‘No one is above the law,’ New Mexico D.A. warns on anniversary of deadly ‘Rust’ shooting
A New Mexico district attorney wants to make an example of a man who allegedly shot six people to death last year in a town in the western United States known for its vast network of ghost roads.
Eric Johnson, who is in his 40s, was charged with murder after the six people were killed on July 5, 2018, near Las Vegas, Nevada.
Las Vegas police said that Johnson is accused of being the gunman who targeted them at a country music festival after he drove away from the scene. He was arrested after the incident but later released on a $100,000 bond.
On Thursday, Johnson will stand trial, having pleaded not guilty on September 30. During an April 25, 2019, court hearing, the district attorney said he was planning to seek the death penalty.
‘A lot of people in my office have asked me if it would actually happen,’ New Mexico District Attorney Donny Youngblood said to the New Orleans Times-Picayune. ‘We’ve never had somebody who has had such blatant disregard for human life.’
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The district attorney in New Mexico has accused Eric Johnson of killing six people in Las Vegas in July 2018. His supporters have said all his charges are ‘just rhetoric’
Johnson, who is in his 40s, was charged with five counts of murder, one count of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of being an habitual felony offender.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. District Attorney Donny Youngblood said Johnson is ‘a monster’ who ‘killed people because he thought they were going to rob him or harm him’.
Johnson’s supporters have said that his case is ‘just rhetoric’ and that he was released from prison only because of the good behavior he showed in prison. He’s been back in jail since September 29, 2019, when police said he killed another man in a domestic violence incident that police had not been able to solve.
‘There’s a lot of people in my office who have asked me if it would actually happen,’ Youngblood said, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune. ‘We have never had somebody who has had such blatant disregard for human life.’
Police have said they were able to use GPS to track Johnson to a casino, where they found the black Nissan sedan where Johnson allegedly shot into cars and the victims