Man sentenced to life in deadly 2014 home invasion

JACKSON, Tenn. — Two mothers sat three rows apart Thursday in a Madison County courtroom. One, Carolyn Wade, is the mother of defendant Johnny Wade. The other, Chermaine Owens-Shivers, the mother and wife of the men he killed.

Wade, 22, appeared emotionless as District Attorney Ben Mayo went over the extensive list of crimes Wade committed since he was 9 years old.

“Society in general needs to be protected from this defendant who does not ever again need to walk among us,” Mayo said.

Wade was charged with a multitude of crimes including two counts of felony murder for what happened in 2014 on Walker Road in Jackson.

Police say Wade and his cousin, Derrick Wade, invaded a home with intentions of robbing its residents, which led to the shooting of three people inside.

Liberty Tech alum and Arkansas State University football player Markel Owens and his stepfather, Johnny Shivers, were killed. Owen’s mother and Shivers’s wife was shot in the leg.

On the stand Thursday, Johnny Wade’s mother, Carolyn Wade, said her son denies any participation in the crime. She said the man she knows has always been a caring person.

“I went through cancer. He was there for me. He helped me through it,” Carolyn Wade said.

In the end, the judge sentenced Johnny Wade to life plus 40 years.

During the sentencing, Carolyn Wade walked out of the courtroom while Chermaine Owens-Shivers, mother and wife of the victims, says she was given peace of mind.

“He got all of what he deserves because he still has to live with himself. He won’t see the streets again, and he was only 19 years old,” Owens-Shivers said. “His life is gone.”

We tried to speak with Johnny Wade’s attorney, but he was not available for comment.