N.S. babysitter threatened by ex: ‘He was going to firebomb their house and put them in a grave’

First, he allegedly threatened over the phone to firebomb the home where his former teenage girlfriend was living.

Then he showed up unannounced at the house where she was babysitting.

It was July 20 when Riley Johnson drove to the Princess Margaret Boulevard home in a black Nissan Altima.

“Johnson had threatened (his 17-year-old girlfriend) on the phone prior stating he was going to firebomb their house and put them in a grave,” RCMP Sgt. James Skinner said in an application for a warrant to search the car.

“(His girlfriend) said when Riley Johnson arrived in his black Nissan Altima, she saw him remove a shotgun from his trunk before yelling more threats.”

Mom calls police 

Police learned of the incident in Dartmouth’s Wallace Heights neighbourhood when the mother the babysitter was working for called them from her mobile phone, reporting a disturbance at her home.

“(She) explained to the dispatcher that she was not home and (a 17-year-old) was babysitting her infant son and something was going on with (the babysitter’s) ex at her house,” Skinner said in his information to obtain a warrant filed at Dartmouth provincial court.

Concerned for both her son and the babysitter, the mom asked police to check it out, said the investigator.

By the time two officers showed up – one a member of the Emergency Response Team – Johnson had already left in the Altima.

They learned that the mother’s boyfriend had gone to the house after learning of the phone threats.

‘Pointing it at her head’

Four minutes later, Johnson, 19, showed up in the Altima.

The babysitter watched as he got out of the car, opened the trunk and took out a shotgun, Skinner said.

“She saw Johnson take the shotgun and attempt to conceal it by tucking it into his waistband and hide it under (his) clothing; she had seen the shotgun before when Johnson had threatened her by pointing it at her head.”

The babysitter told police Johnson had red and blue shells for the shotgun.

“She said Johnson typically carries brass knuckles and a machete on him. Officers were made aware that grounds existed to arrest Johnson for the threats and weapons offences,” Skinner said.

The babysitter told police she’d been in a relationship with Johnson for about a year.

‘Became hostile’

She’d been speaking with him the day before as he grabbed items from her Dartmouth home.

“Johnson stated he was going to see her that night and stay with her.”

She didn’t hear from him until she texted him later that night.

By that point, he wasn’t sure about the sleepover plans he’d mentioned earlier.

“Johnson then became hostile towards her, stating he was ‘done with her.’”

‘Verbally attacked’

The babysitter called Johnson, “and was verbally attacked by four people on the phone,” Skinner said, noting she was able to identify them to police.

“While on the call, Johnson stated that he was going to kill her and her father, he was going to put them in a grave, that he was going to firebomb her house, and that he was going to send men after her.”

On July 19, the babysitter had spotted Johnson and his friends who had yelled at her on the phone earlier that day driving around her Centre Street home around 11:30 p.m. in a grey Hyundai Elantra.

They were “repeatedly circling, parking out front, flipping the house off and honking the horn,” Skinner said.

“She later received text messages from Johnson that he was going to kill her and that he wanted to hit her.”

‘As normal couples do’

The next morning “she continue to argue with Johnson, ‘as normal couples do’ via text message,” said the investigator.

The teen didn’t hear from him again until 5:30 p.m. when she was babysitting.

“She called Johnson and he stated that he did not want to talk to her, and screaming that he was making her mad; she called him back 15 minutes later stating that Johnson needed to get his things from (her Centre Street home); Johnson replied that he was already at that address, and that when he saw her he was going to kill her.”

The babysitter got scared, knowing he had access to guns, knives and brass knuckles, Skinner said.

Around 6:30 p.m., Johnson and another woman showed up at the Princess Margaret Boulevard home where the teen was babysitting.

‘Not going to fight an adult’

He pulled the shotgun out of the trunk, approached the babysitter “and told her he was going to fight her, to which she replied she was not going to fight an adult,” Skinner said.

He returned the Altima, yelling “she was going to ‘get it,’” before driving away.

Police found the unoccupied Altima around 11:30 p.m. on Fenwick Street in Dartmouth. They seized it and got it towed to police headquarters.

Johnson, whose last known address was on Willow Dale Drive in Musquodoboit Harbour, did not have a firearms license, said the investigator, noting police had designated the babysitter “a high-risk victim of lethality.”

Police couldn’t track Johnson down for several days.

‘Comes and goes as he pleases’

One officer tried calling him, but reached his mother, Michelle Johnson.

“Michelle advised she has not seen Johnson or heard from him and he just comes and goes as he pleases lately. Michelle advised that she would request he contact police if she speaks with him but doesn’t believe he will.”

The babysitter told police the Altima was taken from her friend, who didn’t want to report it stolen, and that it belonged to the friend’s mother.

It was a 2010 model with an “aftermarket muffler that was hanging very low,” Skinner said, noting that matched the description of the Altima seized on Fenwick.

“I am certain police seized the correct Nissan Altima,” Skinner said.

Search turns up shotgun and handgun

Based on the recency of the threat, that the babysitter saw him store the shotgun in the trunk, the seriousness of the event and the belief that Johnson was homeless, the investigator convinced a justice of the peace to grant a search warrant for the car.

Police seized a Harrington & Richardson 12-gauge single shot break open shotgun, and a CZ100 9 mm handgun with a loaded magazine from the Altima during a July 24 search.

Riley Johnson is currently facing 25 charges, all of which have offence dates between July 16-24. Most of them are for firearm offences. Johnson is also charged with several counts of uttering threats, and one count of assault with a weapon. He’s slated to return to court Nov. 23 for election and/or plea.