Killer takes the stand

Johnson painted a picture of prison as a “kill or be killed” world where his violent streak was bred out of an instinct for survival. Johnson testified about a time he was stabbed in the neck for not killing someone else.

Johnson is a product of drug abuse and a racially divided, gang-saturated prison system, Molfetta argued.

In cross-examination with Baytieh however, Johnson showed no remorse for his victims, saying each one had it coming, and he made a choice to attack them.

Of the child molester he allegedly helped kill, Johnson said, “He got a two-year sentence. He could’ve raped 30 kids. Ruined them kids’ lives, all their families’ lives. I’m not cool with that.”

But when it came to Miller’s mom, Bonnie, who testified Tuesday morning that her son’s death has taken a substantial toll, Johnson sang a different tune.

“She got the luck of the draw … Scott Miller brought it on himself,” Johnson said. “I harass gang members and drug dealers. That’s all. I don’t mess with the rest of society.”

Attorneys will begin closing arguments this morning in Santa Ana’s Central Justice Center.

The jury is expected to begin deliberating on Johnson’s fate by the afternoon.