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Ronald Wayne CLARK Jr.

 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 
 
 
Classification: Murderer
Characteristics: Robberies
Number of victims: 2
Date of murders: October 29, 1989 / January 12, 1990
Date of arrest: February 7, 1990
Date of birth: April 20, 1968
Victims profile: Charles Mc Elroy Carter / Ronald Willis
Method of murder: Shooting
LocationDuval County, Florida, USA
Status: Sentenced to death on February 22, 1991
 
 
 
 
 

Florida Supreme Court

 
opinion 77156 opinion 77553
 
 
 
 
 
 

DC #812974
DOB:  04/20/68

Fourth Judicial Circuit, Duval County, Case #90-10067
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable David C. Wiggins
Trial Attorney: Henry Davis, Esq.
Attorney, Direct Appeal: W.C. McLain – Assistant Public Defender
Attorney, Collateral Appeals: Christopher Anderson – Registry

Date of Offense: 01/12/90

Date of Sentence: 02/22/91

Circumstances of Offense:

Ronald Clark was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Ronald Willis on 01/12/90.

According to testimony given at trial by John Hatch, the co-defendant, he and Ronald Clark were hitchhiking to Jacksonville on 01/12/90.  Clark was carrying a pistol that he had been restoring, and the two men were shooting at various targets along the roadside while waiting for a ride. 

Ronald Willis saw the two men hitchhiking and pulled over, offering them a lift.  Once in the truck, Clark whispered to Hatch that he was going to steal the truck.  Clark ordered Willis to pull over, and when Willis got out of the truck, Clark shot him seven or eight times. 

Clark pushed Willis’ body into the middle seat and then Clark drove to a more remote location.  Clark took Willis’ money and boots, and then dumped his body in a ditch.  Clark and Hatch proceeded with their night, going to a restaurant and visiting an ex-girlfriend.  Later that night, the two men returned to retrieve Willis’ body.  They took the body to the Nassau County Sound Bridge, weighted it, and then dumped it in the water.

Clark and Hatch continued to use Willis’ stolen truck, and only when Willis’ ex-wife became worried about his sudden disappearance did she drive around looking for him.  Willis’ ex-wife located his truck at a motel, and Clark and Hatch were identified as the men driving it.  Willis’ ex-wife notified police, but Clark and Hatch ran away before they arrived.

Clark and Hatch fled to South Carolina.  Hatch returned to Nassau County where he was arrested and Clark was apprehended in South Carolina on 02/07/90.

Codefendant Information:

John Hatch agreed to testify against Ronald Clark in exchange for a 25-year sentence.  Hatch was sentenced on 02/01/91, and was released on 04/01/01, after serving only 10 years.

NOTE: On 10/29/89, Ronald Clark, John Hatch, Brian Corbett, and Charles Mc Elroy Carter were driving all around Jacksonville and the neighboring areas.  The men had been drinking together throughout the night.  When Clark pulled over off the side of the road to allow the men to go to the bathroom, he retrieved a single shot shotgun from this truck and shot Carter in the chest.  The blow was received at such an angle that it only damaged the chest muscles and the collarbone.  Clark reloaded the gun and fired a shot in Carter’s mouth, killing him.  Clark rolled the body into a ditch, taking his money and his boots.  Police arrested Clark for the homicide after being implicated by Corbett during an interrogation.  On 11/20/90, Clark was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder.

Trial Summary:

02/07/90          Defendant arrested in South Carolina.

03/22/90          Defendant indicted on:

Count I:           First-Degree Murder
Count II:          Armed Robbery

08/23/90          Amended indictment filed.

08/27/90          Defendant entered a plea of “not guilty”.

01/24/91          The jury found the defendant guilty on both counts.

01/25/91          Upon advisory sentencing, the jury, by an 11 to 1 majority, voted for the death penalty.

02/22/91          Defendant was sentenced as followed:

Count I:           First-Degree Murder - Death
Count II:          Armed Robbery - Life

Case Information:

Clark filed a Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 03/06/91.  In his appeal, Clark did not raise any arguments regarding the guilt phase of the trial.  Concerning the penalty phase, however, Clark contended that the trial court erred in allowing him to waive the presentation of mitigating factors, in considering two similar aggravating factors separately, and in allowing hearsay testimony about a prior murder conviction.  The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentence on 12/24/92.

Clark filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court, which was denied on 10/04/93.

Clark next filed a 3.850 Motion in the State Circuit Court on 11/16/94.  Amended motions were filed on 11/01/95, 02/04/04, and 01/31/06.  The motion is pending.

Floridacapitalcases.state.fl.us

 
 


Ronald Wayne Clatk Jr. on Death Row

 

 

 
 
 
 
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