Johnson dismisses attorneys, prepares to represent himself in financial fraud case

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The fifth and sixth lawyers to represent Donald Johnson, the 58-year-old Porter resident accused of more than a dozen counts of securities fraud, were granted their motion to withdraw as his legal counsel Friday morning in a Zoom hearing before Porter Superior Court Judge Jeffery Clymer.

“It’s readily apparent to the court that there has been an absolute breakdown between the defendant and his current lawyers,” Clymer said at the beginning of the hearing. “It is also readily apparent at this point that there’s not going to be an acquittal, there’s not going to be a plea.

Johnson was initially charged in Porter Superior Court in March 2014 with 14 counts related to securities fraud, Class C felonies at the time. Two months later he was charged with one count of forgery, also a Class C felony, and two counts of theft, Class D felonies, in a related case. Clymer explained that he didn’t want to know any details, because if Johnson is convicted, he will be the one sentencing him, and should not be prejudiced by any information that should be protected by attorney-client privilege.“I’m the one who knows the case,” he said. “I feel like I have a better chance than an attorney that’s unwilling to do the work.”

“Only two months left, I’m supposed to do it all myself, or a public defender who has a heavy caseload and only gets a couple hundred dollars,” Johnson said.

 

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