By NC WANTED Staff

Posted: May 16, 2008
Updated: Apr. 14, 2009

WILSON COUNTY — "He shouldn't have cleaned up the car. That's illegal," Johnny Gaskins tells NC WANTED about his former client, James Johnson. Gaskins was Johnson's lead attorney for 2 1/2 years when James Johnson faced Capital Murder charges.

"We never took the position he [James Johnson] was Mr. Clean," Gaskins added.

As part of his attorney-client privilege, Gaskins says he knows every detail in the case and believes Johnson would be wise to strike a plea deal, and avoid a trial on the charge of accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. "That's what I believe should happen, so everyone can stop," Gaskins said.

Supporters of the victim, Brittany Willis, believe James Johnson needs to have his day in court, because they have been told Johnson was more than an accessory. "The Willis family believes Johnson was there when Brittany was kidnapped, there when she was raped, and there when she was murdered," according to a source close to the Willis family.

The state chapter of the NAACP maintains that James Johnson is innocent of all charges, and should be hailed as a hero. "James is our Joseph as in the 50th chapter of Genesis. The culprit in all of this is Assistant D.A. Bill Wolfe. This rogue D.A. is the guilty party and he needs to be dealt with," says the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, who is head of the NAACP in North Carolina.

This is an eye-opening perspective on the racially-charged case that's polarized the Wilson community. Some Wilson residents tell NC WANTED that discussing this case is more taboo than politics, religion and abortion.

If you have information on this case, call NC WANTED toll free at 1.866.43.WANTED or click on "Report a Tip" Your identity can be kept confidential.

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"System on Trial: The Case of Brittany Willis"

EDITOR'S NOTE: The first section below is an account of Brittany's final hour of life directly based on the final statement on record made by Kenneth Meeks about what he did to Brittany on June 28, 2004 between 4p.m. and 5p.m. This last statement by Meeks was provided to Wilson Police in June of 2006. After this first section about Brittany's final hour, the article switches to a retrospective of the case, based on court records and other documented events.

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A final hour of life.

On a rainy afternoon in June, Brittany Tyler Willis was two days from her 18th birthday. She went to a nearby shopping center to exchange a graduation gift.

The athletic auburn-haired beauty was described as appearing 'rich' pulling into the parking lot driving her family SUV.

At the same time, her soon-to-be-assailant was waiting, well-trained in the virtual world of Grand Theft Auto, and ready for a real world strike. He spotted Brittany as soon as she trekked through the parking lot heading inside a store.

His target had been acquired.

As Brittany emerged from the small boutique, he shadowed her until she reached her car, then cornered her at her driver’s side door, pulled his pistol and ordered her into the passenger seat.

He wasn’t accustomed to driving a luxury car, but this Lexus SUV provided a smooth ride about 500 yards into the muddy heart of a nearby construction site.

It was a good place to park and go for Brittany’s purse.

Then, instincts of fight-or-flight delivered a brief victory.

For the fight, she punched him in the nose. For the flight, she opened the door, planting her feet on the ground, ready to sprint.

But she was shot in the back before she could run away. The wound was “clean,” piercing her back and exiting her abdomen. She paused to check her injury.

Her soon-to-be-rapist ordered her back into her SUV. He was taking her to the hospital.

But he turned the car around, driving back to that dreadful construction site. The rape didn’t take long, and he didn’t notice blood coming from Brittany’s wound.

As he drove away in reverse, he observed her picking up the papers he’d thrown out of her car. Her instincts were working again.

The rapist turned around for a second time, returning her cell phone, telling her she could call for help after he was gone.

Her soon-to-be-killer then returned for a third time.

He got out of the SUV and walked to where she was lying on her back, knees up, in a state of shock. Her eyes were closed as he pointed the pistol at her face.

She opened her eyes and asked, “I thought you were going to let me go?” His response was firing a single shot to the side of her head.

Her final hour was complete.
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Three days until incarceration.

When Monday, June 28 began it seemed things couldn’t get any better, or worse, for that matter – school was out and Brittany, two days shy of her 18th birthday, spent some time at her boyfriend’s house before going over to the shopping center to exchange a graduation gift. A talented soccer player with countless friends, she was heading to Peace College in the fall.

The car she was in, her family's white Lexus, was found the next day and it wasn’t long before police found her body.

Before James Johnson and his friend Julian Deans went to the Wilson Police Department, leads were slim. Investigators hoped the $20,000 reward would bring the break they needed.

"There was some discussion about the reward money," said Sgt. Garris of Wilson Police Department. Garris was one of the lead investigators on the Willis case.

James Johnson's father, Arthur, said he and his son James did not discuss the reward. "We didn't say nothing about the reward. That was Julian Dean's mother who asked about the reward. In fact, Sgt. Garris called me up after the rumor was started about us asking for the reward, and Garris apologized to me over the phone," Arthur Johson said.

Arthur Johnson added that he only took his son James, along with Julian Deans, to Wilson Police to do the right thing and report that Kenneth Meeks was the perpetrator of the crimes against Brittany Willis.

But when Johnson 'snitched' on Meeks, police allegedly confronted Meeks with Johnson’s story. Then according to Johnson's attorney, Johnny Gaskins, Meeks pointed the finger right back in Johnson’s direction. Both Meeks and Johnson were arrested and charged with murder, and because Johnson was 18, he faced the death penalty.

"I thought we were gonna have to go to trial to see who was telling the truth, me or him," James Johnson told WRAL News.

At the time of this writing, statements made by James Johnson were not available in the public record. Daily news media organizations have widely reported that James Johnson admitted to cleaning the car along with Kenneth Meeks. But NC WANTED has thoroughly researched this case and found no records through the clerk-of-court's office to quote what James Johnson told investigators.

Statements made by James Arthur Johnson may only become available through court records if he stands trial.

In statements made by Julian Deans, A.J. Horton, and Arthur Johnson, they say James Johnson told them he cleaned his fingerprints from the Willis family SUV, after Johnson and Meeks left the crime scene.

In the last statement on record by Kenneth Meeks, he says James Johnson told him to go to the carwash to clean off fingerprints.

In a statement by Julian Deans, he says Johnson told Deans they used the box of wipes in the Willis family's SUV as a method for Johnson and Meeks to scrub away their fingerprints.

A.J. Horton, a friend of all three defendants - James Johnson, Kenneth Meeks and Julian Deans -said in court testimony that James Johnson went back to the crime scene and removed a bloody shirt covering Brittany's dead body as Kenneth Meeks rounded up nearby brush to conceal her body.

Julian Deans said in his statements that in the days after the crimes against Brittany Willis, he was alone with James Johnson and Kenneth Meeks to explain a strategy for taking apart the gun used as the murder weapon as a way to hide and destroy the evidence.

Meeks’ versions have differed from Johnson's and Deans'. At first Meeks told police he suspected Brittany’s boyfriend. Besides, Meeks said, he and Johnson were playing Grand Theft Auto at the time of the murder.

In a later statement, Meeks said it was Julian Deans and James Johnson who murdered Brittany.

In court testimony, it was revealed that Kenneth Meeks changed his stories seven times, including four times about the murder, and three times about the rape.

The last statement made by Meeks on the record in June of 2006 revealed he said James Johnson told Meeks to take the car to the car wash to clean off the fingerprints. Meeks also said in this last statement that Johnson commented he was in deep trouble, so he pitched in to help Meeks.

Meeks was 16 and attended Fike High School, where Johnson had just graduated.

A third man, Julian Deans, was charged with accessory after the fact to first-degree murder for providing false alibis. He also admitted to helping destroy evidence. Deans was held in jail for four months under a million dollar bond. His bond was later reduced, and Deans was eventually released and ordered by a judge to stay out of Wilson County and to avoid any contact with the other two defendants.

Statements from James Johnson's friends - Julian Deans and A.J. Horton - described many details that implicate James Johnson and may place doubts about James Johnson's alibi that he was home until after 5:00p.m. on the day of the murder of Brittany Willis.

It is believed the murder and rape of Brittany Willis happened between 4:00p.m. and 5:00p.m. on June 28, 2004.

During a Cross Examination of James Johnson's father, Arthur Johnson, in an Evidentiary Hearing held on July 31, 2006, one of the prosecutors questioned Arthur Johnson about his memory of A.J. Horton knocking on his front door at 5:00p.m. on the day of Brittany Willis's murder. The prosecutor asked Arthur Johnson if he remembered A.J. asking for his son James. The prosecutor also asked Mr. Johnson if he remembered answering the door to tell A.J. that James was not home at that time, which was around 5:00p.m. The final question about this event was if Arthur Johnson remembered A.J. standing at his front door at around 5:00p.m. and that's when James Johnson and Kenneth Meeks approached his driveway on foot.

To most questions about this event, Arthur Johnson said no, and added he didn't remember A.J. coming to his house at all that day (the day of Brittany Willis's murder, June 28, 2004).
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Three years and three months.

Brittany’s family and friends faced emotional devastation and have looked for relief from the criminal justice system.

But in the nearly four years since Brittany Willis was murdered, the justice system has offered anything but relief.

Events in the cases involving Johnson and Deans have moved slowly and quietly for nearly four years. They, along with Kenneth Meeks, have remained entangled in their web of changing stories and deception.

In 2005, all three - Johnson, Deans and Meeks - were indicted, prompting their attorneys to prepare for trial.

According to investigators, Deans and Johnson knew too many details about what happened, their alibis were proving false, and many attempts at cover-ups were perpetuating their problems.

The prosecution's case included one witness who had provided credible details. But Charlene Godvey died of cancer four months after Brittany's murder. Ms. Godvey's legacy was her accurate account of the murder timeline, the description and location of the SUV, placing it at the crime scene when Brittany may have been alive, and a generalized description of two young men and a young woman in the area where Brittany was found. Eventually, her daughter and husband would try to substitute as witnesses voicing her account.

By April of 2006, Meeks pleaded guilty and his due process was so speedy it was done in a day. He was convicted on April 10, 2006 without much fanfare.

This cleared the path for James Johnson’s defense team to learn information about Meeks' case. They discovered Meeks had been privately recanting his stories that had been implicating Johnson.

Johnson’s defense team led by Johnny Gaskins needed to confirm it for themselves.

Sixteen days after Meeks pleaded guilty, Johnson's defense team drove across the state to the Western Youth Institute, on the same campus as the Foothills Correctional Facility, situated in the sleepy town of Morganton.

At the base of the North Carolina mountains, Meeks was serving a life sentence in exchange for his plea. On April 26, 2006, Meeks confirmed to Johnson’s lawyers that he had recanted in favor of their client.

On July 31, 2006, the latest stories uttered by Meeks were documented in the public record via court testimony. He released his attorney and psychiatrist to take the stand and confirm what he’d been telling them in confidence for the past year.

But it wasn't unitl a year later, in spring of 2007, when Meeks publicly repeated the same story about his acting alone without the involvement of James Johnson. It came in the form of a letter he wrote in prison, and mailed to the editor of the Wilson Daily Times. The letter was published in May of 2007. That’s when outsiders and the larger-market media began taking notice, and a controversy surrounding the state's case against James Johnson began to gain traction.

The state chapter of the NAACP, led by the Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II, got involved to speak out about the black defendant James Johnson.

In 2007, the media reported what Barber had to say. He’s a captivating orator, eloquent, quick-witted and fluent in Scripture, achieving a doctorate in divinity from Duke University.

A controversy surrounding the State’s case against James Johnson continued to build momentum, and the Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II was providing a willing and able voice.

This led to the NAACP's declaration of war against a Wilson County Assistant District Attorney, named Bill Wolfe.

James Johnson had remained in jail until September 24, 2007. Three months later, the murder and rape charges were dismissed by a special prosecutor.

A chorus, extending beyond the borders of Wilson, was growing and complaining with greater volume.

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Nearly four years and counting.

Using his voice of dissent, the Reverend Dr. Barber, often repeats his public allegations that Bill Wolfe is a rogue prosecutor who lied to the victim’s family, polarized the Wilson community, and should be punished for prosecutorial misconduct to account for the years Johnson was held in jail.

The NAACP has embarked on a long march through the institutions, winning the support of a U.S. Congressman, the North Carolina Attorney General and the Attorney General of the United States. They have also filed a complaint with the North Carolina State Bar against Assistant District Attorney Bill Wolfe.

Another chorus sings their complaints quietly, but with the same passion as those who support James Johnson.

Willis supporters accuse those who support Johnson of demeaning the senseless tragedy of Brittany Willis’s death, and interfering to the detriment of long-overdue justice.

Many refuse to accept that Johnson was not involved in Brittany’s murder. If he didn’t pull the trigger, he was there. If he didn’t rape her, they say, he watched and did nothing.

They also believe James Johnson was deeply involved in attempting various cover-ups in the brutal crimes against Brittany Willis.

Johnson’s supporters call him a hero, because in their view, he opted to do the right thing, tell what he knew, rather than honor the ‘no-snitch’ code of the street. And as for cleaning the car, they say, that’s been widely misrepresented by the media.

In their view, the blame lies with their singular villain, Assistant District Attorney Bill Wolfe, a man they say zealously pursued the most serious charges against James Johnson.

Wolfe prosecuted the state’s case against Johnson for many of the months and years leading up to September 2007. That's when Wolfe’s office, along with his boss D.A. Howard Boney, decided to move the case out of Wilson so a special prosecutor could take over and restore the community's faith that justice could be served.

To the dismay of the Willis supporters, that special prosecutor, Belinda Foster, dropped the murder and rape charges in December of 2007, and opted instead to charge Johnson with accessory after the fact to first-degree murder for helping Meeks cover up the crime and destroy evidence.

The new charge of Accessory insulted everyone – those who believe Johnson was a murderer’s accomplice, and those who believe he’s a hero.

Today, out on bail, James Johnson waits and wonders if he'll ever sit on a witness stand and address what happened to Brittany Willis. It also remains to be seen what the prosecution will reveal as evidence against Johnson that has not already been reported in the media.

Willis supporters say they don't want any trouble from the NAACP. They want the press conferences and rallies to stop. They want the criminal justice system to be allowed to work and give Brittany Willis the honor and respect of putting James Johnson on trial, and not arbitrarilty dismissing his charges.

At the time of this writing, a second special prosecutor, David McFadyen, is assigned to this case and has pledged to investigate it independent of public opinion. McFadyen has expressed openness to filing more charges if he feels they are warranted. He could also dismiss all charges and dispose of Johnson's case entirely.

Johnson's former attorney, Johnny Gaskins, described his perspective to NC WANTED, "We argued from the beginning what has happened here is he’s not participated in a homicide. He shouldn’t have cleaned up the car, that’s illegal. The murder case has been dismissed and he’s been charged with the thing that we thought was the true issue all along. So, now they can have a trial on a case in which they have some evidence and they may win."

Gaskins concluded, "Go ahead and give him credit for what he’s served, dispose of the accessory charge and everybody stops. That’s what ought to happen."

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Future history.

At one point, Johnson yearned for his day in court. Now it seems he yearns only for closure. His supporters say he is owed an apology.

Don’t look for any apologies from the people who want Justice for Brittany.

Brittany’s family and their supporters still refuse to speak publicly about the murder or the arrest. They continue to hope for a day in court, in search of some semblance of atonement.

The annals of history may eventually provide clarity on what happened in this case. But right now, history is still being written, nearly four years and counting, as the people on different sides in this case want their definition of Justice to punish those who have perpetrated their definition of Injustice.