NEW YORK – A 45-year-old man has been sentenced to 240 years in prison for terrorizing patrons at a New York City bar during a bizarre hostage ordeal more than a decade ago.
Steve Johnson was sentenced Friday in the June 2002 kidnapping at Bar Veloce in the East Village.
A jury found him guilty Feb. 4 of attempted murder, assault, kidnapping as a hate crime and other charges. Authorities say Johnson, who is black, targeted white patrons.
Johnson invaded Bar Veloce carrying three pistols, a samurai sword and a container of kerosene. He shot and wounded three people and sprayed kerosene on several customers.
It was Johnson's third trial. The first trial deadlocked in 2004. The second trial resulted in a conviction and a 240-year prison sentence but was overturned on appeal.
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