Prosecutors closed their case in Shaun Johnson’s vehicular assault retrial Thursday by saying her defense attorney was doing nothing but trying to sow mistrust and doubt of law enforcement in her case.
Senior Deputy Prosecutor Kasey Vu said the key fact in dispute is whether Johnson was under the influence of methamphetamine when her car veered off the road and struck Battle Ground teenager Justin Carey on June 10, 2013. The then-16-year-old was waiting for the school bus alongside Northeast 82nd Avenue in Battle Ground. Carey’s injuries later led to the amputation of his lower right leg.
“For the rest of his life, he won’t have a leg. He will deal with this for the rest of his life,” Vu said.
Johnson’s defense attorney, Shon Bogar, questioned why the Clark County sheriff’s deputy who responded to the crash didn’t notice signs of drug use and initiate a DUI investigation. He also argued that a drug recognition expert who spoke with Johnson at the hospital didn’t follow protocol in determining if she was under the influence.
“Because there was nothing to notice,” Bogar said. “Every crash is not a crime. Absent intoxication, this is a civil case.”
Vu argued that a motorist who stopped to help Johnson after the crash observed signs of methamphetamine use. Johnson was reportedly jittery, skittish, paranoid and had trouble focusing. The drug recognition expert also recognized signs of drug use hours after the crash; her behavior didn’t match what would be expected of someone on pain medication, he said.
Johnson told detectives she had used methamphetamine two days prior. And her blood, drawn seven hours after the crash, later tested positive for methamphetamine. Vu said the evidence shows Johnson used methamphetamine within hours of the crash based on the concentration in her blood.
But the evidence doesn’t add up, Bogar argued.
Pain medication was missing from Johnson’s blood test, which should have been present, he said. And the chain of custody of her blood after it was drawn was unclear. He implied the blood that was tested wasn’t his client’s.
The case went to the jury late Thursday afternoon, and the jury will continue deliberating today.
