Hearing postponed for man convicted 3 times for murder, with 2 overturned

Ishani Desai, The Bakersfield Californian
Updated ·2 min read

Feb. 7—A Bakersfield man who was convicted three times in a 2002 shooting death and had two of those guilty verdicts overturned appeared in court Tuesday for his attorney to postpone a hearing set to argue for his resentencing.

Glen Johnson was convicted in 2003 and then again in 2005 for murdering Lamar Rufus, killed behind a Fastrip on South Chester and Ming avenues. Those convictions were overturned by the Fifth District Court of Appeal.

The Kern County District Attorney retried Johnson, and he was convicted in 2008 of second-degree murder, conspiracy and accessory. He's been serving a 27-years-to-life sentence. Kern County Superior Court spells his name as Glenn Johnson.

Johnson has filed a petition under Senate Bill 1437 to be resentenced for his murder conviction. He acted as the getaway driver in Rufus' shooting and another man shot Rufus and a second man, prosecutors said.

SB 1437 only allows people to be convicted of murder if they pulled the trigger, were a major participant in the underlying felony and acted with reckless indifference to human life.

Deputy public defender Cynda Bunton said during the hearing Tuesday her office is still investigating Johnson's case before it can present arguments.

Judge Gregory Pulskamp acknowledged trying these cases is difficult — Bunton must comb through evidence presented at Johnson's three trials and three appeals. He granted the postponement, and attorneys are scheduled to meet again March 2 for a status conference.

Pulskamp noted Johnson is serving his time in prison only for his conspiracy to commit murder charge, and his murder conviction has been stayed. Even if his murder conviction is acquitted, Johnson still has to serve the rest of his conspiracy charge, he noted.

Bunton noted in court she could file a writ of habeas corpus, which declares an inmate unlawfully detained in prison if the murder conviction is vacated.

You can reach Ishani Desai at 661-395-7417. You can also follow her at @_ishanidesai on Twitter.