Inmate Accused Of Killing Officer Indicted On 1st-Degree Murder Charges
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – An inmate at the Stillwater prison is now facing a first-degree murder charge in the beating death of a corrections officer last month.
Court records show that a grand jury indicted Edward Johnson, 42, on the new charges, upgrading them from the second-degree murder charges filed earlier this month.
A conviction of first-degree murder is punished in Minnesota by life in prison.
According a criminal complaint, Johnson beat officer Joseph Gomm with a hammer on July 18 in the metal shop inside of Minnesota Correctional Facility – Stillwater. Johnson also stabbed the officer with homemade knives.
Gomm, 45, of Blaine, died at the scene.
Johnson is currently serving a sentence for having his ex-girlfriend murdered in 2002.
Johnson is expected to make his first court appearance on the upgraded charges Friday morning at the Washington County Courthouse.
