Court Watching: Preliminary exam set June 9 for 2021 murder in VBT

John Green-Johnson’s preliminary exam has been set for Friday, June 9, at 34th District Court on murder charges from Van Buren Township and an aggravated assault charge from Romulus.
Green-Johnson, 32, of Detroit was present via video from the Wayne County Jail on May 3 for a probable cause conference and a pretrial. He is being held without bond.
He is charged with homicide/open murder and one count of weapons/felony firearm on May 9, 2021 in Van Buren Township.
He is also charged with domestic violence/aggravated assault on Feb. 8, 2020 in Romulus. He is not to contact either victims’ family. He failed to appear for a court date in 2021 and a Romulus warrant was issued. That warrant was allowed to be cancelled to be superceded by the murder warrant from Van Buren Township. He was extradited from a federal prison in West Virginia.
Defense attorney on both cases is Kim Michon, who said she still needed the medical examiner’s report for the homicide charge. The preliminary exam on that charge, which will begin at 10 a.m. on June 9, is expected to be three hours long.
The assault case will begin at 9 a.m. and Michon said she hopes to get that dismissed. The defendant told her the victim sent a signed affidavit to the court recanting the charge. She said she will reach out to find the document.
It was noted that a lot of family is interested in the homicide case and extra provisions are being made for safety in the courtroom.
On Sunday, May 9, 2021 at about 4 p.m., the Van Buren Township Police Department began receiving information regarding a potential homicide that occurred within the township.
VBT Police Chief Jason Wright said after many steps and much investigation, the body of 29-year-old Amber Nicole King was found in a storage unit in the City of Westland.
Chief Wright said police determined that a suspect had shot a female in an apartment at the Westlake Apartments. The female victim’s identity was unknown initially and her body had been moved. However, officers had a suspect’s name.
Chief Wright said officers were able to locate the scene of the homicide at Westlake. A search warrant was obtained and VBT Police requested the assistance of the Michigan State Police Forensic Unit to process the apartment.
Further investigation led VBT Police to Monroe County where the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department located and arrested a male suspect, who was a VBT resident. Acting on information, Van Buren detectives subsequently executed a search warrant on a storage unit in the City of Westland where the female victim was found.
The victim was a 2011 graduate of Belleville High School. She was survived by a son and many relatives in the Belleville area.
Samantha Ann Lawson
Samantha Ann Lawson of Taylor was present by zoom on May 3 from the Wayne County Jail for a probable cause conference. She is charged with assault with intent to murder, discharging a weapon in or at a building, assault with a dangerous weapon (felonious assault) and three counts of felony firearm on April 19 in Van Buren Township.
Her defense attorney Kenrick Riggins, appearing for attorney of record Michael Woodyard, said they needed discovery so the probable cause conference was adjourned until May 17. On that date the live preliminary exam was set for June 28 and then reset for a sooner date of 11 a.m. May 24, with the defense attorney and prosecutor agreeing.
Her bond was set at $75,000 cash and Riggins asked for a reduction, saying she was a single mother and has three children, one of whom is disabled, and they are with her sister. He said she was not a danger to the community because the incident involved one person.
Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Rima Yahfoufi disagreed, saying shots were fired in an outside area which made it a danger to the community.
Judge Martin denied bond modification on May 3 but did call for a review of her bond by circuit court.
Van Buren Township Deputy Police Chief Joshua Monte gave the background to the case. He said at about 2 a.m. on April 19, his department responded to a residence in the 9100 block of Parkwood Drive in response to multiple calls of gunshots in the area.
Officers were able to locate the female victim, who informed officers that Samantha Lawson, a resident of the city of Taylor, came to her residence to confront her. The two females engaged in a verbal altercation outside the residence, reportedly over Lawson’s former boyfriend. Lawson reportedly went to her vehicle, retrieved a handgun, and fired at least one shot at the victim’s residence, according to reports.
There were multiple people inside the residence, including two children, Deputy Chief Monte said. There were no reported injuries.