An Ohio woman will spend at least the next 16 years in prison after a New Year’s Eve grudge turned into a drive-by shooting that left a random partygoer with a bullet in his stomach.
Olivia Clendenin received her sentence last week following a February conviction for attempted murder, felonious assault, and discharging a firearm into a habitation.
The incident began during the early hours of January 1, 2024, at a house party in Clearcreek Township. Investigators say Clendenin became enraged after seeing her estranged husband and her new boyfriend socializing together at the gathering.
After leaving the party in a heated state, she returned around 5:00 a.m. behind the wheel of her mother’s 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
“She drove through the front yard and fired shots toward the house,” a Clearcreek Township police sergeant told reporters following the attack.
One of those bullets struck 29-year-old Daniel Johnson, who was simply standing on the porch. Johnson, who had no involvement in the domestic dispute, survived the shot to his abdomen but told the court his life has been permanently altered.
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“I had been invited over and was sitting on the porch minding my business,” Johnson said during the sentencing. “The defendant was attempting to shoot at someone else, and I was the one who ended up being shot. In that moment, my life changed for reasons that have nothing to do with me.”
After the gunfire, Clendenin attempted to flee the scene but lost control of the Jeep, slamming into a guardrail and a utility pole. Officers arrested her at the site of the crash. While she initially pleaded not guilty and was out on electronic monitoring pending trial, a Warren County jury ultimately found her guilty on all counts.
Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell noted the irony of the timing in a statement to WXIX.
“Clendenin may have started 2025 as a free person, but will spend the rest of 2026 and at a minimum the decade thereafter incarcerated,” Fornshell said, noting she nearly killed an innocent victim while targeting her romantic interests.
Before being led away to begin her 16-to-20-year sentence, Clendenin addressed the court and her victim. She maintained that she cares deeply for her family and her business, adding, “To Daniel, I am very, very glad that he is well after a difficult time he has been through, and I truly hope that he has a great future.”
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