BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) -- On the morning of Sept. 28, Lorenzo Anthony Johnson left home with a toddler in the back seat. Johnson said he took the child along in his wife's red Dodge Charger as he dropped off his girlfriend -- the boy's mother -- at the Bakersfield Amtrak station. Surveillance video shows he returned home at 12:14 p.m., turned off the car and went inside, according to newly released sheriff's reports. Trial date scheduled in slaying of gay rights activist The child, 20-month-old Dream Shorter, remained buckled in the back seat. It's wasn't until 4:06 p.m. -- three hours and 52 minutes later, on a day when temperatures reached the upper 90s -- that the child was removed from the car after Johnson's wife asked about him, say the reports filed in Superior Court. Dream was brought inside and placed in front of an air conditioning unit, water poured over him as CPR was begun. A deputy who arrived minutes later and continued CPR noted the child's body was "extremely hot." The boy was pronounced dead at the scene. Johnson, 39, gave investigators a bizarre story as to how he forgot the child: people who'd been harassing him for years followed him that morning, and when he arrived home he grabbed a gun, planning to shoot them to end the ordeal once and for all. He said he got so distracted he forgot about Dream. "It is what it is, I made a mistake," Johnson told investigators. Johnson's wife said he didn't act as if anything was out of the ordinary when he got home. He played video games and watched TV. She confirmed Dream had been at the home on Squire Lane in southwest Bakersfield for weeks -- and had previously stayed with them for months. She referred to the child's mother as a "family friend." Johnson was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter, child cruelty, pimping, pandering and possession of a gun and ammunition by a felon. He's due back in court next month. An explanation on why pandering and pimping charges were filed isn't contained in the 81 pages detailing the case against him. Never miss a story: Make KGET.com your homepage At the time of his arrest, Johnson was out on bail for a 2022 case in which he's also charged with pimping and pandering. A registered sex offender, Johnson was convicted in 2008 in Los Angeles County of committing lewd or lascivious acts with a minor under 14. An unusual story For five years, Johnson told detectives, he's been harassed by people whose names he wouldn't provide. He said they've shot at his car -- and even shot him in the face. He pointed at his chin to show where he was hit. No scar or other mark was visible, detectives say in the documents. That morning he saw his harassers again, Johnson said. He decided to take action. When he got home he went inside and armed himself. Then he checked surveillance video to make sure they were still there. They'd disappeared, Johnson said. In all the commotion, he told investigators, he forgot Dream was still in the car. "Johnson said he was thinking about (the harassers) the whole time," an investigator wrote. "Johnson said he let them get in his head." Johnson said he didn't tell anyone at home about what had happened. To relax, he played video games and watched TV. He said he never thought about Dream until his wife asked about him. As he explained what happened, Johnson at times changed details, including the number of stops he made that morning, according to the documents. He also made statements that didn't appear to make sense. For instance, he claimed his harassers not only targeted him and his family, but "were harassing thousands of people around the world." Detectives looked into Johnson's claim of being shot and found a report about an altercation between him and another man. According to the report, Johnson said a man pointed a gun at him but it failed to fire. The other man said Johnson threw a glass bottle at his vehicle and tried to fight him. After reviewing the report, detectives said Johnson "greatly exaggerated" details of the altercation in his statement on Sept. 28.