Man convicted of killing Draper police officer faces new charge

UTAH STATE PRISON — A convicted cop killer who is already serving a life sentence at the Utah State Prison and had an additional sentence of up to life in prison added on for a jailhouse assault is in trouble again.

Timothy Troy Walker, 42, was charged Monday in 3rd District Court with possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person. The charge is a first-degree felony because of Walker’s prior convictions involving violent offenses.

In 2014, Walker pleaded guilty to killing Draper Police Sgt. Derek Johnson. His plea spared him a possible death sentence as a judge sentenced him to life in prison.

“The next time you leave the penitentiary will be after your death. You will never walk out again,” Judge Mark Kouris said when he sentenced Walker.“In our society we have so few heroes, and yet you took one away from us.”

In 2019, Walker was convicted of aggravated assault by a prisoner, a first-degree felony. He was sentenced to an additional five years to life in prison. In that case, Walker and two other inmates were convicted in connection with an assault on another inmate who was stabbed six times, according to charging documents.

In his latest charges, corrections officers found a shank in Walker’s cell during a search, according to charging documents. An officer “found a piece of metal sharpened on one end and covered in a sheath with a cloth handle in Walker’s right pocket,” the charges state.

Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill, speaking in general about cases involving defendants already serving life sentences, said his office will still hold those people accountable for any new crimes they commit.

“If you engage in criminal behavior you’re going to be held accountable and be convicted,” he said.

The punishment for each new crime will be appropriate to the charge, Gill said.