Posted on 01/10/2007 9:57:44 AM PST by DCBryan1
Schoolyard killer of ’98 is arrested over pistol
BY MICHELLE BRADFORD AND KENNETH HEARD ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
One of the two convicted killers in the 1998 school shootings near Jonesboro was arrested in Fayetteville earlier this month with marijuana and a loaded gun, Washington County sheriff’s deputies said.
Mitchell Scott Johnson, 22, was arrested on New Year’s Day while riding in a van with his roommate, Justin Trammell, 22, who was convicted in Benton County for killing his father in 1999 with a crossbow.
Sheriff’s Cpl. Jak Kimball said a deputy spotted Trammell weaving down Gregg Avenue in Fayetteville in a Ford van about 8 p.m. and stopped the vehicle.
The deputy smelled marijuana as he approached the driver’s window, and Johnson gave his consent to a search of the van, Kimball said.
The deputy found a plastic bag containing about 21 grams of marijuana in a pocket in Johnson’s jeans, arrest reports state.
Johnson told the deputy there was a loaded gun in the van. The deputy found a 9mm semiautomatic pistol in the back of the van, reports state.
Johnson was arrested on misdemeanor charges of possessing a controlled substance and carrying a prohibited weapon. He was released on $1,000 bond and is set for arraignment Jan. 26.
Kimball said Johnson would have had to have a concealedweapon permit to have the gun in the vehicle. Trammell was cited for careless driving and was not arrested. He is also due in court Jan. 26.
Johnson and Trammell share an apartment at 2918 N. Gregg Ave. in Fayetteville and neither is employed, reports state. Johnson listed Trammell as his “brother” on a jail records.
The two served sentences in the Alexander Youth Services Center at the same time in 2000 and 2001. “They hired me six days ago,” attorney Doug Norwood of Rogers said Tuesday. “They came into the office together, but I can’t tell you anything they said.”
Johnson was 13 when he and Andrew Golden shot and killed a teacher and four students at Westside Middle School near Jonesboro on March 24, 1998. Golden was 11 at the time.
Johnson was 14 on Aug. 11, 1998, when he was found guilty of five counts of capital murder in the juvenile division of Craighead County Circuit Court. Andrew Golden was 12.
Both were sentenced to the state Youth Services Division’s Alexander lockup until they turned 21. In 1998, Arkansas did not have a facility in which to hold such offenders when they turned 18.
Then-Gov. Mike Huckabee promised to convert another holding facility to incarcerate the two for the additional three years. Instead, both were charged in federal court for bringing weapons onto a school campus.
Johnson was transported to a federal facility in Memphis, where he was released Aug. 11, 2005. Golden remains in an unknown location and will be released May 25, when he turns 21.
Because both were adjudicated as juveniles, their criminal records are cleared once they are released. “The state of Arkansas has nothing on him,” said Craighead County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Mike Walden, who helped prosecute Johnson and Golden during their 1998 trial. “Mitchell is starting over with a clean slate. The state has no control over him anymore.”
Brent Davis of Jonesboro, prosecuting attorney of the 2nd Judicial District, which includes Craighead County, said Johnson probably will be fined for the misdemeanor offenses.
“As far as the state shows, he has no previous criminal record,” Davis said. “Under state law, he could legally carry a handgun.”
Johnson has visited Jonesboro at least once since his release, Davis said.
Trammell pleaded guilty in June 2000 to first-degree murder for the Sept. 26, 1999, killing of Mike Trammell of Bentonville.
Trammell was the first youth in Arkansas convicted under the Extended Juvenile Adjudication Act. The law allows for combined juvenile and adult sentences upon conviction of those younger than 18. It was passed in response to the Jonesboro school shootings.
A judge released Trammell in October 2002 when he turned 18 and placed him on three years’ probation. Trammell’s probation was revoked in November 2004 after he was arrested on a count of public intoxication behind a nightclub on Dickson Street in Fayetteville. He was returned to custody of the Youth Services Division and was released July 4, 2005.
Fayetteville police Sgt. Shannon Gabbard said Tuesday that officers were called to “stand by” at Trammell’s Gregg Avenue apartment in December while his mother removed some property.
Marcie Vickers told police she was retrieving furniture and a shotgun from her son’s home and wanted police there for security, Gabbard said.
Vickers removed the property without incident, Gabbard said. She could not be reached by phone Tuesday for comment.
Jerks got just a few years in juvie, and then the anti-gun liberals tried to blame the father who collected WWII and Korean war semi-autos.
Yup, few years in a Juvie sure straightened this kid out..
We need less 'gun control' and more 'psycho-homicidal maniac control'.
What was he even doing out?
He should have gotten life no parole OR strapped on that gurney for what he did.
Kid or no kid.
get rid of the juvenile justice system in toto and try everyone as an adult.
I'm sick and tired of kids getting coddled.
if I recall correctly, and keep in mind at my age I don't remember what I had for breakfast this morning, libs wanted juvie time so he could be "rehabilitated"..
To Hades with rehabilitation.
The purpose should be PUNISHMENT only.
And put kids in jails with adults?
Yep--looks like it worked, too...[/sarc]
Let me get this straight.
Two guys are riding in a vehicle with marijuana and a gun. One of them was guilty of the infamous Arkansas school yard murders and the other was convicted of murdering his father with a cross bow. Two convicted murderers both loose on the streets and running around together. Am I reading this correctly?
Birds of a feather?
No. Put them in juvie prison until they become adults, then tranfer them to adult prison.
But do it carefully, as not to hurt their widdle feelings.
No, No,No....They mean "recycled"... throw his white trash self in the blue bin, wash him off, and release to the environment for further use.
There was no choice in the matter as that is what state law allowed for.
I lived in Jonesboro from '99 to '04. Good people.
AState ping. Got my BS and MS from there.
You're right - good people....
Hold in mind, this was towards the beginning of when we started having these sprees. I believe the law changed after this happened specifically because of these two boys. But, they couldn't sentence the kids based on laws that were changed after the fact.
I think they would be charged as an adult if the same thing were to happen today.
Someday people will have the good sense to make all juvenile court records open to the public.
Call it a hunch, but I expect to see these weasels names again splattered across the news media sometime in the near future, likely for doing something far worse than the time before. Hopefully they'll meet their demise before that happens.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.