Michael Johnson

On 9th September 1996, his 17th birthday, David Noel Vest visited 19-year-old Michael Johnson at his home in Balch Springs, near Dallas, Texas. While there, Vest noticed a 9mm pistol lying on a table.

Later that day, Vest was at home when several friends arrived in a stolen Cadillac. He drove them to their homes until he was the only person left in the car. He then saw Johnson using a public telephone in a parking lot, picked him up, and drove to Johnson’s house. Johnson went inside and returned with the 9mm pistol tucked into his waistband. The pair drove around before heading toward the Texas coast during the night, planning to spend the following day celebrating Vest’s birthday at the beach in Corpus Christi.

Near Waco, they realized the car was running low on fuel. Having no money, they decided to carry out a "gas run" by filling the tank and driving away without paying. Johnson drove as they considered two service stations before choosing a Fastime service station with an attached convenience store near an Interstate 35 exit in Lorena, Texas.

The station was a family business operated by 27-year-old Jeff Wetterman, who stood 6 feet 7 inches tall and had been married only three weeks earlier. His widow, Trish Wetterman McLean, later described him as “a gentle person (with) a big heart and a big smile.”

At approximately 7:00 a.m. on 10th September 1996, Vest and Johnson drove onto the forecourt of the Fastime station. Wetterman came outside to pump the fuel, as was customary at the full-service station. Knowing they could not pay the $24 bill and apparently fearing Wetterman would notify police if they fled, one of the two young men shot him in the face with the pistol.

A female Fastime employee later testified that, after hearing the gunshot, she looked outside and saw Wetterman sitting on the ground while a blond-haired man stood beside the passenger door of the Cadillac. The bullet severed Wetterman’s spinal cord, leaving him mortally wounded. Vest and Johnson each later accused the other of firing the fatal shot.

The pair continued to Corpus Christi, where they sold the pistol to a truck driver for $35. They used the money to buy fuel, drinks, and cigarettes before returning to the Dallas area later that same day.

On 11 September 1996, Vest saw a news item on the murder on television. He told his mother his version of events, stating that Johnson had shot the man at the service station.Vest and Johnson were arrested on 13 September 1996. A police officer said: “Johnson is one of the worst individuals I’ve ever come in contact with. He just hates life, he hates people.”

Vest pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and received an eight-year prison sentence. Part of his plea bargain was that he would testify against Johnson.

Johnson was indicted for murder before a McLennan County grand jury on 29 November 1996.

Vest testified that at the service station, he had exited the car from the passenger’s side and begun filling the car with petrol. Wetterman had come out to assist and had begun talking to Vest. Johnson had then exited the car from the driver’s side and had walked to the back of the vehicle. Vest had asked him if he had the gun on him, to which Johnson had responded by lifting his shirt to display the pistol tucked into his trousers. As Vest had replaced the petrol pump, he heard a shot and had looked around to see Wetterman falling to the ground. Vest and Johnson had hurried into the car and sped away.

Another friend testified that Johnson had bragged about the incident in the following days. He said Johnson had admitted to the shooting, saying he shot Wetterman in the face after he thought he heard Vest say “Shoot”. Other friends testified that Johnson made fun of Vest for crying after the incident.

Johnson initially tried to say that he had an alibi and was at home on the day of the murder but after his arrest he admitted to a psychologist that he had been present at the time of the killing. Physical evidence also placed him at the scene, in the form of DNA collected from hairs and cigarette ends found in the Cadillac.

At trial, Johnson did not testify in his own defence but later told reporters that Vest had murdered Wetterman. Johnson maintained that he had been driving but had remained in the car while Vest got out to fill the car with petrol. Johnson said he did not even see Wetterman. He claimed that Vest shot the attendant and then, yelling, “Go, go, go!”, jumped back into the car.

Whilst Johnson had no previous convictions, several witnesses described violent incidents in his past. His former girlfriend said that he had beaten her after accusing her of “sleeping around”. Other friends testified that Johnson had attacked a man with a knife, aimed a gun at a neighbour during a confrontation, attempted to run a man over, and had once run over a cat before reversing over it to ensure that it was dead. A man testified that Johnson responded, “So what?”, when told the victim in his murder trial was married.

On 6 May 1997, Johnson was found guilty of murder. Two days later he was sentenced to death by lethal injection. As the verdict was read out, he turned and screamed obscenities at the Wetterman family.

After the verdict, Johnson sat on death row in a prison in Huntsville, Texas, for 10 years. He received several stays of execution and lodged numerous appeals. Central to his case was a supposed confession, signed by Vest, after the two were arrested.

Johnson’s attorney appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that Vest’s confession had been improperly suppressed by the prosecutors. Police later explained that the two men had both been indicted as if they were the shooters; Vest’s signature was to affirm that the indictment was correct and was not in any way a confession.

The court’s verdict was affirmed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 1997, and a judicial review appeal to the Supreme Court was denied in 1998. An application for a writ of habeas corpus was denied in 2000. Three other appeals and attempts at judicial review were lodged, but all failed.

Johnson’s execution was finally scheduled for 6:00 pm on 19 October 2006. In accordance with normal procedure, he was placed on suicide watch for 36 hours before the execution and checked every 15 minutes.

At 2:45 am on 19 October 2006, Johnson was found in a pool of blood in his cell. He had sliced open an artery in his arm with a blade attached to a wooden ice-cream stick and had written in blood on the wall, “I did not shoot him”. He had then slashed his throat with the homemade knife.

Johnson was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead, aged 29, on 19 October 2006.