DC #693504
DOB: 07/29/63
Seventeenth Judicial Circuit,
Broward County, Case #90-5417-CF
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable
Thomas M. Coker
Trial Attorney: Edward
Malavenda, Esq. – Private
Attorney, Direct Appeal: Jeffery
Anderson – Assistant Public Defender
Attorney, Collateral Appeals:
Terri Backhus – CCRC-S
Date of Offense: 02/17/90
Date of Sentence: 06/20/91
Circumstances of Offense:
In the early morning hours of
02/17/90, Lancelot Armstrong, the defendant, and Michael Coleman entered
Church’s Fried Chicken restaurant under the pretense of visiting Kay
Allen. Allen was the assistant manager of Church’s and the former
girlfriend of the defendant. Initially, Allen refused to meet with
Armstrong, but eventually accompanied him to his car outside, while
Coleman stayed in the restaurant.
According to testimony, the
defendant told Allen he was going to rob the restaurant and that, if she
did not cooperate, he might have to kill her. All the other employees
had gone home, so Armstrong, Allen and Coleman were alone. When getting
the money out of the safe, Allen managed to pull the silent alarm.
Deputy Sheriffs Robert Sallustio
and John Greeney arrived at the scene to find Armstrong in the car and
Coleman still in the restaurant. Shots fired from inside the restaurant
distracted the officers, enabling Armstrong to reach for his gun and to
open fire on the officers as well. Sallustio was struck three times and
Greeney was killed instantly.
Armstrong and Coleman fled the state and
were apprehended in Maryland. Investigators determined that bullets
from Armstrong’s gun killed Greeney because he suffered from shots fired
at close-range.
Codefendant Information:
Michael Coleman, the
codefendant, received life in prison for his role in the robbery and
shooting.
Trial Summary:
02/27/90 The Defendant
was arrested.
03/07/90 The Defendant
was indicted on the following counts:
Count I: Murder in the
First-Degree
Count II: Attempted Murder
of a Law Enforcement Officer
Count III: Robbery with a Firear
04/17/91 The jury
returned a verdict of guilty on all counts.
05/09/91 Upon advisory sentencing, the jury,
by a 9 to 3 majority, voted for the death penalty.
06/20/91 The Defendant
was sentenced as followed:
Count I: Murder in the
First-Degree – Death
Count II:
Attempted Murder – Life
Count III: Robbery with a
Firearm – Life
Case Information:
Lancelot Armstrong filed a
Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 06/26/91. Among the 24
issues raised in that appeal, four points were particularly noteworthy.
First, Armstrong believed a new trial was needed because Allen lied
about material facts at trial. Secondly, Armstrong contends that the
State submitted inadmissible evidence in order to refresh the memory of
a witness.
In the penalty phase, the defendant claimed that the judge
arrived at a sentencing decision prior to Armstrong being given the
opportunity to speak on his behalf. Lastly, Armstrong believes that
some of the aggravating factors applied to his case were duplicative.
The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence of death on
08/11/94.
Armstrong filed a Petition for
Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court on 02/24/95. That
petition was denied on 04/24/95.
The defendant filed a 3.850
Motion in the Circuit Court on 03/18/97, which was denied on 05/25/01.
Armstrong filed an appeal of his 3.850 Motion in the Florida Supreme
Court on 08/27/01.
On 10/30/03, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the
denial of Armstrong’s 3.850 Motion in part, vacated his death sentence
and remanded for a new penalty phase. In lieu of one of Armstrong’s
prior felony convictions being vacated, which was used as an aggravating
circumstance during his original penalty phase, the Florida Supreme
Court remanded the case for resentencing.
Armstrong filed a Petition for
Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Florida Supreme Court that was denied on
10/30/03.
Armstrong filed a Petition for
Writ of Certiorari with the United States Supreme Court on 02/18/04 that
was denied on 05/17/04.
Floridacapitalcases.state.fl.us
