A man initially charged with kicking in the door of a residence and chasing one of the occupants with a knife has now been accused of fighting with staff at the Baxter County Detention Center.
Thirty-six-year-old Zachery Oates Johnston of Gamaliel appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court last Monday and entered a plea of not guilty to charges stemming from the jail fight, including two counts of 2nd degree battery on a law officer.
The jail incident happened March 15. According to the probable cause affidavit, a jailer was monitoring Johnston’s behavior at the time due to a disruptive incident involving Johnston earlier in the day.
The jailer reported Johnston started “yelling and contorting his body.” He was later seen hitting his bed as well as the walls and floor of his cell.
Jailers went to Johnston’s cell to remove him from the cell to another location.
Johnston is reported to have become increasingly combative. After he struck and tried to choke one jailer, several deputies/jailers entered the cell to subdue the inmate.
Johnston struck another deputy in the face before being subdued.
A stun gun was used on the out-of-control inmate on two different occasions during the altercation.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Johnston was “assisted to the floor” by a jailer and eventually placed in a restraint chair.
One deputy reported continuing hearing problems two days after the incident.
Johnston’s activities were described as a “major impairment” to the operation of the jail.
HOME INVASION
Johnston was charged in early March with residential burglary, first degree battery, aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a minor in the third degree.
Baxter County sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 call about 2:45 a.m. on March 7. The call came from an address along County Road 804.
The victim told the deputies that Johnston had broken down the front door and entered his home. He said Johnston, who was armed with a knife, began chasing him through the residence.
The victim said he retreated up the stairs and into a bedroom.
The commotion woke the victim’s wife and eight-year-old son. The son was reported to have been so upset and frightened by the events that he had vomited.
Johnston retreated down the stairs and exited the house. While making his way out, he is reported to have shoved the victim’s 73-year-old grandmother down.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the woman’s fall left her bruised along her right cheekbone and on left forearm.
Johnston was reported to have left the scene driving a white Jeep, possibly a Rubicon model.
The male victim told police he knew Johnston and had once been his landlord.
Deputies questioned the victim’s wife. She said she had been in a bedroom with the couple’s three children. She said that after Johnston, “kicked in our front door,” he began screaming her husbands name.
She said Johnson also kicked in her bedroom door “swinging his knife around, trying to stab my husband.”
The wife said she “chased” Johnston out of her room and witnessed him shove the 73-year-old grandmother down.
Deputies found an address for Johnson and went to talk with him. They found him, “milling about the grounds outside the residence.”
Johnston said he had been “out and about” that day but denied allegations concerning the home invasion.
A white Jeep Rubicon was found on the property and investigators reported the engine was still warm.
Johnston was taken to the Baxter County Detention Center where he was booked without incident.
Mountain Home attorney Mark Cooper represents Johnston in both of his cases. The attorney had filed petitions asking for a mental examination of his client in each of his cases.
The examination will determine if Johnston is fit to proceed in his cases and whether he can be held criminally responsible for his actions.
The petition in the home invasion case was filed April 24 and the other June 1 after charges stemming from the jail fight were filed.
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