Deputies from two states take the stand as Johnson trial continues

Law enforcement described a high speed chase and a crime scene that suggested a violent struggle during the second day of the State of Nebraska vs. Craig Johnson trial.

Johnson, 48, is charged with first-degree murder, a class IA felony, use of a weapon to commit a felony, a class II felony, possession of a deadly weapon by a felon, a class III felony and habitual criminality for the Dec. 11, 2011 death of 42-year-old April Smith.

At the time of the victim’s death, Smith and Johnson shared an apartment at Sioux Meadows eight miles west of Sidney.

State witness Brian Eads, an investigator with the Nebraska State Patrol, testified about his involvement with the investigation into Smith’s death. Eads claimed there were no signs of break in at Smith’s apartment.

At the time of her death, Smith was wearing jewelry including rings, a bracelet and a watch. Smith’s purse and keys were visible and undisturbed. There was no indication of sexual assault, he added.

Eads claimed he found evidence of a struggle in almost every room of the house. There were droplets of blood on the floor and on objects in many rooms, in addition to clumps of hair and broken press-on fingernails throughout the apartment, he said.

When Smith’s body was found in her living room Dec. 12, 2011, her hands and feet were bound.

“The hands were tied in a fashion that was actually binding the hands together,” Eads said. The feet were tied to allow some movement, in Eads’ opinion, with a length of rope between the ankles.

Law enforcement discovered many injuries.

“On further examination of Mrs. Smith’s body, we were able to observe what appeared to be a knife wound to her abdomen,” Eads said.

Additional injuries included ligatures on her neck, a knife wound on her hand and ruptured capillaries in her neck. Investigators found blood on a knife in the kitchen sink as well as a cell phone in the kitchen trash can.

There was another trash bag placed on top of the trash with blood on it, Eads told the court.

“It appeared to me it had the imprint of a human face in the actual trash bag,” Eads said.

Eads found two bottles prescribed to Smith for Hydrocodone in the bedroom. He did not find anything he thought indicated she was involved in any illegal drug trade. Eads, who in the past investigated illegal use of prescription drugs, said hydrocodone is a very addictive narcotic. Even those with a prescription can become addicted and some people do sell their prescription pills to others, he added.

“Pills like that go anywhere from $5-$20 a pill,” Eads said.

Eads acknowledged that it was normal for a person to hide a drug addition from family.

After Johnson was apprehended in Michigan, Eads and Chief Deputy Fred Wiedeburg with the Cheyenne County Sheriff’s Office traveled to Michigan to bring Johnson and the van he fled in back to Cheyenne County.

Upon arriving in Michigan, the two executed a search warrant of Johnson’s body. Johnson was compliant during removal of material under the nails on his left hand, but not so with the right, Eads said. Johnson told them they would need to make him bleed to continue, Eads told the court.

Then, according to the witness, Johnson began to dig under his right nails and discard the material on the floor. Law enforcement restrained Johnson and continued. Eads admitted that it can be difficult to get fingernail scrapings if the person has short nails, but never heard anyone complain that it was painful.

Law enforcement did obtain material from eight of Johnson’s fingernails without Johnson removing material first.

Johnson reportedly told Eads he wasn’t eating and wanted to die. Johnson expressed concern about his own safety many times during the trip to Sidney, Eads said. Johnson also reportedly told Eads that dope would play a part in the investigation.

Eads claimed most of the time when he hears the term “dope” on the street, it refers to methamphetamine.

The investigator did not recall noticing any injuries to Johnson’s body.

On questioning from defense, Eads agreed that the natural response to being choked would be to fight back. Although someone being choked would most likely fight for their life, they would only do so if they could, he said. Bound hands would inhibit this.

“Obviously, it greatly limits the ability of the person to defend themselves,” Eads said.

He also admitted there was no way to tell at what point during the crime Smith’s hands and feet were bound. Ryan Speidel then testified that in the early morning hours of Dec. 15, 2011, while he was a deputy at the Jackson County, Michigan, Sheriff’s Office, he attempted to make a routine traffic stop on the white minivan Johnson was driving. The vehicle complied and pulled over and Speidel got out of his car.

At that point Johnson sped off in the van, Speidel informed the court.

“The white van actually accelerated back into traffic,” he said.

Speidel claimed that he pursued the vehicle for around 15 minutes and that he lost sight of the van a few times when the van’s headlights were turned off. He estimated that he was traveling faster than 100 mph during the chase and that the vehicle seemed to be pulling away from him.

The van was finally stopped with spike strips and was then impounded and searched. Although the South Dakota plates on the vehicle didn’t match the van, the Nebraska plates found inside the vehicle did match its registration. When he ran the Nebraska plates, Speidel learned that the vehicle and its driver were wanted in connection with a homicide.

During booking, Johnson made an unusual answer to a question about his address, Speidel said.

“He yelled at me, ‘What do you want from me? I’m wanted for murder?’” Speidel said.

David Drendel also testified for the prosecution. Drendel was attending school at Iowa State in Dec. 2011 and was on his way back from college to his family’s home in Illinois. He ran into Johnson who he’d never met before at a gas station in Iowa.

Johnson pulled up while Drendel was pumping gas and asked for help, the witness claimed.

“In our conversation he said he was having relationship issues,” Drendel said.

Johnson also mentioned he had screwed up, but was trying to fix it and became emotional, Drendel added.

Drendel bought some gas for Johnson after Johnson claimed he was on his way to a job in Illinois, according to the testimony.

“I wanted to help someone out for the holiday season,” Drendel said.

Drendel told the court he did not notice any injuries to Johnson’s face or hands at the time.

Testimony continues on Thursday as the trial enters its third day. Proceedings are expected to extend through next week.