Schofield soldier to plead guilty in wife's presumed death

Yahoo

5 days ago

A Schofield Barracks soldier, whose 19-year-old pregnant, Hawaii-born wife disappeared in July and is presumed dead, has negotiated a plea deal with the U.S. Army Office of Special Trial Counsel.
Pfc. Dewayne Arthur Johnson II is expected to plead guilty when he is scheduled to appear for a hearing set for Tuesday through Thursday at Wheeler Army Airfield Courtroom, but the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel said Thursday it was not disclosing what those charges are at this time.
'PFC Johnson has agreed to plead guilty, however further details are not releasable at this time as the guilty plea is subject to acceptance by the military judge, ' Michelle McCaskill, spokeswoman for the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel, said.
If his guilty plea is accepted, the judge will sentence him pursuant to the terms of the plea agreement during the sentencing hearing, she added.
On Feb. 12 the office referred five charges and 19 specifications against Johnson stemming from the disappearance of his wife, Mischa Johnson, according to a news release issued by U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii.
'Mischa Johnson is presumed deceased and her body has not been found, ' the release said.
'The general nature of the charges are for the murder of Mischa Johnson, intentionally killing her unborn child, obstruction of justice, providing false statements, possession of child pornography and the production and distribution of child pornography, ' the release continued.
Once the charges were referred, the case was assigned to a military judge, who set dates for the arraignment, pretrial hearings and the trial.
According to the Army's eDocket system, Johnson faces a general court-martial, the military's highest court level, and the General Court-­Martial Convening Authority is the 25th Infantry Division.
Johnson, who was 28 at the time of his wife's disappearance, was arraigned Feb. 20, waived his right to a preliminary hearing and had been scheduled for trial Oct. 2.
Mischa Mabeline Kaalohilani Johnson, who was six months pregnant, last spoke to her family July 12.
The 19-year-old was born and raised on Oahu and grew up in Ewa Beach. She had been missing since July 31.
The Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation into her disappearance, and in August the case was treated as a murder investigation.
Mischa Johnson's family said the investigators had been looking into Dewayne Johnson's alleged extramarital sexual relationships with several local teenage girls, and producing and distributing pornographic material depicting minors.
Johnson, who is from Frederick, Md., joined the Army in 2022 and was assigned in June 2023 to the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks as a cavalry scout.