ZYEIR JOHNSON - 7 Weeks (2007) - Barstow CA

A Barstow man charged with the 2007 torture death of his seven-week-old son was found guilty by a jury Wednesday.


Davon Johnson, 23, was found guilty of torture and willful cruelty to a child resulting in great bodily injury or death in the death of Zyeir Johnson, who died at Loma Linda Medical Center on July 13, 2007, eight days after he was brought to Barstow Hospital.A jury deliberated for seven hours to reach the verdict, which was returned at 10 a.m. Wednesday.In the trial, Deputy District Attorney Sean Daugherty said that the large amount of serious injuries to Zyeir’s body could not be mistaken for simply being too rough or mishandling a child, and that Davon deliberately took his anger out on the infant.Davon’s public defender, Paul Henderson, said Davon was an inexperienced father who was mentally ill and off of his medication, and may have been having a mental episode when the injuries occurred.Zyeir was in he sole care of Davon when the fatal injures occurred.Henderson was not available for comment, and Daugherty said that he would not comment on the verdict until Davon’s sentencing.Davon’s sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 4. He is expected to be sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.