Man Convicted of Kidnapping Elderly Woman During Home Robbery in South Pasadena

A 53-year-old man was convicted late Wednesday of kidnapping and robbing a 79-year-old woman, and burglarizing the home of another elderly woman, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced.

The jury deliberated for a day before finding Alonzo Bernard Johnson guilty of three felony counts in case GA087078: first-degree residential robbery, kidnapping to commit robbery and first-degree burglary, person present.

Jurors also found true a special allegation that the defendant personally used a deadly and dangerous weapon, a knife, during the commission of the crime. Additionally, jurors found true that Johnson inflicted great bodily injury on an elderly victim.

The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced June 17 in Department 1 at the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Alhambra Branch. Johnson faces a possible maximum sentence of life in state prison.

Deputy District Attorney Presciliano Duran, who prosecuted the case, said on Aug. 6, 2012, Johnson entered a South Pasadena home and accosted the 79-year-old homeowner in her kitchen where he broke her nose.

Johnson demanded money from the victim in her kitchen and then pulled her to the bedroom while using a knife, where he forced her to lay face down on her bed and attempted to tie her up with an electrical cord.

Johnson repeatedly demanded that the victim give him jewelry as he continuously punched her in the head and face while threatening to kill her. The victim suffered brain bleed and a ruptured ear drum from the assault.

As the homeowner struggled with Johnson on her bed, her two grandchildren, ages 8 and 12, entered the house and she told them to get help. At that point, Johnson grabbed the jewelry and fled the home, the prosecutor said.

Soon after the incident, Johnson was located and arrested in connection with kidnapping and robbery.

During the investigation, authorities linked Johnson through fingerprints and DNA to a Pasadena home burglary on June 22, 2012, where another 79-year-old woman walked into her bedroom and found the defendant stealing her jewelry before he fled her home.

The case was investigated by the South Pasadena Police Department.