Former cellmate pleads guilty for murder of Milo Warnock

James M. Johnson pleaded guilty to the murder of Milo Warnock, canceling the trial scheduled to begin Feb. 3 and facing a possible sentence of life in prison.

Warnock, 45 when he died, was a 1996 Lewiston High School graduate who died after being assaulted Dec. 10, 2024, at the Idaho State Correctional Institution in Kuna, Idaho. Warnock was serving a 2-10 year sentence for a felony DUI charge. He had been sent to the maximum security part of the prison after an issue with his medication resulted in an infraction.

Johnson, who was Warnock’s cellmate, beat him to death in their cell. Johnson, 33, was indicted Aug. 28 by a grand jury for first-degree murder and destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence, both felonies, according to court documents.

Johnson pleaded guilty Wednesday before Fourth District Judge Nancy Baskin, with Daniel Dinger representing Ada County Prosecutor’s Office and Amy Mitchell as public defender for Johnson. Johnson pleaded guilty to murder and the charge of concealment of evidence was dismissed, according to court documents. According to the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office, Johnson’s guilty plea was for a sentence of 35 years fixed and up to life in prison, but the defense can argue for a different sentence. The agreement wasn’t part of a mediated rule 11 agreement, which means the sentence will be determined by the judge.

Baskin accepted the guilty plea and ordered a presentence investigation report as well as a substance abuse and mental health screening. Sentencing is scheduled to take place April 4, according to court documents.

Johnson was serving a sentence for fraud and grand theft and was scheduled to be released in February. Johnson had a history of violence while in custody at the Idaho Department of Correction and had received disciplinary measures. He was also affiliated with the Aryan Knights, a white supremacist prison gang, according to court documents.

Warnock’s mother, Kathy Warnock, said in a statement to the Tribune that she is relieved the criminal case was resolved without a trial. She said Johnson is “clearly capable of killing and should not walk free any time soon.”

However, Kathy Warnock and Warnock’s sister, Hallie Johnson, expressed similar sentiments that while James Johnson committed the act, the judicial system and prison system also contributed to “this heinous crime,” Kathy Warnock wrote. In May, the Warnock family notified the state of Idaho of their plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the Idaho Department of Corrections, its leaders and Centurion, the company used for inmate health care.

“Let’s be clear; this is not justice for the death of my brother. James Johnson committed the act, but he is not solely culpable,” Hallie Johnson said in a statement to the Tribune.

Hallie Johnson said the prison was careless in administration of its policies and procedures that eventually led to Warnock being placed in maximum security. She criticized those policies as showing a lack of “critical thinking” in how residents are classified, calling it “appalling.”

Hallie Johnson noted that it would cost the state of Idaho “no less than a million dollars” to keep James Johnson in custody during his sentence.

“Maybe that’s a small price to pay to keep a murderer off the streets. Maybe prison turned that man into a murderer,” Hallie Johnson said in the statement. “I believe the very lowest expectation we should have of our prisons is to keep its residents safe. That means safe from each other and safe from themselves. This event was a failure.”

The Warnock family spoke to the Tribune previously about how Milo Warnock had been trying to get out of maximum security as well as getting his prison sentence reduced before he died. Kathy Warnock also wrote of the lack of safety during her son’s last moments, saying they were spent in “anguish” as he was intimidated and threatened.

“No one helped him, and he was at a loss to know what to do. ‘If I take any action at all, it will be wrong,’ Milo wrote to me,” Kathy Warnock said in the statement. “We will continue to tell Milo’s story in order to bring increased public awareness to the need for system reform.”

Brewster may be contacted at kbrewster@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2297.