Man Sentenced to Life in Prison in ’88 Killing
A Sylmar man was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole Wednesday for the ambush killing of a man who was lured to a remote area as part of a drug deal and then shot to death.
Scott William Johnson, 21, was convicted of first-degree murder last month for the 1988 slaying of John Gerald Johnston, 20, of Granada Hills.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Kenneth Barshop said that Johnston had gone to a remote, hilly Granada Hills location with $17,000 in cash after Johnson and two co-defendants promised to sell him three kilos of cocaine.
But instead of selling Johnston drugs, “they assassinated him and took his money,” the prosecutor said.
The other two men charged in the case, Ron Noah Morton, 23, and Devin Taylor Otte, 21, both of Granada Hills, pleaded guilty last year and testified against Johnson, who Barshop said masterminded the murder.
They were each sentenced in June to 25 years to life in prison for their roles in the murder.
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