Killer laughs at jury’s verdict

Billy Joe Johnson got what he wanted.

Johnson, 46, chuckled and joked with his lawyer as the courtroom clerk Thursday morning read the jury’s recommended death sentence for the convicted killer.

The recommendation all but assures that Johnson, already facing life in prison for an earlier murder, will end up on death row, which will afford him more time with other inmates out of his cell, as he wished. If he is sentenced to life without parole, Johnson would rarely leave his one-man cell.

On Nov. 20, Orange County Superior Court Judge Frank Fasel will likely follow the jury’s recommendation when he sentences the skinhead gang leader from Costa Mesa.

“I wish the penalty would happen sooner rather than later,” said Bonny Miller, the mother of one of Johnson’s victims. Johnson helped kill Scott Miller in 2002 — one of at least five people Johnson said he’s killed in and out of prison.

Johnson is counting on the state’s mandatory appeals for death sentences to keep him alive at least another decade.

“I asked him, ‘Doesn’t this bother you?’ and he said, ‘Twenty years ago it would’ve bothered me. But I’ve hardened over the years,’” said his defense attorney, Michael Molfetta. “He wants to go to death row, but he doesn’t want to die.”

His client’s only concern, Molfetta said, was that Johnson’s mother would not be around to see her son executed. Johnson’s mother is 73 and has emphysema.

The few people in the courtroom for the verdict appeared unsurprised. The jury deliberated for two and a half hours before recommending death, which was faster than it took them to find Johnson guilty.

Jury foreman John Pearson, 51, from Santa Ana, said the sentence was not immediately unanimous for the eight-man, four-woman jury.

After discussing the case and conducting a secret ballot, one person came out in favor of life without parole. That person basically wanted to do the opposite of what Johnson wanted, Pearson said. Further discussions about Johnson’s lengthy criminal history and multiple killings soon made it a unanimous verdict, Pearson said.

“He didn’t accept that society has any rules he has to conform to,” Pearson said. “You can’t have your own code of conduct in society. You can have your own philosophy, but not code of conduct.”

Molfetta admitted he was fighting an uphill battle from the beginning with Johnson’s case. Even if his client wanted a death sentence, by law Molfetta is required to fight for a life without parole sentence, he said. Throughout the trial Johnson continually whispered, smiled and otherwise appeared oblivious to the trial.

Johnson even testified in his own defense — against Molfetta’s advice — and told the jury he killed two more men that authorities did not know about.

“Billy Joe fully believes they can do what they want with his body, but they can’t touch his soul,” Molfetta said.