Wrongfully Accused Amador County Man Freed After Two Years In Custody

AMADOR COUNTY (CBS13) — The Amador County District Attorney has admitted that the wrong man was in custody awaiting trial for two years for the death of one woman and the beating of two men.

Jeffrey Johnston was the landlord of an Amador County home when in 2019, a brutal attack by who police now say was Jared Wilkinson left Wilkinson's girlfriend Vanessa Plew dead and Johnson wounded.

After the release of Johnson, District Attorney Todd Riebe is now charging Wilkinson with murder and attempted murder for the attack.

Johnston and Wilkinson accused each other of killing Plew, and the DA says he believed the wrong guy until now.

When CBS13's Steve Large asked the DA if Wilkinson was now the only suspect, he simply replied "yes."

But he spoke at length when asked if he had anything to say to the wrongfully accused.

"The only thing I would say is it's unfortunate that he did stand charged and spent time in our jail," Riebe said.

Over the two years, Michael Eslinger, a friend of the now freed Jeffrey Johnston, compiled boxes of evidence saying he was always convinced of Johnston's innocence.

"And now we have the only person left standing that can be accountable for this tragedy."

Riebe says a new Department of Justice blood test did not match up with Wilkinson's alibi — and proved to be the big break in the case.

"And we believe that justice can sometimes move slow and not certainly as fast as Vanessa's family would have liked, but we believe this time we've got it right," Riebe said.

US Marshalls arrested Jared Wilkinson in Indiana on July 12.

He is set to appear before a judge on July 14 in an extradition hearing to bring him back to Amador County.