Man accused of killing Utah couple while children slept is captured in Stockton
A homicide suspect wanted in connection with a double-murder in Utah was apprehended Wednesday in Stockton, authorities said.
Sgt. J.C. Holt, a spokesman for the West Jordan Police Department, said members of the U.S. Marshals Service, Stockton Police Department and Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office took Albert Enoch Johnson, 31, into custody early Wednesday morning. Investigators said Johnson was wanted on suspicion of murder in the shooting deaths of Tony and Katherine Butterfield, who were gunned down in their home Saturday in West Jordan, about 13 miles south of Salt Lake City.
Police said the victims were slain in an apparent home invasion while their three children slept upstairs. The children, all under the age of 4, were not injured.
West Jordan police publicly identified Johnson as a suspect Monday. On Tuesday, authorities arrested his wife, Sina Johnson, 29, on suspicion of obstructing justice and tampering with evidence.
Johnson – who went by the nickname ‘Psycho Al,’ according to court documents – pleaded no contest in Sacramento County to a felony charge for assault with a deadly weapon in 2011, felony aggravated battery in 2010 and reckless evasion of a police officer in 2009. He also was reportedly sentenced to four years in a California state prison after violating his probation in 2001.
West Jordan police initially said Johnson had been arrested in the Sacramento area. Holt later clarified the arrest was made in Stockton.
This story was originally published April 22, 2020 at 9:49 AM.
