Boone County prosecutor defends recent record in lengthy response to Choi
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Boone County Prosecutor Roger Johnson defended his recent record in a lengthy email he sent Thursday afternoon to University of Missouri System President Mun Choi.
Choi had criticized Johnson and city leaders in multiple emails since July 27, the day after a brawl occurred on Walnut and Ninth streets that led to seven people being arrested. At least one person was charged with a felony.
Emails given to ABC 17 News by a university spokesman on Tuesday showed that Choi has criticized city leaders following multiple high-profile incidents this summer that have occurred on Walnut Street.
Johnson publicly responded to Choi on Wednesday with a statement to ABC 17 News.
"We exercise judgment in every case based on the facts and the law, and we stand behind those decisions. The outcome in a courtroom isn't ours alone to decide — plea agreements, judges, juries, and witnesses all play a role,” Johnson’s statement says. “Overall, our sentencing outcomes have trended stronger, with increased sentences in violent crime and drug cases. We will continue to aggressively pursue serious offenses and seek strong sentences.”
Choi’s email from July took issues with the results of multiple cases, calling the sentences “lenient.” Johnson responded with a lengthy email of his own at 3:29 p.m. Thursday. ABC 17 News received the email through a records request.
The first case involved the probation plea deal of Daevion McCray and Tavion Johnson in connection with a fatal shooting in 2024 on Clark Lane. Johnson indicated in his email that this case was previously discussed with Choi.
“We had discussed this case. It involved an escalating back-and-forth dispute between two groups in which the defendant group and resident/target had exchanged online threats, including the defendant group previously posting images pointing guns at the resident’s house,” Johnson wrote. “The resident later responded with taunts, including ‘If you pull up here, you're going to get shot.’ In response, the defendants Johnson and McCray along with Orrion Moody and two others went to the neighborhood with guns. The resident came out armed with a Radical Firearms .300 Blackout rifle, and a shootout followed in which Orrion Moody was hit and killed.
Johnson wrote that the chances of a murder conviction were “well below 50%” and referred to the case as an “unusually difficult self-defense case.”
“While we argued that a substantial prison sentence was the right outcome, the defense disagreed. When the parties don't agree, the judge decides. Moreover, the judge would ultimately have decided the sentence whether there was a capped plea or we tried the case to a jury and won,” Johnson wrote.
Johnson then responded to another gun-related case that resulted in probation for Chauncey Williams. Johnson wrote that juries are less likely to convict someone if a shot was not fired.
“In our experience with unlawful use of a weapon (exhibiting) cases, a significant portion of prospective jurors - often 25 to 30 percent - indicate during jury selection that they could never consider a prison sentence for exhibiting a weapon in any case where there wasn’t an actual shooting or injury,” Johnson wrote. “Jurors who do not want to send someone to prison often vote not guilty even though there is a separate penalty phase and so they have not yet heard evidence about why this person should/should not be sent to prison. Further, a growing number of prospective jurors believe you should be allowed to point a gun at someone and have a right to do so under the 2nd Amendment because they think it helps deter crime.”
Another case pointed in Choi’s email that Johnson responded to involved Kieran Piersee’s probation sentence, who allegedly shot at someone who was cutting through an apartment’s yard. Johnson wrote that an open plea is handled by a judge.
“The defendant entered an open plea, meaning he did not agree to our recommended sentence and argued for something different. The State argued for 7 years in the Department of Corrections and opposed probation; the defense argued for an SIS. The judge granted an SIS,” Johnson wrote.
Johnson also addressed the plea by Candice Robinson, who was accused of an alleged road-rage incident and was given five years of probation.
“That recommendation does not reflect any view that the defendant's conduct was acceptable. Incidents like this are dangerous both because a weapon is involved and because they occur between moving vehicles,” Johnson wrote. “Notably, Missouri law would have permitted the victim to immediately use deadly force including shooting the defendant when defendant pointed the gun at him. Juries in exhibiting cases do not always appreciate how serious the law itself treats this conduct and the risk of escalation, which affects how these cases are likely to be received at trial. Given the lack of criminal history, lack of reason to suspect involvement in criminal activity overall, and likely results at trial, I stand by the disposition in this case as well.”
The last case involved a 15-year prison sentence for Kalvin Johnson in connection with a 2024 shooting.
“Because there are still some active cases, I can't comment on this case. I can only say that the plea offer included an agreement for the defendant to provide information in a case and potentially testify as a witness,” Johnson wrote. “The Defendant pled guilty pursuant to our recommendation for a 15-year sentence on assault 1st. Generally our recommendation in a case like this would be more years, but the Defendant received consideration for his cooperation.”
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