Sentencing delayed in murder case

Costa Mesa-native and convicted skinhead killer Billy Joe Johnson’s sentencing for murder has been rescheduled for Monday.

Johnson, 46, was convicted last month of killing fellow Public Enemy Number One gang member Scott Miller in 2002.

He was scheduled to be sentenced Friday by Orange County Superior Court Judge Frank Fasel. A jury recommended on Oct. 29 that Johnson be sentenced to death.

At least twice this year Fasel has upheld jurors’ recommendations for death. Earlier this year, he sentenced both Skylar Deleon and John Fitzgerald Kennedy to death for their part in killing a Newport Beach couple.

This was the second murder conviction for Johnson, who was already serving a 45-to-life sentence for a separate Huntington Beach killing. During the trial, prosectors accused Johnson of killing a fellow inmate with a metal pole. On the stand in his own defense, Johnson told jurors he’s killed at least two more men authorities don’t know about.

Johnson also admitted that he wants to be sentenced to death not because he wants to die, but because living conditions on death row are better than if he were sentenced to life without parole.

— Joseph Serna