Two Found Guilty in Murder of Teenager for Wearing Red Clothing

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NBC Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES — A jury deliberated for approximately two and half hours today before returning a guilty verdict against two men for the murder of a 19-year-old man for wearing red clothing, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced.

Kevin Deon Johnson, 26, and Kanasho Shadrick Johns, 29, were both found guilty of one count of first-degree murder with gang and use of a handgun allegations.

Deputy District Attorney Bobby Zoumberakis of the Hardcore Gang Division said Johns also was found guilty of one count of possession of a firearm by a felon and the jury found true an allegation that Johns personally used a handgun to kill the victim, Tavin Price.

Johnson and Johns will face 50 years to life in prison when they are sentenced on Nov. 30 in Department 105 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.

A third defendant, Dwight Kevin Smith, 31, pleaded guilty on Aug. 25 to one count of voluntary manslaughter and faces 12 years in state prison.

On May 29, 2015, the defendants approached the victim at a car wash near Florence Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard, and asked about his gang affiliation because he was wearing red sneakers and a red shirt, according to testimony at the month-long trial. Price was not a member of a gang and had no criminal record.

The victim was shot four times in the back and chest by Johns and he died at a nearby hospital, the prosecutor said.

NBC Los Angeles
NBC Los Angeles

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