SLO County man with history of stalking women sentenced to prison after fleeing California
An Atascadero man with a history of stalking, threatening, and harassing women was sentenced to state prison after fleeing the state following a felony conviction in 2019.
Josiah James Johnstone, 35, was sentenced Tuesday to four years and eight months in state prison for felony charges making criminal threats and stalking two women he had previously dated, the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office said Wednesday in a news release.
The crimes for this specific case took place between February and September 2017.
Johnstone pleaded guilty to the charges in May 2019, but fled the state before his previous sentencing date. He was extradited back to San Luis Obispo County in September 2019 and has been in San Luis Obispo County Jail custody since then.
The District Attorney’s Office says victims provided statements at Tuesday’s sentencing hearing and “noted that they were merely two of a much larger group of women who had been harassed by the defendant over the years.”
Several other women who have been targeted by Johnstone were present in court and stood in solidarity with the named victims, the news release said.
Johnstone’s history of criminal behavior was reported in depth by the San Luis Obispo New Times in October 2019.
According to that article and court records, Johnstone has had temporary restraining orders granted against him by six different women in San Luis Obispo County alone, in addition to several felony criminal cases he’s faced for a variety of charges since 2015.
“There is finally some semblance of closure for the victims in this case,” prosecuting deputy district attorney Nikhil Dandekar said in the release. “These women have displayed immeasurable bravery over the past two years, while patiently waiting for the justice system to run its course.”
“We wish them the best,” Dandekar added, “and I hope that they are able to finally sleep soundly, without fear that the defendant will show up at their doorstep at any moment.”
