Man could get 18-year prison sentence after guilty plea for felony kidnapping

• Waylon Johnson, 46, pleaded guilty to a first-degree felony count of kidnapping during a June 3 hearing in Aztec District Court.
• San Juan County Chief Deputy District Attorney Dustin O’Brien told The Daily Times the prosecution arrived at the plea agreement after consulting the victim.
• Johnson’s sentencing hearing is set for the afternoon of Sept. 20 in Aztec District Court.

FARMINGTON — A man accused of kidnapping, raping and battering a woman with a bat has pleaded guilty to felony kidnapping and could see 18 years in a state prison.

Waylon Johnson, 46, pleaded guilty to a first-degree felony count of kidnapping during a June 3 hearing in Aztec District Court, according to court documents.

Johnson was arrested on Nov. 5, 2019, when he was accused of sexually assaulting, kidnapping, and beating a woman with a deadly weapon, according to The Daily Times archives.

The incident occurred on the night of Nov. 4, 2019, at a Farmington residence.

The defendant entered the guilty plea as part of a plea agreement involving the San Juan County District Attorney’s Office.

Johnson was set for a May 27 jury trial when it was canceled, and the June 3 hearing was scheduled.

Tyson Quail, Johnson’s attorney, did not respond to a request for comment.

San Juan County Chief Deputy District Attorney Dustin O’Brien told The Daily Times the prosecution arrived at the plea agreement after consulting the victim.

“That’ll be an appropriate sentence for the defendant’s conduct,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien added there was solid evidence to support the kidnapping charge, but the prosecution had evidence issues with the other charges.

Felony counts of criminal sexual penetration and aggravated battery were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

The maximum sentence for kidnapping is 18 years in the New Mexico Department of Corrections.

The woman involved in the case told law enforcement that she was raped along with beating beaten with a baseball and punched with Johnson’s fists.

She was knocked unconscious and suffered two broken vertebrae in her lower back, a broken left rib and a skull fracture.

Johnson has been held without bond since Nov. 5, 2019, at the San Juan County Adult Detention Center.

Johnson has been ordered to be transferred to the Central New Mexico Correctional Facility in Los Lunas for a pre-sentence diagnostic to be performed.

Johnson’s sentencing hearing is set for the afternoon of Sept. 20 in Aztec District Court in front of Chief District Court Judge Curtis Gurley.

Joshua Kellogg covers breaking news for The Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4627 or via email at jkellogg@daily-times.com.

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