Melbourne Man Sentenced to 45 Years in 2020 Restaurant, Tax Office Murder and Shooting
By Space Coast Daily // February 16, 2026
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – A man accused of gunning down a woman outside a South Melbourne business and critically wounding her husband in 2020 will spend the next 45 years in prison after entering a plea agreement just minutes before his trial was set to begin.
Latavious S. Johnson, 45, pleaded no contest Feb. 9 to second-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder in the shooting death of Jamie Wright and the wounding of her husband, Theron Wright.
In exchange for the plea, Johnson was sentenced to 45 years in state prison, avoiding a potential life sentence.
The agreement with the State Attorney’s Office came more than five years after the October 2020 shootings at Lizzy’s restaurant and 321 Tax in South Melbourne and shortly before Johnson was scheduled to stand trial in Viera on a first-degree murder charge.
As part of the deal, Prosecutor Mike Doyle required Johnson to also plead no contest to two felony counts of shooting into a vehicle or building. Those firearm-related convictions carry a mandatory minimum of 25 years before Johnson is eligible for any gain-time reductions.
“Mr. Johnson’s going to prison, and he probably won’t make it out given his age,” Doyle said.
According to investigators, Johnson shot and killed Jamie Wright while she waited in a minivan outside the business. He then entered 321 Tax, where he shot Theron Wright twice as Wright was playing a video arcade game. The two men struggled for control of a revolver while Wright, already wounded, attempted to defend himself.
Security video from inside the business showed the struggle and captured the moment a company employee emerged from a security office and shot Johnson in the face and neck. Both men, bleeding, eventually broke off the struggle and fled the building.
Melbourne Police later recovered one of Johnson’s shoes at a nearby relative’s home. DNA testing revealed the shoe contained blood from both Johnson and Wright.
Detectives also used surveillance footage from multiple businesses to trace Johnson’s movements from the scene to the emergency room at Holmes Regional Medical Center, where he sought treatment for his gunshot wound.
Investigators said the shooting stemmed from a dispute over a bad debt.
Theron Wright survived his injuries but later died of unrelated causes before the case was resolved.
Johnson remained in the Brevard County Jail without bond as the case was delayed multiple times due to the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in his defense attorneys.
