By GREG MOORE and MATT FURBER
Express Staff Writers
The Wood River Valley's generally peaceful demeanor has been shaken recently by a relatively high number of violent crimes. The year 2005 saw two important criminal trials and the perpetration of more violence.
One of the most brutal crimes in the valley's history was resolved on March 16, when 18-year-old Sarah M. Johnson was convicted of murdering her parents, Diane and Alan Johnson, in their Bellevue home.
Following a seven-week trial, local sentiment seemed nearly unanimous in its agreement with the Ada County jury's verdict. Prosecutors had alleged that Johnson had shot her parents with a hunting rifle stored at the home, and had been motivated by their disapproval of her romantic relationship with Bruno Santos, a 19-year-old undocumented man from Mexico.
Johnson was sentenced on June 30 to two life terms without the possibility of parole. However, the sentence brought little satisfaction to Johnson's relatives, who expressed frustration with her lack of remorse and refusal to confess. They had been hoping for an explanation.
"I feel she would do it again today, only she would do better planning. She would try to get away with it," said Johnson's brother, Matt Johnson.
Johnson's attorneys appealed her conviction. A hearing on the appeal before the Idaho Supreme Court has not yet been scheduled.
On March 4, Sun Valley Suns hockey fans were appalled to watch a vicious beating administered by rookie Neil Ford, 27, to a Siskiyou Summits player. Witnesses said Ford hit the opposing player in the face seven or eight times while he was lying on the ice. Ford was fired from the team and charged with aggravated battery.
Ford pleaded guilty to the charge in May. He was sentenced to 180 days in jail, all suspended, and ordered to perform 48 hours of community service. He was also ordered to pay $6,000 in restitution to the victim, Colton Allen. Allen stated to the court that due to the psychological effects of the beating, he had not returned to the game of hockey.
Ford told the court that the rule among hockey players is that once you get into a fight, you keep hitting your opponent until the referee stops you, and no referee came to stop him.
On April 8, 5th District Judge Robert Elgee sentenced Bellevue resident David Santistevan, 47, to 35 years in prison, with 22 years fixed, for the attempted murders of two Bellevue teens. Prosecutors had contended that Santistevan had shot the two youths with a handgun in March 2004 when they angered him by riding an ATV on Bellevue's streets. Santistevan sought leniency from Judge Elgee in December, but the request for a lighter sentence was denied.
A bizarre crime was unveiled in early August when Twin Falls resident Cheryl Wise, 24, was charged with vehicular manslaughter for allegedly intentionally causing a head-on collision on Highway 93 near Carey that killed two people. Prosecutors contended that Wise was trying to kill herself by re-creating an accident that had occurred nearby three days earlier and had killed a man with whom she had been romantically involved.
The charges were later elevated to second-degree murder, but then reduced back to vehicular manslaughter when Wise agreed to plead guilty to the lesser charges on Nov. 16. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 13, 2006.
On Sept. 18, Jerome resident Cesar Rojas, 21, was charged with two counts of attempted murder for inflicting multiple stab wounds on his estranged wife and her boyfriend following an argument at their Hailey apartment. Rojas pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated battery on Nov. 28. He is scheduled for sentencing on Jan. 27, 2006.
Hailey resident Juan Martinez, 20, was charged with aggravated battery after he and two female juvenile acquaintances allegedly lured a 22-year-old Hailey man to a remote spot in Democrat Gulch on Oct. 12 and beat him with brass knuckles. Martinez allegedly had a grudge against the victim because a car Martinez had bought from him had been repossessed.
A trial on the charge is set for Feb. 2, 2006.
And to cap the year off, Ketchum experienced its first-modern day armed robbery Monday, Dec. 26, when a robber grabbed the till at Gerry's Market on Warm Springs Road, according to police.
A man in work clothes who had his face covered allegedly held up store manager Brian Picht at gunpoint.
"He told the clerk he was armed, the clerk hesitated and the guy just got antsy and knocked everything over and just took the cash box," said Ketchum Assistant Police Chief Mike McNeil.
"I wasn't working. I came to help (Picht) clean up right afterwards," said Tanner Allen, the assistant manager. "I think he made off with less than $200."
Convicted Bellevue murder Sarah M. Johnson is flanked by her defense attorneys as she sentenced on June 30 to two life terms without the possibility of parole for murdering her parents, Diane and Alan Johnson, in their Bellevue home in 2003. Photo by Willy Cook
