Constance Johnson
Courtesy of WCSO
The 37-year-old Ypsilanti Township woman charged with driving while intoxicated when she was in the crash that killed her 6-week-old son will continue to undergo daily alcohol and drug testing, a judge ruled Thursday.
Washtenaw County Trial Court Judge David Swartz made the ruling after agreeing to a two-week adjournment in the case of Constance Johnson, who will next appear before him June 13.
James Gallagher, Johnson's court-appointed attorney, requested a change in the bond conditions, specifically relaxing the daily testing for drugs and alcohol.
"She's been testing negative," he said, adding that the $10 cost per day for the testing is a burden on Johnson.
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney John Vella objected, saying that the charges could potentially send her to prison for 4-8 years.
"The people are highly opposed to any change in bond," he said.
Vella said that per the police report, Johnson had opiates, marijuana and alcohol in her system the morning she was accused of crashing her vehicle with her 6-week-old son in the front seat.
"She is a danger to the community," Vella said.
Swartz ordered Johnson to continue the daily testing.
Police say Johnson was driving a mini-van east on Foley Avenue in Ypsilanti Township around 5:30 a.m. Oct. 7 when her vehicle struck a pickup truck parked on the side of the road. Johnson and her 6-week-old son, Isiah Caddell, were the only two people in the vehicle. The baby was in a standard car carrier, but it was in the front seat and not strapped in, police said. Caddell died a week later from injuries sustained in the accident.
Johnson received a $1,000 personal recognizance bond last month when she was arraigned on charges of homicide with a motor vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, operating while intoxicated causing death, operating with a suspended license causing death, second-degree child abuse and open alcohol container in a vehicle.
She appeared briefly in court Thursday, but did not speak. She remains free on bond and quietly left the courtroom after the proceedings.
Johnson has been charged in three criminal cases in the past 13 years, two of which were dismissed, according to court records. She received a stiffer bond in all three cases than she did this time.
In 2000, Ypsilanti police said she clubbed a man on the head with a table leg and took his vehicle. Johnson was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and unlawful use of a motor vehicle and was given a $10,000 personal recognizance bond. The case was eventually dismissed.
Four years later, Johnson was accused of forgery and uttering and publishing. She eventually pleaded guilty to an added misdemeanor charge of false pretenses between $199 and $1,000. When she was initially arraigned on the charges, she was given a $10,000 personal recognizance bond.
Johnson was charged in 2008 with failure to return rental property, but that was also dismissed. When arraigned on that charge, Johnson was given a $5,000 personal recognizance bond.
Johnson is also listed as the plaintiff in six paternity suits and two child support suits between 1998 and 2009 in circuit court records.
John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.