Covelo man wants to withdraw guilty plea in girlfriend’s killing

A Covelo man is trying to withdraw his guilty plea in the fatal shooting of his girlfriend, who was killed in March while on the phone with 911 dispatchers.

Johnathan Draughan, 43, was set to be sentenced Friday in Mendocino County Superior Court after pleading guilty June 21 to killing Brandy Kay Mathieson, 35.

Proceedings instead focused on the withdrawal of his plea and Mendocino County Judge Patrick Pekin assigned Draughan an attorney to discuss his concerns.

In a handwritten letter to the court dated July 15, Draughan wrote there was a “horrible article misrepresenting me in The Press Democrat” and he wants “a new venue, a new lawyer, a new DA and a new judge.”

“I was lied to about my sentencing and had information withheld concerning my plea,” Draughan wrote.

He had been represented by an attorney with the Mendocino County Public Defender’s Office.

The matter will be revisited Aug. 27 to determine if Draughan will file a motion to withdraw his plea or maintain his guilty plea.

Draughan had been convicted of one count of second-degree murder in the killing of Mathieson, the mother of his 2-year-old son.

Court records show Draughan and Mathieson had a volatile history leading up to the killing, and Mathieson filed for a domestic violence restraining order against Draughan on Jan. 30.

The filing references years of abuse, and court records show Draughan was arrested in November on suspicion of using tear gas on Mathieson. That case was dismissed due to insufficient evidence, records show.

The court issued a five-year protection order about a month later but Draughan had not been served as of Feb. 28.

The March 20 shooting happened in front of the child at Mathieson’s Covelo home in the 25600 block of Mendocino Pass Road, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office reported in March.

Mathieson called dispatchers about 5:30 a.m. March 20 and reported Draughan was armed with a shotgun and had assaulted her at the home.

The dispatcher heard multiple gunshots and Mathieson stopped talking, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Draughan picked up the phone and told the dispatcher he shot Mathieson and would wait for authorities.

Sheriff’s deputies arrived and Mathieson was pronounced dead at the scene.

They recovered a shotgun at the home and took the child to a hospital for an evaluation.

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi