As allegations swirl, why is the Ray County prosecuting attorney staying silent? | Opinion

Criminal justice officials in Ray County have been under the microscope this year. In March, Ray County Sheriff Scott Childers was stripped of his duties and placed on administrative leave. Now, Camille Johnston, prosecuting attorney for the county, has been accused of serious allegations of malfeasance.

The allegations include: interfering with a felony sexual assault investigation involving a former lover, making a death threat against a former Ray County sheriff’s deputy, abuse of power, conspiracy to commit assault against a former lover and unlawfully destroying sensitive documents.

Surprisingly, Johnston still hasn’t publicly refuted the claims made against her weeks ago.

These and other allegations were made in an ethics complaint sent to Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey in March by private investigator Jim Murray. Oddly enough, the Childers scandal was happening around the same time this complaint was filed.

Murray is a contractor hired by Steven Coronado, an attorney representing Ray County in two separate and unrelated workplace lawsuits filed against the Ray County Sheriff’s Office.

While doing that, Murray was made aware of rape allegations made against Johnston’s former boyfriend, Juan-David Gutierrez. He worked the Gutierrez case for free, Murray told me.

In the complaint, Murray outlined several instances of potential criminal and unethical behavior on Johnston’s part. While these claims are merely allegations, they must be taken seriously.

Several messages I left with Johnston over the course of the last three weeks were not returned. Johnston’s prolonged silence is as deafening as it is shocking.

Murray also reported the information to Ray County Presiding Commissioner Billy Gaines. Based on this information, Gaines said he has little confidence in Johnston’s ability to administer justice.

“If someone in that position helps a person escape after knowing they have committed a crime, they cannot be trusted with the safety of the residents of Ray County,” Gaines wrote in an email.

Outside investigation of grievances needed

Murray’s complaint lists at least seven grievances against Johnston that should be investigated by an outside party. The people of Ray County must call on Bailey to launch an official inquiry into these claims.

Madeline Sieren, a spokeswoman for Bailey’s office, declined to confirm or deny the AG’s office was investigating the Ray County Prosecutor’s Office.

“Unfortunately, I cannot comment on this matter at this time,” Sieren wrote in an email.

In the complaint, among the more egregious acts Murray claims Johnston committed was threatening a former law enforcement official.

“Sometime in early 2021 Miss Johnston threatened to cause bodily harm or death to a former Ray County Sheriff’s Deputy by blowing his head off,” Murray wrote.

Murray, of Jefferson City, also accuses Johnston of admitting she knew her ex-lover “made threats to harm or murder one or more residents of Ray County, Missouri and took no action to report these threats or protect the potential victims of this crime,” he wrote in the complaint.

Murray wrote that he has evidence to prove Johnston unlawfully allowed a third party to remove sensitive documents from the prosecutor’s office, including defendants’ criminal history, in order to shred them.

The third party “unlawfully removed said documents, took them to a farm in Ray County, Missouri and attempted to burn them rather than properly dispose of these documents,” he wrote.

According to Murray, “Johnston abused her powers of office by attempting to violate the probation provisions of a party who was the current girlfriend of another male who had been in a previous intimate relationship with Miss Johnston.”

He also claimed she illegally evicted Gutierrez, her former lover, from her residence “in order to preserve her personal reputation and avoid embarrassment as a public official,” Murray wrote in the complaint.

Murray said he did have a telephone conversation with Johnston in June 2022 where she defended herself against some of the accusations. She’d be better served offering the same defense publicly.

Private investigator supports suspended sheriff

It must be noted that Murray is an ardent supporter of suspended Ray County Sheriff Scott Childers, one of Johnston’s most fierce political rivals, according to Murray. He wants Bailey to deploy the same legal maneuver against Johnston that Bailey used against the sheriff to temporarily remove him from office.

Called a quo warranto, Bailey used the same process against former St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, a Democrat who resigned under pressure in May 2023. According to Bailey, Gardner failed to effectively prosecute crimes in that city.

In Ray County, Bailey accused Childers of unlawfully allowing prisoners to leave jail and run amok by smuggling drugs, alcohol and other contraband into the county jail, The Star reported in April. According to The Star’s report, a judge later stripped Childers of his duties. He has been on paid administrative leave since.

Bailey, a Republican candidate for attorney general, is no stranger in trying to remove public officials from office. He has used quo warranto at least four times since taking office in January 2023, according to The Star.

If it is ultimately proven that Johnston obstructed justice as alleged, Bailey must act. As a county prosecutor, Johnston’s actions must be beyond reproach.

Gave truck to sexual assault suspect?

The alleged infractions against Johnston include an accusation that she helped former lover Juan-David Gutierrez evade authorities investigating sexual assault claims against him.

“Miss Johnston willfully and intentionally obstructed justice by aiding a Paramour who is accused of committing rape and attempted forcible sodomy while living under the roof and sharing a residence with Miss Johnston,” Murray wrote in the complaint to Bailey.

In Murray’s complaint, he continued: “After aiding her former Paramour, who stood accused of a violent felony, in fleeing the jurisdiction, Miss Johnston transferred ownership of a 2005 Ford F150 to her former Paramour with an under-valued sale price in order to further assist him in avoiding sales tax and defraud the state where it is currently registered in the name of her former Paramour, who stands accused of a felony in the state of Missouri.”

Further in the complaint, Murray wrote that he can “provide evidence and show-cause that Ray County Prosecuting Attorney Camille Alexandria Johnston has violated her oath of office and participated in criminal and unethical activity between 2018 and the date of this filing by the following actions either admitted to by the prosecuting attorney herself or documented through an existing paper trail and/or witness statements.”

When asked if he could share with me the evidence that proves these claims, Murray declined. He’ll give the proper authorities the evidence if asked, he said. So far, Bailey’s office has yet to request said evidence from him, Murray told me.

Prosecutor not answering questions

More than two weeks have passed since The Excelsior Springs Standard newspaper first broke the story about Johnston’s possible illegal activity. If any aspect of what Standard investigative reporter Miranda Jamison reported isn’t true, Johnston, Ray County’s highest paid elected official according to documents on file with the state auditor’s office, should come out and say so. She owes the people of Ray County, about 45 miles northeast of Kansas City, at least that much.

The Standard report also included accusations that Johnston sold Gutierrez a truck below its market value to defraud the state of sales tax revenue. But accusations that Johnston may have helped Gutierrez — Johnston’s alleged former live-in boyfriend, according to The Standard — elude law enforcement officials while under investigation for allegedly sexually assaulting two women in separate incidents in 2018 and 2019 are much more alarming.

The report and Murray’s complaints raise serious concerns about Johnston’s ability to do her job impartially and fairly.

None of what I write here is intended to be an indictment of Johnston before all of the facts are known. My hope is eventually the truth will surface. But if I were in her position, I’d scream to high heaven that I’d done nothing wrong.

So far, we haven’t heard a peep from Johnston since this story broke May 16. Why she has yet to publicly deny these serious allegations defies logic. She is an elected official. Anything less than a public claim of innocence should concern all of us.

Before and after the Memorial Day weekend, I reached out to Johnston’s office for comment. Three times, I left messages with office assistants but neither were returned. Last week, not only did I send direct messages to Johnston’s personal and campaign Facebook pages, but I also left a voicemail message on her mobile phone.

As of this writing, I had yet to hear back from Johnston.

Did prosecutor obstruct justice?

In April, Gutierrez was charged in Ray County Circuit Court with one count of first-degree sodomy or attempted sodomy and one count of second-degree sodomy. The same day, a warrant was issued for Guiterrez’s arrest. He was arrested April 3 in Toledo, Ohio, according to online court records.

On April 24, Gutierrez pleaded not guilty to the charges before Eighth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Joseph Donald McGaugh, according to court records. Guiterrez is being held in Caldwell County Detention Center on a $100,000-cash only bond, according to online court records. A preliminary hearing was set for June 7 in Ray County. He is presumed innocent.

When contacted recently, defense attorney Michael Santschi politely declined to comment.

“I have nothing to say,” Santschi said.

The Missouri attorney general’s office is prosecuting this case, not Johnston. The investigating agency is listed as the Missouri State Highway Patrol, according to court documents. Messages left with Missouri Assistant Attorney General Tristin M. Estep, lead prosecutor on the case, were not returned either.

What is known: In August 2019, Gutierrez allegedly grabbed the unnamed victim by the head and forcibly pulled it towards his exposed penis, according to a criminal complaint filed against him.

During the same incident, Gutierrez allegedly shoved his hands down the front of the victim’s pants and inserted his fingers into the victim without permission, court records indicate.

At this point, there are more questions than answers. For instance, why did it take almost five years to bring charges against Gutierrez? And what role, if any, did Johnston play in helping him remain free all this time?

For Johnston, silence should no longer be an option.