Johnson coming back to N.M.

Suspect in triple murder appears in court in El Paso

By Natasha Kaye Johnson
Pilot-Independent

GALLUP — Michael Johnson, 27, will be transported to Albuquerque from El Paso by U.S. Marshall Services within the next few days, where the dates for his trial are still pending.

"We're just waiting until he gets delivered to Albuquerque," said Bill Elwell, special agent and media representative for the FBI in Albuquerque.

Johnson was apprehended in Mexico on Dec. 23, more than a year after he fled from the area. Johnson is a primary suspect in the murders of Vicki Benally, 26, Lars Yazzie, 18, and Bobby Wayne Fulton, 22, on Nov. 7, 2005 in Hogback, N.M.

Al Patino, supervisory deputy for the U.S. Marshall Service in El Paso, said that Johnson should be transported to Albuquerque within the next couple of days, after the agency receives finalized court orders.

Johnson had a standard identity hearing Wednesday at a federal magistrate in El Paso, Texas. His initial appearance was on Dec. 26 in El Paso. Patino said Johnson will be transferred under high security, and will most likely be relayed to the Las Cruses Marshall Service, which will then transport him to Albuquerque.

On Dec. 2, 2005, Johnson was indicted by a federal grand jury in Albuquerque for first-degree murder, use of a firearm during a crime of violence, distribution of a controlled substance, use of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, and aiding and abetting. A federal warrant was issued for his arrest by the U.S. District Court, District of New Mexico.

Johnson was also featured on "America's Most Wanted," where the FBI announced a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to his arrest.

Johnson, as well as Eugina Renee Cowboy, 23, Robert Darcy Manus, 23, and Chuck Custer Nahkai, 30, were previously charged with violations of Title 18, United States Code Sections 1153 and 1111. Cowboy, Manus, and Nahkai are awaiting trial in New Mexico Federal Court with regard to the murder charges.

Over the past year, special agents of the FBI's Albuquerque and El Paso divisions, and the FBI's legal attach in Mexico City, worked together to locate Johnson, who was suspected of fleeing to Mexico shortly after the murders. Johnson was taken into custody by Mexican law enforcement authorities and transferred to the custody of FBI's El Paso Violent Crimes Task Force. The details of his arrest in Mexico could not be released.

Several individuals, including Johnson's girlfriend, Nashena Johnson, were questioned numerous times about Johnson's whereabouts, but officials said no individuals have charges pending related to assisting a criminal, or obstructing justice. Elwell said the office could not confirm whether the guns used in the murders belonged to the Navajo Nation Public Safety Department.