The Army said Tuesday it has filed criminal charges against a junior enlisted soldier in Hawaii who was arrested earlier this month after his pregnant wife went missing.
Pfc. Dewayne Arthur Johnson II, of Frederick, Maryland, was charged with 14 counts on three charges: providing false official statements; obstruction of justice; and production and distribution of child pornography, the U.S. Army in Hawaii said.
Johnson, a cavalry scout with the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, was detained about two weeks after his wife, 19-year-old Mischa Johnson, disappeared and is awaiting military trial in confinement. The Army has declined to confirm when the soldier was arrested.
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While the Army stopped short of accusing Johnson of having a role in the disappearance of his wife, who was six months pregnant when she went missing, the service said it may add other charges as the case develops.
It's unclear when Johnson is due to appear in court; the case has not yet been placed on the Army's public docket. The service may opt to handle the charges outside of a court-martial.
If the case heads to trial and Johnson is convicted, he faces up to five years in prison for each count of providing false official statements in violation of Article 107 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice; five years' imprisonment per count of obstructing justice in violation of Article 131b; and 30 years in confinement per count of producing and distributing child pornography in violation of Article 134. It's unclear which of the 14 counts issued against him are related to each charge.
Johnson may also be dishonorably discharged from the Army, reduced in rank, and forfeit all pay.
"This case remains an active investigation," Michelle McCaskill, a spokesperson for the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel, said in a release. "We are confident that law enforcement will exhaust all efforts to find Mischa."
Mischa Johnson's family indicated on an Instagram livestream last week that Army investigators now believe she is dead, more than three weeks after she was reported missing Aug. 1. She was last seen in her home at Schofield Barracks on July 31, the Army said.
"She was so excited to be a housewife and to live her dream," the woman's older sister, Marianna Tapiz, said on the livestream. "She was so happy."
Mark Lunardi, a spokesperson for the Army Criminal Investigation Division, declined to confirm Monday whether investigators believe the woman is dead.
Each branch of the military opened a new Office of Special Trial Counsel last year after Congress mandated that the most serious criminal offenses -- murder, sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, kidnapping and others -- be handled by independent lawyers outside the chain of command. Johnson's case is set to be among the initial cases the Army office has tried within its first year of operations.
Military justice reform advocates argue that running trials through the new office will minimize the amount of influence a defendant's commanders have over the legal process.
An extensive search effort remains underway for Mischa Johnson on and around the Army post north of Honolulu on the island of Oahu. A reward poster described her as 5 feet 2 inches tall, 170 pounds and of Filipino descent, with a large dragon tattoo on her back.
"Army CID continues to actively search for Mischa Johnson and seeks the public's assistance with any information on her whereabouts from July 12, 2024, through Aug. 1, 2024," Lunardi said.
On the livestream, Tapiz said the family will switch to seeking "justice for Mischa" rather than bringing her home.
"What we need to know is anything about [Pfc. Johnson], and that's the focus right now," Tapiz said.
Mischa's mother, Frances Tapiz-Andrian, sank to her knees and pleaded for help from the community.
"I failed as a mom. I failed as a parent. I failed my child. I failed Mischa," she said through sobs on the livestream. "Come out with anything. Call CID. I am not to judge anyone. ... I can't even bury my daughter."
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