Johnson to face grand Jury for elaborate con
A man who befriended a woman over the phone and then allegedly convinced her, sight unseen, to raise hundreds of dollars for him was bound to the grand jury for conning the woman.
The suspect, Steven Utah Johnson, 31, was bound to the grand jury Tuesday by General Sessions Judge Larry Ross following a preliminary hearing on the charge of misdemeanor theft.
Binding the case came after the victim, Alyssia Boles, testified that she trusted Johnson despite the fact she never met him until after she was conned into raising money for him.
‘We became friends over the phone,’ Boles testified, noting a man calling himself Steven Johnson called her saying she had given him her number before concerning a tattoo. ‘He would call me two or three times a day for like three weeks.’
It was after a few weeks that Boles said she was called by a man saying he was a cousin of Johnson’s and his name was Gavin. Boles said, according to her caller ID, the call came from the same cellphone used by Johnson.
During the call, Gavin said Steven Johnson had been killed in a car wreck. Specifically, he claimed Johnson had a wreck in Nashville and had checked himself out of Vanderbilt but died from the injuries two days later in California. A check of the story later by lawmen revealed no evidence there was ever such a wreck, or that a Steven Johnson was in Vanderbilt.
Gavin then asked Boles to help raise money for a funeral, something the defense thought was odd seeing he had told her Johnson was to be cremated. Boles pointed out she asked to be present when they spread his ashes at Rock Island, still not realizing she had been conned. She said she then began getting calls, from the same cellphone, from a man named Utah, who told her where to drop off the money.
Boles then set out putting up collection buckets at three area stores, as well as taking up money at her church and throwing in her own money. She said she dropped the money off, as directed, to a girl at a home near the fairgrounds. It was that same home she said she later visited for a yard sale and first met Utah Johnson.
It was later Boles became suspicious of the situation and contacted lawmen. According to sheriff’s investigator Jackie Matheny Jr., Utah Johnson, who’s first name is Steven, told him several stories and admitted lying on numerous occasions. Matheny noted Steven Utah Johnson first said Steven Johnson was his brother, but then changed his story to say he was just a guy he had met before.