SLO County man found guilty of DUI after murder conviction gets life in prison
The San Luis Obispo County man who was convicted of driving under the influence causing great bodily injury after a 2011 conviction for murder was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday.
On Sept. 19, a jury convicted Ryan James Johnson, 48, of driving while under the influence of drugs causing great bodily injury, reckless driving causing great bodily injury, hit-and-run causing great bodily injury and property damage and driving on a suspended license on Sept. 19, court documents show.
His previous convictions, which stem from an armed residential burglary gone wrong in Los Osos in 2009, qualified as four strikes under the California Three Strikes Law, according to a news release from the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office.
The strikes increased Johnson’s sentence, which was ultimately 14 years plus 25 years to life in state prison, the District Attorney’s Office said.
“Today’s sentence sends a strong message that violent, repeat offenders will be held accountable in San Luis Obispo County,” San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow said in a Thursday news release. “By imposing severe penalties for repeat violent felons, we protect our community and deter others from engaging in similar lawless conduct.”
Court records show Johnson also had several drug- and alcohol-related crimes and petty theft convictions, including drunk driving, from 1998 to 2008.
Defendant drove wrong-way on Highway 101
According to the District Attorney’s Office, Johnson was driving southbound on Highway 101 through San Luis Obispo on Dec. 27, 2023, when he abruptly turned his car around near the Marsh Street exit and began driving northbound against traffic.
Johnson drove in the emergency lane at more than 70 miles per hour in heavy traffic, the District Attorney’s Office said.
He slammed head-on into a motorist when he reached the Broad Street exit, the agency said, which caused his vehicle to go airborne and strike another vehicle.
The victim of the head-on collision suffered serious injuries while the second vehicle was badly damaged, the agency said. Johnson left his vehicle, discarded two methamphetamine smoking pipes from his pockets and attempted to flee the scene.
Bystanders identified Johnson for California Highway Patrol officers, who then detained him, the release said.
A DUI investigation and forensic blood draw found Johnson was under the influence of methamphetamine and marijuana, the agency said. He was arrested and taken to the hospital for medical clearance before he was booked into jail.
While at the hospital, the release said, Johnson left the hospital on foot once officers were not in his immediate presence. CHP officers arrested Johnson again at his home the following day.
Strike offenses stem from Los Osos burglary
Johnson had been released from prison for about a year and half before he crashed driving the wrong way on Highway 101, court records show.
In 2011, a jury convicted Johnson of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit robbery, first-degree residential burglary, being a principal in a crime involving being armed with a firearm, and first-degree residential robbery with the enhancement of using a firearm.
According to previous Tribune reporting, Johnson was found guilty of planning a robbery that went bad, which was carried out by Kelsey Alvarez and Jesse Baker-Riley in 2009.
Baker-Riley and Alvarez went to the home of Peter Davis and demanded money and marijuana at gunpoint. Davis, fearing for his life, then grabbed a gun and fired shots at Baker-Riley — one of which struck and killed Alvarez.
Court documents show that while Baker-Riley and Alvarez were committing the robbery, Johnson “boasted” that he was “running things” while he was at another person’s house and said his “homies were basically doing a home invasion” with a gun.
The District Attorney’s Office called Johnson the “mastermind” of the crime, according to the news release.
Changes to the felony murder law in California eventually led to Johnson’s convictions for murder and being the principal in a crime involving a firearm to be vacated in 2022. To be found guilty of felony murder, the law now requires defendants to be an active participant, meaning they were physically at the scene of the crime violating the law.
Despite the vacated convictions, Johnson still had four strikes under California’s Three Strikes Law connected to the crime.
Johnson was resentenced and released from state prison in June 2022, court records show.
Baker-Riley, who was also found guilty of murder and related burglary crimes in 2011, filed a petition to be re-sentenced in 2023. His next hearing on the matter was scheduled for Nov. 20.
