Judge won’t increase bail for Cedar Rapids repeat domestic abuser

CEDAR RAPIDS — A judge denied a prosecutor’s request Wednesday to increase the bail for a Cedar Rapids man who already has been convicted twice of choking and punching women and who now faces a third domestic violence charge and violated a no-contact order by calling a woman from jail and asking her to lie to police.

Sixth Judicial District Judge Mary Chicchelly ordered the bail for Maurice Antoine Johnson Jr., 25, in the pending domestic assault causing bodily injury (penalty enhanced) to remain $1,000 cash or surety bond.

Assistant Linn County Attorney Rena Schulte had asked her to increase it to $5,000 because Johnson violated a no-contact order shortly after being charged for putting a woman, who he has a child with, in a chokehold and then kicking her and stomped on her ribs during a March 15 argument.

Schulte said there is a hearing next week on the no-contact violation.

During the call from jail, Johnson is “begging” the woman to drop the charges and lie to police. The woman, in the call, says she doesn’t want to lie because she will be charged for filing a false report and could lose their child. Johnson then berates the woman and curses her, causing her and the baby to cry, Schulte said.

Chicchelly also changed two $5,000 cash-only bails to allow Johnson to pay only a percentage of those under a bond in order to be released from jail on two pending probation violations for drug convictions.

Johnson has a total of $11,000 cash or surety bail on all pending cases to pay before he can be released from jail.

Johnson, in the previous domestic conviction, was given a deferred judgment but also had his pretrial release revoked because of violating a no-contact order. He also faces a pending possession of marijuana (penalty enhanced) charge from last month.

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