PUBLISHED FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 2003

Two men die in ultralight aircraft crash

Prominent lawyer, best friend perish in wreck

Sean Smith
@PensacolaNewsJournal.com

Best friends James Stokes and John Johnson shared office space, vacations and a passion for flying.

They died Wednesday when their ultralight-type aircraft crashed into a rural area near Elsanor, Ala., across the Florida- Alabama state line west of Beulah.

Now Johnson's widow, Allison, wants to make sure their lives are celebrated together.

Johnson, 50, was a Pensacola businessman and builder, owner of Pop's Attic Storage and Southern Improvement of Pensacola. He campaigned for Escambia County Commission in 1992, 1996 and 2000.

Stokes, 47, was an attorney for Alex King, 13, who was convicted of killing his father; and for Daniel Carter, 16, who is charged with first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing his uncleh. Carter's trial, scheduled for July 14, will be delayed until a new defense attorney is selected, Assistant State Attorney David Rimmer said.

John Johnson, who had a flying lesson canceled because of rain earlier Wednesday, was in church with Allison and his granddaughter when Stokes called on the cell phone about 7 p.m. The rainy weather that evening had cleared.

"They loved to fly, and they wouldn't stop talking about that plane since they bought it," she said of the ultralight/experimental aircraft they purchased in April. "He kissed me and said, `I'm going for a flight.' They loved that thing. They were best friends. They died doing what they loved."

The Johnsons celebrated their 14th wedding anniversary Tuesday, she said. Johnson is survived by a daughter, Summer; a son, Eric; and three grandchildren.

Stokes divorced in 1988.

Rick Gordon, who owns the hangar where the two kept the aircraft in Elsanor, said they flew at least four days a week. Gordon noticed Stokes' car at the hangar and called Allison Johnson about 9:15 p.m. They were long overdue.

About 9:30 p.m., an Escambia County deputy knocked on Johnson's door.

"He told me that John was killed in an aircraft crash, and that was it," she said. "He didn't know what happened to James."

Some witnesses to the crash reported hearing sounds "like the fluttering of an engine" before the plane went down. However, none saw the crash, officials said.

"We were out in the yard and, at the spur of the moment, looked up and said, `Oh, there's an ultralight,"' Bruce Bonner, who resides about a mile from the crash site, told the Mobile Register. "He kind of made a turn, and the engine just got quieter, just went dead."

The Federal Aviation Administration sent two investigators to the crash site Thursday to determine what type of aircraft it was, said FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen. Ultralight aircraft do not fall under FAA regulations but are only allowed to be used as a single-seat aircraft. If two people fly, an exemption has to be filed with the agency, Bergen said.

John Johnson was involved with the construction of a new church building for Gonzales United Methodist Church.

Stokes was a Marine Corps helicopter pilot before entering law school at Florida State University in Tallahassee, where he graduated in 1996. He served in the Public Defender's Office in Pensacola before opening his own law practice. He moved his practice into the office of Pop's Attic on Ten Mile Road about four years ago, Allison Johnson said.

John Johnson and Stokes met through Steve Andrews, a retired Marine. Andrews was Stokes' flight instructor at Whiting Field. Andrews said Stokes called him Wednesday and said, "This is a great day to go flying."

Andrews said the three men were like brothers and hung out frequently.

"Jim loved aviation - he loved to fly - and John was wanting to take it up," he said. "I lost two of my best friends. John loved his wife, his kids and his grandkids more than anything in the world. They were his life."

Friends and colleagues recall Stokes' passion for the law. He represented Alex King for free.

Sharon Potter, who defended Derek King, Alex's brother, worked with Stokes on some issues in the controversial trial that gained national attention. She had known him for years. Stokes was at the Public Defender's Office when she joined in 1997.

She said the King brothers' trial was intense and emotional for them.

"You try to leave it behind you, but we couldn't do that," Potter said. "It would be common for me to see him on the weekends while we were going to meet the boys."

The King brothers were convicted, but the convictions later were thrown out, and the cases were ordered into mediation. Alex and Derek are serving seven- and eight-year sentences in separate juvenile prisons.

Rimmer faced Stokes several times in court, most recently when Stokes represented Alex King.

"He was a very worthy opponent. He was a vigorous attorney who represented his clients with a great deal of zeal," Rimmer said. "He was a likeable guy. I got along fine with him and I literally felt currents of shock going through my body when I heard this."

Cindy Carter, mother of defendant Daniel Carter, couldn't believe the news of Stokes' death.

"The thing about James Stokes was, he took cases when people couldn't afford a lawyer. He probably took too many. He did a lot of pro bono work," she said. "He lived conservatively, drove a conservative car, nothing extravagant. He had a passion for people who needed help. He was really passionate about Daniel's innocence and determined to do what he could to help."

Potter's voice broke when she called Stokes "a true friend."

"He liked being on the side of the underdog, the individual who had the entire power of the state of Florida focused against them, and he could be the kind of superman and represent the little person," Potter said. "He actually lived it. It wasn't just a job to him."

News Journal reporters Alan Gomez and Michael Stewart contributed to this report.