A man was shot during Bethel Island boat sale, remained a quadriplegic for years until his death

BETHEL ISLAND Gary Johnson Jr was at the D Anna Bethel Island Resort Marina showing off his boat to a prospective buyer when he heard an angry remark about something looking amiss The next thing he knew he d been shot he d later tell police from a hospital bed The bullet struck Johnson in the neck on the afternoon of Oct but it didn t kill him right away He d survive for another three years paralyzed from the neck down until succumbing from his injuries in The suspected shooter Charles Chucky Whitlatch was well known to police it turned out A Contra Costa Sheriff s deputy who patrolled the area knew him by his blue and white houseboat adorned with skull decals But after the shooting he allegedly fled to Idaho where he was arrested on attempted murder charges court records show Now Whitlatch has resolved his occurrence pleading no contest to voluntary manslaughter of Johnson court records show On Nov he is scheduled to be sentenced to years in state prison prosecutors commented Leadership say that Johnson identified Whitlatch from his hospital bed in Santa Clara County where he spent the rest of his life after the shooting His interview was painstaking he had limited ability to talk and had to mouth words or shake his head yes or no But Johnson reported police that as he was showing off his boat Whitlatch became angry about someone having moved or touched something on the vessel Johnson declared he hardly had time to process the words before Chucky shot him according to court records Johnson remained awake after being shot but stated urgency responders that he couldn t feel anything below his neck bureaucrats explained Johnson died on July officials announced Prosecutors increased his charges from attempted murder to murder but later ended up dropping the murder charge as part of a plea deal court records show In addition to Johnson s death another eyewitness to the shooting died in further complicating the prosecution administration announced Until his sentencing Whitlatch is being housed in the Contra Costa jail system without bail records show