A St. Paul real estate agent who made detailed threats to shoot his estranged wife and her boyfriend and then said he would set their house on fire was sentenced to probation Thursday.
Rex Alan Johnson pleaded guilty to a felony charge of making threats of violence with terroristic intent, but will be sentenced to a misdemeanor charge after he completes up to three years of supervised probation, according to court documents. .
Johnson, 43, of New Brighton, is in the top 2 percent of real estate agents in the Twin Cities, according to his LinkedIn page. He has offices in St. Paul's and Highland Park.
Johnson has recovered and is sober since the 2022 incident, his attorney Ryan Paciga said Friday. Paciga said he was “in a complete state of alcoholism” when he made the comment and “has no recollection of it.”
“He never made such a statement before or after that event,” he said. “He sincerely apologized for what he said.”
According to an October 2022 criminal complaint, Johnson's estranged wife told police that since they separated, Johnson had told others he wanted to kill her.
friend recording
The complaint filed by the Dakota County Attorney's Office provides the following information:
On October 17, 2022, three individuals arrived at the Mendota Heights Police Department to report a threat. One woman said she and Johnson were in the process of divorcing and that she lived with her boyfriend in Mendota Heights (her complaint names the couple as Victim 1 and Victim 2). .
A man who went to the station with the couple said he had known Mr. Johnson for years and had spoken to him on the phone earlier in the day. The call started as a normal conversation, but Johnson later said, “The only reason Victims 1 and 2 were alive was because he kept them alive.” Johnson said he recently purchased two AR-15 rifles, magazines and ammunition.
The caller said he was going to kill two people, so he began recording the conversation.
Johnson said he had a copy of the keys to his estranged wife's residence and said he had 900 rounds of ammunition, a bulletproof vest and a bib.
He said he wanted to put the barrel of an AR-15 into the woman's mouth. He also stated that he fantasized about “her turning her head until her eyes showed panic, like you were trying to kill me.”
Johnson said she couldn't wait to put the gun in Victim 2's mouth and knew “he was going to beg for his life.”
The call went off, but the man later resumed a phone conversation with Johnson, but the threats continued. Johnson talked about setting the couple's home on fire. “Even if it means I have to die, I won't (expletive) as long as she suffers. That's a bonus,” Johnson is quoted as saying in the complaint.
Victims 1 and 2 listened to a 36-minute recording of their conversation with the officers. Police observed Johnson's estranged wife and the man who spoke to Johnson on the phone “visibly crying and shaking.” The woman and her boyfriend “expressed fear and concern regarding these threats” and did not return to the home, according to the complaint.
“The Darkest Moment”
Police went to Mr. Johnson's residence to arrest him. He did not open the door, spoke to the officer through the front window, and did not attempt to leave the house. A warrant for his arrest was issued and he subsequently posted bail without being taken into custody. The Dakota County Sheriff's Office says no booking photo exists because he was not booked into the jail.
Mr. Johnson's estranged wife said through a family friend that she did not wish to comment on the matter.
According to court documents, Johnson was ordered to perform 45 days of home detention supervision and 80 hours of community service.
Johnson's comments in October 2022 were “in which he confided in a friend about the anger he was feeling regarding the divorce, but he never called her directly to say anything like that.” , Paciga said Johnson is responsible.
“There's nothing worse than our darkest moments. This was the worst night of Rex's life,” Paciga said. “His actions showed that he was truly sorry for this drunken episode and did everything he could to make it right.”
