Thurston judge sets bail for four men connected to April 30 homicide in west Olympia
A Thurston County judge set bail Wednesday for three men and no bail for a fourth man in connection with an early Sunday morning homicide in northwest Olympia.
The men, who are all related, attended their preliminary hearing in Thurston County Superior Court a day after being arrested near Vancouver in Clark County.
The homicide reportedly occurred before 2 a.m. Sunday on the 1800 block of East End Street Northwest, west of Division Street. Coroner Gary Warnock identified the victim as Nathaniel Montoya, 37, of Olympia and said his cause of death was “homicidal violence.”
During the hearing, prosecutors accused Kevin Andrew Johnson, 29, of second-degree murder while armed with a deadly weapon and tampering with physical evidence.
Matthew Ryan Johnson, 25, Michael Jay Johnson, 34, and Steven William Johnson, 59, were each accused of first-degree rendering criminal assistance and tampering with physical evidence.
Judge Anne Egeler found probable cause for the alleged crimes at the hearing, according to court records. She reportedly ordered Kevin Andrew Johnson to be held without bail. In doing so, she found he has “propensity for violence” that would likely endanger the community.
Egeler set bail at $100,000 for Michael Jay and Matthew Ryan Johnson, and at $200,000 for Steven William Johnson.
Kevin Andrew and Michael Jay Johnson have no known criminal convictions, according to court records. However, Matthew Jay Johnson was convicted of third-degree and fourth-degree assault in a 2020 Thurston County case.
Steven William Johnson was convicted of theft in a 1984 Thurston County case and violating recreational fishing laws in 2001 in Grays Harbor County.
The investigation
A probable cause statement describes the investigation into the homicide from the perspective of law enforcement.
An Olympia police detective arrived at the East End Street scene at about 2:30 a.m. and interviewed Montoya’s mother and stepfather, who live nearby.
Montoya reportedly told his mother via a phone call that he was walking home at 1:37 a.m. She said she witnessed a disturbance involving multiple people outside her home at about 2:20 a.m. and later saw an RV drive away from the scene.
The statement says she then woke up Montoya’s stepfather and they found Montoya lying on the roadway and bleeding from stab wounds. Montoya’s stepfather reportedly performed CPR until first responders arrived.
Montoya was pronounced dead at the scene. The statement indicates he had six stab wounds and four incised wounds from an edged weapon as well as a damaged aorta.
No weapons were found at the scene and Montoya’s cell phone, wallet and keys were left behind, according to the statement.
A family friend later told the detective she had spent Saturday evening with Montoya at a local tavern. The statement says Montoya was later dropped off about a mile north of his family home before 2 a.m. Sunday.
Surveillance footage from the family home reportedly showed the RV appear at the scene and later drive away. Police later obtained photos of the RV and its license plate, which was known to some police and city officials.
After identifying the vehicle, the detective learned it was registered to Steven William Johnson, who had three adult sons. Their descriptions reportedly matched the RV occupants that some neighbors had seen.
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office located the RV near Vancouver on Tuesday and learned it had been sold to a local resident for $300 cash, according to the statement. The resident reportedly interacted with Steven William Johnson and saw Matthew Ryan Johnson with him.
Later that day, a deputy detained the four men near a salvage yard after spotting them walking down a roadway, according to the statement.
The Olympia detective went to interview Michael Jay Johnson first. He allegedly admitted that Kevin Andrew Johnson had stabbed Montoya after an altercation with Steven William Johnson.
He reportedly said someone had pounded on their RV and yelled at them to get out of the neighborhood. Steven William Johnson then drove the RV to confront the person, according to the statement.
They eventually contacted Montoya. Michael Jay Johnson reportedly told the detective that Montoya assaulted Steven William Johnson through the window of the RV and Kevin Andrew Johnson rushed to defend him in an enraged state.
The statement indicates that Matthew Ryan Johnson largely corroborated Michael Jay Johnson’s account and said Kevin Ryan Johnson believed Montoya carried a gun.
Matthew Ryan Johnson allegedly admitted that they dumped Kevin’s clothes and possibly the knife at a rest stop along I-5. He said they cleaned the RV of blood and decided to get rid of it as well, according to the statement.
Steven William and Kevin Andrew Johnson reportedly declined to speak with the detective.
