Fatal Bar Fight Gunman Gets 30 Years For Bergen County Killing: Police

ENGLEWOOD, NJ — A man convicted in the shooting death of another man at a local bar in 2018 was just sentenced to 30 years in prison, according to authorities.

Talek Lawson, who had shot and killed Dakota Johnson with a handgun after a Bogota bar fight, was sentenced to three decades in New Jersey State Prison, according to prosecutors and a report.

Lawson, who was 23 at the time, had been convicted of murder, weapons offenses, and hindering apprehension in connection with December 2018 death of Johnson, officials said.

Following a six-week trial in 2022, the Englewood man was convicted of all counts, and on Friday, he was sentenced without possibility of parole, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.

His trial had begun in March 2020 but had been declared a mistrial due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Musella said.

Lawson, according to previous reporting, had fired a handgun at Johnson, who was found on a nearby front lawn by responders and taken to a hospital — where he later died of a gunshot wound to the chest.

"Prosecutor Musella," a spokesperson from his office said, "thanks the prosecution team for its perseverance and zealous advocacy for the victim and his family and for helping combat gang-related gun violence in Bergen County."