A June 2 preliminary hearing was set for a suspected carjacker who allegedly held a hypodermic needle with HIV to the neck of a 17-year-old boy.
Thomas Johnson, 36, is also charged with kidnapping Branik Brown and forcing him to drive Johnson around March 28.
In an interview with KGTV (Channel 10), Brown said the man came up to him at a taco shop in La Mesa and said “Hey, can you do me a favor?”
Brown said he ignored the man and kept walking until the man produced a needle and claimed it held HIV. “You’re going to do me a favor or I’ll stab you with AIDS,” Johnson reportedly said to the victim.
Brown drove Johnson around for more than 30 minutes while he held several syringes inches from his neck. At first, Johnson wanted a ride to Walmart, but changed his mind.
Brown told Channel 10 reporter Matt Mendes that he punched Johnson in the jaw and jumped out of his truck. He ran to a 7-Eleven in Allied Gardens and called for help. Johnson drove off in his truck.
Police were called and Johnson led officers on a chase down Interstate 15 before he crashed and totaled the truck near University Avenue.
Afterwards, the teenager told Channel 10 that officers told him Johnson is HIV positive.
