In the latest installment of Only in Lubbock, a deadly Easter Sunday shootout that left two men dead and another seriously injured has finally produced a legal outcome—sort of. Johnny Bermea Jr. pleaded guilty to Attempt to Commit Deadly Conduct by Discharging a Firearm and walked away with two years of deferred adjudication. That’s right: a gunfight so intense it lasted about two minutes and ended lives has now been gently placed in the “we’ll circle back later” pile.
The shooting happened in April 2024 in the 1900 block of 36th Street, where families were gathered for an Easter egg hunt—because nothing says “He is risen” like a crossfire. Court documents say Bermea Jr. went to confront someone with a group of family members after an earlier altercation. Words were exchanged, fists were apparently thrown, and then—shockingly—guns came out.
Once the shooting started, it didn’t exactly de-escalate. Family members reportedly returned fire, bullets flew for roughly two minutes, and multiple people were hit. Johnny Bermea Sr. and Jeremy Bermea were taken to University Medical Center and later died. Jose Lopez survived but suffered serious injuries. Cars on the block were damaged, and children were present throughout this entirely preventable chaos.
Despite the scale of the violence—and the fact that this all unfolded around kids hunting Easter eggs—the legal system has opted for a light touch for at least one participant. Meanwhile, other co-defendants are still waiting for depositions, so the rest of this saga is apparently being released in episodes.
Two people dead, kids in the line of fire, and the takeaway is “don’t mess up again for two years”—because if there’s one thing Lubbock loves, it’s calling something “isolated” and moving right along, right?
https://www.everythinglubbock.com/news/local-news/bermea-jr-pleads-guilty/