Jury: Johnson guilty of murder

PALMER — A jury has found Spencer Johnson guilty of second-degree murder, according to attorney familiar with the case.

Johnson, 21, was charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder intending serious injury, second-degree murder by extreme indifference and second-degree felony murder, manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and two counts of first-degree burglary.

The state accused Johnson of cutting the throat of Michael Plummer March 7, 2012, during an altercation over a truck and the whereabouts of Spencer Johnson’s stepmother Holly Johnson.

Andrew Johnson, husband of Holly and father to Spencer is presently serving a 15-year sentence after pleading guilty in connection with the incident, though he is seeking to withdraw that plea after claiming coercion.

The prosecution has argued that Spencer Johnson killed Plummer in an amped-up state. The defense has argued that Spencer Johnson killed Plummer over concerns that he was supplying drugs to Holly Johnson.

Johnson testified in court that she was using drugs even while answering question from police, though an investigating officer testified he saw no evidence of her immediate drug use.

Jessica Smith, Plummer’s fiancée, maintains the family who owned the house were simply innocent bystanders who became unwitting victims in a domestic dispute after providing shelter to Holly Johnson.

Smith was arrested and compelled to testify in the trial.

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Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269 or brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.