Prosecutors undecided whether to retry Wyoming man for rape

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A Wyoming man released from prison after serving 23 years says he’s confident new DNA testing in his 1989 rape case will lead to his exoneration if prosecutors take him to trial again.

Andrew J. Johnson, 63, of Cheyenne said after a court hearing Friday that he’s been living with relatives in Cheyenne and looking for work since he was released on bond last month.

Laramie County District Judge Thomas Campbell of Cheyenne ordered Johnson released after the state crime lab concluded DNA testing proved Johnson wasn’t the source of evidence in the rape case for which he had been serving a life sentence.

Johnson’s lawyers have asked Campbell to drop the charges against him. However, the judge on Friday set an Oct. 14 retrial date in case prosecutors decide they want to press the case.

Campbell told Johnson’s lawyer David Serelson and prosecutor T.J. Forwood that he expects them to work out issues before trial, including how they would explain to a jury why the case was coming back after so long.

Laramie County District Attorney Scott Homar said after Friday’s hearing his office hasn’t decided which way it will proceed with the case. It has three choices: stipulate to Johnson’s actual innocence, go forward with trial, or dismiss the charges, he said.

“We’re still in the middle of what I’m calling a reinvestigation of the case,” Homar said. “Right now, we’re set for trial. We’re just going to go as if we’re proceeding.”

Serelson declined to comment after Friday’s hearing.

Johnson was convicted of breaking into a Cheyenne woman’s apartment and raping her after the victim identified him at trial. Homar said last month that his office had been in contact with the victim and could have her testify again.

The victim had said Johnson raped her after they spent an evening together visiting bars in Cheyenne, authorities said. Johnson told police he walked home alone after the victim drove from a bar without him.

Johnson attended Friday’s hearing and said afterward that the DNA test results prove his innocence. While the state could rely on the witness’ testimony if his case goes back to trial, he said, “I’m very confident that this results this time in my being exonerated of any conviction.”

Johnson had contacted the Utah-based Rocky Mountain Innocence Center from prison and asked them for help gaining his release after exhausting his appeals in state and federal court.

Lawyers from the center worked with Wyoming legislators to change state law in 2008 to create the legal procedures for asserting new DNA testing could prove defendants’ innocence.

A lawyer with the Innocence Center filed a report with Campbell in March stating that new DNA testing conducted by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation concluded Johnson “can be excluded as a possible contributor” of DNA taken from the victim.

A committee of Wyoming lawmakers is set to consider a proposed bill in Jackson on Monday that would change state law to allow compensation for people exonerated by DNA evidence. The measure would allow compensation of $75 a day, with the total not to exceed $300,000.

Rep. Keith Gingery, R-Jackson, is a county prosecutor and co-chairman of the Legislature’s Joint Judiciary Committee. “Nobody — from prosecutor, to judge, to all aspects of the system — nobody wants an innocent person to be incarcerated,” he said.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

A speed camera facing west along 220th Street Southwest on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Washington law will allow traffic cams on more city, county roads

The move, led by a Snohomish County Democrat, comes as roadway deaths in the state have hit historic highs.

Mrs. Hildenbrand runs through a spelling exercise with her first grade class on the classroom’s Boxlight interactive display board funded by a pervious tech levy on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lakewood School District’s new levy pitch: This time, it won’t raise taxes

After two levies failed, the district went back to the drawing board, with one levy that would increase taxes and another that would not.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.