{"id":45259,"date":"2013-11-05T14:05:10","date_gmt":"2013-11-05T22:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theavtimes.com\/?p=45259"},"modified":"2013-12-11T16:42:05","modified_gmt":"2013-12-12T00:42:05","slug":"wanted-parolee-charged-in-lancaster-house-party-double-murder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2013\/11\/05\/wanted-parolee-charged-in-lancaster-house-party-double-murder\/","title":{"rendered":"Updated: Parolee charged in Lancaster house party double murder"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Paroled<\/a>
Paroled gang member Leo Jerome Johnson has been charged with shooting to death 33-year-old Nicky Packard and 22-year-old Michael Sewell Jr. Special circumstances are also alleged in the DA\u2019s case, making Johnson eligible for the death penalty.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LANCASTER \u2013 A paroled gang member previously profiled on our \u201cMost Wanted AV Parolees\u201d list<\/a> has been charged with murdering two men after a Lancaster house party in June.<\/p>\n

Leo Jerome Johnson<\/strong> is charged with two counts of murder with a special circumstance allegation of multiple murders, making the 28-year-old eligible for the death penalty, authorities said. The complaint also includes allegations that the offenses were committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang and that Johnson personally and intentionally discharged a firearm, according to Shiara D\u00e1vila-Morales of the Los Angeles District Attorney\u2019s Office. Johnson was captured in New Mexico last month and is currently in county jail without bail.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The men were murdered on Sunday, June 23, 2013, after a house party on Hanstead Avenue in Lancaster. (Photo by ED FROMMER)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The charges stem from the shooting deaths of 33-year-old Nicky Packard<\/strong> and 22-year-old Michael Sewell Jr.<\/strong> Both were killed during the early morning hours of Sunday, June 23, after a house party in the 44800 Block of Hanstead Avenue in Lancaster.<\/p>\n

During the party, an argument broke out between the suspect and the two victims, and then the suspect was seen leaving the party, homicide detectives said. Sewell and Packard left the party in a group and were congregating in front of a house down the street when the suspect returned around 4:30 a.m., homicide detectives said.<\/p>\n

\"(L<\/a>
Nicky Packard, 33, and Michael Sewell Jr., 22.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The suspect produced a handgun and shot Packard three times and then shot Sewell once in the chest, homicide detectives said. Both victims died at the scene.<\/p>\n

In the days following the shooting, homicide detectives sought the public\u2019s help<\/a> in finding the killer. In August, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a $10,000 reward<\/a> for help in solving the double murder.<\/p>\n

\u201cTips started to come in and we followed up on those tips,\u201d said Lt. Eddie Hernandez of the Sheriff\u2019s Homicide Bureau. \u201cThere were certain people that were party goers, and they gave us information and were willing to look at a photographic lineup. They picked him out and that\u2019s how he [Johnson] was identified.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time of the incident, Johnson was on parole for second-degree robbery. He was convicted of using a handgun to rob a taco stand and striking an employee in the face with the gun, according to local parole officials. Johnson absconded from parole supervision some time this year, and he was profiled in the local media in August<\/a> as an \u201cextremely dangerous\u201d gang member with an \u201cextensive criminal history that includes battery, assault with a deadly weapon, and robbery.\u201d<\/p>\n

As homicide detectives were building the double-murder case against Johnson, they caught a break in October when the at-large parolee was spotted in New Mexico.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was stopped by a New Mexico police officer, and during the contact, they discovered that he had\u00a0 a parole hold from California,\u201d Hernandez said.\u00a0 \u201cHe was arrested and then we were contacted, and subsequently he was extradited back to California.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inmate records show Johnson was booked into county jail on October 17. Johnson appeared in an Antelope Valley courtroom on Monday (Nov. 4) \u00a0and was sentenced to 16 months in state prison for violating his parole, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney\u2019s Office. He is expected to be arraigned on the new charges this week.<\/p>\n

Homicide investigators have identified two tipsters who may qualify for the county\u2019s $10,000 reward for giving information deemed instrumental to the case. The names have been forwarded to Supervisor Michael Antonovich\u2019s office for review, Hernandez said.<\/p>\n

Johnson remains jailed without bail.<\/p>\n

UPDATED 12\/4\/13<\/span>: Leo Johnson appeared in an Antelope Valley courtroom today for a scheduled\u00a0arraignment,\u00a0but that arraignment was postponed to Dec. 11, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office.<\/strong><\/p>\n

UPDATED 12\/11\/13<\/span>: Leo Johnson was scheduled to be arraigned today in an Antelope Valley courtroom, but the arraignment has been delayed again, this time until Jan. 30, 2014. We will continue to follow this story.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Previously related stories:<\/p>\n

Men shot and killed after party in Lancaster<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Public help sought in double murder investigation<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

$10K reward offered in Lancaster double murder<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LANCASTER \u2013 A paroled gang member previously profiled on our \u201cMost Wanted AV Parolees\u201d list has been charged with murdering two men after a Lancaster house party in June. Leo Jerome Johnson is charged with two counts of murder with a special circumstance allegation of multiple murders, making the 28-year-old eligible for the death penalty, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":45265,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[719],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45259"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45259"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45259\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}