Grubb gets life sentence for 2008 slaying of Jeremy Johnson

After hearing two days of emotional testimony and two hours of deliberation, a seven-woman, five-man jury found Daniel Grubb guilty of murder and tampering with physical evidence in the 2008 killing of Jeremy Johnson.

Less than an hour later, they handed down a sentence of life for the murder, plus ten years on the two tampering charges.
Johnson was last seen alive when he and Grubb left Angels and Wings in Corbin shortly after 10 p.m. June 10, 2008.

The first day of the trial Monday was marked be emotional testimony by several witnesses, including Johnson’s father Kenneth.

"This was not a case of ‘oops, I accidentally killed him," Commonwealth Attorney Jackie Steele told the jury in his opening statement. "This was a beating."

The first Commonwealth witness was Angela Morrison, fiance of Johnson’s brother Eric and one of the last people reported to have seen Johnson alive. Morrison testified that she and Johnson went to Angels and Wings where they ran into Grubb. She said that because Johnson was trying to fight with people at the bar, he was escorted from the establishment by security personnel.

After that, she said Johnson, Grubb and herself got into Johnson’s red

Chevrolet station wagon and drove around for about 20 minutes after which she drove back to a parking lot near the bar.
Morrison said she then went back inside, leaving Johnson and Grubb in the car. "Daniel got in front to drive," she said, adding that was the last time she saw Johnson alive.

Barbara Shelton, who was dating Grubb’s father Jerry at the time of

Johnson’s death testified that at some time after 10 p.m. on the night of Johnson’s disappearance, she heard a loud commotion as she lay in a bedroom of the elder Grubb’s trailer, located just across KY 6 from where the younger Grubb’s trailer was.

"There was fighting and beating going on. I was afraid for my life," she said, adding that the fighting continued until around 3 a.m.

Also taking the stand on Monday was Jonathan Blevins, a longtime friend of both Grubb and Johnson.

Blevins said Grubb called him, requesting help in burying 10 pounds of marijuana. "He said he had pistol-whipped his sister’s boyfriend and wanted me to help him bury the pot," Blevins said.

However, Blevins said that after a trip to Walmart where Grubb bought gloves and garbage bags, he and Grubb traveled to the Rossland Cemetery where he left his car and got into Grubb’s Chevrolet S-10 pickup.

He said they then traveled down KY 6 and turned onto KY 459. Their journey ended at what Blevins described as a old strip mine site. When they got there, he saw Johnson’s car parked near a tree line. Blevins said Grubb then walked with him to the car and opened the back door, at which time he saw Johnson’s lifeless body.

"I told him that I couldn’t have anything to do with this. He said ‘you can and you will," Blevins said. "I took it as threatening."

He said he and Grubb then loaded Johnson’s body into Grubb’s pickup and drove down south KY 6 and turned onto a side road near Frog Helton’s Store.

They then drove to a remote gas well site, where he and Grubb dug a shallow grave and buried Johnson. "We dug and dug and dug," he added.

Blevins said that throughout the ordeal, he feared for his life. "I thought I wouldn’t leave there that night," he said.

However, on Tuesday, Grubb took the stand and painted a different picture of the events.

Grubb said that after leaving Angels and Wings at around 10:20 p.m.

June 10, 2008, he and Johnson went to his trailer at which time he said Johnson was asleep in the backseat. Grubb said he then got into his pickup and went to a friend’s house for a short period of time before returning to his trailer.

"When I pulled into the driveway my trailer lights were on," he said, adding that Grubb did not have permission to enter his home.

He said that once inside he found that Johnson had broken into a lock box and taken drugs, money and a pistol.

Grubb said a fight ensued that continued for a period of time, after which Johnson went outside, adding that Johnson then hurled a concrete block at him. "It hit my shin. I picked it up and threw it back at him.

Grubb said he then went inside and went to bed. When he awoke he found Johnson’s lifeless body outside.

"He was my best friend. I didn’t mean to kill him. I never meant to kill anybody," he said.

Under Kentucky law, Grubb will have to spend at least 20 years in prison before being eligible for parole. Grubb is slated to be back in court Nov. 29 for a formal sentencing. At that time, he will either be sentenced to the period recommended by the jury or their recommendations will be rejected.