Charges to Stand in Deputy’s Killing

A Ventura County Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday that one of his colleagues erred when presiding over the preliminary hearing last year for accused killer Michael Raymond Johnson.

But despite the mistake, Judge Steven Perren refused to dismiss the charges against Johnson as defense attorneys had sought.

Johnson is accused of killing Ventura County Sheriff’s Deputy Peter J. Aguirre Jr. while the deputy was responding to a July 17, 1996, domestic disturbance call at the Meiners Oaks home of Johnson’s estranged wife.

He is charged with murder and attempted murder for firing at another deputy during the gunfight. He is also accused of kidnapping and raping his wife before authorities arrived.

The Ventura man was bound over for trial after a lengthy preliminary hearing before Municipal Judge Edward Brodie in November.

At the conclusion of that hearing, Brodie denied a request by defense attorneys to call two sheriff’s deputies to testify--a ruling that Perren indicated in court Tuesday was wrong.

But Brodie’s decision not to allow the deputies’ testimony, which he said would be repetitive given the fact that a third deputy had already testified, was not grounds to dismiss the charges, Perren said.

At a hearing a few months ago, Johnson’s public defenders argued that Brodie denied Johnson his right to call certain witnesses and failed to grant continuances during the preliminary hearing.

At that time, Perren ruled that Brodie acted properly in finding there was enough evidence to hold Johnson over for trial.