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Dean Johnson, a fixture in New York City’s nightlife scene, was known for his larger-than-life persona. He died under mysterious circumstances in Washington in September. (Photo courtesy of Dale Corvino)
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HOME > NEWS > LOCAL
By: LOU CHIBBARO J COMMENTS
 
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the toxicology tests are expected within two to four weeks. Allen, Conklin’s boyfriend, said a detective working on the investigation told him it could be as long as several months before the toxicology tests are completed.
Allen, 26, said he and Conklin had been in a relationship since the two met this summer in Provincetown, Mass., where Allen worked as a waiter and Conklin worked as a bar back. He said he and Conklin moved to New York in September. Allen said Conklin was not using recreational drugs and he was not aware of him being on any prescription medication.
“He was very much against drugs,” Allen said. “He told me he moved out of a place with roommates in Provincetown for the very reason that they were into the drug scene.”
Allen remembers his boyfriend fondly.
“Jeremy was very outgoing,” he said. “He was very loud and he was always smiling, always bouncing around everywhere. His favorite singer was Britney Spears.”
The police affidavit says Saleh told police that Conklin was staying with him in his apartment and that he met him by responding to an ad seeking a roommate that Conklin had placed on Craig’s List.
Allen said Conklin told him he had placed an ad on Craig’s List but planned to stay in Washington only for a weekend. He said Conklin departed New York for D.C. by bus on Sept. 14, two days before he died.
Conklin, who had been estranged from his Mormon family in Arizona, hinted to Allen that he might have worked as an escort in the past, Allen said, as a means of surviving financially. Allen also said he was troubled over Conklin’s trip to Washington and worried about where he would be staying.
Corvino, a friend of Johnson’s, said Johnson wrote about his past use of heroin on a blog that Johnson used for publishing his own poetry and other writings. But Corvino said Johnson discontinued using heroin “some time ago” and did not appear to be involved in the drug scene in recent years. The Village Voice said Johnson sometimes joked about being a “suicidal drug addict.”
Corvino said Johnson had been taking pain medication for the treatment of a serious shoulder injury. According to Corvino, Johnson told him and other friends that Johnson and Saleh shared a common experience of suffering from intense pain due to injuries. He said the two commiserated over which medications they took to control the pain.
When informed of the contents of the police affidavit, Corvino said the document’s account of Saleh’s statement of what happened on the day of Johnson’s death contradicted information Saleh gave to one of Johnson’s fellow band members.
“Mr. Saleh stated that at approximately 2130 hours (9:30 p.m.), on Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007, he gave the decedent a sleeping pill,” the af
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