despite his claims, the jury found him guilty of first-degree murder, a conviction that carries a mandatory life sentence in Iowa. Johnson is scheduled to be sentenced on June 20.
Loffredo, described by local media as simply being out buying food when she was attacked, has since become a symbol of senseless violence in the community.