John A. Booth Jr.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
Law enforcement believes the second two murders in Onalaska were committed in part to eliminate witnesses from the first killing, according to court documents filed in the weekend triple homicide case.
Charges filed late yesterday against John Allen Booth Jr. include a count of extortion. The 31-year-old suspect from Onalaska is still at large and considered armed and extremely dangerous.
The details of what happened inside the house off Gore Road early Saturday morning remain sketchy, as a judge sealed the affidavit of probable cause, the document describing the evidence that accompanies the information document filed when an individual is charged with a felony.
John A. Booth Jr.
At least three witnesses survived the shootings and their lives are at risk as long as Booth isn’t caught, prosecutors wrote in their declaration asking Lewis County Superior Court Judge Richard Brosey to seal part of the file. One witness is a 51-year-old listed yesterday afternoon as in stable condition, whose gender authorities have not confirmed.
Booth is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree murder, and one count of attempted first-degree murder.
The dead are David J. West Sr. 52, and his son David J. West Jr., 16, who lived in the sand-colored rambler and also Tony E. Williams, 50, of Mineral.
Booth is also charged with first-degree extortion and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. He is convicted felon who was just released in December from his third stay in prison.
Bail is set at $10 million.
Court documents accuse Booth of second-degree murder, intentionally causing the death of West Sr. They allege first-degree murder – premeditated and intended – in the slayings of West’s 16-year-old son David West Jr. and Tony E. Williams, 50, of Mineral.
The maximum penalty for those, and for attempted murder, is life in prison. The extortion and firearm possession each have a maximum penalty of 10 years.
Booth’s address is listed by the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office as on the 1500 block of Middle Fork Road in Onalaska, the same place it has been since his first adult felony arrest when he was 18 years old.
An man described by the sheriff as a person of interest was booked yesterday morning into the Lewis County Jail. Lewis County Sheriff Steve Mansfield said the individual was picked up by the state Department of Corrections for a probation violation.
More later.
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For more details on the fatal shootings, either scroll down or click here.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter