Father sentenced for helping son flee April 30 homicide in west Olympia
A Thurston County judge on Monday sentenced a 59-year-old man on charges connected with the April 30 homicide of a man in west Olympia.
Steven William Johnson pleaded guilty to first-degree rendering criminal assistance and tampering with physical evidence in Thurston County Superior Court on May 16. He’s the father of three men also connected to the death of Nathaniel “Alex” Montoya, 37.
Judge Sharonda Amamilo sentenced Johnson on Monday to a total of one year and 364 days in prison, the maximum of the standard range for both charges. He will serve his sentence consecutively, according to court records.
The homicide reportedly occurred before 2 a.m. April 30 on the 1800 block of East End Street Northwest, west of Division Street. Coroner Gary Warnock previously said Montoya died due to “homicidal violence.”
Kevin Andrew Johnson, 29, has been charged with second-degree murder while armed with a deadly weapon and tampering with physical evidence. Detectives believe he stabbed Montoya after an altercation.
Montoya died at the scene. Court records indicate he had six stab wounds and four incised wounds from an edged weapon as well as a damaged aorta.
The Johnsons fled the scene in their motor home. Two days later, law enforcement tracked the vehicle to Clark County where it had been sold to a local resident for $300 cash, according to court records.
Deputies reportedly detained the four men near a salvage yard after spotting them walking down the roadway.
In his guilty plea, Steven William Johnson admitted he helped his son leave the scene of the stabbing, get rid of evidence and clean the motor home.
“I was driving and assisted my son in driving him to a place where he disposed of the knife used in this incident,” Johnson said in court records.
Kevin Andrew Johnson’s case is pending in Thurston County Superior Court. A jury trial has been scheduled for Oct. 2.
Cases against his brothers, Matthew Ryan Johnson and Michael Jay Johnson, are both pending. Each has been charged with first-degree rendering criminal assistance.
Matthew Ryan Johnson also has been charged with tampering with physical evidence.
