People v. Johnson CA4/3

Filed 2/18/26 P. v. Johnson CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, G063680

v. (Super. Ct. No. 21NF2479)

GLEN RALPH JOHNSON, OPINION

Defendant and Appellant.

Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County, Richard M. King, Judge. Affirmed. Jason L. Jones, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Charles C. Ragland, Assistant Attorney General, Arlene A. Sevidal, Andrew Mestman and Susan Elizabeth Miller, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Glen Ralph Johnson appeals from a judgment after a jury found him guilty of first degree murder. He contends the trial court erred in denying his motion for a judgment of acquittal under Penal Code section 1118.1 (all undesignated statutory references are to this code). We disagree and affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND One night, at around 9:20 p.m., a pickup truck parked on a street near an alley, around the corner from a donut shop. Johnson, the driver, exited the truck. He grabbed his black jacket inside the truck, put it on, and started walking down the street toward an intersection. A car came around the corner and stopped in the intersection. The driver of the car, Tyrone Portis, honked and said, “‘Hey, man,’” in a friendly manner as if he and Johnson knew each other. Johnson walked “normally” to Portis’s car. Johnson appeared to have nothing in his hands at that time. Portis exited his car and stood next to it. Johnson got “very close” to Portis, and they appeared to greet each other amicably. Johnson then pointed a handgun at Portis and shot him in the chest, with the barrel of the handgun inches away. Witnesses heard one or two gunshots. Portis fell to the ground within seconds. One witness saw Johnson placing his left arm on Portis’s shoulder as if to assist Portis to the ground. Johnson put the handgun in his jacket and ran to his truck. He appeared to be panicking. He threw the handgun on his truck bed, entered his truck, and sped away. A witness took a video, capturing the truck’s license plate and Johnson speeding away, and later shared the video with law enforcement. The video, along with surveillance video from others, was played to the jury.