Johnson trial likely to stay here

Judge Michael Deegan will not be granting a request from the defense to move the homicide trial of Jessie Johnson to a new venue. Unless it proves impossible to seat a 12-person jury, the trial will take place in Crook County.

Defense attorney Don Fuller filed a motion to change the venue at the pre-trial hearing on March 19 through “an abundance of caution”. Fuller expressed concerns over the low population of Crook County and the potentially difficult task of forming a jury “untainted” by involvement in the Marty Smith trial.

Judge Deegan had requested a jury pool of 100 people for the Johns...