The killer of a Los Angeles mother has been sentenced to life in prison after being released on early parole
Darrell Lamar Collins, 55, was sentenced for the murder of his girlfriend, Fatima Johnson, a 53-year-old mother of six who was found dead in her apartment on July 4, 2021, by her daughters.
She was found with her wrists and ankles bound with shoelaces and duct tape, gagged with underwear and duct tape placed over her mouth and nose.
Prosecutors said Collins stole Johnson’s cell phone, jewelry and her Lexus. Hours after the murder, he pawned two of her necklaces and sold her car in exchange for drugs.
Darrell Lamar Collins, 55, was released early for two separate murders and had been free for less than a year when he killed his girlfriend in Los Angeles. (Getty Images, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)
The murder occurred 364 days after he was released from prison for two previous murders.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said, “Darryl Collins took the lives of three innocent people. Today’s sentencing is not just about punishment. It is also about protection from this sociopath to ensure he is never free again.”
“This case shows exactly what can happen when someone with a history of severe violence is released from prison early. We can only hope that three families who have suffered an unimaginable loss will find a measure of peace knowing that he will never return to our communities.”
Collins had previously been convicted of two counts Separate murders In 1995, he was sentenced to two consecutive terms of 25 years to life.
However, he was released after serving 25 years — half of his sentence — under the juvenile offender parole provision enacted by state lawmakers in 2017. The law raised the maximum juvenile offender parole limit from age 23 to age 25.
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At the time of the previous two murders, Collins was 24 years old.
“If the state Legislature had not changed the law in 2017, nearly 20 years after Collins was sentenced, and raised the minimum age of youthful offender parole from 23 to 25, Collins would have been behind bars rather than on the street, and been able to senselessly and brutally take another innocent life,” Hochman said.
On September 17, 1995, Collins stole the car of Derek Reese, 28, who was using a pay phone. After seizing the vehicle, Collins retreated and shot Reese at least twice. Kill him.
Eleven days later, Collins attempted to rob a restaurant where Thomas Weiss, 44, worked as a cashier. Collins held Weiss at gunpoint and shot Weiss in the face, killing him.
On January 15, 1998, Collins was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison.
Gregory Vogelsang, 57, was granted parole by the California Parole Board, despite his history of child sex crimes. Sacramento County District Attorney Thein Ho spoke out against the decision on Thursday. (Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office)
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The California Parole Board has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks after it found two convicted serial child rapists — David Funston and Gregory Vogelsang — suitable for early release despite at least one admitting he still fantasizes about children.
U.S. Rep. Kevin Kelly, D-Calif., cited Collins’ criminal history while calling for a review of the board’s decisions and the state’s early release laws.
“California’s reckless laws and unruly parole board are killing our citizens,” Kelly wrote on X.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the parole board.
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