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Date of Sentence: 09/02/87
Date of Re-sentence: 03/06/92
Circumstances of Offense:
William Reaves was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of
Richard Raczkowski.
On 09/23/86, Deputy Sheriff
Richard Raczkowski responded to a 911 call that was placed from the pay
phone of a Zippy Mart convenience store near Vero Beach. According to
Reaves, he had placed the call because he did not have money for a
taxicab.
The deputy called the 911 dispatcher to order a cab and
inquired about outstanding warrants for William Reaves. According to
Reaves’ confession, a gun fell out of his pants while he and the deputy
were waiting for the cab.
When Reaves tried to retrieve the gun, the
deputy stepped on his hand. A struggle ensued, with Reaves eventually
grabbing Deputy Raczkowski by the throat and wrestling the gun away from
him.
Deputy Sheriff Richard Raczkowski stepped away from Reaves asking
him not to kill him, and then he turned and ran. Reaves shot the deputy
four times in the back as he was running. A witness, who found the
deputy, reported that he saw a black man in red shorts and a white
t-shirt running away. The deputy died later in the morning.
Reaves went to the home of
Eugene Hinton, who was a friend of Reaves. He reported to Hinton that
he had just shot a cop. Reaves told Hinton that the cop begged him to
not to kill him. Hinton also reported that Reaves appeared to be in
full control of himself. Reaves claimed that he emptied the gun at the
officer as he ran away because he was high on cocaine and panicked.
A
firearm expert testified that the type of gun used by Reaves has to have
the trigger pulled each time to fire. Another witness testified that
Reaves had been wearing red shorts and a white t-shirt the afternoon of
the homicide and did not appear to have been using drugs or alcohol.
The police were informed that
Reaves would be departing from the bus station at 11:30 p.m. on
09/26/86. Officers attempted to arrest Reaves who struggled with the
officers. During the struggle, a firearm discharged within the bus
station. Reaves was brought under control by the officers. He was
arrested and found to be carrying cocaine in a department store bag.
Prior Incarceration History
in the State of Florida:
In 1973, Reaves was sentenced to
eight years for Robbery and served four years. In 1979, he was
sentenced to five years for Grand Theft and served four years. In 1984,
Reaves was sentenced to three years and six months for involvement in
the selling of heroin and served less than two years.
Indian River County Circuit Court #91-1081
On 09/30/91, Reaves committed
Battery upon a Law Enforcement Officer. He was sentenced to two and
one-half years for this offense.
Trial Summary:
09/26/86 Reaves arrested.
10/09/86 Reaves was indicted on the following counts:
Count I:
Murder in the First-Degree
(Richard Raczkowski)
Count II:
Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon
Count III:
Trafficking in Cocaine of an amount in excess of 28 grams, but less than
400 grams
10/29/86 Reaves entered a not guilty plea.
09/02/87 Reaves was found guilty on Count I.
Counts II and III were Nolle Prossed.
09/02/87 Upon
advisory sentencing, the jury, by a 12 to 0 majority, voted for the
death penalty.
09/02/87 Reaves was sentenced as follows:
Count I: Murder in the
First-Degree
(Richard Raczkowski) – Death
01/15/91 The
Florida Supreme Court reversed the conviction and sentence and remanded
the case to the trial court for a new trial.
02/25/92 During the second trial, Reaves was found guilty on
Count I.
02/28/92 Upon
advisory sentencing, the jury, by a 10 to 2 majority, voted for the
death penalty.
03/06/92 Reaves was sentenced as follows:
Count I: Murder in the
First-Degree
(Richard Raczkowski) – Death
Case Information:
Reaves filed his first Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on
09/17/87. Reaves raised several issues in the appeal. One issue
addressed. was that the prosecutor was at one time Reaves’ defense
attorney. Reaves also raised the issue that the court refused to offer
the jury instructions about finding Reaves guilty of Third-Degree
murder. Reaves also argued was that the trial court did not inquire
into the state’s preemptory challenge of a black juror.
Reaves further
argued that the state misrepresented evidence to support the aggravating
factor of a prior conviction for a violent felony. Furthermore, Reaves
argued that he had moved to disqualify the prosecutor before trial, and
the court did not grant this motion.
The Florida Supreme Court found
that the trial court had erred in allowing the prosecutor, Bruce Colton
who had defended Reaves in a criminal matter previously in the role of
defense attorney, to the case. The Florida Supreme Court reversed the
conviction and sentence and remanded the case to the trial court for a
new trial on 01/15/91.
Reaves filed his second Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on
03/26/92. Reaves argued that statements made by Hinton before and
during the trial were inconsistent. Another issue raised by Reaves
was that there were errors in the jury selection process. Finally,
Reaves argued that the State Attorney’s office should not have been
allowed to prosecute him during the second trial because Mr. Colton,
Reaves’ previous public defender, was now a prosecutor for the state.
The Florida Supreme Court did not find errors that warranted reversing
the conviction or sentence. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the
conviction and sentence on 04/07/94
Reaves filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States
Supreme Court on 07/08/94. The petition was denied on 11/07/94.
Reaves filed a 3.850 Motion in the Indian River Circuit Court on
02/15/96. The motion was denied on 02/17/99.
Reaves filed a 3.850 Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 04/17/00.
He addressed claims of ineffective counsel since counsel denied the
right to interview jurors or to confront witnesses. Reaves also
contended that he was innocent of First-Degree Murder and that the death
penalty was unconstitutional. Reaves argued that error occurred in that
the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the 3.850 Denial in all aspects
except for Reaves claim of ineffective counsel for which the Florida
Supreme Court remanded the case to the trial court for an evidentiary
hearing.
Rehearing was denied on 09/09/02. A mandate was issued on
10/09/02.
Reaves filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Florida Supreme
Court on 01/03/02. The Florida Supreme Court denied the petition on
01/09/03.
Reaves filed a 3.850 Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 05/24/04.
On 09/14/06, the FSC affirmed Reaves’ conviction and sentence.
Floridacapitalcases.state.fl.us
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