Chattanooga native receives 2 life sentences for Dalton armed robbery

November 17, 2023

WDEF News,

WHITFIELD COUNTY, Ga. (WDEF) — A Chattanooga native has been sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for an armed robbery.

Superior Court Judge Jim Wilbanks sentenced 36-year-old Alando Ray Johnson on Wednesday, November 15.

Alando Ray Johnson / Hamilton County Jail

A jury convicted Johnson of armed robbery, kidnapping, false imprisonment, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during commission of a felony. It took the jury only 45 minutes to deliberate before the conviction.

Johnson’s two life sentences are to be followed by 80 years without parole.

The sentencing is from an armed robbery that occurred at a Family Dollar in Dalton, Georgia on December 5, 2020.

Whitfield County officials said that around 9:30 p.m. on this day, Johnson and a co-defendant went to the store on South Thornton Avenue wearing COVID masks. They took items off the shelves and brought them to the register for check-out.

However, officials said the two left their items at the register and walked back to the aisles. That is when Johnson approached a clerk and held a gun to her hip, officials said.

Johnson then took the clerk to the manager’s office. There, the assistant manager was counting money, getting ready to close the store. Johnson and his co-defendant held the two at gunpoint, took the assistant manager’s phone and money from the safe, according to officials.

The Whitfield County press release states, “Johnson threatened to kill the clerk and the assistant manager if they called the police before they left. Johnson and the co-defendant left and returned to Chattanooga.”

Authorities said they identified Johnson by fingerprints on the items he left at the register.

In addition, county officials said this is only the beginning of Johnson’s robbery spree. They stated that Johnson robbed a Dollar General in Manchester, Tennessee the next day, on December 6.

Johnson was also convicted of multiple counts of armed robbery, aggravated assault, kidnapping and possession of a firearm during a felony in Gwinnett County. A judge in Gwinnett County sentenced Johnson to six consecutive life sentences without parole, followed by 45 years to serve.

“Johnson’s sentence for his offence in the Dalton, Georgia armed robbery is consecutive to his Gwinnett County case,” Whitfield County’s press release explained.

Furthermore, county officials said Johnson had prior felony convictions for similar crimes: