Contributed Photo/Courtesy GCSO: Johnny Lee Johnson, 24, was arrested and booked into the jail on charges of assault, aggravated assault, and disorderly conduct. Additional possible DUI charges are pending.
By Jon Johnson
GRAHAM COUNTY – A night of libations ended with a Willcox man’s arrest early Saturday morning after an argument with his fiancé over perceived sexual proclivities reportedly escalated to assault.
Johnny Lee Johnson, 24, of Willcox, was arrested and booked into the Graham County Adult Detention Facility on charges of assault, aggravated assault, and disorderly conduct. Additional DUI charges are pending review by prosecutors.
According to Johnson and his fiancé, the incident occurred after the pair got into an argument over having a sexual encounter with the girlfriend of the fiancé’s sister, who resides at the residence. The pair just have a different take on the situation. The victim and Johnson both live in Willcox and have a 10-month-old daughter together.
According to Sheriff’s Office reports, the pair were visiting the fiancé’s sister at her residence off Peach Street and had both been drinking whiskey. When the evening came to an end, however, Johnson said his fiancé had invited her sister’s girlfriend to come to sleep with them but then decided against the idea. Johnson also told a deputy that his fiancé became upset with him because he advised he only wanted to be with her sister’s girlfriend that night and not her, according to Sheriff’s Office reports. Johnson also denied assaulting the victim.
However, the fiancé advised that Johnson became upset because he believed she wanted to sleep with her sister’s girlfriend. The victim said she reassured Johnson that she only wanted to sleep with him but the verbal altercation escalated and he ended up punching her, choking her, and throwing her down the stairs, according to her statements to a deputy. The investigating deputy noted the victim had redness and possible bruising around her left eye and several marks and scratches on the front and back of her neck, head, and arms. She was later evaluated and treated by paramedics from Lifeline Ambulance and was released at the scene.
After the alleged altercation, Johnson drove away from the residence in a grey Nissan Pathfinder. A deputy located Johnson and made a traffic stop. After showing several clues of being intoxicated, he was arrested for DUI and the domestic incident and taken into custody.
The resident and her girlfriend were interviewed at the scene. Both were sober and neither reported seeing the incident but only hearing it. Neither of them also advised of being privy to any planned sexual rendezvous.
The victim advised that she has had previous domestic issues with Johnson and that he is currently on probation stemming from a 2019 domestic incident in which he ultimately pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct/fighting, and criminal damage.
According to Graham County Superior Court records, Johnson also was previously served with a paternity test in November 2016 and was ordered to pay child support in 2017.
The Nissan was released to the victim’s sister at the victim’s behest and Johnson was booked into the jail on his domestic violence charges of assault, aggravated assault, and disorderly conduct.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article stated the female who Johnny Lee Johnson was ordered to pay child support for was 15 at the time when, in fact, she was 25. The Gila Herald apologizes for this mistake.
