A Eureka man charged with a beating another man to death nearly two years ago is set for jury trial later this month.

This morning attorneys confirmed they will be ready for trial March 27 in the case of Nickolas “Nick” Ryan Joseph Johnson, accused of sneaking into a Blue Lake residence on April 28, 2015, and bludgeoning David Dwayne Ganfield as he slept. Ganfield, 36, was struck repeatedly with a wooden bat and died later from head injuries.

Johnson, 26, eluded arrest for nine months. He was captured in January 2016 when District Attorney’s Office investigators descended on a Pine Street home and Johnson reportedly came out shooting a high-powered assault rifle. He was shot multiple times when investigators opened fire.

This morning Johnson’s attorney Neal Sanders told Judge Christopher Wilson that he has learned the prosecutor plans to present information during the trial about an incident other than the homicide.

“We’ll probably be filing a motion to request that material not be used,” Sanders said. The disputed information may be an account of Johnson’s shootout with officers. No separate charges were filed in that incident.

The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Roger Rees.

Johnson is charged with murder, burglary and personal use of a deadly weapon. He is being held on $1.5 million bail. His co-defendant Jonas Randall Semore, who was arrested two weeks after the attack on Ganfield, has already been convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 15 years to life.

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