Man who shot woman in head gets 30 years

GOSHEN — A man who admitted to shooting a woman in the head before stealing her vehicle has received a 30-year sentence.

John Brandon Cox, 36, was sentenced Thursday for the Nov. 21, 2022, shooting in Ox Bow Park. He entered a plea agreement in April ahead of an Oct. 7 jury trial.

He pleaded guilty to a count of robbery resulting in serious injury, a Level 2 felony, while a count of attempted murder as a Level 1 felony was dismissed. His sentence includes 20 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections in addition to five years suspended to probation and five years in a community corrections program if eligible.

His victim, Eluvia Johnson, took the stand to testify at his sentencing but was reluctant to speak until prompted by a deputy prosecutor. She said most days are hard for her both physically and mentally.

“I still walk around with a bullet in my head,” she said. “I still have fragments in my head.”

Johnson told investigators that she originally met Cox on Facebook and they later got together in person. She said the day she was shot they got into an argument and she remembered Cox putting a gun to her head.

A witness described hearing a shot and seeing Johnson’s SUV slowly driving out of control, with the driver sitting with her head slumped back. The witness told police she saw a man get out of the passenger seat and “angrily” pulling the driver’s door open and throwing the driver to the ground before stealing the vehicle.

Cox was arrested two days later after police tracked Johnson’s vehicle to Salem, Illinois. They said there was still blood staining the inside of the SUV.

Cox offered his apologies Thursday.

“I’m sorry for the part I played in all this,” he said. “That’s all I have to say.”