NORTH COUNTYNORTH COUNTY — A former operating room director at Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside is being held without bail at the Vista jail on felony allegations connected to an incident at a private residence on April 14.
Gary Johnson, 62, pleaded not guilty to charges of residential burglary and attempted sexual assault on April 17 and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on May 30.
His attorney, Peter Blair, confirmed after a court hearing Friday morning that Johnson worked at the hospital, but said he needed time to study the facts of the case before commenting further.
An internal email obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune sent on April 18 advises Tri-City medical staff that Johnson “is no longer with TCMC,” and Dr. Gene Ma, the hospital’s chief executive officer, said in an email this week that the medical center was not directly involved.
“As this is a matter unrelated to the hospital which neither occurred here nor did it involve any patients, we do not have any additional information or comment,” Ma said.
The facts that led to Johnson’s arrest remain undisclosed.
Johnson’s criminal complaint accuses the registered nurse of entering an inhabited home in Oceanside with the intent to commit a crime. He was arrested by Oceanside police.
Besides burglary, he is charged specifically with attempted sexual penetration of an unconscious person.
Blair said Friday that Johnson knew the person or persons involved, though he did not specify the nature of their relationship.
A representative of the District Attorney’s Office said that no additional information will be made available on the victim’s health status or on the specifics of the case before the scheduled preliminary hearing.
Johnson’s LinkedIn page states that he is a graduate of Colorado Technical University with a master’s degree in nursing science from the University of San Francisco.
The page states that he was “director of surgical services” at Tri-City from May 2023 until the present, which was preceded by one year and nine months as an operating room manager for Kaiser Permanente. Stints at Rady Children’s Hospital, El Centro Regional Medical Center and Temecula Valley Hospital are also listed.
