Marine arrested in slaying of North Texas college student

DALLAS (AP) — A Marine stationed in Arizona was arrested Tuesday in the fatal shooting early on New Year's Day of a North Texas college student, authorities said.

The U.S. Marine Corps said in a statement that Cpl. Eric Johnson, 20, was taken into custody at the north gate of the Marine Corps air station in Yuma, Arizona. Police in Denton, Texas, said he was arrested on a murder warrant in the death of 20-year-old Sara Mutschlechner.

Mutschlechner, a student at the University of North Texas in Denton, 40 miles northwest of Dallas, was fatally shot in the head after an exchange of words between people in the vehicle she was driving and a group of five or six men in a sport utility vehicle, according to police.

"Apparently it was an amicable conversation to begin with that quickly went downhill and some derogatory statements were made toward the female occupants of that vehicle," said Officer Shane Kizer, a Denton police spokesman.

Mutschlechner was the designated driver after going to a New Year's Eve party that at least two people in the SUV had also attended, according to police. Kizer has said police aren't aware of any interaction between the groups at the party, which had about 60 people there. The arrest affidavit says occupants of Mutschlechner's vehicle said they'd stayed at the party for about 45 minutes.

The arrest warrant for Johnson said the two male occupants of Mutschlechner's vehicle told police that the SUV's occupants said they wanted to have sex with the two women in the vehicle.

The affidavit says that when one of the men in Mutschlechner's vehicle responded that he didn't appreciate the comments, the driver, later identified as Johnson, displayed a handgun and indicated he would shoot. Shots were fired as the vehicles crossed through an intersection.

Kizer has said that after Mutschlechner was struck by a bullet, her vehicle hit another vehicle and crashed into an electrical pole.

Johnson "was seen with a handgun in the vehicle right before the shots were fired," Kizer said. He said the other people in the SUV are considered "persons of interest and witnesses."

Thomas Smith, a U.S. Marshals Service official in Yuma, did not know whether Johnson had an attorney who could comment on his behalf. Authorities also do not yet know when Johnson might be returned to Texas.

The Marine Corps said Johnson is assigned to the Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron-1. Capt. Justin Smith, a spokesman for the Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command in California, said Johnson joined the Marines in August 2013. He said Johnson is an administrative specialist and has never been deployed.

According to the arrest affidavit, Johnson was associated with an address in Fort Worth.

Kizer has said Mutschlechner was from Martindale, about 40 miles south of Austin.

Idk.. About this...

Johnson "was seen with a handgun in the vehicle right before the shots were fired,

Was it his gun? Was it issued to him?
Did anyone else in the car have a gun on them? Was balistics done?
Fingerprints ?
With the other guys in the car & no mention of real evidence..this is iffy, in my opinon.

Edited for off-topic.

soufie
Site Moderator

There ya go Ms Sassy....not the same pic, but the victim nonetheless...

She does not look 20 yr old to me. She didn't in the other pic either.

And how could they not know if he has a lawyer? If he is in the military, one would be assigned.

Only at the party 40-45 min & left. Why ? Followed ?

Something MAJOR is NOT being said...

Apparently not a party they wanted to stay at. It may have been a random shot that struck her. Sad for the family anyways, she was pretty

Brandishing a handgun, and threatening to shoot, definitely puts the tard in the hotseat.

you need to read up... double jeopardy... they won't lift a finger to help him outside the military, and will charge him again after the public is done with him... one of the first things they tell you when you sign up is don't commit any crimes outside of the militarybecause you will be charged twice for the same crime, one public then one military..

Boy, this kid has really fkd up. Will be interesting whose gun it was and was it legal.

The article says it is not known if the two groups had contact at the party of about 60 people.
So that means.. How many left ? 1/6 of the party?
Did anyone else leave? And why & where ? Which also means 50+ people know something, even if they don't know they know. Even if it is a rumor, they know something.
I am also wondering how many women? If this was an issue?

Yea.. Odd. They may have been followed.

The driver getting shot may or not have been intentional. But..firing into the car definitely is.

* just thinking out loud...this is how my mind works it out ..I want to question all of them & get all the cell phones ! ... *

seems to prove(again) that alcohol and stupid doesn't work very well together...

Last I knew, military personnel cannot use JAG attorneys for non military court hearings. When I was ordered into court back in 1997 I had to represent myself, or hire a civilian attorney. Maybe that has changed since then, but I doubt it.

I am not sure why you mentioned "double jeopardy" (yes, I understand the term), however you are correct in the soldier being tried more than once; and technically he can be tried THREE times (and found guilty) for the same crime: Once by the state; once in civil court by the family for wrongful death and again by the military.

In the case of the military, they will wait until they see what happens in the civilian court. If he is found innocent, they probably wont do anything serious. If it is mis-tried or thrown out for misconduct of some sort, the military MIGHT prosecute him in order to put a good eye on public relations, all depends on the public's behavior over it. If he is found guilty and punished in civilian court, the military will wait until he has been released from prison (unless it is a life sentence), then reinstate him against his will in order to face court martial for the very same crime. He will be found guilty again and then made to serve prison time in a military prison, after which he will receive a dishonorable discharge.

Sad at least two families destroyed for what? Probably more if they add acting in concert charges. The gun was stolen. Someone over served them?

Too many barely legal people going to a party where they may or may not have all been invited ( they sure were not at the party that long probably someone bragging on social media maybe even selling admission 60 people in one house?), and there was more than likely way more booze than food or brains in play. Then everyone is out chasing around because they are bored, lonesome, and probably trying to show off how tough or superior they were. College kids and junior military; rarely a good mix.

Why did they even need to have a gun in their possession? Why does the greater community allow the custom of discharging weapons on New Years. Even if they were discharging it into the air; what goes up has to come down with terminal velocity. Why wasn't the weapon secured.

Chances are several military careers are over just because of the weapon and because they were probably drunk before they ever left the base. Who knows if they even had leave to be off base.

Something sounds iffy about the Marines career if he was pushing papers for three years and never been deployed. Makes you wonder if he had a juvenile mental health record suppressed but was not adjusting to military life. Maybe before we put people in the military and around weapons there should be a background requirement. Have to wonder why the Marine is sporting a black eye and looks loaded in the photo. Doesn't look like he is even 18 but sure kind of makes the case for raising the age allowable for military service and drinking to 21. Maybe one more year of maturity they would all be home with their families.

In regards to your question regarding background checks for the military, it is already a requirement for both state and federal criminal and mental health checks to be performed. You also have to get a physical / assessment from your personal physician stating that you have no history of mental health problems, and a suppressed juvenile record is STILL OPEN when it comes to military applicants, meaning it my have been suppressed due to being a minor, but it will be provided with your background checks.

Very well put and this is why I do not agree with the military being able to prosecute you after you have been tried and convicted in a civilian court. yes, the soldier should be dishonorably discharged, but the military should not be able to wait for you to serve twenty years in court, then make you serve another twenty years in the Brigg.

Not sure what you are saying here. One of my sons was in the Marines, and wanted to be deployed, but since no one was being deployed during his stint, he was not. So the idea that this guy was in for the time he was, and didn't go anywhere, doesn't mean anything one way or another.

Greeneyes:

Are you really saying what I am reading here? That you think that military personnel "have been and will always be those who break the law regardless of what they do for a living"?? Did you really mean to say that all Military people are criminals?

Im pretty sure he meant that there are those who break the law regardless what line of work theyre in.....but he can clear it up....I didnt take every word so literally and used some logic to figure out what I thought he really meant.

I would have read that to mean there are law breakers in every profession,,,including marines,,

"The arrest warrant for Johnson said the two male occupants of Mutschlechner's vehicle told police that the SUV's occupants said they wanted to have sex with the two women in the vehicle."
oh man.....there're 5 person party with the SUV and one of em still charge the contract of G.U.N..... i've even can't imagine what was happen in that little SUV. Hmmm....... that's so strange.........