DC#
088266
DOB:
04/03/58
Fourth Judicial
Circuit, Duval County Case #82-1659CF
Trial Judge:
The Honorable R. Hudson Olliff
Attorney,
Trial: Brent D. Shore – Private
Attorney, Direct
Appeal: Glenna Joyce Reeves – Assistant Public Defender
Attorney,
Collateral Appeals: Martin McClain & Linda McDermott – Pro Bono
Date of
Offense: 02/06/82
Date of
Sentence: 02/18/83
Circumstances of
Offense:
On February 6,
1982, Tommy Groover, Robert Parker and his wife Elaine Parker forced
Richard Padgett to leave a nightclub, where he had been drinking with
his girlfriend Nancy Sheppard.
Parker was angry because Groover had
supplied Padgett with drugs that Groover was selling for Parker, but
Padgett had not paid for them. Padgett was taken to Parker’s junkyard
and beaten; then he was taken to a wooded area and shot. His throat was
cut and his body was thrown in a ditch.
Groover and the
Parkers melted the barrel of the handgun, then went to a bar where they
were joined by a young woman named Jody Dalton. The group departed the
bar to dispose of the gun and pick up another woman, Joan Bennett, who
could tell them where Sheppard lived.
As the five drove in Elaine’s car
toward a lake, Groover asked Dalton to perform oral sex on him and she
complied. At the lake, Dalton was shot five times. Her body was
anchored with concrete blocks and thrown in the lake. Bennett testified
that Groover beat Dalton before shooting her. Groover later claimed
Parker had shot Dalton.
The group then
picked up Sheppard at her home and Billy Long at his and drove to the
scene of the Padgett murder. Long was given a gun and shown Padgett’s
body in the ditch. He was told that unless he killed Sheppard, he too
would be killed.
Upon seeing her boyfriend’s body, she fell to her
knees and began crying. Long then shot her and Parker stabbed her.
Parker took Sheppard’s necklace and class ring from her body before the
body was thrown into the ditch with Padgett’s.
Codefendant Information:
Robert Parker
was convicted of two counts of First-Degree Murder (Padgett and
Sheppard) and one count of Third-Degree Murder (Dalton). The jury in
1983 recommended life sentences for both capital murder convictions.
The judge followed the recommendation as to the Padgett murder, but
overrode it as to the Sheppard murder and sentenced Parker to death.
The defendant received a 15 year prison sentence for the Third-Degree
Murder conviction. In 1994, the Florida Supreme Court vacated the death
sentence and Parker was subsequently resentenced to life imprisonment
without the eligibility of parole.
Elaine Parker
was convicted of Second-Degree Murder for her role in the offense. She
was sentenced in 1983 to 30 years imprisonment. She was released in
1990.
Billy Long was
convicted of Second-Degree Murder and was sentenced in 1983 to 30 years
imprisonment. He was released in 1990 and died in 1998.
Joan Bennett was
convicted of Accessory After the Fact to Third-Degree Murder and was
sentenced in 1983 to two years imprisonment. She was released in 1984.
Prior
Incarceration History in the State of Florida:
Prior to the
murders, Groover was convicted of seven misdemeanors and one felony as
an adult, including aggravated assault, resisting arrest and marijuana
possession. He also was convicted of attempted prison escape in 1989.
Trial Summary:
02/25/82 Indicted on the following
charges:
Count
I First-Degree Murder (Padgett)
Count
II First-Degree Murder (Sheppard)
Count
III First-Degree Murder (Dalton)
01/08/83 Defendant was found guilty of three counts of
first-degree murder as charged in the indictment.
01/11/83 Upon advisory sentencing, the jury by a majority vote
recommended the following sentences for Groover:
Count I
First-Degree Murder – Life Imprisonment (Padgett)
Count
II First-Degree Murder – Life Imprisonment (Sheppard)
Count III
First-Degree Murder – Death (Dalton)
02/18/83 The judge overrode the jury recommendation on one of
the convictions and sentenced Groover as follows:
Count
I First-Degree Murder – Death (Padgett)
Count
II First-Degree Murder – Life Imprisonment (Sheppard)
Count
III First-Degree Murder – Death (Dalton)
Case
Information:
Groover filed a
Direct Appeal with the Florida Supreme Court on 03/08/83, citing
numerous trial court errors, only one of which was addressed by the
FSC. The court addressed the issue raised by Groover that a statement
made by Groover in a plea bargain, that was later withdrawn, should not
be used as evidence of his culpability. The FSC rejected this argument
and affirmed the convictions and sentences on 09/06/84. The U.S.
Supreme Court denied Certiorari on 04/01/85.
Governor Graham
signed a death warrant on Groover on 05/07/86.
The following
month, on 06/01/86, the defendant filed a 3.850 Motion with the trial
court. The court denied the Motion on the same day it was filed. On
appeal, the Florida Supreme Court, on 06/03/86, stayed the execution and
remanded for an evidentiary hearing. The trial court held a hearing on
07/17 – 07/18/86 and denied the motion on 08/26/88. On appeal, Groover
claimed that his counsel was deficient for failing to seek an
examination to determine his competency to stand trial. The FSC
rejected the claim and affirmed on 01/03/91.
The defendant
filed his second 3.850 Motion with the trial court on 08/01/91. The
court denied the Motion the following month on 09/27/91. On appeal, the
Florida Supreme Court found procedural bars or no merit to Groover’s
four claims and addressed only two issues: that the trial court erred
in failing to consider non-statutory mitigation and that the court erred
by adopting the State’s proposed order denying 3.850 relief. The
Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s denial of the 3.850 Motion on
05/05/94.
Groover
petitioned U.S. District Court, Middle District, for a Writ of Habeas
Corpus on 10/17/94. On 08/08/02, the USDC administratively closed the
case pending a decision in the FSC Bottoson/King cases. The case was
reopened on 06/26/03 and is pending.
On 12/02/94, the
defendant petitioned the Florida Supreme Court for a Writ of Habeas
Corpus, citing ineffective assistance of counsel. The court denied the
petition on 04/06/95.
Groover filed
his third 3.850 Motion with the trial court on 12/03/94. The court
denied the motion on 05/30/95. On appeal, Groover claimed the trial
court erred in denying his claim that codefendant Parker’s resentencing
to life imprisonment for the Sheppard murder should be considered in
mitigation of his death sentences, that the court erred in denying him
an opportunity to argue his 3.850 Motion before the court, and that the
court erred in dismissing his amended 3.850 Motion. The Florida Supreme
Court rejected the claims and affirmed the trial court’s denial of the
3.850 Motion on 08/21/97.
Groover filed
his fourth 3.850 Motion with the trial court on 06/11/02 and amended it
on 08/15/02 and 04/14/05. The case is pending.
Groover filed a
Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with the Florida Supreme Court on
03/11/04 that was denied on 11/02/05.
Groover filed a
Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with the Florida Supreme Court on
06/13/06 that is pending.
Floridacapitalcases.state.fl.us
