John Hickey Johnson
LAKE HAVASU CITY – Police Chief Troy Stirling has an election day date with attorneys handling the case of a former Lake Havasu City police detective charged with crimes involving the department’s evidence room and theft of funds earmarked for undercover investigations.
Yavapai County prosecutor Nathan Best, formerly of the Mohave County Attorney’s Office, and defense attorney Jaimye Ashley addressed the court during a Friday status conference in the long-pending case against John Hickey Johnson, 54. They told Superior Court Judge Lee Jantzen they’ll be meeting in Kingman Tuesday to pour over a large volume of evidence, sparking new energy in a case that has lagged and lingered for years.
Johnson was indicted in April 2016 for 48 felony offenses including forgery, fraud and theft. He was a 16-year veteran when he resigned from the Lake Havasu City Police Department (LHCPD) and moved to Charleston, Massachusetts. Known as “JJ” in the community, Johnson was accused of removing illegal drugs from the evidence room and stealing nearly $5,000 of undercover funds.
Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith handed the case off to Yavapai County due to conflicts associated with his office handling the matter, given its involvement with Johnson and the LHCPD.
Best was recently assigned the case and informed Judge Jantzen that Chief Stirling will serve as the “case agent” and will be present when he and Ashley look through three banker boxes of evidence. Ashley said there are at least 4,000 pages of discovery and lots of recorded interviews to review.
“He’s coming with massive amounts of boxes of stuff,” Ashley said of Best “We’re going to go through it.”
Judge Jantzen welcomed news that the dormant case gains fresh attention.
“I’m happy to hear of this new approach,” Jantzen said. “Hopefully, this is the start of moving forward.”
Ashley said printers and flash drives will be used to copy and store information and interviews during the Tuesday meeting so that disclosure can be completed. Best said he and Ashley through the exercise should be in better position going forward to contemplate a plea deal resolution or taking the case to trial.
Judge Jantzen scheduled a Jan. 24, 2025 hearing for attorneys to provide a status report.
Dave Hawkins
