People v Johnson

The defendant was convicted of second-degree murder and felony-firearm, and as an habitual *117offender. However, the Court of Appeals set aside the convictions and ordered a new trial on the ground that he was denied effective assistance of trial counsel. We affirm.

i

Daryl Smith1 was fatally shot in April 1989, outside Big Art’s Paradise Lounge in Pontiac. This was part of a larger affray that included the defendant’s father, Johnnie Johnson, Sr., fatally shooting a man named Gary Moses.2

The defense theory was that Mr. Smith was himself shooting at the fleeing defendant, and was shot by an…