Fugitive sought for Ontario robbery captured
By Andy Gates - Argus Observer
Thursday, March 22, 2007 1:03 PM PDT
ONTARIO - Seven months of rough sleeping and work-day worries ended Wednesday for one local salesman who was robbed and assaulted in August by a man who police say is a fugitive from Idaho.
The fugitive, Michael Albert Johnson, 55, Eagle, was arrested March 5 in Socorro County, N.M., according to a March 8 press release from the Idaho Department of Corrections.
The arrest brings a measure of relief to Larry Lynch, 62, an employee of Ontario’s Home Furnishing Liquidators in Ontario.
“I feel a lot better...I never knew if he’d pop up again,” Lynch said Wednesday.
Lynch was attacked and robbed by a man presumed to be a customer at the Home Furnishing Liquidators who wielded a 3-inch-long saw-blade Aug. 15 around 6 p.m., Ontario Police Department Capt. Mark Alexander said after the incident.
Lynch attempted to fight back and a lengthy struggle ensued between the two men but ended when the robber fled the store on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash, Alexander said. Lynch said he was jumped from behind and fought for his life during the incident. The attacker was unknown to Lynch. Lynch said his attacker smelled like pungent body odor.
Lynch’s injuries did not require immediate hospitalization, police said.
Based on witness statements, Ontario police named Johnson as a “person of interest,” after the incident.
Johnson — who was serving a minimum sentence of four years at the South Idaho Correctional Institution, Community Work Center — escaped Aug. 15 from a work crew on Pleasant Valley Road, south of Boise, law enforcement officials said.
Johnson was incarcerated in 2005 in Idaho on charges of burglary and grand theft by receiving stolen goods, according to the Ada County Clerk’s Office. At the time of his escape Johnson was working as a driver and transporting other offenders to and from work sites in the community.
He was reported missing after he failed to complete a work site pickup, according to the IDC release, and the 15-passenger Ford van Johnson was driving was later located at a Caldwell truck stop one day after he disappeared.
Warrants were issued by the Malheur County Circuit Court Sept. 18 for Lynch’s arrest on charges of first degree robbery, coercion, theft and fourth degree assault, Malheur County Undersheriff Brian Wolfe said. New Mexico State Police found Johnson earlier this month sleeping in a car with weapons and fake identification, according to the IDC release, and he was arrested and taken to the Socorro County Detention Center, which is in the central part of the state.
A jail official said Wednesday that Johnson is still in custody in Socorro County, and he is being held without bond, but he should be extradited soon to Idaho.
Johnson will likely face an escape charge in Idaho, according to the IDC release. Johnson will also have to face his three felony and misdemeanor charges issued out of Oregon, Malheur County Deputy District Attorney Erin Landis said Wednesday.
After the attack Lynch said, “I just want to know when he gets caught. It would help me sleep.”
Wednesday, Lynch said he will now sleep better.
“I was wondering if they were going to catch that sucker,” Lynch said, “I’m glad he’s put back behind bars where he belongs.”
No Dhimmi wrote on Aug 14, 2009 9:38 PM:
And this isn't "racist," because Islam is not a race, anymore than Communism or Nazism are races, both of which killed far fewer people than Islam.
Disgusting. "