Printable Version

Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Michigan man charged in shooting on state border

MARINETTE, Wis. (AP) — A Michigan man was charged today with three counts of first-degree intentional homicide in the shooting deaths of three teens at a river on the Wisconsin-Michigan border.

Authorities say Scott J. Johnson, 38, of Kingsford, Mich., went to the Menominee River in northern Wisconsin on July 31 and opened fire on a group of swimmers, killing three and injuring one. All four victims were from Michigan.

Marinette County District Attorney Brent DeBord is handling the case since the shots were fired from the Wisconsin side of the river. He announced the charges today and said Michigan authorities still are investigating and could file charges as well.

Christopher Ninomiya, the district attorney in Michigan’s Dickinson County, did not immediately return a message left today for comment.

Johnson faces live in prison without parole if convicted. Wisconsin does not have the death penalty.

His public defender Len Kachinsky said he plans to meet with him before a court hearing Thursday. He said he could not comment on the case before then.

“I think people should maintain an open mind and withhold judgment until the evidence is in,” Kachinsky said.

The public defender said he was not concerned that Johnson was held for nearly a week before charges were filed, as his client is unlikely to make whatever bail is set.

Teens from Johnson’s neighborhood have said they saw him regularly at the East Kingsford Bridge, where he generally kept to himself. The bridge marks a popular swimming hold near Niagara on the Menominee River, which forms Wisconsin’s border with Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

On July 31, Johnson emerged from the woods in camouflage clothes and, without a word, fired an undetermined number of shots from a military-type rifle, according to a criminal complaint.

All the shots were fired from the Wisconsin side of the river, according to Scott Celello, the undersheriff in Dickinson County, Mich. Johnson shot and killed two teens at close range and a third on the Michigan bank about 80 yards away, investigators have said.

A fourth person, a 20-year-old man, was treated at the scene for a shrapnel wound.

“They were all fleeing the scene when they were struck,” Celello said.

Johnson surrendered Friday after an all-night manhunt.

Authorities haven’t speculated on a motive or said whether they suspect a link between the shooting and accusations Johnson sexually assaulted a woman at the river the day before.

But Johnson’s mother has said he may have “freaked” last week after he found out police wanted to speak to him, perhaps regarding the sexual assault allegations. Judy Johnson said he left the house about two hours before the shooting, unarmed and wearing a green T-shirt and dark shorts. She speculated that he had camouflage clothes and a weapon stashed somewhere.

Judy Johnson said her son was honorably discharged in 1994 without serving overseas and has been unemployed. She described him as despondent since his wife took their children and left him in 2001.