Bakersfield, CA – Aspiring California rapper Michael Emory Johnson has reportedly been acquitted of murder and robbery charges. According to
KGET, a Bakersfield jury found Johnson not guilty in the 2017 killing of 28-year -old Jesus Torres on Tuesday (March 2).
Johnson’s public defender Mark Aguilar said the prosecution built its case around circumstantial evidence such as “violent” lyrics from his music and internet and cell phone records, while accusing the 21-year-old of killing Torres with a single blow from a baseball bat or bottle. The jury deliberated for roughly two hours before reaching the not guilty verdicts.
Prosecutor Richard Choi called the case “challenging” and said investigators collected as much evidence as they could but in the end, it wasn’t enough.