Man sentenced for killing female friend

A judge denied Johnson's attempt to withdraw a guilty plea.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A man charged in the Oct. 23, 2005, punching death of a female friend after an argument in his residence has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court imposed the sentence on Lee Johnson Jr., 34, of Samuel Avenue, who pleaded guilty Sept. 19 to involuntary manslaughter in the death of Regina Miller, 28, of Forestview Avenue.
The judge, who called Johnson's lengthy and violent criminal record disgusting, imposed the maximum sentence for involuntary manslaughter as recommended by the prosecutor's office. Johnson originally had been charged with murder, for which he could have been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.
"Maybe he didn't intend to cause her death by punching her in the face, but he caused her death," Judge Krichbaum told Johnson's lawyer, Thomas E. Zena. "I don't like giving him as little as 10 years for this."
Motion overruled
Before imposing the sentence Friday, Judge Krichbaum overruled Johnson's motion to withdraw his guilty plea. Zena told the judge that Johnson was seeking to withdraw his plea because DNA evidence had been found on the victim, but not tested, and because Johnson was under the influence of medication when he entered his plea.
Zena also said messages on the cell phone Johnson had when he entered the county jail and statements from a woman who was with Johnson earlier the night Miller died could shed new light on the case.
But Martin P. Desmond, assistant county prosecutor, said Johnson had known about all of the potential items of evidence Zena described when he entered his plea.
Judge Krichbaum said Johnson had effective representation by two lawyers and more than 10 months to contemplate his plea before entering into the plea agreement.
Johnson told the judge he wanted to go to trial to prove his innocence, but the judge told him it would be the prosecution's burden in a trial to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Mother removed
During the hearing, Judge Krichbaum ordered Johnson's mother, Betty Johnson of Ohio Avenue, to be quiet, then ordered her to be removed from the courtroom after she began talking without his authorization. After she continued speaking out of turn, he ordered deputy sheriffs to arrest her.
But, after Betty Johnson said she was upset and apologized during a contempt-of-court hearing that followed her son's sentencing, Judge Krichbaum accepted her apology and ordered her to be released without imposing any punishment.
After the sentencing, Desmond explained that a murder charge means purposely causing someone's death. An involuntary manslaughter charge means that, because of a crime, such as an assault, someone died. Internal bleeding caused Miller's death, but her skull was not fractured, Desmond added.
milliken@vindy.com