A small cluster of protesters gathered Thursday afternoon on the east side of the Butler County Courthouse in anticipation of Stormy Ward’s preliminary hearing.
The protesters, who first arrived on Monday afternoon for the preliminary hearing that was scheduled for Antonio Whitehorn, were again calling for justice in the death of Jarvis Johnson. Ward was scheduled to have a preliminary hearing on the felony charges of hindering the prosecution of a felony and tampering with physical evidence in felony prosecution.
The charges stem from Ward’s alleged involvement with Whitehorn and an incident that occurred on Jan. 9, that led to the fatal shooting of Johnson. Whitehorn is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree robbery.
According to the probable cause affidavit for her arrest, Ward allegedly lied to investigators regarding her whereabouts on Jan. 9, as well as her activities during that day. The affidavit states that forensic examination of her and Whitehorn’s cellular devices revealed she had texted Whitehorn and instructed him to “delete any and all evidence referring to any of the events leading up to the altercation which resulted in the loss of two peoples’ lives.”
The affidavit goes on to state Ward had deleted other messages from her device and withheld information from investigators.
Ward was arrested a short time later on Jan. 10, and posted $75,000 bond Jan. 12.
The death of Johnson was initially considered to be the result of a robbery attempt that had gone wrong. Earlier in the week, Butler County Prosecutor Paul Oesterreicher explained he is still waiting for evidence from the investigation, as both city and state investigations are involved.
Since Ward waived her right to a preliminary hearing, her arraignment has been scheduled for 8:30 a.m. April 2.