A 62-year-old man was convicted today of first-degree murder for stabbing his grandchildren’s uncle outside a Bellflower apartment complex last year.
Jurors also found true an allegation that Jeffery Ardonal Johnson of Bellflower personally used a knife during the Jan. 27, 2018, attack on Anthony Maurice Elston, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Johnson and the 24-year-old victim knew each other because Elston’s sister had children with Johnson’s son and was moving into the same apartment complex as Johnson, according to the prosecution.
Johnson armed himself with a kitchen knife following a brief encounter with the victim at Elston’s sister’s apartment. A fight subsequently broke out between Johnson’s son and Elston’s sister in the parking garage of the apartment complex, according to evidence presented during Johnson’s trial in Norwalk.
During the brawl, Johnson approached Elston and stabbed him once in the abdomen before leaving the parking garage, going to his apartment, washing the blood off the knife and leaving the scene, according to the District Attorney’s Office. He subsequently returned almost two hours later and surrendered to law enforcement.
Johnson is facing 26 years to life in state prison, with sentencing set for Aug. 26.