Scott J. Johnson was convicted in 2009 of the death of three teenagers after he (seemingly at random) opened fire on them at the local swimming hole. On the evening of July 31st, 2008, an unidentified man in camouflage fired at a group of nine teens at the Menominee River on the border between Michigan and Wisconsin. Three (Tiffany Pohlson, 17; Anthony Spigarelli, 18; and Bryan Mort, 19, all of Michigan) were killed, and one injured. Johnson fled on foot. He was captured the following morning after a massive manhunt with more than 100 law enforcement officers from ten local and state agencies participating. After a short deposition, Johnson plead no contest to ten felony charges, and was sentenced to life in prison. His lawyers briefly entertained a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, but Johnson refused and got a new lawyer to enter the guilty plea.
Johnson memorably compared the killing spree to spilling a glass of milk. In an interview with the associated press, he remarked “Do you get all upset about it? No, you just clean it up and get another glass of milk. It might sound sick or sadistic to come off that way but that's pretty much it.”
Among the charges for first degree homicide and attempted first degree homicide, Johnson was also convicted of second degree sexual assault when it came out that he had attacked a woman the day before the shootings. Though seemingly proud of his murders, Johnson maintained his innocence of the second degree rape charge during the sentencing. He eventually admitted to the rape and expressed some remorse over it in an interview, saying: ”I think what it is is, I betrayed her trust. I've been betrayed in the past and that hurts a lot.”
Everything seemed to start for Johnson with the sexual assault. He was unemployed at the time of the assault, and the two knew each other. He convinced her to accompany him for a bike ride, and assaulted her near where he would eventually ambush the teenagers. He claimed during his sentencing that it was not rape, and that the whole thing only lasted a few minutes. But when he learned from his mother that the police were after him, he thought being labelled a sex offender would make it impossible for him to ever find work. Feeling that his life was effectively over, he decided to either get himself killed by the police or spend the rest of his life in prison. His plan was to shoot the kids to lure the police in, then open fire on them as well. His rampage the next day ended after only 17 shots, when his rifle jammed.
Johnson was viciously unapologetic at the his sentencing. Among other niceties, he told the victims and the families of his victims to “get over it”, and claimed that once he was in jail he would “laugh, make jokes, and sleep well.” At the sentencing, he went on for about half an hour, and his speech was vitriolic enough that many in the audience walked out of the court room until he was finished.
Prior to the spree killing, Johnson was a troubled man. He enlisted in the army after high school, and was eventually assigned to Fort Polk in Louisiana. There he met his future wife, and the couple had two children before the marriage ended in divorce in 2001. After the wedding he became domineering and controlling, keeping a loaded gun in the house and on at least one occasion threatening her with it. She also claimed that during a fight, Johnson threw their pet cat at the wall.
After the divorce he threatened her regularly, saying he would torture her or kill her parents. He quit his job and turned increasingly to marijuana and alcohol, and periodically wrote bad checks, leading to a number of warrants. When his child support payments became too high, Johnson moved out of Louisiana and back to live with his mother. It was while living there that he hatched his scheme and was eventually arrested.
Johnson was sentenced to three consecutive life terms for the three charges of homicide, and a combined 295 years for the six charges of attempted homicide. In 2010, he was additionally sued by the survivors for 10 million dollars, to prevent him from ever selling his story for profit.
