Johnson's ex-cellmate testifies about made-up story

A former jail cellmate of Terry Louis Johnson testified Wednesday that Johnson offered him $100,000 to fabricate a story about a young man's murder that would lead police off Johnson's trail.

Matthew Rushton, 23, testified that Johnson first offered him $1 million, then $5,000, then $100,000 to make up a story with a few details supplied by Johnson that would send police looking for other possible suspects.

Rushton admitted he has been offered a deal by prosecutors to get a third-degree felony theft charge reduced to a misdemeanor. Third-degree felonies are punishable by up to five years in prison, but the misdemeanor charge would carry a year in the local jail, at most, or perhaps no jail time, depending on what a judge decides.

Johnson, 42, is charged with first-degree felony murder in connection with the 1993 stabbing death of Christopher Mosier, 14, who was baby-sitting Johnson's infant son the night the teen was killed. Police said Johnson always was a suspect, but new DNA evidence produced formal charges in 2002.

Rushton freely admitted being in trouble with the law before and violating probation, but said he had done "excellent" on probation in the last year, had eventually completed his high school diploma and currently has a job in construction.

He said he negotiated with Johnson about the money, then wrote a tale on paper that Johnson read and destroyed. Rushton said he twice told authorities the made-up story that another young man, whom Rushton knows and dislikes, was at Christopher Mosier's home the night of the murder. The tale was that the young men planned to rob the place and ended up killing Mosier.

Rushton said when questioned by authorities the third time, he told the truth.

Robert Heineman, one of Johnson's defense attorneys, seemed skeptical of Rushton's testimony.

"Are you an honest person?" Heineman asked Rushton.

"Yes, as of now," Rushton said.

After more questioning, Heineman asked, "This all boils down to helping yourself, doesn't it?" — to which Rushton replied, "No, not all."

Rushton said he wondered why an innocent man would offer money to make up a fake story about a murder. "If he's guilty of child murder, I'd like to be part of getting him convicted."

But Heineman said Rushton apparently had no qualms about framing another innocent man for the crime.