Last 2 Suspects in Cult Slayings Are Captured

The two remaining members of a religious cult sought in the ritualistic slayings of an Ohio family of five were arrested Wednesday as they drove north on a remote highway in eastern San Diego County, authorities said.

Kathryn Renee Johnson, 36, and Daniel David Kraft, 25, were stopped by local and state authorities on California 79 north of Santa Ysabel, according to April Freud, a spokesman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Johnson and Kraft were the last of 13 cult members to be arrested in connection with the killings of Dennis and Cheryl Avery and their three young daughters at a farm near Kirtland, Ohio, a Cleveland suburb. The cult’s leader, Jeffrey D. Lundgren; his wife, Alice, and a son, Damon, were arrested Sunday in National City, where they had been living in a motel.

The Averys--Dennis, 49; his wife, Cheryl, 42, and their daughters, Trina, 13; Rebecca, 9, and Karen, 5--were identified as one-time followers of Lundgren, who in 1988 had declared himself the prophet of his own religion. The Averys’ bodies were found last week, buried in a barn. The faces of all five were bound with duct tape, and each had been shot at least twice.

Since then, federal authorities have conducted a national manhunt for the 13 cult members who have been indicted for murder. And, since Sunday, when the Lundgrens were arrested, authorities have focused their search on the San Diego area. In recent days, they distributed to the media photographs of Johnson and Kraft, as well as a description of their vehicle.

It was that vehicle--a blue Nissan pickup truck with a camper shell--that caught the eye of Lt. Jim Sims of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. About 2 p.m., Sims saw Johnson and Kraft as they drove east on California 78 from Ramona to Santa Ysabel, where the suspects turned north on California 79.

Because Sims was driving an unmarked car, he decided a car with sirens and flashing lights was better-equipped to stop the suspects, so he radioed for help. CHP Officer Harry Jones, who was southbound on the California 79, overheard the Sims’ request on his police scanner and soon saw the suspects’ truck coming toward him, with Sims following.

Jones made a U-turn and pulled in behind Sims’ car. Jones was unable to establish radio communication with Sims, so he used the public address system on his CHP cruiser to ask if Sims wanted him to intervene--an announcement that the suspects could certainly hear as well. When Sims indicated yes, Jones put on his red light and the truck pulled over near Epei Hill Road north of Santa Ysabel, Jones said.

Jones said he and Sims approached the truck with their guns drawn, Jones on the driver’s side and Sims on the passenger side.

Asked for his driver’s license, Kraft said he didn’t have one and “gave me a bogus name,” said Jones, adding that Johnson sat in the passenger’s side and “didn’t say a word.”

“There was camping equipment and so forth in the camper, and two great big voluminous Bibles on the front seat,” Jones said.

While the two officers talked to Johnson and Kraft, more sheriff’s deputies arrived. One of the newly arrived deputies, Keith McClanahan, identified Johnson and Kraft from photos, and he and Jones then arrested them, Deputy Lorraine Truitt, a Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman, said. Truitt said Johnson and Kraft “offered no resistance. They were cooperative and unarmed.”

The pair was taken to the sheriff’s substation in Julian, where they were held until federal agents arrived and, at 5:05 p.m., led Johnson and Kraft away in separate cars. Expressionless, neither had any comment for reporters as they were driven away.

Later, when they arrived at the Federal Building in San Diego for interrogation, the pair again refused to answer as reporters called out questions.

According to ATF Agent Jim Stathes, Kraft had attempted to disguise the pickup, which had Missouri license plates, by painting it a darker color with a brush. After the stop, the pair gave their consent for a search of the vehicle, but no weapons or anything of consequence was found, Stathes said.

Apparently, Johnson and Kraft had been camping in the brush along Mesa Grande Road, on the edge of Cleveland National Forest, since Sunday, Stathes said. They were arrested about 6 miles from the campsite, which was being searched by agents Wednesday evening. He speculated that the pair had checked out of a Chula Vista motel Sunday after learning of the Lundgrens’ arrests. They had been at the motel for about four days.

The law enforcement net had begun tightening around Johnson and Kraft Tuesday, when federal agents tracked them to the motel. On Tuesday, the motel manager had called ATF agents and told them that a suspicious couple had abandoned a room over the weekend. The room had been paid for through Sunday, but they disappeared without taking several personal items, Stathes said.

When ATF agents searched the room Wednesday, they found two powerful hunting rifles, a .375 magnum Winchester and a .50-caliber Winchester rifle. Religious books, clothing and camping gear were also recovered, and Stathes said documents were found in the room indicating that Johnson had been there.

Agents staked out the motel for two days and abandoned the surveillance a few hours before the fugitives’ capture.

On Wednesday, Stathes said that investigators were still trying to learn what brought the cult members to San Diego. The only theory that investigators have is that cult leader Jeffrey Lundgren was stationed here about 15 years ago while in the Navy, Stathes said.

Times staff writer Ray Tessler contributed to this article.