Clifford James Johnson Jr., who is charged with 27 felonies including first-degree murder, endangerment, and aggravated driving under the influence, has asked a Cochise County judge to modify his condition of pretrial release so he can live with relatives in Florida until his trial in 2022.
Johnson, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer, was off-duty on June 18 when he crashed into another vehicle while driving the wrong direction on State Route 90 with a nearly .20 blood alcohol concentration. His stepson, age 9, was killed and two of Johnson’s biological children suffered severe injuries. The driver of the other vehicle was also injured.
Court records show Johnson can be released from the Cochise County jail pending trial if he posts a $300,000 secured bond and agrees to several conditions, such as electronic location monitoring and a ban on driving. Another condition requires Johnson to remain in Cochise County if he bonds out of jail, but Judge Laura Cardinal will conduct a hearing on Aug. 30 to consider rescinding that condition.
According to defense attorney Xochitl Orozco, Johnson’s parents are prepared to cover the cost and security of the $300,000 bond. However, they want him to reside with them in Florida so they can ensure Johnson receives counseling and complies with his release conditions, the attorney noted in a motion to modify the conditions of release.
“The only factor addressed in this motion is the condition that Mr. Johnson not leave Cochise County,” Orozco wrote in the Aug. 12 motion. “Allowing him to go to Florida would make it easier on Mr. Johnson’s parents who are putting their home up as collateral for the bond.”
Orozco also provided Cardinal with information about a GPG monitoring company in Florida and counseling services which Johnson’s parents have arranged.
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“Having the support structure in place in Florida would be a better situation for the family than Mr. Johnson being required to stay in Cochise County,” the attorney wrote. “Mr. Johnson is willing and able to comply with all Court orders and the existing release conditions, this change would make it easier on the family that intends on posting his bond.”
Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre, who is prosecuting Johnson’s case himself, will have time to submit a written response before the hearing. In addition, the attorney for the deceased boy’s father is allowed to be heard on the relocation issue.
According to the testimony of Det. Jason Procunier of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Johnson and his wife arrived at the Dave & Buster’s at Tucson Marketplace with six children around noon on June 18. The couple ordered 9 hard liquor drinks, including eight Long Island Iced Teas, each with nearly four times the alcohol content of one 12-ounce beer.
Johnson left the restaurant around 5:30 p.m. with three of the children in his red Ford pickup. An hour later, he drove southbound for several miles in the northbound lanes before colliding at highway speed with a white Dodge pickup whose driver attempted to evade the oncoming truck.
Two of Johnson’s children, ages 4 and 11, were transported to a Tucson area trauma hospital with serious injuries. Johnson’s stepson, Lance Aguirre, died of several blunt force injuries, according to the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner. The boy was an organ donor in death, according to the autopsy report.
