THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 25, 1995 TAG: 9501250430
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Short : 38 lines
A Circuit Court judge on Tuesday convicted a 24-year-old man who confessed to abducting and slashing the throat of a woman who needed 400 stitches for wounds on her neck and shoulders.
Haywood Williams Johnson Jr., who pleaded guilty to charges of abduction, malicious wounding and carjacking, could face a life sentence plus 30 years when he is sentenced May 2.
Johnson, whose last known address was in the 400 block of DeKalb Ave. in the Fairwood Homes section of Portsmouth, also faces a carjacking charge in a separate incident in Suffolk.
Commonwealth's Attorney Martin Bullock read a detailed summary of the events that occurred on May 31 as Angela Benton, 22, drove her 1989 Ford Escort to her birthday party.
Johnson held Benton at knifepoint and handcuffed her while he drove around the Park View area. He took her out of the car and began unbuttoning her clothes when she resisted. He became violent and began kicking her and cutting her with a knife.
Bloodied and battered, Benton managed to escape and ran to a nearby house for help. The homeowner cut off the handcuffs and called police.
An accomplice in the incident, Clarence Swinton, of the first block of Wilson Parkway, was convicted of abduction last year. He will be sentenced Feb. 8.
KEYWORDS: ASSAULT INJURIES STABBING TRIAL
SENTENCING by CNB