Judge Orders Murder Trial in Deputy’s Slaying in Meiners Oaks

A former drug counselor accused of killing a Ventura County sheriff’s deputy in July must stand trial on first-degree murder charges, a judge decided Tuesday in a ruling that exposes the defendant to the death penalty.

Ending a weeklong preliminary hearing, Municipal Judge Edward Brodie ruled that ample evidence suggests that Michael Raymond Johnson killed Deputy Peter J. Aguirre four months ago in Meiners Oaks.

Brodie also ruled that Johnson, a 49-year-old Ventura resident, should be tried on kidnapping and spousal rape charges for allegedly abducting and sexually assaulting his wife hours before the shooting.

And Brodie said Johnson should also face an attempted murder charge for allegedly firing at another deputy after running naked from his wife’s Meiners Oaks house with two guns blazing.

In a final blow to the defense, the judge found two special allegations that Johnson killed an on-duty police officer and committed a kidnapping during the commission of a murder to be true.

That finding makes Johnson eligible for the death penalty, although prosecutors said they have not decided whether to ask for it.

Although defense attorneys argued that Johnson suffers from a delusional disorder and was not in his right mind when the shooting occurred, Brodie said that prosecutors presented “damning evidence of premeditation and deliberation.”

During the hearing, Johnson sat perfectly still in a stylish gray suit as the judge announced his ruling. Johnson’s face showed no expression as bailiffs walked him out of the courtroom.

He is scheduled for arraignment on the charges in Superior Court on Dec. 10. His trial is expected to start in mid-March.

Members of Aguirre’s family, who attended every day of the hearing, hugged and smiled after the judge’s ruling. They have asked the district attorney to seek the death penalty, prosecutors said.

“They are very intensely involved,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Frawley said outside the courtroom. “It is very gratifying for them to have the process move along.”

It has been more than four months since Aguirre was fatally shot while responding to a domestic disturbance call at the Meiners Oaks home of Johnson’s estranged wife.

The 26-year-old deputy was shot twice in the chest after walking into the tiny house on Encinal Avenue. He was then shot again in the head at close range in what prosecutors have described as an “execution-style killing.”

In his closing arguments, Frawley said that physical evidence shows that Johnson shot Aguirre three times, the last time with the muzzle of his gun six to 24 inches away from the deputy’s forehead.

During the seven-day preliminary hearing--held in Municipal Court to determine whether a defendant should face trial--Deputy Public Defender Todd Howeth criticized the actions of Aguirre and other deputies who responded to the house.

Howeth said that deputies improperly entered the yard and the house, violated the occupants’ rights to privacy and failed to announce themselves as law enforcement officials.

“It is our position that Deputy Aguirre did not comply with the law,” Howeth argued.

Although he did not dispute that Johnson shot Aguirre, Howeth took issue with prosecutors’ theories on how the shooting occurred. He suggested that his client suffers from a lingering mental illness that contributed to his “bizarre, crazy behavior.”

In his closing remarks, Howeth argued that prosecutors failed to prove that a kidnapping had occurred. He suggested that there was no rape, but rather consensual sex between Johnson and his wife.

But Deputy Dist. Atty. Maeve Fox argued that “the evidence is very clear that [Johnson’s wife] did not consent.”