Crime Blotter

Suspect in school principal murder to plead guilty

Joel Johnson, 19, will plead guilty to being an accessory after the fact to first-degree murder, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, according to Montgomery County Circuit Court records. Johnson is the third of four suspects charged with murdering Brian K. Betts, a principal at D.C.’s Shaw Middle School. Betts was found shot in his home in April. One teen pleaded guilty to the murder and recently was sentenced to 40 years. An accomplice pleaded guilty to robbery and a handgun charge. The case against the fourth suspect remains unresolved.