Man cleared in 2010 Phylicia Barnes killing convicted of rape and assault in new case

Michael Maurice Johnson — who was cleared in the high-profile 2010 killing of 16-year-old Phylicia Barnes — was convicted Friday of raping and assaulting a woman in Baltimore County.

After nearly four hours of deliberations, the jury delivered the verdict, which also acquitted Johnson of first-degree attempted murder.

Johnson, 42, was charged two years ago in Baltimore County with attacking a then-19-year-old woman he had been romantically involved with. The woman told jurors she had kicked him out of her apartment and he returned to strangle and rape her.

The case came 14 years after Johnson was accused of killing Barnes in a case that shocked the region and left the family feeling justice was not served, though multiple judges had found the evidence lacking.

Standing in front of a picture of the bruised face and bright red eyes of the woman in the latest case Friday, Assistant State’s Attorney John Magee told jurors: “It is absolutely remarkable that she survived this.”

Johnson’s defense attorney, assistant public defender Amy Stone, conceded throughout the trial that Johnson had committed a second-degree assault, saying the victim’s injuries were consistent with being struck with hands, not the harrowing six hours of strangling and rape the victim described.

Stone said other aspects of the victim’s account were inconsistent and faulted county police for not doing a thorough investigation.

“The evidence fully supports assault in the second degree,” Stone said. “That is all that happened.”

The victim testified that she was 18 and waiting for a ride in West Baltimore when she climbed into Johnson’s car, erroneously thinking he was her Lyft driver. But they hit it off and began dating.

When police responded to her report of a rape, the victim was in the apartment, as was Johnson. Her tongue was so swollen she was largely unable to speak, writing or typing on the phone her initial statements to police.

Stone said the evidence pointed to Johnson striking the victim and the two having consensual sex. County police never obtained a search warrant for the apartment or collected evidence, though responding patrol officers’ body cameras picked up images prosecutors used to make their case.

The contours of the case evoked those of what city prosecutors alleged when Johnson was charged with killing Barnes. They theorized Johnson had become obsessed with Barnes and strangled her and disposed of the body, which was found floating in the Susquehanna River.

Johnson was convicted by a jury, but the decision was overturned prior to sentencing and he was acquitted by a judge at a second trial. Another judge tossed a re-charge in 2018.

Jurors in this month’s case were not told about Johnson’s prior conviction — he could be judged only on the evidence in the case in front of them.

In attendance for parts of the trial were Barnes’ father, who traveled from Georgia, and her sister, who drove from New York City. The former lead detective on Barnes’ case, Daniel Nicholson, also attended.

Shauntel Sallis, Barnes’ older sister, said in an interview she felt compelled to attend.

“What happened to the young lady, it broke my heart because I don’t know what happened to my sister, and I feel that’s what happened to her,” Sallis said. “No one deserves that.

“When it comes to my sister, I had to push this into like a compartment so that I can go on with my daily regular regimen, because the grief, pain, sorrow, hurt doesn’t stop. Being here, it’s like the box opening up and all the emotions is just floating around and I’m trying to catch them.”

Magee sported a purple tie during closing arguments — a color Barnes’ family members and supporters wear in her memory. It was unclear whether it was an intentional nod.