Johnson defense points to boyfriend
Santos Dominguez held as witness and on drugs charge
By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer
They?ve been hinting for weeks, but on Thursday, Nov. 4, defense attorneys for Sarah Johnson came out and said it. They may argue at trial that the teenager?s former boyfriend, Bruno Santos Dominguez, had something to do with the early-morning murders of Johnson?s parents on Sept. 2, 2003, in Bellevue.
?We have always been surprised that this case turned so quickly away from Santos to Sarah,? said Johnson?s public defender, Bob Pangburn. ?We believe that someone who is involved in drug dealing may well be involved in other things, or have access to people who have access.
?He has committed crimes recently, and we have evidence he has the proclivity to do more. We also have evidence part of his previous record has been purged.?
But Blaine County Prosecuting Attorney Jim Thomas quickly countered.
?We conducted eight weeks of investigations, and there was not one shred of evidence that said Santos was involved,? Thomas said.
Johnson?s pending Feb. 1 murder trial experienced some interesting twists in the last two weeks, and they revolved primarily around Santos Dominguez, who was arrested Oct. 30 on felony drug possession charges when he was allegedly found with about a half ounce of methamphetamine during a routine traffic stop.
Santos Dominguez, an illegal alien who was permitted to return to the United States to testify in Johnson?s trial, is being held in the Blaine County Jail on a $10,000 bond, as well as a $150,000 bond pursuant to Idaho Code Rule 46.1. The rule states that ?if it appears?that the testimony of a person is material in any criminal proceedings and if it is shown that it may become impracticable to secure the person?s presence by subpoena for a hearing or trial,? a bond may be set.
After being deported in September 2003, Santos Dominguez was brought back to the United States from Mexico under special permission from the Department of Homeland Security. Thomas and Blaine County Sheriff Walt Femling were charged with monitoring his activities.
Thomas said in court Thursday that neither he nor Femling are willing to vouch for Santos Dominguez any longer.
?It?s now become apparent that myself and the sheriff?s office cannot supervise Mr. Santos? activities 24-7,? Thomas said. ?We can?t say with confidence to Homeland Security that he doesn?t pose a risk to this country because of his drug involvement.?
Santos Dominguez?s attorney, Doug Werth, attempted to argue the point, but 5th District Judge Barry Wood was unflinching. Because Immigration officials are in the process of placing an immigration retainer on the witness, he would very likely be deported again if he were released from jail.
?I can tell you that from my experience in other counties, people in the United States who are not citizens who commit crimes are frequently removed, irrespective of how they were here to start with,? Wood said.
Johnson, 17, is charged with the Sept. 2, 2003 murders of her parents, Alan Johnson, 46, and Diane Johnson, 52. At an Oct. 30, 2003, press conference, authorities said they believe the then-16-year-old acted out of revenge when her parents forbid her from seeing Santos Dominguez, who at the age of 19 was Johnson?s fiancé.
Santos was deported to Mexico on Sept. 12 but as a result of the murder investigation he was brought back to testify, first as part of the grand jury proceeding that indicted Johnson.
Femling said Santos Dominguez is not considered a suspect or conspirator in the murders but was one of five ?people of interest? previously under investigation. He is also an integral part of the suspected motive for the murders.
Sarah Johnson did not return home on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 29 and 30, 2003, and her parents eventually found her at her fiancé?s apartment, Femling said.
?They discovered that she had become engaged to him on Friday night,? Femling said. ?As the family dealt with this over the weekend, one of the resolutions was to get law enforcement involved. We believe that this incident, that she was about to lose her boyfriend, was a contributing factor.?
In two days of hearings Nov. 4 and Nov. 8, attorneys prosecuting and defending the Johnson case covered a lot of ground.
They continued to argue for and against a defense motion contending that police interviews with Johnson that occurred between Sept. 2, 2003, the day of her parents? murders, and her Oct. 29 arrest should not be admissible during the trial because her right to an attorney was violated and because she was drugged up on sleeping pills, called Ambien, at the time.
But Boise Psychologist Robert Engle said it would be ?remarkable? for a person to conduct themselves in an interview while on that drug.
?It is very strong and very fast acting,? he said.
