|
AKA Boo, Ronnie Boo
Date of Sentence: 12/13/91
Circumstances of Offense:
On
03/11/89, Tequila Larkins, the owner of Sparkle City Laundromat in
Perrine, Florida, locked the front door of the establishment around 9
p.m. Customers, Jerry Briggs, Valerie Briggs, Eric Bettle, and Walter
Hills remained in the laundromat, along with Ms. Larkins.
A
short time later, Ronnie Johnson knocked on the front door and asked for
change. When the door was opened by Ms. Larkins, Johnson barged in,
began arguing with Ms. Larkins, and then began physically fighting with
her. After several blows to Ms. Larkins’ face, Johnson pulled a gun and
shot her.
Johnson confessed to the crime on 04/02/89, but later moved to suppress
the confession.
Trial Summary:
04/24/89
Entered a plea of not guilty.
11/07/91
Jury returned guilty verdict for both counts.
11/13/91
Jury recommended death penalty by a 9-3 vote.
12/13/91
Sentenced as follows:
Count I First-Degree Murder – Death
Count II Armed
Burglary – Life
Case Information:
On
02/19/92, Ronnie Johnson filed a Direct Appeal with the Florida Supreme
Court, raising six issues: the trial court erred in denying his motion
to suppress a confession, striking a juror for cause, denying a motion
for mistrial based upon a Richardson violation, denying a motion
for mistrial based upon unauthorized note-taking by the jury,
prosecution’s closing argument was improper, finding that Johnson
created a great risk of death to many persons. The Florida Supreme
Court affirmed Johnson’s conviction and sentence of death on 05/08/97.
On
09/29/97, Johnson filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the
United States Supreme Court, which was denied on 01/26/98.
Johnson filed a 3.850 Motion in the Circuit Court on 03/01/01, and
amended it on 01/18/02. The five issues raised in the Motion are:
ineffective assistance of counsel, conviction for felony-murder was
invalid, denied access to state agency records, sentencing jury was
misled, and the jury was prejudiced by the court’s instructions
regarding non-statutory aggravating circumstances. The court denied
the Motion on 01/17/03.
Johnson filed a 3.850 Motion Appeal with the Florida Supreme Court on
03/03/03, citing the following errors: ineffective assistance of
counsel, improper substitution of trial counsel, denying a motion to
suppress, withholding of evidence by the State, and failing to give
proper jury instructions. On 03/31/05, the FSC affirmed the denial of
the 3.850 Motion.
Johnson filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with the Florida
Supreme Court on 09/17/03, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel.
On 03/31/05, the FSC denied the Petition.
Johnson filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with the U.S.
District Court, Southern District, on 12/22/05 that is pending.
|
