Murder Charges Filed in Slaying of Deputy Aguirre

As Ventura County prosecutors formally charged the alleged killer of Ventura County Sheriff’s Deputy Peter John Aguirre Jr. with murder, officials made final plans Friday to bury the slain deputy in the town where he grew up.

Meanwhile, the public defender representing murder suspect Michael Raymond Johnson portrayed him as an emotionallytroubled Army veteran whose long criminal career may have been triggered by his experiences as a soldier in Vietnam.

Thousands of people are expected to attend Aguirre’s funeral Mass Monday morning at Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Henderson Road in Ventura, as well as his burial at Santa Paula Cemetery.

The 26-year-old deputy, who was born and raised in Santa Paula, was shot to death Wednesday at a house in Meiners Oaks while responding to a domestic dispute call.

“He’ll be buried with full department honors,” said Lt. Bruce Hansen, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Department. “We still have to cover our responsibilities and beats, but you better believe there will be a turnout.”

The funeral Mass is set to begin 10:30 a.m. with the burial at the cemetery to follow, said Father Daniel O’Sullivan, the parish priest at Sacred Heart Church. The funeral procession will head down Wells Road and along California 126 to Santa Paula.

In addition to Monday’s ceremonies, a prayer service and rosary is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

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While the details of the funeral were being planned, Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Frawley filed an eight-page felony complaint charging the 48-year-old Johnson with first-degree murder and four other felonies, including spousal rape.

Frawley would not comment on how he would pursue the case against Johnson, who has a criminal history dating back 28 years. The arraignment of Johnson, who was shot in the upper body by a sheriff’s deputy after Aguirre’s shooting, was delayed until Aug. 2 while the alleged gunman recovers.

The murder complaint, which includes a special-circumstance clause enabling prosecutors to seek the death penalty against Johnson, states that he “did willfully, unlawfully, and with malice aforethought murder Deputy Sheriff Peter Aguirre.”

Johnson allegedly shot and killed Aguirre on Wednesday evening after the deputy responded to a call at a house in Meiners Oaks that Johnson sometimes shared with his estranged wife. Johnson was then shot in the rib cage in an ensuing gun battle.

After undergoing surgery late Thursday to drain blood from his lungs, Johnson was listed in fair condition Friday and is expected to recover fully from his wounds, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Along with the first-degree murder charges, prosecutors charged Johnson with attempted murder for trying to shoot Deputy James Fryhoff, one of the three other officers at the scene with Aguirre.

Johnson is also charged with kidnapping his estranged wife, holding her hostage and raping her. Finally, prosecutors are charging Johnson, a convicted felon, with using a gun in the commission of a crime. He allegedly emerged from his house naked firing two semiautomatic handguns after shooting Aguirre.

Since 1968, Johnson has served time in state and federal prisons for selling drugs, burglary, armed robbery and other crimes in at least three states.

Deputy Public Defender Christina Briles, who is representing Johnson, said her client knows he may be facing the death penalty.

“He certainly understands the gravity of this offense,” Briles said. “He feels horrible about what happened, absolutely horrible.”

Briles said Johnson is a Vietnam veteran who has struggled with alcoholism and mental problems for many years.

“He definitely was not the same when he returned from Vietnam and was discharged from the Army in ‘68,” she said.

Briles would not specify what Johnson’s problems have been, but said his mental condition would become an issue in the case.

“I think part of this was his unconscious desire to do himself in . . . to end his own life,” Briles said.

“There’s no question that his state of mind at the time was not of a rational person and it had nothing to do with drugs or alcohol,” she said.

She said Johnson’s estranged wife, parents and brother all wanted to visit him in the hospital, but have not been allowed to do so.

“They completely support him,” Briles said. “They also expressed a lot of remorse and sympathy for Aguirre’s family.”

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According to friends, Johnson had been trying to turn his life around in recent years, volunteering at a halfway house for people with drug and alcohol problems and taking college courses to become a counselor to substance abusers.

He also told friends that he was eager to reconcile with his estranged wife and that he quit his job at the halfway house with the intent of spending more time with his family.