St. Cloud man gets 34 years in prison for fatal nightclub stabbing

ST. CLOUD – A 29-year-old St. Cloud man was sentenced to more than 34 years in prison for his role in the death of a man at a St. Cloud nightclub in December 2019.

Lawrence Michael Johnson was convicted of two felony counts of second-degree murder and two misdemeanor counts of fifth-degree assault in October.

On Wednesday, a Stearns County District Court judge sentenced Johnson to 415 months with credit for 449 days served.

Johnson is one of two defendants found guilty in the stabbing death of 29-year-old Unity McGill.

Johnson's brother, 28-year-old Christopher Lamar Johnson of St. Cloud, was found guilty of two felony counts of second-degree murder in early March. His sentencing is scheduled for June 8.

Bryant Jerome Stephenson, 28, of St. Cloud was also charged with two felony counts of second-degree murder for his role in the death. A settlement conference is scheduled for April 12.

According to court documents, the three men assaulted an unidentified man about 1 a.m. on Dec. 29, 2019, inside the Red Carpet Nightclub in downtown St. Cloud.

Surveillance video shows McGill touch Lawrence Johnson on the shoulder, prompting him to punch McGill and McGill to punch back.

Bouncers removed the three men from the bar, but they re-entered the bar a short time later. Just before 1:30 a.m., the three men attacked McGill on the dance floor.

About three minutes after the fight began, McGill can be seen collapsing out the front door; he was pronounced dead at 3:20 a.m. at St. Cloud Hospital.

An autopsy found McGill had nonlethal blunt-force trauma to the head and multiple stab wounds in his chest, abdomen and back. The medical examiner ruled the cause of death was excessive bleeding.

Jenny Berg • 612-673-7299

Twitter: @bergjenny