LAKE HAVASU CITY – There are new setbacks in the decade-old case against a former Lake Havasu City police detective accused of criminal activity associated with his previous employment as a law enforcement officer.
Mohave County Superior Court Judge Lee Jantzen has vacated the Feb. 23 final management conference and the April 7 trial involving John Hickey Johnson, 53.
Many of the offenses were allegedly committed years before Johnson was named in a 48-count indictment in 2016. He is accused of forgery, fraud, theft and drug transfer crimes involving removal of drugs and undercover investigation cash from the Lake Havasu City Police Department (LHCPD) evidence room.
Johnson attorney Jaimye Ashley informed the court during a Feb. 20 hearing that neither she nor the state will be ready for the April trial. Ashley indicated that she and prosecutor Nathan Best were greatly surprised when they met at the LHCPD to view evidence to prepare for trial last year.
Ashley said that there’s need to process, scan and catalog thousands of pages of documents stored in a large double-bin banker’s box of files.
“There’s absolutely no way I’ll be ready for trial,” Ashley told Judge Jantzen. “We have nothing but basically an indictment, so we’re starting at square one.”
While a number of prosecutors and defense attorneys have come and gone during case pendency, the Johnson matter will now transition to Judge Jantzen’s successor, Court Commissioner Ryan Esplin. Jantzen is retiring on April 30 and his cases are being assigned to Esplin.
“I did not want to pass this off to another judge,” Jantzen said, noting he had hoped to complete the trial before his bench exit. He noted that the county has made progress in completing criminal cases more timely fashion – for the most part.
“This case stands out like a Redwood in the forest, as an aberration,” Jantzen said. He scheduled a May 15 status hearing on Esplin’s court calendar.
Jantzen told Johnson in an April 2025 hearing that he faced 48 to 189 years in prison if convicted of all counts at trial. During the same hearing Best conceded that his plea agreement offer specified a 2- to 5-year prison term, given issues with the state’s case.
Johnson received court permission years ago to relocate and reside in the Boston area. He’s allowed to appear for hearings electronically, though he’ll be required to return to Arizona to enter a plea agreement or stand trial.
