Man pleads in case where body was found wrapped in plastic

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

A man who faced murder and other charges in connection to the 2018 killing of a 47-year-old man pleaded guilty last week to lesser charges before a trial against him was set to begin.

David Savage, 64, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court to voluntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence. A court document says that prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed to a sentence of 13 years.

A jury trial was set to begin Monday in the case, but Savage agreed to a plea deal on Friday, records show. He remains in Montgomery County Jail on $1 million bond and is due back in court on Dec. 17 for sentencing.

His defense attorney, Anthony Cicero, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Savage was charged in connection to the killing of Steven T. Johnson, whose body was found Oct. 8, 2018, off Arlington Road by a Browns Nursery worker. Court documents say that Johnson was wrapped in plastic and stuffed in a blue sleeping bag.

A coroner’s investigator said Johnson died of blunt force trauma and former Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer said at the time that Savage beat Johnson to death after the two argued about a woman and drugs. Plummer said he received a tip that the killing took place at a vacant house and a metal pipe may have been used.

Savage, who investigators said was from New Mexico and described as a “drifter,” was arrested a few days later in Wisconsin. Court records show Savage as being without a home.

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