Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Cason Refuses 10 Year Deal

Johnny Wayne Cason will get his day in court for his alleged part in the Nov. 9, 1996, murder of Jake McKinnon.

He will be the third of three men charged with this crime. Cason's trial is scheduled to begin with jury selection Monday, March 16, at 9 a.m. in the Nevada County Courthouse.

On Wednesday, attorneys for the state and the defense, along with members of the families, met in closed session to discuss a potential plea agreement.

However, no agreement was reached and the trial is set to commence.

Wednesday, March 4, was the last opportunity for Cason to negotiate a plea agreement before his trial begins.

According to 8th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Brent Haltom, no accord could be reached with Cason.

He said no firm offers were made from either side, with too many counter offers being made to agree upon.

A record of the closed chambers discussion, he said, will be made before the trial. Haltom also said in such cases family members will be involved.

He said members of McKinnon's family tried to make concessions to get this behind them and get on with their lives, but Cason wouldn't accept his responsibility in the case.

Apparently, Cason didn't want to be charged with first degree murder for his part in the beating death of McKinnon. To date, Toby Craig and Keith Buchheit were both sentenced under this charge.

Craig went through a trial before being found guilty and sentenced to 40 years, while Buchheit entered a plea agreement and was given 32.5 years for his part in the murder.

However, Buchheit has since petitioned the court to remove his guilty plea and is asking for a trial.

Haltom, discussing Cason, said the charge at hand is hard for him to swallow for his part in McKinnon's death.

According to testimony from the Craig trial, Cason held a rifle on Shane Henry while Craig and Buchheit beat McKinnon. After Henry was released, testimony stated, Cason reportedly went to McKinnon's prone body and hit and kicked him.

Haltom said testimony at the trial will determine Cason's sentence at this point.

He said should the family decide to change its mind and accept a plea agreement, they must do it before jury selection begins on March 16. "We'll not plea on March 16 unless we're told about it beforehand," Haltom said.

Haltom said the judge's ruling on Buchheit's petition may be in by the time Cason goes to trial but should have no effect on the Cason case.

"Buchheit was more involved," Haltom said. "I was offended when his father said he played a minor part (in McKinnon's death)."

Scuttlebutt around the courtroom during the closed door hearing, had the offer for Cason between 10 and 15 years in prison.

First degree murder is a class Y felony and carries a sentence of 10 to 40years or life in prison.

If found guilty and by not accepting a plea agreement, Cason could conceivably be given a life sentence. Should this occur, he would have no chance for parole.

Any other sentence he receives would fall under the 70 percent rule, meaning he would have to serve a minimum of 70 percent of the sentence given before being eligible for parole or any other type or relief.