Jahmaul William Johnson

A Westfield man is being held on $1 million bail after allegedly trying to murder a woman earlier this month in the village.

District Attorney Jason Schmidt has announced that an eight-count indictment issued by a Chautauqua County Grand Jury was unsealed Tuesday charging Jahmaul W. Johnson with second-degree attempted murder, multiple violent felony-class weapons charges, and multiple counts of endangering the welfare of a child, arising from the March 7 shooting of a female victim in Westfield.

At his arraignment in County Court, a plea of “not guilty” was entered on Johnson’s behalf before the court set bail at $1 million cash or, in the alternative, a $2 million property bond.

Johnson was then remanded to the Chautauqua County Jail. He now faces prison time of up to 25 years on the attempted murder charge and up to 15 years on the weapons charges, with the possibility that these sentences will run consecutively.

According to Westfield Village Police Chief Erik Karlstrom, at approximately 7:24 p.m. on March 7, he and his officers responded to two simultaneous 9-1-1 calls placed from the residence where the shooting took place, one made by the children who were present when their mother was shot, and the other made by the female gunshot victim.

Upon arrival, police and fire first responders immediately tended to the victim who had been shot once through the chest.

Johnson was quickly identified as a suspect but had already fled the scene, leading to a police pursuit which culminated when he crashed his getaway vehicle into a ditch and was taken into custody in the town of Pomfret a short time later that evening.

A handgun and magazine believed to be used in the shooting was recovered at the time of Johnson’s arrest.

The victim was transported to the closest Level One Trauma Unit, UPMC Hamot in Erie, Pa., and she is now recovering from her injuries.

“Our immediate concern was for the public’s safety once the victim was in transit to the hospital and we secured the scene for later processing,” said Chief Karlstrom. “The Westfield village community is far from asleep on a Saturday night. Between our restaurants and bar businesses, we have a fairly active nightlife Friday and Saturday evenings in which we play host not just to village and local residents, but to patrons coming from across and even outside the County. Our number one priority was to find the individual responsible for the shooting, who we believed was still armed, and secure him into custody before anyone else could be hurt.”

Karlstrom continued, “Given the severity of the situation and the likelihood – which turned out to be the case – that Mr. Johnson had already fled the village and entered into other police jurisdictions, we quickly coordinated with District Attorney Jason Schmidt and our police partners across the county to ensure that he was taken into custody without delay. In order to ensure he stayed in police custody until Grand Jury action could be undertaken, I then prepared an initial, lower level charge which I filed against Mr. Johnson. That charge, which served merely as a temporary placeholder until extensive charges could be asserted, has now been replaced by the indictment unsealed (Tuesday) morning. To be clear, within about an hour of the initial call, we had Mr. Johnson in custody where I expect him to remain during the pendency of our case.”

Karlstrom thanked all of the agencies and personnel who assisted in this investigation and immediate apprehension of the suspect, including the Chautauqua County District Attorney’s Office and their investigators, Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office, Chautauqua County Emergency Operations Center, Village of Westfield Fire Department, Chautauqua County Homicide Investigation Team, Chautauqua County Forensic Investigation Team, and New York State Police.

“As a small department, we obviously don’t possess the resources and equipment these agencies provided, and we are thankful for their contributions and dedication to protecting our community,” Karlstrom said. “As a final note, I also want to express my sincere appreciation to the residents of Westfield for their patience and cooperation during this complex and ongoing investigation. I am fully aware that this is the second critical incident our community has experienced within the last year, and that both involved shooting victims, one of whom died. As Westfield Village Police Chief, I am fully committed to conducting thorough and professional investigations utilizing every resource available to me. As best as I can, I will always try to be as transparent as I can in sharing information while preserving the integrity of our arrests and prosecutions.”

Last year a fire occurred in a camping trailer on McKinley Road, Westfield. It is alleged that Jonathan Wilson had shot and killed Alice Waters before starting the fire. He is currently behind bars as the case continues through the courts.

Schmidt said he would also like to thank all law enforcement officers and first responders involved in this latest incident.