SWEETWATER COUNTY — James “Jim” Verlin Johnson was sentenced to two years unsupervised probation for his involvement in the theft of Cannon Oil and Gas equipment Tuesday morning. 

Johnson appeared in the Third District Court of Judge Richard Lavery Tuesday for sentencing, following his change of plea from not guilty to no contest to one felony charge of conspiracy to commit theft on June 12. A previous charge of felony crime against computer users was dismissed as part of a plea agreement. Per the proposed plea agreement, Johnson is to provide truthful testimony in the state’s case against alleged co-conspirators Allen E. Meredith and David Mansfield. 

The factual basis for the case is between October 15, 2021, and April 7, 2022, Johnson conspired with Meredith and David Jay Mansfield to allegedly commit theft of thousands of dollars of oilfield equipment from their former employer Cannon Oil &Gas, to then use at Meredith’s new business Mountain West Energy Services once it was formed.

While members of the Cannon family stated their dissatisfaction with the plea agreement, believing it to be an injustice, Judge Lavery said Johnson is a good candidate for rehabilitation as well as an important piece in the conspiracy case and could lead to other convictions. 

Johnson was sentenced using Wyoming Statute § 7-13-30, as he has no prior criminal history or substance abuse issues. This statute states that if a person who has not previously been convicted of any felony pleads no contest to a felony or misdemeanor, the court may defer further proceedings and place the person on probation. Lavery explained that this statute can only be used once by an individual, and under this statute, Johnson cannot leave the state of Wyoming without permission from the court for the term of his probation.

Victim Impact Statements

Elaine Cannon, part owner of Cannon Oil & Gas, gave an impact statement by first noting that her late husband and founder of Cannon Oil & Gas, Robert Cannon, is no longer here to speak on behalf of himself and his business or protect his business and family, as he passed away in October 2021. She said Johnson was an employee of Cannon Oil & Gas for over 10 years and was a family friend.

“I trusted him, along with Allen Meredith and David Mansfield, to keep operations going,” she said. 

She said within a few months of her husband’s passing, Johnson and others conspired to steal equipment, intellectual property, fuel, and manipulated the company’s GPS tracking on their vehicles to start Meredith’s new business Mountain West Energy Services. 

“They did this while they knew I was in my darkest hours of grief,” she said. 

She asked Judge Lavery to reject the plea agreement, as she believed the sentencing does not reflect the seriousness of Johnson’s actions. 

“This is the darkest most brutal form of theft and betrayal,” she said. 

Andrea Wilkinson, daughter of Elaine and Robert Cannon and general manager of Cannon Oil & Gas, said that Johnson, along with Meredith and Mansfield, were the company’s three highest, most tenured, and most trusted employees. 

She said Johnson has failed to take accountability for his actions and has not shown remorse, and therefore the plea agreement does not provide justice. She said Johnson manipulated Cannon Oil & Gas’s GPS tracking on their trucks so he and the alleged co-conspirators could haul stolen equipment across state lines without being detected. 

She said Johnson can claim to not know what was going on and that he was following Meredith’s directions, but that he should have seen red flags as Cannon Oil & Gas never would have allowed trucks to travel without GPS as it would be a safety concern. 

Wilkinson said Johnson stole from a grieving widow who fully trusted him, and that his refusal to own up to his actions reveal a person who is “spineless, gutless, [with] no moral character”. 

She added that because of the monetary and emotional damages caused by this crime, “the deal that has been offered sure doesn’t feel like justice”. 

Heather Cannon, the eldest child of Elaine and Robert, said that her mother was unprepared to run an oil company and relied on Johnson and the alleged co-conspirators. She said he was a key player in the crimes committed against her family’s business, and that she has not seen any remorse from Johnson. 

“The offer made to Jim is not justice. In fact, it is injustice,” she said. She added that she has heard comments in the community that “white collar crimes pay”, and she and Wilkinson both believe this sentencing will not deter future white collar crimes from taking place in Sweetwater County. 

However, Judge Lavery said that while this is a horrible crime and the Cannon family has his sympathy and condolences, there are other factors to consider in this sentencing.

He said the court is confronted with what it takes to gain convictions in a conspiracy, and Johnson is the person within the conspiracy who has information to lead to other convictions. As per the plea agreement, Johnson will be required to provide truthful testimony against his alleged co-conspirators, and if he does not follow through, he will come back to court and face the maximum penalty of his crime, which is no more than a $10,000 fine and/or 10 years in prison. Other terms of the plea agreement state that Johnson cannot have direct or indirect contact with the Cannon family or their property. 

“The court is going to go along with the agreement, reluctantly,” he said. Judge Lavery finished by saying that the court has to rely on the state and trust that they know what they’re doing in presenting this plea agreement, as they have information and evidence he does not have.