Suspect stabbed in Pasadena in 2019 due back in court – Pasadena Now

A Los Angeles man charged with murder in a 2019 stabbing in Pasadena is scheduled to appear in court Thursday for further proceedings.

Telly R. Johnson, who was 41 at the time of the incident, is scheduled to appear at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 10, in Department F of the Pasadena Courthouse, 300 E. Walnut St.

Johnson is accused of killing 52-year-old Byron Young Nettles around 9:05 a.m. March 1, 2019, outside a residence in the 100 block of South Euclid Avenue. Nettles, a Pasadena resident, was the director of a supportive housing facility for recovering addicts.

Johnson allegedly stabbed Nettles in the face and chest with a switchblade because he believed the victim was pursuing a relationship with Johnson’s longtime girlfriend.

Nettles was taken to Huntington Memorial Hospital, where he died despite emergency surgery.

Johnson fled, sparking a manhunt involving helicopters and K-9 units. Mayfield Junior High School was placed on lockdown during the search.

United States Marshals and a fugitive task force arrested Johnson later that evening, around 9:30 p.m., in the 1900 block of Cordova Street in Los Angeles. He was booked into the Pasadena City Jail on suspicion of murder, with bail set at $2 million.

Pasadena police said preliminary findings indicate the killing was not random, but the motive remains under investigation.

Johnson’s case has been moving through the court system since his arrest, with a status conference scheduled for November 2021. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty.