U.S. attorney objects to Greene County man’s extradition appeal
Federal prosecutors on Tuesday objected to a last-minute petition to avoid extradition for Dylan Ryan Johnson, the Nemacolin man accused of a 2003 murder in Mexico, because the extradition has already occurred.
Johnson was transferred on Dec. 14 from a federal prison in the U.S. to a prison in Mexico, where he will stand trial for the alleged murder of 16-year-old Hilario Garcia Rosales on Sept. 7, 2003.
Authorities in Guanajuato, Mexico, alleged Johnson strangled the boy in a hotel room.
On Dec. 17, Assistant Federal Public Defender W. Penn Hackney filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh. The writ essentially asked a federal judge to reconsider an earlier ruling that Johnson could be sent to Mexico to answer for the alleged crimes. Hackney wants Johnson returned to the U.S. and out of Mexican jurisdiction.
In a response to that petition filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nelson P. Cohen, Cohen argued that Johnson is in custody in Mexico, and since the U.S. has no authority over the officers of the Mexican judicial system, the court would not be able to enforce any orders or rulings there.
Johnson was taken into custody by U.S. marshals from his home in Nemacolin on Feb.7.
On Oct. 17, Magistrate Judge Maureen Kelly concluded that the charges and evidence against Johnson were sufficient under a treaty between the U.S. and Mexico to extradite Johnson for trial.
Cohen wrote that once Kelly decided there was sufficient evidence to extradite Johnson, U.S. officials were obligated to surrender him to Mexican authorities within two calendar months of her decision. Dec. 14 was the last business day before the time expired, Cohen wrote.
Hackney’s petition to stop the extradition was not filed until after Johnson was already out of the U.S., they noted.
Johnson, and his wife, Erica Johnson, have both said he is innocent of the alleged crimes. Erica Johnson said she has been told that a rape charge filed as part of the case was dismissed, but Hackney declined comment as to whether that is the case.