Johnson Claims Self Defense

39 comments on this post so far. Add yours!

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  Cindy_H on December 28 at 10:34 p.m.

  You can also read more here: http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/sirens/2009/dec/28/shooting-suspect-claims-self-defense/

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  spokelooneh on December 28 at 10:49 p.m.

  Well that fills in a couple more blanks of the hundreds that are missing.

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  coeurgenx on December 28 at 10:51 p.m.

  Damm, I just dont get bringing a gun to downtown. Makes me think the guy I thought I knew around town wasn’t what he portrayed!

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  JIMMYMAC on December 28 at 10:58 p.m.

  crazy crazy stuff. I recommend everyone read both the story above and the link supplied by Cindy. This thing has had as many holes as swiss cheese and they are slowly beginning to getting filled but still many questions to it. I’m gonna sit the sidelines before drawing any more conclusions but being pushed vs. beaten half dead have me pondering.

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  eagleeye on December 28 at 11:07 p.m.

  So it is eight vs one. Adam is threatened. Pulls a gun and tells them to stop twice. They keep coming. He feels threatened and fires. Then additional shots are fired while he is getting the crap beat out of him and he is on his stomach. And this is attempted murder? No way! Is Adam innocent? No. But neither is the Moses Lake group. I hope Adam gets a quality defense.

  And getting bounced from the Torch Lounge for inappropriate behavior with the dancers? This story just keeps getting stranger!

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  spokelooneh on December 28 at 11:12 p.m.

  According to the reports, Johnson’s getting a Public Defender. High quality, I’m sure.

  With a $500k bail, he’s gonna have to come up with $50k to bail out. That would have gone quite a ways towards competent counsel. My guess is he’s ruined, and it’ll be a miracle if his company survives.

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  IdahoDad on December 28 at 11:27 p.m.

  Sounds like assault with a deadly weapon. He’ll probably get a few years for it.

  Just think, if he had climbed into his car and run them over in the street, he’d get 30 days like Donte Stallworth!

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  zelda on December 28 at 11:30 p.m.

  >>Johnson told police he always wore the gun unloaded in the front of his waist with no holster, according to police reports. <<

  Oh, sure. Just your standard everyday business attire — wallet, Blackberry, gun plainly visible behind your belt buckle, single bullet in shirt pocket just in case. I think this guy used Sean Combs as his CEO role model. It’s all about having an attitude and being a hustler. Speaks highly of the caliber (pun intended) of the PF Chamber of Commerce, too.

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  IdahoDad on December 28 at 11:36 p.m.

  This is why Andy never let Barney load his gun.

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  spokelooneh on December 28 at 11:40 p.m.

  Meghann, from your reading of the FULL police report, how did Johnson get the injuries he suffered?

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  IdahoDream on December 29 at 6:22 a.m.

  As a “CEO” and founder of (Convertec Corporation) youd think one would be able to post bail, 50 g’s. Thats pocket change for most CEO’s in America. Next Stop, Cottonwood!

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  hmoffsuite on December 29 at 6:44 a.m.

  >> “Thats pocket change for most CEO’s in America.”

  That is a common perception. Unfortunately, not always the case. Small business CEOs are no different than many individuals. Often, a business owner will put all of his assets on the line to pursue his dream and have less available assets than a guy working for another and receiving a salary or wages.

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  nic on December 29 at 8:38 a.m.

  Of course the 8 guys are going to all say that he shot first and they beat the carp out of him in self defense. If the truth is they tackled first and he shot in self defence, they’d all be charged with assualt and or battery.

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  Smacky on December 29 at 8:51 a.m.

  Carp? Now this really is becoming a fish story.

  It would be reasonable for a person to feel threatened when outnumber 8 to 1, especially considering that words were exchanged previously, but I’ll hold off judgment until all the facts are on the table.

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  idawa on December 29 at 9:00 a.m.

  Do none of these business have cameras trained on their front door/parking lots? While I’m usually against the invasion of privacy, they sure help clear up the confusion in cases like these …

  btw, when did Cd’A become such a skeezy town? I don’t remember a lot of people being shot or beaten into a comas growing up there …

• 

  Lizard_People on December 29 at 9:08 a.m.

  In fact, it sounds kind of like “stop or I’ll shoot” then “He can’t shoot all of us, get ‘em!”.. I think the actual quote read like “if you’re gonna shoot, do it!”

  It’s a drunken kind of bravado that makes a mob feel impervious to bullets, because the individual feels like he has only an eighth of a chance of getting hit.

  I though one comment on the cdapress was fairly astute.. no cda jury is going to convict a local in these circumstances.

  Also, from what i’ve seen, the public defenders office here is a few notches better than the norm… why is that, I wonder? Perhaps because this is a desireable place to live, and good lawyers are willing to take less pay to practice here? That’s all i can think of..

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  Fixer on December 29 at 9:09 a.m.

  “’I did what I was trained,’ Adam M. Johnson told police, according to court documents filed Monday.”

  Trained by whom? I can’t recall any of the military or civilian firearms training courses I’ve taken that advocated taking my pistol out drinking with me.

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  nic on December 29 at 9:15 a.m.

  Just a thought (and perhaps I’ve been watching too many procedural crime shows) but the investigators should be looking at entrance wounds and angles of shots.

  In my completely non-expert opinion, if a grown man is standing and shoots into a crowd the wounds should all be chest level shots. But the two “victims” where shot in the stomach and shoulder. That (in my mind) would be more consistent with someone firing up from the ground. What about the car (?) that was hit? Where was it hit? Was it close to the ground? How close was the shooter to the two guys that got shot? Is there evidence that the shooter was dragged from where the shots were fired to make it appear that he shot from a greater distance?

  So many questions.

  I’m going to now dig through my DVR to see if I’ve got any episodes of CSI left.

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  keithincda on December 29 at 9:27 a.m.

  Nic>>>”But the two “victims” where shot in the stomach and shoulder.”

  I thought it was the stomach and the knee?

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  Phaedrus on December 29 at 9:38 a.m.

  idawa, the only businesses in that vicinity that I think might have cameras are the two banks, Wells Fargo and US Bank, on the east side of third street. Don’t know if their field of view would be wide enough to include the area in front of The Painter’s Chair Gallery, where the altercation took place.

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  Phaedrus on December 29 at 9:39 a.m.

  keithincda, I believe I read in one of the reports, “below the left patella”

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  nic on December 29 at 9:52 a.m.

  @Keith, RE: I thought it was the stomach and the knee?

  You’re right… my bad. Stomach and knee… supports my hypothesis even better.

• 

  Sisyphus on December 29 at 10:35 a.m.

  The laws of self defense are guranteed in the procedure Title 19 chapters 201-205

  http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/idstat/Title19/T19CH2.htm

  These are kinda vague so I think I’m missing something. Somebody yesterday posted a provision that seemed more accurate.

  While hopefully this won’t be applicable, the law on justifiable homicide is here.

  http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/idstat/Title18/T18CH40SECT18-4009.htm

  but its qualified by this statute:

  http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/idstat/Title18/T18CH40SECT18-4010.htm

  It also discusses excusable homicide:

  http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/idstat/Title18/T18CH40SECT18-4012.htm

  Go play lawyer.

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  MamaJD on December 29 at 10:38 a.m.

  You would think that the “training” he received would also include how to properly holster a weapon instead of shoving in the waistband of your pants when going to a club.

• 

  Cabbage Boy on December 29 at 10:39 a.m.

  But mamajd, perhaps his “trainer” was Plaxico Burress…

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  Sisyphus on December 29 at 11:40 a.m.

  Mama that is a glaring fact against his claim of responsible gun ownership and use. That and having it while clubbing. Its reminiscent of the football player who shot himself in the nightclub. Still no word of whether he was drinking himself, is there? I’m thinking he was probably drinking which violates the concealed weapons permit.

• 

  Bent on December 29 at 11:47 a.m.

  Hey Sis, did you read the link Cindy provided to Meghann’s Sirens and Gavel blog? She points out Johnson’s justification for shooting Burgess and how he insisted a that police officer would have done the same in that situation… It would be interesting to get you take on that…

• 

  Sisyphus on December 29 at 12:16 p.m.

  Thanks for your confidence but I’m hardly an expert having never worked in law enforcement other than as a court law clerk drafting opinions. Idawa works in the area and would know more. I did read that link.

  My take is that this is going to be a protracted court battle on whether this constitutes self defense. There are different rules applicable for police officers discharging weapons. He doesn’t get the benefit of those rules and its a mistake for him to rely on them. In fact his repeated assertions of self defense and ‘responsible gun ownership’, when he shoved the thing in his belt while barhopping, almost make it sound like he was looking for a fight as well. He could be overplaying this card. His girlfriend’s testimony is pretty damning. As is often the case the question comes down to lawful self defense or vigilante.

  One thing missing from these facts is WHEN he shoved the gun in his belt. Did he have it all night or did he get it after the initial encounter? They say he ‘always’ carries a gun like that. But if he went back to pick it up, he’s hosed.

  From these facts it would seem the jury has some hard choices to make. I wouldn’t want to be on it.

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  eagleeye on December 29 at 12:23 p.m.

  Sis,
  Adam is known to carry a concealed weapon most of the time so I would speculate that he had it on him the entire evening.

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  poolman on December 29 at 12:53 p.m.

  I thought that same thing when I read what the girlfriend said. That was brutal. With friends like that who needs enemies.

  I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to Mrs. C. Wood for a post I made yesterday that mildly criticized the initial CPD report. It seemed a little speculative early on, now it is looking more accurate all the time. Not only is she easy on the eyes - she is very good at her job! New Year’s resolution #1 - try to stop being an arm chair quarterback and leave the investigative work to the professionals. :-) I’m off the case…

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  idawa on December 29 at 1:06 p.m.

  if the facts were the he felt threatened, was pushed and then, in response, took a couple of steps back, unholstered (or, reached into his pants), and then fired - then, no, based on what officer shootings I’ve worked on, that is not what a trained officer should do - not that you couldn’t work that fact pattern into a workable defense, but it wouldn’t be as easy as you would think.

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  Phaedrus on December 29 at 1:13 p.m.

  Was Adam carrying around a gun with a round chambered (dangerous)? If not, when did he chamber the round? After he was pushed, or when he first saw the group?

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  Sisyphus on December 29 at 1:16 p.m.

  I think the report said he chambered it during the confrontation. But I don’t recall whether it was before or after the push.

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  spokelooneh on December 29 at 1:39 p.m.

  Given his fixation with (justified) shootings by law enforcement personnel, sounds like he may fancy himself as a LEO surrogate. Don’t think the cops, the law, or a jury will look upon that very favorably.

  It’s not exactly clear in any of the published reports, but it appears he had the options of “fight or flight” and CHOSE to fight, employing deadly force, unnecessarily, and illegally.

  Not exactly how sure how bail works, but I think he has to come with 10% or $50k in cash, and has to pledge assets like his house for example, worth $500k. Would be surprised if he’s got that kind of scratch.

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  JIMMYMAC on December 29 at 3:18 p.m.

  I can’t find anything to indicate that he has a house (at least not in his name) on Kootenai County GIS site.

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  Kage_Mann on December 29 at 3:30 p.m.

  This story is very sad to me, because this young man has practically thrown his life away. He over-reacted and he lost his cool IMO. Just walk away from bullies and idiotic asshats; it takes a man to do that.

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  Sisyphus on December 29 at 3:44 p.m.

  “Given his fixation with (justified) shootings by law enforcement personnel, sounds like he may fancy himself as a LEO surrogate. Don’t think the cops, the law, or a jury will look upon that very favorably.”—this is the most trouble I have with the matter so far. From the reports, Adam seemed preoccupied with the opportunity to use the weapon. I’m worried this case may explode into an NRA righteous indignation rally.

  Kage, I’m a thinking all should have stood down. I’m still not sure Adam didn’t do the right thing under the circumstances. I wonder what he thinks right now.

• 

  spokelooneh on December 29 at 3:53 p.m.

  “I’m worried this case may explode into an NRA righteous indignation rally”

  It’s already happening in the tubes over at the Mess.

  “
  cdaguy1 wrote on Dec 29, 2009 8:53 AM:
  ” Adam your friends are standing by you, we all know this was self defense! Keep your head up and in time the truth will come out.

  Anyone notice that it seems like all the witnesses to the actual initial events were the group from Moses Lake? Of course they’re going to blame him to protect their own group of thugs.

  “Better to be tried by 12 than carried by 6”

  Free Adam Johnson! ”“

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  Kage_Mann on December 29 at 4:05 p.m.

  “Kage, I’m a thinking all should have stood down. I’m still not sure Adam didn’t do the right thing under the circumstances. I wonder what he thinks right now”.

  Sis, I don’t see anything in which, Adam really faced a life or death situation; where force (gun) would be justified. I think he gets 10 years for attempted murder. He’s lucky he’s not facing murder charges, as the guy recuperating in Seattle will probably live.I read an article in the CDA Press about this story today.

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