An Arizona woman who admitted to poisoning her Air Force husband by pouring bleach into his coffee is reportedly avoiding jail time. 

Melody Felicano Johnson, 40, pleaded guilty last month to two counts of poisoning food or drink for putting trace amounts of bleach into husband Roby Johnson’s coffee maker on July 11 and July 18, 2023, Arizona’s 13 News reported.  

Johnson was sentenced to a probation sentence that includes mandatory mental health treatment that goes into effect immediately, and she is not allowed to have contact with her husband unless a legal team is present.

Roby Johnson said he believed his wife was trying to kill him to collect death benefits, according to court documents. 

She was initially arrested and charged with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault and adding harmful substances to food, drink or medicine but agreed to a plea deal instead. 

The couple have a child together and were going through a divorce during the times she tried to poison her husband, court documents show.

Roby began to notice his coffee tasted odd while he was drinking a cup in March 2023 when the family was stationed in Germany.

He drank the coffee for two or three weeks before purchasing pool testing strips to determine what was wrong with it.

First, he tested the tap water, which came back normal, but after conducting the test on his coffee, he discovered the drink contained high levels of chlorine.

He stated she knew that he would prep his coffee pot to be ready at night so that in the morning he just needed to turn it on to make his coffee.

Roby pretended to drink the coffee while stationed in Germany and waited until the family moved back to Tucson, Arizona, last summer to alert authorities because he did not want to report his findings in Europe, the court documents state.

When the family returned to the US in late June, Roby set up a camera inside their temporary housing near Davis Monthan Air Force Base to observe his wife’s behavior – and the camera allegedly captured Melody pouring bleach into his coffee.

On July 6, he filed a report with the Tucson Police Department, but police did not follow up because the video did not clearly show what liquid his wife was pouring into his drink, prompting Roby to set up a second camera disguised as a fire alarm.

Roby returned to the police department on July 18 to provide additional video evidence, and the new footage allegedly showed his wife pouring bleach into the coffee machine before brewing. Johnson was then detained.

A Valley fifth grader is fighting a tough battle.

First, he had trouble walking. Now, he’s a person who uses a wheelchair.

He and his mom are raising money to make his life more accessible. 

For now, it’s challenging, and potentially dangerous, every time Cole tries to get in and out of the car.

“He will say he is OK, and I can see his legs shaking. That’s one thing that really moves me, is he has a strong will to keep moving,” said Crysta Hough, Cole’s mom.

Crysta says three years ago, her son’s leg had a pain. They learned he had Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

“It’s a genetic disorder that attacks his muscles, legs and lower extremities,” she said.

They got him a powered wheelchair. It stretches his core and his legs, but getting it in and out is hard.

Something that brings Cole joy is going to school.

“It’s fun to learn about new things,” Cole said.

But, going to school becomes harder every day.

“We are coping with our day-to-day lives as much as we can,” his mom said.

This year, they were picked by the Jett Foundation to raise funds for a wheelchair accessible van.

They’re expensive.

If Cole raises half the money, the foundation picks up the rest and gifts the van. 

So far, they’ve raised $12,000. They need $32,000.

“It would be a blessing. It would be the biggest thing, the biggest accomplishment for him,” Crysta said.

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“It’s really not a want for these families,” Alexa Tinsley with Jett Foundation said. “It’s an absolute need.”

It can be life changing.

“Access medical care, access doctor appointments, and then also, you know, do things as a family and get children and adults out of the house as well,” Tinsley said.

Coal has goals he wants to achieve, and a van would make them possible.

“I want to help him achieve his goals, but like I said, with public transportation, that’s not always the case,” Crysta said.

The young boy says it would change everything if they had a van.

“I would be able to do after-school stuff and before-school stuff easier. All of that would make it so much easier,” he said.

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – While the 1864 abortion ban has been repealed in Arizona, there’s another abortion ban that is currently the law in the Grand Canyon state.

It bans abortions due to any genetic abnormalities, no matter the stage a woman is at in her pregnancy.

“Arizona, even in the absence of, you know, the 1864 ban, it has very, very strict abortion laws on the books,” said Jessica Sklarsky, senior staff attorney in U.S. litigation, Center for Reproductive Rights.

Arizona passed a law in 2021 banning abortions solely based on the genetic makeup of a fetus or embryo, and the court did not challenge that law.

“That law is fully applicable today and it should be fully applicable moving forward. And that’s a good thing because life is a human right, and every human life is worth protecting,” said Jake warner, senior counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom.

However, the law was passed before Roe v. Wade was overturned, causing pro-choice organizations to challenge the law in court.

“In this case, we do challenge, we refer to it as, as the Reason Scheme because it’s really a whole suite of laws that were intended to make it impossible for somebody who may have, who may have a suspected or diagnosis of a fetal condition, make it impossible for them to obtain abortion care,” Sklarsky said.

Over the past three years, they have continued their fight in the Isaccson v. Mayes case.

There’s been a lot of back and forth, not just due to Roe being overturned, but the 1864 abortion ban taking a front-row seat in the abortion fight.

Attorney General Kris Mayes also said she wouldn’t enforce or defend the law in court, but a few Arizona legislators decided to defend it.

The fight is far from over, and Sklarsky said the Center for Reproductive Rights will continue to fight the case.

“Regardless of the repeal going through the fight is going to continue,” Sklarsky said.

And Warner said the same for the ADF.

“We’re hopeful that the Arizona Supreme Court will allow Arizona law to protect unborn children as much as possible,” Warner said.

If a doctor were to be convicted under the law, they could lose their medical license, be sued by the father for medical damages, and even face jail time.

Sklarsky described the law as quote “unconstitutionally vague.”

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