Attorney Erik James Johnson's Legal Cases

Criminal defense

State v. Ibarra (Jury Trial) 1st Degree Murder

Jul 11, 2016

OUTCOME: Guilty 1st Degree Murder

A random individual was shot outside a popular night club in the Denver area. As the club closed for the night, a crowd of people funneled into the parking lot. Multiple arguments ensued. At some later ... point a single gunshot rang out. Witnesses described it coming from a gold sedan. A majority of the crowd went to the ground. Another shot rang out, striking a man who had been involved in one of the various parking lot arguments. The case was cold for a significant period of time. Approximately a year later Major Crime Detectives received a tip from a woman indicating she was inside the suspect vehicle. She, and other occupants, later identified Mr. Ibarra, although their testimony varied at trial.

Criminal defense

State v. Quintero (Jury Trial) Assault with Deadly Weapon

Jan 25, 2016

OUTCOME: Not Guilty Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Not Guilty Vehicle Trespass, Guilty Menacing

I came to represent Mr. Quintero AFTER he had been convicted at trial. His attorney was so bad, I managed to convince the judge in the case to overturn the conviction under an Ineffective Assistance of ... Counsel claim. This took over a year and countless hours. Quintero was accused of striking a fellow roofer with a baseball bat in an apartment complex parking lot, over an ongoing dispute. The alleged injuries were dubious. Unfortunately, due to the poor performance by his prior attorney Quintero took the stand with no preparation and testified to a different theory than his attorney. I managed to later suppress that prior statement as a "product of the prior constitutional violation." Right before trial the prosecution appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court. Despite no other case law supporting such a decision, they overturned the trial court. I wrote that brief as well. At trial, armed with investigation and lots of hard work Quintero achieved a better result.

Criminal defense

State v. Richard (Jury Trial) Stalking

Dec 15, 2015

OUTCOME: Guilty of Stalking

My client was charged with Stalking after a protection order had been put in place, which aggravates stalking to a more serious penalty range. In the face of multiple 911 calls, emotional testimony, an ... d countless texts/messages, we put on a spirited defense. The jury deliberated for nearly half a day before convicting on the charge.

Criminal defense

State v. Johnson (Jury Trial) 1st Degree Murder (Domestic Violence)

Nov 30, 2015

OUTCOME: Guilty of 1st Degree Murder

Emergency personnel were called to an apartment in Aurora, CO for a non-responsive female. Upon arrival, the woman was declared dead. After pulling away a bed-sheet EMT's noticed an unconscious male (M ... r. Johnson). There was blood on his shirt, and laying next to him was a handgun. An expert witness later determined that this was the murder weapon.

Criminal defense

State v. Martinez (Jury Trial) Attempted 1st Degree Murder (Domestic Violence)

Sep 28, 2015

OUTCOME: Guilty Attempted 1st Degree Murder, Not Guilty Second Degree Assault

Police were called (by neighbors) to an apartment in Aurora, CO. They were told that a loud argument had been transpiring and there was commotion as if it had become physical. Law enforcement encounter ... ed a female with numerous physical injuries. Later, Mr. Martinez was discovered in an apartment. The alleged victim stated that she was choked until she passed out, in addition to receiving a series of physical assaults against her person. Mr. Martinez was convicted of attempted 1st degree murder for the choking. He was acquitted of the second degree assault for striking with a towel rack ripped from the wall. Reducing the potential penalty range by a significant margin. Mr. Martinez was still sentenced to a multi-decade prison sentence.

Criminal defense

People v. Jones (Jury Trial) Meth Distribution and Possession of Gun by a Felon

Aug 24, 2015

OUTCOME: Not Guilty All Counts

Narcotics detectives sent in a wired confidential informant to buy methamphetamine by an apartment. The informant went in with marked bills, and came out with narcotics. Later it was found out that the ... CI directed law enforcement to this apartment after having been caught with drugs at their own apartment in a different city. A search warrant was executed, locating various small amounts of drugs and paraphernalia. Officers found a gun in a computer bag located in a room purported to be Mr. Jones's.

Criminal defense

State v. Johnson (Jury Trial) Felony DUI

Jun 23, 2015

OUTCOME: Guilty DUI - Sentence was much better than plea offer

My client was pulled over leaving a night club late at night. The officer made a traffic stop due to some minor violations. Unfortunately, the client had made some rather damning admissions and his roa ... d-side test score was not excellent. The prosecutor's plea offer was quite poor though, so we went to trial. As a third offense my client faced up to a year of jail plus probation. Most judges in this Court house gave 9-12 months on a 3rd offense. The prosecutor offered 9 months jail. I countered with a modest reduction to 7 months jail. A supervisor rejected the offer so we went to trial. The conviction was quick, I admit, but he was given 90 days in jail.

Criminal defense

State v. Hale (Jury Trial) Cocaine Distribution

May 11, 2015

OUTCOME: Not Guilty Distribution of Controlled Substance, Guilty of lesser Charge of Possession

My client was accused of selling cocaine to his friend at a popular strip club. An act supposedly witnessed by the establishment's manager. Officers later said they witnessed my client drop a baggie of ... cocaine behind his back into a trash can while he was being questioned in a storage room. Having visited this room myself with an investigator, we used the room's dimensions to prove that the officers simply could not have seen what they claimed. At one point, I had the most non-credible officer get off the witness stand to act out the incident. I played the part of my client, with a trash can and fake bag of drugs. The officer showed the jury how he had swung out 6 or so feet wide, and that's how he could see the drugs fall from behind my client's back. Unfortunately the room was only about 4 feet wide in total. The jurors were in shock, jaws dropped.

Criminal defense

State v. McCoy (Jury Trial) First Degree Murder

May 19, 2014

OUTCOME: Not Guilty First Degree Murder, Guilty Second Degree Murder

Alleged shooting in an Aurora, CO parking lot. Victim was shot while advancing towards Mr. McCoy. Later, Mr. McCoy's roommates admitted they had refused to sell her crack cocaine due to her erratic lou ... d behavior. Tragically, she was shot and killed.

Criminal defense

State v. Cardenas 2 (Jury Trial) Aggravated Robbery

Feb 10, 2014

OUTCOME: Not Guilty All Counts, including Aggravated Robbery Charges

Client was charged with several counts of Aggravated Robbery with a gun and Possession of a weapon by a Felon. The case also involved sentence enhancers that would have multiplied the sentence by 4. In ... other words, a conviction would have meant 100+ years in prison. Effectively a life sentence. After several days at trial my client was acquitted of all charges against him.

Erik James Johnson's Legal Cases (25)

State v. Ibarra (Jury Trial) 1st Degree Murder

State v. Quintero (Jury Trial) Assault with Deadly Weapon

State v. Richard (Jury Trial) Stalking

State v. Johnson (Jury Trial) 1st Degree Murder (Domestic Violence)

State v. Martinez (Jury Trial) Attempted 1st Degree Murder (Domestic Violence)

People v. Jones (Jury Trial) Meth Distribution and Possession of Gun by a Felon

State v. Johnson (Jury Trial) Felony DUI

State v. Hale (Jury Trial) Cocaine Distribution

State v. McCoy (Jury Trial) First Degree Murder

State v. Cardenas 2 (Jury Trial) Aggravated Robbery