Convicted murderer sentenced for Kerman couple slaying in 2009. Was his life spared?
A Fresno County jury spared the life of convicted murder Leroy Anthony Johnson on Thursday by deciding to punish him with life in prison without the possibility of parole, instead of the death penalty.
The 54-year-old Johnson broke out in tears, hugging his attorneys, David Mugridge and Mark King. Mugridge, who also became emotional, has steadfastly defended Johnson in the 2009 murder case of Sandra and Gary De Bartolo of Kerman.
“This is the best thing that could have happened,” Mugridge said. “And I am greatly relieved.”
King said they will file an appeal of the murder convictions that happened on Aug. 31 in Judge John Vogt’s courtroom.
The grisly murders of the De Bartolos shocked the rural community of Kerman. Gary De Bartolo was a small-business-owner and his wife Sandra De Bartolo was a secretary at Kerman High School.
When police found them inside their tidy home on July 22, 2009 they were both dead, their throats slashed.
Police later learned that the De Bartolos were targeted by a crew of six people who believed the Kerman couple’s home was hiding stacks of cash and high-grade marijuana. The would-be robbers found neither.
Instead, police said, Johnson murdered the couple by cutting their throats and leaving them to die.
During Johnson’s trial, one of the co-defendants, Jose Reyes, 31, testified that he saw Johnson kill the couple. Reyes agreed to testify on the prosecution’s behalf as part of a plea deal with the district attorney.
During the penalty phase of the trial, Mugridge tried to convince the jury that Johnson did not deserve to die. He told jurors about his client’s abusive upbringing and his stints in jail, starting at the age of 15.
Mugridge admits he and Johnson have formed a strong bond. They prayed before the jury came back into the courtroom on Thursday.
“We prayed for the capacity to accept whatever happened as God’s will,” he said.
The prosecutor in the De Bartolo case was Deputy District Attorney William Lacy.
This story was originally published October 7, 2021 at 2:53 PM.
