Women Stabs Child’s Ear with Hypodermic Needle

"Women Stabs Child’s Ear with Hypodermic Needle
UPDATE"
 

Who:
Central Area Operations Support Division Detectives
What:
Press Conference, Photos of Suspect and of Victim Injuries
Where:
Central Area Community Police Station
251 East 6th Street, Los Angeles, California
(In Front of the Station)
When:
Thursday, May 2, 2002
2:00 p.m.
Why:
Seeking Assistance from the Public in Locating Additional Victims

Los Angeles: On Saturday, April 27, 2002, at approximately 2:00 p.m., a 22-month-old child was standing in front of 650 S. Broadway with his mother when a Caucasian woman approached the baby boy. The suspect, later identified as 44-year-old Phyllis Marie Johnson, concealed a hypodermic needle under her sleeve and bent over and deliberately punctured the young boy’s right ear. Johnson then quickly walked away and headed north on Broadway. Almost immediately, the child’s mother observed her son rubbing his ear and noticed a slightly swollen red area behind his ear.
Los Angeles Police Department Central Area Operations Support Division Detectives located the suspect, Phyllis Marie Johnson, and arrested her. Johnson was booked on felony child abuse charges. The District Attorney’s Office has filed the following charges against Johnson: One count of Child Abuse; one Count of Possession of a Controlled Substance; one count of Attempted Torture; and, one count of Corporal Injury on a Child.
An independent witness has alerted Detectives that he observed Johnson make contact with at least four additional children who began crying and rubbing their ears after she approached them.
Anyone with additional information is asked to the contact Detective’s Kelvin Higa, Dennis Moeller or Patricia Hauck from Central Operations Support Division at 213-485-2671. On weekends and during off-hours, call the 24-hour toll free number at the Detective Information Desk, 1-877-LAWFUL 1-877-529-3855.
This press release was prepared by Officer Guillermo Campos, Media Relations Section, 213-485-3586.