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Murder trial of alleged getaway driver in jury's hands

The Bakersfield Californian | Wednesday, Mar 26 2008 12:43 PM

Last Updated: Wednesday, Mar 26 2008 2:46 PM

The jury began deliberations today in the second retrial of Glenn Maurice Johnson for the murder Lamar Antawon Rufus in 2002.

After listening to what, at times, became heated closing statements by Deputy District Attorney Arthur Norris and Deputy Public Defender Michael Lukehart, the jury retired to deliberate and consider conflicting evidence of an incident that happened more than five years ago.

Johnson is facing three felony counts, including second-degree murder, conspiracy and accessory. More specifically, he is accused of driving the getaway car following a fatal shooting behind a Fastrip convenience store in south Bakersfield in September 2002.

This is Johnson’s third trial. He was convicted in 2003 of second-degree murder in the death of Rufus. But that conviction was tossed in 2004 because the jury did not receive proper instructions on the law. And his conviction of second-degree murder in 2005 was thrown out in August 2006 by the 5th District Court of Appeal because the court said the prosecution withheld key evidence from the defense.

Watch for additional details of the attorneys’ closing arguments later today on Bakersfield.com.