PORTAGE, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – A longtime unsolved murder case in Portage might now finally be solved.
May 23, 2018, the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office initiated an investigation into the disappearance of 17-year-old Bonifacio “Facio” Peña after he was reported
missing by a family member. It was later determined that Peña was last seen in the Cityof Portage May 18, 2018 in the company of Nicholas Johnson. Because of this, Portage Department of Public Safety Detectives adopted the missing persons investigation.
Johnson has since been convicted of the February 2021 murders of his parents, Gary and Laura Johnson.
Portage Public Safety says that by November 2024, after exhausting “all reasonable investigative avenues” and concluding that Peña was deceased, the case was submitted to the Kalamazoo County Prosecutor’s Office for review.
Last week, Portage Public Safety was notified that the Prosecutor’s Office had authorized one Open Murder charge against Johnson in connection with the murder of Facio Peña. Other charges include two counts of Felony Firearm, one count of Felon in Possession of a Firearm, and one count of Carrying a Concealed Weapon
Portage officials say in the coming weeks Johnson will be transferred from the Michigan Department of Corrections back to the Kalamazoo County Jail for arraignment on those charges
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