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KSHB 41 spoke with Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway about her office's action to remove Ray County Prosecutor Camille Johnston following complaints about misconduct.
Hanaway said her office started putting the quo warranto petition together about two months ago.
The petition accuses Johnston of having relationships with criminal defendants and a Ray County defense attorney, as well as bullying and intimidating employees in her office.
"Her judgment clearly is impaired when it comes to prosecuting the cases she's supposed to prosecute," Hanaway said.
One of those relationships was at the center of an exclusive KSHB 41 investigation in September 2025. In it, KSHB 41's Sarah Plake uncovered Johnston’s relationship with a man accused of sexual assault, Juan David Gutierrez, who is also in the country illegally.
That sexual assault case took four years to see the inside of a courtroom.
The case was transferred to the AG’s office in 2020, which was under Eric Schmitt’s leadership at the time.
The AG's office initially declined to prosecute the case in 2022. Then, in 2024, when Andrew Bailey was the AG, it inexplicably decided to pick the case back up. That's when Gutierrez was arrested in Ohio and subsequently charged with first-degree sodomy or attempted sodomy and second-degree sodomy.
Viewers and others in Ray County have asked KSHB the same question: Why did it take so long for the AG's office to act against Johnston?
"Literally, the first meeting that I was in when I became aware of it, I said, 'She's gotta go. We've gotta get her removed. She's clearly violating the public trust,'" Hanaway said. "And I would say that was about 60 days ago."
Hanaway said she could not speak to her predecessors’ decisions but will get an answer for us.
She credited KSHB 41's reporting as part of the reason why her office reached this point.
"I think it really has helped to move the needle and kind of kept things alive during this time period," Hanaway said. "So, I just want you to know that this kind of reporting does make a big difference."
Hanaway said she spoke to Johnston's attorney, trying to give Johnston time to resign so it wouldn't be a public issue, but that didn't happen.
"On the other hand, I'm glad that the public is well aware of the seriousness of her actions and why she should not ever have the public's trust again," Hanaway said.
Hanaway's office received numerous complaints from Ray County citizens and employees working in the Ray County Courthouse.
KSHB 41 submitted a records request to the AG's office earlier in the spring to see the complaints, but it was denied due to an "active investigation."
When asked in the interview, Hanaway didn't know how many complaints had been received, just that it was enough for her to pay "a lot of attention."
As for Johnston's other cases, Hanaway believes there will be some sort of review.
"I suspect that we'll first hear from defendants who think she had a conflict and who are concerned about it, but I do think we're going to have to look at some additional cases with a high degree of scrutiny and see if, for some reason, she was compromised," Hanaway said.
On top of that, Hanaway said federal charges against Johnston are "entirely possible" in connection to Gutierrez.
Johnston hasn’t responded to the quo warranto yet. She has until July 27. Then, a hearing would be scheduled.
Johnston's attorney, Chad Gardner, previously told KSHB 41 they would not issue any public statements due to the pending litigation.
KSHB 41 will continue to stay on top of this story.
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