Mila Johnson

Background

Mila Johnson stayed with longtime friends in the Harbor Gateway area. Duane Bailey and Sonia Chandiramani were longtime friends of Johnson. Glen Enriquez was also a longtime friend with whom Johnson was staying. Johnson’s attorney, Cynthia LeGardye, said the shootings were homicides and that “not all homicides are murder.” LeGardye also argued that “Some homicides are justifiable and excusable,” and characterized Johnson’s actions as self-defense.

The offence

On Aug. 9, 2006, Johnson shot and killed two people at a home in Harbor Gateway and permanently blinded another person.

• Johnson was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for the Aug. 9, 2006, shooting deaths of Duane Bailey and Sonia Chandiramani.
• Johnson was convicted of one count each of attempted murder and mayhem for the shooting of Glen Enriquez, who was left permanently blind and uses a guide dog.

A prosecutor told jurors that Johnson betrayed and killed his closest friends after being allowed to stay at their house in the Harbor Gateway area. Deputy District Attorney Dayan Mathai told the jury:

“the evidence will show that the defendant, Mila Johnson, betrayed and killed his closest friends” Mathai continued: “About 2 o'clock in the morning, Mila Johnson made a fateful decision. He decided to go into Glen and Sonia's closed bedroom and steal. They were sleeping,” Mathai told jurors in his opening statement.

Mathai said Johnson, armed with a .40-caliber pistol, began rifling through items on the couple’s dresser and was asked by Enriquez what he was doing, prompting a brief argument. Mathai said:

• Enriquez and his girlfriend were each shot in the head.
• Bailey was shot in the back before Johnson fled the home.

Investigation

The prosecutor said ballistics testing linked a .40-caliber handgun that Johnson left at a cousin’s home in Long Beach, where he had stayed after the shooting; the weapon was turned over to police by another cousin. The prosecutor said ballistics testing linked the handgun to bullet casings found at the crime scene, and said Johnson’s DNA was on the gun.

Trial

Johnson was tried before a jury of nine men and three women.

Opening statements and disputes at trial

Mathai stated that “the evidence will show that the defendant, Mila Johnson, betrayed and killed his closest friends” after being allowed to stay at the friends’ house. Mathai described the events at about “2 o'clock in the morning” and said Johnson “decided to go into Glen and Sonia's closed bedroom and steal” while “They were sleeping.”

LeGardye countered that Johnson was acting in self-defense when he shot and killed Duane Bailey and wounded Enriquez, who was left permanently blind and uses a guide dog. LeGardye said:

“The shot that hit Sonia was not intentional,” and she said the “shot that hit Sonia” was not intentional regarding Sonia Chandiramani, who was killed.

LeGardye said:

“Some homicides are justifiable and excusable,” and she said the shootings in the 800 block of West 156th Street were “not intentional murder.”

LeGardye told jurors that “three men had known each other for years and were "all in the same gang" and came up with "a plan to rob a drug dealer" of a large amount of marijuana,” with them netting “15 pounds of cannabis” and Johnson expecting to get a share of the sales proceeds.

LeGardye said Enriquez pulled a gun on her client, and that Bailey was not asleep and also had a gun.

LeGardye also stated in response to the prosecutor’s argument that Johnson’s attorney countered that the shootings were homicides and that “not all homicides are murder.”

Johnson’s testimony

Johnson testified in his own defense during the trial. Johnson told jurors that he shot Bailey and Enriquez because he feared for his own safety after they pulled guns on him in separate encounters, “moments apart.” Johnson said:

“Right when he made the movement, I felt my life was in danger,” and said: “I pulled it (the .40-caliber pistol) out and fired in Glen's direction.” Johnson testified he fired two shots at Enriquez and denied firing at Chandiramani.

Johnson testified that he then went to Bailey’s room to get belongings stored there. Johnson testified that Bailey told him he wasn’t going anywhere and emerged with a weapon. Johnson said:

“My assumption is he was turning around to point it at me,” and that he shot Bailey twice out of fear for his own safety.

Johnson testified that Enriquez pulled a gun on him after Johnson asked again for his share of the money—$30,000—from a drug rip-off in which they were involved.

Sentencing

A separate jury recommended in July that Johnson be sentenced to death. The first jury deadlocked on whether to recommend death or life in prison.

On September 3, 2010, Norwalk Superior Court Judge Philip H. Hikok rejected an automatic motion to reduce the jury’s recommendation to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Hikok said the aggravating circumstances in the case “absolutely warranted death.”

Appeals

The record described the sentencing proceedings and did not include separate appellate proceedings.

Outcome

Johnson was sentenced to death on September 3, 2010. He was convicted March 12 of two counts of first-degree murder for the Aug. 9, 2006, shooting deaths of Duane Bailey and Sonia Chandiramani, along with one count each of attempted murder and mayhem for the shooting of Glen Enriquez, who was left permanently blind and uses a guide dog. The prosecution had sought the death penalty, and the jury recommended death in July after an earlier deadlock.

Other details

Johnson was 33 at the time described in the sentencing report, and 32 in the trial report. The information connected the case to shootings in the 800 block of West 156th Street.