Willits woman seriously injured in beating, husband arrested

Mendocino County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a Willits man with a history of domestic violence on suspicion of badly beating his wife Tuesday night.

Tavion Johnson, 21, was being held without bail at Mendocino County Jail on charges including felony domestic violence, violation of a domestic violence criminal protective order, violation of probation for previous domestic violence arrests, and suspicion of causing great bodily injury during domestic violence.

The woman, 49, was transferred to an out-of-county hospital for additional treatment after initially being cared for at Howard Memorial Hospital in Willits.

Health care workers were told the woman had been injured in a fall, Lt. Andrew Porter said. But the injuries weren’t consistent with that explanation and deputies recognized the woman from previous domestic violence incidents, he said.

Deputies interviewed Johnson at his home and concluded that there had been a violent encounter between Johnson and the victim, Porter said.

Johnson remains in jail pending an initial court hearing.