Tri-Cities Aryan Brotherhood member on trial for murder for shooting man in the back

An Aryan Brotherhood member accused of killing a man in Richland is claiming that he shot in self defense.

Kyle A. Johnson-Clark, 29, is on trial in Benton County Superior Court for the 2019 death of Daniel S. Rice.

He already has admitted having a stolen 9mm handgun when Rice, 30, was shot in the back, the back of the arm and the back of the head.

The trial could last up to three weeks because of a long list of witnesses. However, prosecutors rested their case Tuesday afternoon, handing the case over to the defense.

In a rare move, Judge Dave Petersen and the attorneys seated six alternate jurors out of concern for COVID-19 issues and the longer-than-usual trial. Already, one juror has been lost due to illness and another was released after realizing they previously worked with some of the witnesses.

A typical Superior Court jury panel has 12 members and one or two alternates.

Johnson-Clark was arrested in St. Louis, Mo., two months after the Richland crime, following a five-hour standoff with police. He used to live in the St. Louis area, where he has a criminal history.

He has been in the Benton County jail on $1 million bail for the murder since June 2020.

Prosecutors said in a pretrial hearing that Johnson-Clark admits to being in the Aryan Brotherhood in Facebook messages, which also referenced threats and plans to attack the victim.

Some of the messages have been used in court as evidence during the trial.

Last week, he pleaded guilty separately to two different felony charges — second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and possessing a stolen gun.

Those pleas came during the jury selection process, so now jurors only have to decide one count of first-degree murder.

The murder includes the allegation that he was armed with a gun at the time of the crime. If convicted, it would mean additional years in prison for Johnson-Clark.

May 2019 attack

Rice reportedly “had a relationship” with Johnson-Clark’s girlfriend and may have been at the Columbia Park Apartments on May 3, 2019, to see her.

The two had used methamphetamine together while she was dating Johnson-Clark, according to court documents.

When the woman told her boyfriend, Johnson-Clark, that Rice was in the parking lot of the Jadwin Avenue apartment complex, Johnson-Clark allegedly grabbed his gun and ran downstairs.

A short time later he fired at Rice as the victim tried to run away, according to documents.

Rice, who lived in West Richland, died at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland with his mother by his side.

Richland detectives later found Johnson-Clark’s gun tossed into the Columbia River near the Snyder Boat Launch in Leslie Groves Park. The slide was forward, indicating the magazine was still partially loaded.

The remaining 9mm ammunition in the magazine matched the empty casings at the shooting scene.

A second, full magazine was found in nearby brush where Johnson-Clark had been seen walking after the shooting, said police.

Johnson-Clark allegedly told his girlfriend to tell police he had been in Spokane during the shooting, court documents said.

Then, after hearing a witness reported seeing him at the apartments that day, Johnson-Clark told his girlfriend to say Rice had a gun and shot at Johnson-Clark first, documents said.

Investigators previously said that no weapon was found on Rice.

This story was originally published January 27, 2022 at 5:00 AM.