Handwritten notes provide insight into killing of Draper officer

Handwritten notes provide insight into killing of Draper officer

(Salt Lake County Metro Jail)


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SALT LAKE CITY — The man accused of killing Draper Police Sgt. Derek Johnson couldn't talk while he was in the hospital, but he apparently spent a lot of time writing notes.

This week, about 15 search warrants connected to the case of Timothy Troy Walker, 35, and Traci Lee Vaillancourt, 34, were made public. With the warrants, investigators sought various items, including DNA samples, searches of Walker's car and storage shed, and a search of both suspects' cellphones.

Walker is charged with aggravated murder in the shooting death of Johnson on Sept. 1 near 13200 S. Fort St. (850 East). He is also accused of shooting Vaillancourt before turning the gun on himself. The attack on Johnson was without provocation, according to prosecutors. Vaillancourt is charged with obstruction of justice.

In a search warrant obtained earlier this month, it was revealed that Walker, who shot himself in the jaw, wrote notes to hospital staff while he was physically unable to speak, "indicating he does not want to be resuscitated and expressed remorse for what had happened."


On one of the notes, Walker asked "if he had killed them."

In newly released search warrants, Unified police say they actually seized "a stack" of handwritten notes from Walker. On one of the notes, Walker asked "if he had killed them."

On Sept. 2, Walker apparently overheard two officers who were keeping watch of him at the hospital talking about working on Labor Day. Walker then wrote: "Tell the officers thanks" and "Sorry it's a holiday," according to the search warrant. The officers then left a clipboard at Walker's bed in case he wanted to write any more notes. A stack was collected two days later.

Court documents did not reveal Wednesday what was written on all of the notes.

A search warrant was also served at South Towne Storage, 9349 S. 255 West, where Walker rented a unit. A manager said Walker and Vaillancourt were at the storage unit almost daily. They were at the unit for about 90 minutes the evening before Johnson was shot, the warrant states.

A search of the unit turned up shell casings, gun accessories, a drug pipe, 27 syringes, 36 empty pill bottles with prescriptions written on them for Walker, Vaillancourt and Teresa Vaillancourt.

Walker and Traci Vaillancourt's next scheduled court date is Dec. 3.

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Pat Reavy

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