Frederick Johnson, 40, and his one-time girlfriend, Brandi Lynn Watson, 27, both of Wallace Street S.E., are being tried together in the courtroom of Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Peter Kontos
Frederick Johnson, 40, and his one-time girlfriend, Brandi Lynn Watson, 27, both of Wallace Street S.E., are being tried together in the courtroom of Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Peter Kontos. A jury of four men and eight women were seated Tuesday.
Assistant county prosecutor Chris Becker, who is up against defense attorneys for each of the defendants, said although agents with Trumbull Ashtabula Group Law Enforcement Task Force already were investigating Johnson and Watson, it was a high speed chase through Warren on Jan. 16, 2010, that broke the case open.
Becker said TAG agents had two places under surveillance and were following a car carrying both defendants, a .40 caliber Glock pistol, nearly 400 grams of heroin and 4.5 ounces of cocaine when the chase started through the east side, sometimes reaching speeds of 70 mph and sometimes with cars jumping curbs onto a sidewalk.
At one point on Porter Street N.E., Becker said, the car driven by Johnson rammed an undercover car driven by Deputy Dave Hoover, who is expected to testify during the trial.
The drugs and the gun were thrown out of the car and later recovered by police, and both suspects escaped from the vehicle on Belvedere Avenue, running in different directions, Becker said. Watson was arrested later that night in a garage on Atlantic Street and Johnson turned himself into his parole officer in Liberty within a couple days.
Becker said Kenneth Cook, a mechanic who had borrowed money from Johnson to start a business and who has pleaded guilty to a drug charge and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, will also testify.
But the first witness, Tom Stewart, who described himself as a former user who was working odd jobs as a contractor at the time, told jurors he observed drug activity at a car wash on West Market Street where he was working. He also saw similar activity at a repair shop that Cook ran and attributed the activity to Johnson and Watson.
Stewart said his father - a major with the Sheriff's Office - warned him to stay away from any drug activity since he was a former user. Stewart said his father put him in touch with Detective Rick Tackett, who works with TAG and who is serving as the lead investigator in the case.
Watson's attorney, Jeff Limbian, and Johnson's attorney, Mark Lavelle, both portrayed Stewart and Cook as associates of their clients who are now pointing fingers at them.
''How tough is it to point fingers at Fred Johnson because he happens to be from Detroit and has a prior conviction?'' Lavelle said.
