BAKERSFIELD, CA - A dispute between a Bakersfield hotel manager and a tenant turned deadly Wednesday night. The manager admitted killing the man at the St. Francis Hotel.
46-year-old Lisa Richardson is behind bars at the downtown jail facing a murder charge. She admitted killing her tenant, but says it was self defense.
"When he started coming at me, I just, I emptied two in him and I emptied the third one and I held the gun up and I yelled out the rifle is empty, everyone is alright, I'm calling 911 right now," explained Richardson.
Lisa Richardson is the manager of the St. Francis Hotel on Sumner Street in east Bakersfield. She said the fatal confrontation began after she evicted two people from the hotel.
"They had not paid their rent for a consecutive 30 days," she said. After the evictions, Richardson said she changed the locks on all the rooms in the hotel.
She said 45-year-old Allan Johnson was out late and didn't get a new key. She believes he mistakenly thought he had been kicked out early.
"Boy when he came in he was lit up. I think he scared everyone in the house," she noted.
Jimmy Ortiz said he was trying to sleep, when he heard a commotion in the hallway. "He became really obnoxious and belligerent. He was already in the frame of mind that she was trying to kick him out because they had gotten into arguments before," said Ortiz.
"He [Johnson] just immediately started cussing and threatening and calling me names and saying give me my key, and I said I have your key right here," said Richardson.
"He kept arguing and saying yeah right, yeah right," continued Ortiz.
"He's got in my face several times. He has assaulted me several times. Last night was it," said Richardson.
"I came back to my room, grabbed my shotgun and I was going to ask for order in the house and he started coming towards me and I had already fired a shot. He's heading towards me like this. I pull it and I told him stop and I had my gun like this," she explained.
"I shot once and did it again, and I shot immediately twice because the first one I didn't think I had hit him," she continued.
Richardson said she shot Johnson twice. After he died police arrested Richardson. "All I know is I was in fear for my life and I was protecting my home," explained Richardson.
Ortiz said Johnson had bipolar disorder. Richardson told 17 News she suffers from anxiety and depression. She is scheduled to make her first court appearance Monday.