This a continuation of notes I am making on an ongoing trial "STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA VS RONALD LEE JOHNSON, Jr." Johnson is an elected member of the Johnston County Board of Education (North Carolina), and is charged with felony extortion and other crimes.
I am archiving these notes on HIVE, as a contingency because of the censorship resistant nature of media stored on the HIVE Blockchain.
Today's proceedings continued to be dense and the following summary is only partial highlights and not an exhaustive report.
Morning Session:
Judge Crosswhite instructed Defendant Ronald Johnson on his rights under the Fifth Amendment, again before the Defense called him to the stand.
Johnson's testimony under the questioning of Defense Attorney Tyndall, was generally unremarkable. Tyndall walked Johnson through several refutations of the charges.
The tenor changed when Johnson was cross examined by State's Attorney Zellinger. Zellinger almost immediately put Johnson on the backfoot and kept him there for the duration of his testimony.
SERIAL ADULTERY
Under Zellinger's questioning Johnson confirmed he had been in romantic and sexual relationships (with apparent overlap) with Allyson Bond, Carolyn Rotondaro, and Angie Barbour while married to his current spouse.
Ronald Johnson testified that he used the SpoofCard app to create a fake number when contacted Carolyn Rotondaro during their affair because of the suspicions of Rotondaro's spouse.
Ronald Johnson confirmed he played a recording of Angie Barbor, for Devan Barbour at their meeting behind Clayton fitness.
Johnson confirmed he routinely recorded private conversations and public events. Johnson testified he had 70-something recordings of conservations in his I-Cloud, including conversations he had recorded during his duties as a Smithfield Police Department officer.
REPORTING POTENTIAL ABUSE
There was some discussion of potential abuse of Owen Phillip's children that Johnson claimed was reported to him in a Facebook book message by Phillip's ex-girlfriend Candace Smith. Johnson claims this is why he contact Dr. Bennet Jones (then principal of Clayton High School), this seems to be a faulty explanation though because Johnson's conversation with Jones appeared to be focused on school assignments and not the safety of the children. It was not reported in the Courtoom that Johnson contacted law enforcement, or the Department of Social Service.
State's Attorney Zellinger focused on a report in which Johnson claimed to have been sexually assaulted by Angie Barbour, and then continued to remain in a sexual or romantic relationship with Barbour for more than a year with multiple trips, meetups, and encounters at Barbour's then residence near Clayton Fitness.
Johnson confirmed he removed the cell phone from his Clayton Fitness office, that Investigator Richard Hoffman had observed in his initial visit to Clayton Fitness.
CITIZENS ALLIANCE FOR ACCOUNTABILITY IN GOVERNMENT
State's Attorney Zellinger briefly questions Ronald Johnson about his membership and role in CAAG (Citizens Alliance for Accountability in Government). Zellinger asked Johnson if Devan Barbour needed his support to get elected. The interesting context here is that CAAG did send out a mailer, locally referred to as the "Golden Ticket" in which CAAG endorsed Devan Barbour in the 2024 Primary Election. CAAG supported Brad Knott in the runoff election between Knott and Kelly Daughtry. FEC filings by CAAG PAC indicated that John B. Knott made a contribution of $6,000 to the PAC. The Johnston County Republican Men's Organization lead in part by Thomas Antoine (husband of Johnston County School Board Member Michelle Antoine) contributed $6,000 to CAAG. CAAG sent out a mailer with the phrase "Complete your Ballot from Donald to Ronald" (endorsing Ronald Johnson's candidacy for Johnston County School Board). Earlier a recording had been praised in which Ronald Johnson claimed Devan Barbour had praised Johnsons candidacy and an earlier speech. Johnson had recorded the meeting and subsequent conversation. It does raise the question if Devan Barbour perceived any pressure to secure CAAG's endorsement for the Primary Election.
MICHELLE ANTOINE TESTIFIES IN SUPPORT OF RONALD JOHNSON
Johnston County School Board Member testified in support of Ronald Johnson. A grievance was filed against Michelle Antoine for comments that were allegedly made by Antoine about Angie Barbour (Allyson Bond has some involvement that is not clearly documented as a matter of public record). Michelle Antoine was subsequently investigated by the Board's Law Firm, and Antoine was found to have released confidential information about Barbour.
During cross examination State's Attorney Zellinger questioned Mrs. Antoine if she had been "sanctioned" by the Johnston County Board of Education, which Mrs. Antoine denied.
More information about the investigation can be found in a WRAL report here; https://www.wral.com/.../tempers-flare-over.../21066287/
PERJURY?
Near the end of Thursday's proceedings a witness from the Smithfield Police Department appeared to contradict testimony given Ronald Johnson earlier the day. It is unclear if Johnson's testimony rises to the level of perjury or if the State will pursue the matter.
On Friday morning closing arguments will be presented by the Defense and the State, and the matter should go to the jury for deliberation on a verdict. A verdict may potentially reached tomorrow.
More to come.