May 2, 2010 – By LILA FUJIMOTO, Staff Writer

WAILUKU – A woman who could have faced 90 years in prison for assault, kidnapping and other charges was instead placed on five years’ probation Wednesday, with a judge saying she should stay away from unprescribed substances.

In imposing the sentence, 2nd Circuit Judge Joel August noted that Cameron Johnson, 43, has no prior criminal history and had responded well to mental health treatment since her arrest for the Oct. 17, 2008, incident.

That night, she went to the Kaiolohia Street residence in Kihei of her former boyfriend, first encountering a downstairs resident who answered the door. Johnson, who was with a male, forced her way inside and grabbed an 8-inch cleaver from the kitchen, threatening to harm the resident unless he told her where her former boyfriend was, according to police.

The resident took Johnson upstairs and she forced him to open the door to the room where her former boyfriend and his girlfriend were sleeping, police reported. The former boyfriend was slashed in the leg and his girlfriend was punched, according to a police investigation.

Johnson left and was arrested later at her residence.

“This was a violent crime,” said Deputy Prosecutor Carson Tani. “All three of these victims were terrified.”

In a probation department report, 13 factors supported incarceration for Johnson, while six supported withholding a jail or prison term, Tani said. But, he said, “I understand that the court wants to give Ms. Johnson an opportunity. The state is willing to go along with the court’s plan.”

Johnson’s attorney, David Sereno, said what happened that night followed harassing phone calls Johnson had received from the ex-boyfriend for weeks. Johnson also had been drinking heavily, Sereno said.
But he said she was now receiving proper mental health treatment, which would continue if she were placed on probation.

“I got out on bail, and I have not had any problems in two years,” Johnson said in court.

Johnson had pleaded no contest to two counts each of first-degree burglary and first-degree terroristic threatening, kidnapping, fourth-degree theft, and second- and third-degree assault. Given her long history of mental health problems, August said he couldn’t find she was unlikely to reoffend and denied her request for a chance to keep the convictions off her record. But he said she might stay on the right course with constant monitoring as long as she stayed away from alcohol and unprescribed drugs that could negate the benefits of her prescribed medication.

“She’s extremely fortunate to have an army of people behind her recognizing her problems and essentially offering to be supportive and to help her,” August said. “Without that, she would be a voice crying in the wilderness.”

Johnson was given credit for six days she spent in jail after she was arrested. The judge suspended the rest of a one-year jail term for her.

Afterward, Sereno said he was “very pleased with the outcome.” “She has done everything in her power to obtain the treatment she needs and she’s following through with it,” he said. “I’m very proud of her.”
* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.