Man sentenced to prison for home invasions, including one on MI
Published 2:30 pm Wednesday, July 1, 2026
Nearly four years after being involved in a series of violent home invasion robberies — including one attempted burglary on Mercer Island — a 24-year-old man was sentenced to 25 years in prison on June 30 in U.S. District Court in Seattle.
Christopher Joseph Johnson and his accomplices victimized families from South King County to Skagit County in 2022 and he was sentenced for racketeering and conspiracy to commit RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act), according to First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd in a United States Department of Justice (DOJ) press release.
Floyd said that Johnson aided and abetted the second-degree murder of Irah Marcello Sok during a Snohomish County robbery in August 2022. Johnson pleaded guilty to that murder and was sentenced to 25 years in prison, a punishment that will run concurrent with the federal jail term.
“You used violence, fear and intimidation… The victims face unthinkable trauma due to you and your co-conspirators’ insatiable greed,” said U.S. District Judge Lauren King at the sentencing hearing.
In addition to the Mercer Island and Snohomish County crimes, Johnson and his crew committed home invasion crimes in Mount Vernon, Burien and four in Kent. According to the DOJ, the pack targeted certain families (which they spotted on social media as being wealthy or possessing valuable collections) and burst into homes in the middle of the night dressed in black and wearing masks with guns drawn.
During the attempted Mercer Island burglary on May 24, 2022, one robber fired a gun but didn’t hit any of the three house occupants.
According to Mercer Island Police Department case records, the crime occurred at approximately 2:03 a.m. in the 4000 block of 85th Avenue Southeast.
After the suspect vehicle drove by the residence and parked slightly up the street, three armed suspects exited the silver SUV. Impersonating police, they kicked in the front door while stating, “Police, show us your hands.” The homeowner, who was awakened by the forced entry, confronted the suspects at the door and they quickly exited the home.
“One of the suspects discharged a 9mm pistol toward the homeowner while fleeing. Thankfully no one is injured,” the report added.
W. Mike Herrington, special agent in charge of the FBI Seattle field office, said the home invasions were terrifying and destructive.
“It is heartbreaking that these victims endured these horrific experiences, and no sentence will ever undo the harm or bring back a loved one. Today, however, justice has been served thanks to the hard work of multiple agencies joining together on this case,” he said.
