Jeremiah Johnson shooting: Suspect accused of shooting, killing St. Croix Deputy had lengthy criminal history
The Jeremiah Johnson shooting has shocked the nation, with the suspect accused of shooting and killing St. Croix Deputy, Kaitie Leising, having a lengthy criminal history. According to sources reported on moncity.vn, Johnson was on supervised release from the Minnesota Department of Corrections for a 2015 felony conviction when the shooting occurred. The tragic incident has raised concerns about the need for better gun control and support for law enforcement officers.
I. Who is Jeremiah Johnson?
Jeremiah D. Johnson, a 34-year-old convicted rapist, has been identified as the suspect who shot and killed St. Croix County Sheriff’s Deputy Kaitie Leising in Wisconsin on May 6, 2023, according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice. Johnson died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
According to Heavy, Johnson was previously convicted of rape and kidnapping in Minnesota. He made headlines in July 2015 when he abducted and sexually assaulted an intoxicated woman in Saint Paul, Minnesota, after Fourth of July celebrations. He was sentenced to 6 years and 5 months in prison in November 2015 after pleading guilty to kidnapping and third-degree criminal sexual conduct. Court records indicate that he was also required to register as a predatory sexual offender for 10 years.
The Minnesota Bureau of Apprehension reported that Johnson had been under community supervision since October 28, 2019, after being released from prison. His supervision was being handled by Scott County Community Corrections and was set to expire on October 28, 2029.
A law enforcement source confirmed that Johnson was the man who shot and killed Deputy Leising. Johnson’s family members and friends have posted about his death on Facebook, with his aunt describing it as a “sudden, unsuspected death.
II. Jeremiah Johnson shooting
A Wisconsin sheriff’s deputy, Kaitie Leising, was shot and killed during a traffic stop by a suspected drunken driver, who later committed suicide by shooting himself in a nearby wooded area, according to authorities on Sunday.
Jeremiah Johnson, the driver, became “evasive” during a conversation about field sobriety tests and drew a handgun, shooting Leising in Glenwood, Wisconsin. After being shot, Leising discharged her weapon three times, but Johnson fled to the nearby woods. Leising, 29, was pronounced dead at a hospital, despite people in another vehicle beginning lifesaving measures.
An officer heard a gunshot in the woods an hour after the shooting and saw Johnson, 34, fall to the ground, investigators said. Leising had been hired by St. Croix County in 2022 after working for approximately two years for the sheriff’s office in Pennington County, South Dakota.
Leising’s body was being escorted by police back to Wisconsin from the medical examiner’s office in St. Paul, Minnesota. St. Croix County Sheriff Scott Knudson said that Leising would be missed for her infectious smile and personality, and that she had touched the lives of many.
III. Suspect accused of shooting, killing St. Croix Deputy had lengthy criminal history
The man who allegedly shot and killed St. Croix County Deputy Kaitie Leising, 29, had a lengthy criminal history, sources confirmed to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS on Tuesday. Jeremiah Johnson, 34, was on supervised release from the Minnesota Department of Corrections for a 2015 felony conviction when he allegedly shot Leising in Glenwood City, Wisconsin on Saturday night after she responded to a report of a possible drunk driver.
Johnson had various petty misdemeanors, traffic violations, and prior convictions for aggravated assault and DWI on his criminal record in Minnesota, dating back to 2007. In 2015, he began serving a prison sentence for kidnapping and criminal sexual conduct. Johnson had been on supervised release since 2019.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Johnson shot Leising eight minutes after she encountered him. He was later found dead with a handgun nearby. St. Croix County Sheriff Scott Knudson spoke out for the first time on Tuesday, expressing his anger and sadness about the loss of Leising, who had dedicated her life to her profession.
Leising’s funeral is scheduled for noon on Friday at Hudson High School. Sheriff Knudson thanked the community and law enforcement from across the region for their ongoing support, and emphasized that the profession would get through this tragedy. The Sheriff added that St. Croix County hadn’t lost a deputy in this way in 70 years.
IV. The slain officer was praised in tributes
Kaitie Leising, who was 29 years old, was a highly regarded law enforcement officer who positively impacted many people in her county, according to Pennington County Sheriff Brian Mueller, who wrote a news release about her after her death. Leising had previously worked for the Pennington County Sheriff’s Department.
In social media tributes, Leising was described as caring, always smiling, and respectful. She was survived by her spouse and their newborn son, Syler.
Leising was fatally wounded in the Township of Glenwood, Wisconsin, during an officer-involved critical incident on May 6, 2023, according to a press release from the Wisconsin Department of Justice. The Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) of the DOJ is investigating the incident.
Leising’s death follows the fatal shootings of two other northern Wisconsin law enforcement officers, Emily Breidenbach and Hunter Scheel, who were killed during a traffic stop in April 2023.
