Key witness in multiple killings released

Bill Gang

Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2000 | 11:28 a.m.

Donte Johnson's ex-girlfriend no longer will have to spend her days on house arrest waiting for the day she will have to testify against him on charges he executed four young men during a robbery in 1998.

District Judge Jeff Sobel on Tuesday granted Charla Severs' request for release from the system that tethered her to her home.

Following Johnson's arrest several days after the Aug. 14, 1998, quadruple slaying, Severs disappeared without a trace or a word, and even her parents feared she had been killed.

But after the trials of Johnson's co-defendants -- Sikia Smith and Terrell Cochise Young -- Severs was finally found in New York, where she was arrested on prostitution charges under an assumed name. She was returned in chains to Nevada and sat in jail several weeks as a material witness while a deal was worked out to give her limited freedom on house arrest.

That deal included giving a videotaped deposition, officially recording her latest version of events about Johnson's involvement in the multiple murders.

Deputy District Attorney Gary Guymon has said that Severs said she fled Las Vegas because of threats to her life by a man associated with Johnson.

Severs, who implicated Johnson in the killings during statements she made to police, is considered a key witness in the case.

While the 21-year-old witness is now free, Sobel ordered that she check in twice weekly with prosecutors and be available for Johnson's June 5 trial that could result in the death penalty should he be convicted.

The judge also scheduled a status check hearing for April 24 to further ensure her compliance.

But even if Severs again disappears, the jury at Johnson's trial will still get to hear her words and see her face through her videotaped deposition, which would be an admissible substitute if she is unavailable for live testimony.

Guymon, who did not oppose the woman's release from house arrest, expressed confidence that Severs will be around and testify for the prosecution at Johnson's trial.

At the same time, he said the twice weekly reporting requirement "will give us a head start if she leaves."

In her deposition, Severs recanted half a dozen earlier statements and testified that Johnson was responsible for the killings during a robbery that was supposed to garner thousands of dollars and a large quantity of drugs.

The heist, according to the confessions of Young and Smith, resulted only in the bandits collecting about $200 and a few pills. It also resulted in the deaths of Matthew Mowen, 19, Jeffrey Biddle, 19, Tracey Gorringe, 20, and Peter Talamantez, 17.