04/23/04 — Father doubts account of daughter's alleged plot

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Father doubts account of daughter's alleged plot

By Jack Stephens
Published in News on April 23, 2004 2:09 PM

The father of a girl accused of plotting to kill him and his wife says the scheme was nothing more than the angry outburst of a love-struck teen-ager.

Michael D. Johnson, 42, of Sandhill Drive says he was surprised that his daughter, Heather Nicole Johnson, 16, was charged with two counts of solicitation to commit murder against him and his wife, Nancy, 52, according to a report in the News & Observer in Raleigh.

Heather Johnson was being held in the Wayne County Jail in lieu of an $80,000 secured bond. She was accused of asking two young men to kill her parents with a handgun that she had stolen April 12 from her father.

Edward Glyn Long, 23, of U.S. 13 South, was arrested and charged with possession of the stolen handgun. He also was charged with five other felony offenses in connection with three break-ins.

Wayne County sheriff's officers did not identify the second man. But Michael Johnson said his daughter, a Southern Wayne High School student, was linked romantically with the unidentified man.

Sheriff's Capt. George Raecher told the News and Observer of Raleigh that the girl did not offer money to the two men.

"She just wanted them murdered," he said.

The father said he questioned the creditability of the information from the two men. He noted that both had criminal records.

Dudley was convicted of two misdemeanors. Long has been convicted of multiple larceny and firearms charges. He also was convicted of concealing his sister's childbirth in 1999 after the child was killed by the sister.

See previous story, Murder for hire plot.