Witness said he didn’t see Aaron Johnson holding weapon before shooting

Before a motel manager packed up the room where Aaron D. Johnson had been living, a knife sat on the table and cigarettes and a half-smoked cigar filled an ashtray next to boxes of food his mother bought for him at Wal-Mart. On one bed sat a package of half-eaten Safeway doughnuts.

Outside room 217 at the West Wynn Motel, marks made by police show the locations where at least four bullets ricocheted off the second-story hallway walls when Johnson was shot by an officer Monday afternoon.

Police removed a number of items from Johnson’s room, including a handwritten note, a Wal-Mart receipt, a “BB gun package” from under the bed, his wallet and his phone, according to a search warrant given to the motel.

Johnson, who has schizophrenia, was shot Monday. He also was shot by police eight times in 2014.

Police said Johnson is in stable condition at the hospital. His family members have been told he’s conscious, but he’s in custody and his family hasn’t been allowed to see him, said Johnson’s aunt, Judy Noritake.

According to police, Johnson had a gun and was aggressive when two officers responded to a domestic violence call at the motel.

Eric Paine, a maintenance worker who witnessed the shooting, said one officer told Johnson to get down several times before shooting at him. Paine said he didn’t see Johnson holding a weapon.

“The dude was trying to get right,” said Trevor Loomis, a house cleaner at the motel. “That guy was not getting a gun, man.”

Loomis said Johnson was calm and friendly, although he had been complaining about his medication not being effective. The motel manager said Johnson was one of the better tenants and she was even considering offering him a job at the motel.

Johnson’s mother took him shopping at Wal-Mart several hours before the shooting, Noritake said.

Johnson was placed in psychiatric care at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center after the shooting in January 2014. He wore a back brace at the time, because of the wounds to his abdomen, and spoke of law enforcement’s violation of the Geneva Convention by firing bullets that fragmented. He also claimed to be “the Messiah” in an interview shortly after the shooting.

Staff writer Kip Hill contributed to this report.