MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – A Saginaw man will spend 30 years behind bars for a 2018 assault of his ex-girlfriend at the Isabella Indian Reservation.
In November 2024, a federal jury found Michael Lee Johnson guilty of unlawful imprisonment, assault of a dating partner by strangulation, assault of a dating partner by suffocation, interstate domestic violence and six counts of witness tampering.
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He was initially convicted in 2019 and sentenced to 72 years in jail, but Johnson appealed the case. His second trial still ended in conviction.
According to authorities, Johnson’s girlfriend, who is Native American, had ended their relationship before returning home from work. Despite being ordered by his parole agent to leave the residence, Johnson stayed.
Moments before she returned home, Johnson sent a message over social media to a friend that read, “I wanna do something evil.”
When she arrived, Johnson reportedly attacked her from behind, repeatedly throwing her into a wall and strangling and suffocating her until she struggled to breathe.
The evidence at trial showed Johnson held her against her will in October and November of 2018, threatened to kill her, and assaulted her multiple times -- sometimes in front of her children.
After he was arrested, Johnson attempted to influence or prevent the victim from testifying and contacted her more than 100 times.
While in jail, he asked his mother, Robin Johnson, to post several things on Facebook for his ex-girlfriend to see. The mother was arrested and charged with threatening the victim. She pleaded guilty in November 2019.
On Thursday, June 26, 2025, Michael Lee Johnson was sentenced to 30 years in prison.