Man who stole wedding ring off dying woman’s finger at Taco Bell sentenced to 11 years

A Wichita man will spend more than 11 years in prison for stealing a wedding ring and other items from a woman who was dying from a brain aneurism in a Taco Bell drive-through in December 2013.

Sedgwick County District Judge Christopher Magana ordered Daquantrius Johnson to serve the 136-month term consecutive to other sentences he received for a string of other crimes committed after he was placed on probation for burglary in 2013. The sentences in those cases totaled 111 months, which means Johnson will be incarcerated for about 20 1/2 years.

He is now 21.

Johnson’s attorney had asked for leniency from the judge during Monday morning’s hearing. But Magana denied the request, telling Johnson: “You have become a predator on others in our society... and the public must be protected and safeguarded.”

Johnson – shacked at his wrists and ankles and dressed in an orange jail jumpsuit – faced supporters of his who gathered in the gallery during the bulk of the hearing. He smiled occasionally as Magana imposed the sentence. Once, he raised his handcuffed wrists to wipe his nose.

He did not speak.

A jury in December convicted Johnson of aggravated burglary, robbery and misdemeanor theft for his role in the Dec. 29, 2013, robbery of Danielle Zimmerman, a 43-year-old mother and wife. Prosecutors say Johnson and two other men reached into Zimmerman’s truck and stole her purse and the ring off of her finger after she suffered a fatal brain aneurism at the Taco Bell at 3735 E. Harry in Wichita. She had gone to get dinner for her family when she fell ill in the drive-through lane and her truck hit the restaurant’s speaker box.

She died in the hospital the following day.

Police arrested Johnson and two other men after receiving a Crime Stoppers tip. Children sledding off of Harry Street found the purse on Dec. 30, 2013.

Despite pleas and rewards offered for its return, Zimmerman’s ring remains missing.

“I hope you reflect on your crimes every day while you’re in prison,” Danielle Zimmerman’s husband, Kris, told Johnson when he was given a chance to address the court during Monday’s hearing.

“Danny didn’t deserve this to happen to her. She was a kind and compassionate person.”

This story was originally published March 30, 2015 at 11:45 AM with the headline "Man who stole wedding ring off dying woman’s finger at Taco Bell sentenced to 11 years."