BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — As the trial of Jonathan Knight, the man accused of the shooting death of the 5-year-old Kason Guyton continues, Prosecutor Eric Smith alleged that car used in the shooting belonged to Johnson and was driven by the other man charged in this case: Jeremy King.
- Prosecutor Eric Smith and Defense Attorney Tim Hennessy questioned Jessica Johnson about her relation to King, why she switched cars with him the night of the shooting, and what she did with vehicle following the shooting.
- Prosecutor Eric Smith alleging that King took the vehicle, picked up Knight, and Knight fired out of that vehicle at the car carrying Guyton.
- Johnson explained the she and King had previously dated. While she didn’t consider them to still be involved in the weeks leading up to the shooting, she said they still communicated and she would often let him take her car.
- Knight is charged with first-degree murder for the shooting of Guyton. King was also charged in the case and accepted a deal last month in exchange for testifying in the trial.
“I didn’t think of anything, he’s asked to use my car many times,” said Jessica Johnson, the owner of the vehicle used in a car-to-car shooting that left 5-year-old Kason Guyton dead seven years ago.
As the trial of Jonathan Knight, the man accused of shooting of the toddler, continues, Prosecutor Eric Smith alleged that car used that night belonged to Johnson and was driven by the other man charged in this case: Jeremy King. On Tuesday, Johnson testified to her relationship with King and how he came to be behind the wheel of her Chrysler 200 back on February 23, 2017.
"To the left that's Jessica Johnson's vehicle, to the right, that's the suspect vehicle,” Smith said during opening statements last week, as he showed side-by-side photos of Johnson’s car and the car used the night of the shooting.
The suspect vehicle caught on video just moments before the shooting. Prosecutor Eric Smith stated that from that vehicle, at least 16 shots were fired.
As detectives narrowed down their investigation into the vehicle, a patrol officer would be the one to stop that exact same car only two days after the incident. While the vehicle belonged to Johnson, she said she wasn't the one driving it that night. Instead, it was Jeremy King.
“That day he had reached out to me, asked to borrow some money to pay his car insurance so that day I told him to meet up with me,” Johnson testified.
Johnson explained the she and King had previously dated. While she didn’t consider them to still be involved in the weeks leading up to the shooting, she said they still communicated and she would often let him take her car.
Johnson said after lending King her car, she went to the gym. She said around an hour later, King FaceTimed her from inside her car, but she said she couldn’t see him well because her car had tinted windows and it was dark.
Prosecutor Eric Smith alleging that King took the vehicle, picked up Knight, and Knight fired out of that vehicle at the car carrying Guyton.
Later that night, Johnson said, she learned about the shooting through social media.
“I was trying to figure out why he would do this in my car, involve my children, just a lot of questioning about why I had to be involved in this,” Johnson stated.
Smith also questioned Johnson about her taking the vehicle to be washed and detailed shortly after King used it. Johnson stated she regularly got her car washed and detailed at a car wash on Brundage Lane because was cheaper.
During cross examination, Defense Attorney Tim Hennessy asked Johnson about her initial interviews with police after the shooting.
“Do you remember your first interview, asking detectives about how to get immunity?” Hennessy asked.
“I don’t even know what that is,” Johnson answered.
Hennessy asked Johnson about the decision to have her car washed and detailed shortly after King drove it. While Johnson answered it was typical for her to have her vehicle washed and detailed regularly, Hennessy pointed to a police report in which officers reported Johnson claimed to have her car detailed once every two months.
"I don't recall saying that,” Johnson responded.
Knight is charged with first-degree murder for the shooting of Guyton. King was also charged in the case and accepted a deal last month in exchange for testifying in the trial.
The trial is set to resume Wednesday at 9 a.m.
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