BEN DORGER, standard auditor File photo
Theron Farmer, left, and Daniel Viegas-Gonzalez appear in Ogden 2nd District Court for a preliminary hearing on Monday, October 21, 2019. The two were charged with murder after being accused of killing an Ogden teenager in February 2019.
OGDEN – The jury watched a taped police interview on Monday in which Ogden’s murder suspect Theron Farmer initially denied involvement and later blamed his co-defendant Daniel Viegas-Gonzalez for the shooting of two brothers.
Police arrested Farmer in Layton on February 12, 2019, the day after Kamron Johnson, 18) and older brother Eric were shot and killed during a drug robbery at the Johnson’s home in West Ogden. Kamron Johnson was killed and Eric was seriously injured but survived.
In the interview with the Ogden police detectives, recorded on February 13, Farmer was asked what he had done the day before, a Monday. He said he couldn’t remember much and told detectives that he suffered a drug overdose in 2018 and that his memory was damaged. He said later on Monday he was with friends in Layton. “We went to Del Taco,” he said. A friend testified Friday that she bought a bag of tacos in Layton and brought it to him in Ogden to create an alibi.
But Farmer was upset when detectives told him Eric Johnson said he was in the West Ogden house and had a gun in his waistband. “I’ve been to Layton,” he said, and “I don’t have a gun,” and if he did he’d be wearing it on his waist.
After further questions, Farmer said he was in West Ogden and they went to see Eric Johnson. He said Johnson was one of his best friends. But at home, Farmer said Viegas-Gonzalez shot Eric Johnson, then Kamron Johnson, and ordered Farmer to find drugs and valuables.
“I didn’t want to get hit, so I’ll just turn it all over,” said Farmer. “Whatever that man said, I did what he wanted.” He said he didn’t know Viegas-Gonzalez had a gun.
Defense attorney Grant Morrison confirmed in cross-examination of detectives that Farmer told police he warned Kamron Johnson to jump out of a window to save himself. They also confirmed to Morrison that Farmer said he was afraid of Viegas-Gonzalez.
Police arrested Farmer the day after the shootings. An Ogden detective testified Friday that they found him in an apartment in Layton and that he refused to come out. Eventually, North Davis SWAT officers shot tear gas through the window and shot farmers with a taser.
The trial against the farmer continues on Thursday. Viegas-Gonzalez is due to appear for a preliminary hearing on November 16. The two men are charged with serious murder, a crime of the first degree.
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