Tuesday, August 17, 1999
Victim shows judge scars as slasher Johnson admits guilt
BY DAN HORN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Pauline Baird says she has no doubt Ronald Johnson is the man who broke into her home three months ago.
She says she still has the scars to prove it.
As she spoke in court Monday, the 56-year-old Norwood woman showed a judge the jagged red lines that Mr. Johnson cut into her face when she interrupted a burglary in May.
She said Mr. Johnson, who pleaded guilty to the crime Monday, pounced on her when she entered her kitchen.
“He's an animal,” Ms. Baird said in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court. “He should be put away for the rest of his life.”
Although a life sentence is not an option, Mr. Johnson will face up to 46 years in prison when he returns to court for sentencing Sept. 17.
Judge Ann Marie Tracey accepted his guilty plea Monday on charges of attempted murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary and two counts of felonious assault.
Mr. Johnson, 19, is the second member of his family in the past year to be charged with attacking a woman in her own home.
His older brother, Rayshawn, was sentenced to death last year for beating to death Shanon Marks, a Procter & Gamble Co. executive.
Assistant Prosecutor Seth Tieger said Ronald Johnson used a knife to slash Ms. Baird repeatedly on her face, neck and hands May 25.
A neighbor spotted Mr. Johnson fleeing the house through a kitchen window, Mr. Tieger said. He was arrested a few minutes later with his pockets filled with coins taken from a jar in Ms. Baird's kitchen.
Ms. Baird said the attack has made her wary of leaving her house.
“I've never lived in fear until now,” she told the judge. “I didn't deserve this.”
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