Alleged drug dealer’s tie to CI’s assault merits higher bond

An accused drug dealer who allegedly assaulted an informant then arranged a separate assault on her from behind bars in Columbus had his bond increased rather than lowered, and the Indiana Court of Appeals agreed Thursday.

Anthony J. Johnson’s bail was raised from $175,000 to $500,000 on charges of Level 3 felony rape and multiple Level 3 and Level 5 felony counts of dealing and possession of methamphetamine and narcotics. 

Police, using a criminal informant, bought meth from Johnson. During a second controlled buy, Johnson forced the informant to remove her clothes so he could check for a wire, after which he forcibly put his fingers in her vagina and pulled her toward him, according to the record. The CI was bleeding afterward, and she was taken to a hospital for a sex assault exam.

Johnson was arrested and charged in March, held on $175,000 bond, after and police found meth and heroin in his car that was searched after his alleged assault on the CI. In May, he moved for a bond reduction, but Columbus Police Det. Kelly Hibbs argued his bond should be increased instead.
“After Johnson’s arrest, the CI was assaulted by three people, sustaining injury to her head and a black eye. Det. Hibbs listened to recorded phone calls made by Johnson from the Bartholomew County Jail and was able to connect Johnson’s communications to the assault of the CI,” Judge L. Mark Bailey wrote. “Johnson used the code words ‘wine stain’ in reference to the CI and stated that, if the ‘wine stain’ was ‘cleaned up’ before his trial, he would be ‘good.’”

Police also told the Bartholomew Circuit Court during the bond reduction hearing that they heard evidence Johnson was trying to arrange for his girlfriend to get a gun, at which time they executed a search warrant on his residence and found several firearms. 

After hearing testimony, the trial court raised Johnson’s bond, and the COA affirmed Thursday.

“Here, the trial court did not abuse its discretion by increasing Johnson’s bail because the State requested such an increase and provided clear and convincing evidence that Johnson posed a risk to the physical safety of the CI,” Bailey wrote in Anthony J. Johnson v. State of Indiana,
18A-CR-1753. 

“Det. Hibbs’s testimony established that, after Johnson’s incarceration, he arranged for the assault of the CI who he is accused of raping. At Johnson’s direction, three people assaulted the CI, resulting in two stitches on the back of her head and a black eye. And Johnson had ready access to firearms, as indicated by his arrangement for his girlfriend to obtain a gun and the firearms the police found when they searched his residence. 

“The trial court did not abuse its discretion when it credited Det. Hibbs’s assessment that Johnson was unlikely to obey the law upon release from jail. Given Det. Hibbs’s testimony — in addition to the facts that Johnson had a spotty employment history, had a criminal history in four different states including Indiana, had a history of failing to appear for other criminal proceedings, and faced significant criminal charges — we cannot say the trial court’s decision was against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before it.”