The Commission on Capital Cases updates thisinformation regularly.  This information, however, is subject to changeand may not reflect the latest status of an inmate’s case and should not berelied upon for statistical or legal purposes. 

JOHNSON, Ronnie (B/M)

AKA Boo, Ronnie Boo

DC#   440701

DOB: 02/23/61

Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Dade County Case #89-14998

Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Gerald D. Hubbart

Trial Attorney: Raymond Badini & Joy Carr – AssistantPublic Defender

Attorney, Direct Appeal:  John H. Lipinski – Private

Attorney, Collateral Appeals:  Charles G. White –Registry

Date of Offense:        03/11/89

Date of Sentence:       12/13/91

Circumstances of Offense:

On 03/11/89, Tequila Larkins, the owner of Sparkle CityLaundromat in Perrine, Florida, locked the front door of the establishmentaround 9 p.m. Customers, Jerry Briggs, Valerie Briggs, Eric Bettle, and WalterHills remained in the laundromat, along with Ms. Larkins. 

A short time later, Ronnie Johnson knocked on the front doorand asked for change.  When the door was opened by Ms. Larkins, Johnsonbarged in, began arguing with Ms. Larkins, and then began physically fightingwith her.  After several blows to Ms. Larkins’ face, Johnson pulled a gunand shot her. 

Johnson confessed to the crime on 04/02/89, but later movedto 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         The defendant was sentenced as follows:

CountI:           First-Degree Murder – Death

CountII:          Armed Burglary – Life

Appeal Summary:

Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal

FSC# 79,383

696 So. 2d 326

02/19/92         Appeal filed

05/08/97         FSC affirmed conviction and sentence

07/01/97         Motion for rehearing denied

07/31/97         Mandate issued

U.S. Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Certiorari

USSC# 97-6960

522 U.S. 1095

09/29/97         Petition filed

01/26/98         USSC denied Petition

Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion

CC# 89-14998

03/01/01         Motion filed

01/18/02         Motion amended

01/17/03         Circuit Court denied Motion

Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Motion Appeal

FSC# 03-382

903 So. 2d 888

03/03/03         Appeal filed

03/31/05         FSC affirmed denial of 3.850 Motion

05/26/05         Rehearing denied

06/13/05         Mandate issued

Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus

FSC# 03-1680

903 So. 2d 888

09/17/03         Petition filed

03/31/05         FSC denied Petition

05/26/05         Rehearing denied

06/13/05         Mandate issued

U.S. District Court, Southern District – Petition forWrit of Habeas Corpus

USDC# 05-23292

480 F. Supp. 2d 1314

12/22/05         Petition filed

03/29/07         USDC denied petition.

U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit – Petition forWrit of Habeas Corpus Appeal

USCA# 07-12155

513 F. 3d 1328

04/30/07         Appeal filed.

10/17/08         Appeal denied

Factors Contributing to the Delay in Imposition ofSentence:

The Direct Appeal was pending for five years.

Case Information:

On 02/19/92, Ronnie Johnson filed a Direct Appeal with theFlorida Supreme Court, raising six issues: the trial court erred in denying hismotion to suppress a confession, striking a juror for cause, denying a motionfor mistrial based upon a Richardson violation, denying a motion for mistrialbased upon unauthorized note-taking by the jury, prosecution’s closing argumentwas improper, finding that Johnson created a great risk of death to manypersons.  The Florida Supreme Court affirmed Johnson’s conviction andsentence of death on 05/08/97. 

On 09/29/97, Johnson filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorariwith the United States Supreme Court, which was denied on 01/26/98.

Johnson filed a 3.850 Motion in the Circuit Court on03/01/01, and amended it on 01/18/02.   The five issues raised in theMotion are: ineffective assistance of counsel, conviction for felony-murder wasinvalid, denied access to state agency records, sentencing jury was misled, andthe jury was prejudiced by the court’s instructions regarding non-statutoryaggravating circumstances.   The court denied the Motion on 01/17/03.

Johnson filed a 3.850 Motion Appeal with the Florida SupremeCourt on 03/03/03, citing the following errors: ineffective assistance ofcounsel, improper substitution of trial counsel, denying a motion to suppress,withholding of evidence by the State, and failing to give proper juryinstructions.  On 03/31/05, the FSC affirmed the denial of the 3.850Motion. 

Johnson filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with theFlorida Supreme Court on 09/17/03, alleging ineffective assistance ofcounsel.  On 03/31/05, the FSC denied the Petition.    

Johnson filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with theU.S. District Court, Southern District, on 12/22/05 that was denied on03/29/07.  A motion for rehearing was filed on 04/20/07, and denied on05/01/07.

Johnson filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus Appealwith the U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit on 04/30/07 that was denied on10/17/08.

The Commission on Capital Cases updates thisinformation regularly.  This information, however, is subject to change andmay not reflect the latest status of an inmate’s case and should not be reliedupon for statistical or legal purposes. 

JOHNSON, Ronnie (B/M)

AKA Boo, Ronnie Boo

DC#    440701

DOB: 02/23/61

Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Dade County Case #89-12383-B

Date of Offense:        03/20/89

Date of Sentence:       07/16/92

Circumstances of Offense:

On the evening of 3/20/89, Lee Lawrence, Bernard Williams,and Josias Dukes were outside Lee’s Grocery in Dade County, Florida. Bobbie Ingraham, a codefendant of Ronnie Johnson, opened fire with an Uzisemiautomatic firearm at Bernard Williams, who was hit in the back and fell tothe ground.  Ingraham then began firing at Lawrence, who also fell to theground.  At this point, Ronnie Johnson emerged from Lee’s Grocery andbegan firing his revolver at Lawrence, who was killed in the incident. 

In addition, Josias Dukes was also the target of gunfire, althoughhe was not injured.  Johnson and Ingraham also fired stray gunshots invarious directions. 

Trial Summary:

02/14/92         Motion to sever from two codefendants granted.

04/12/92         Indicted as follows:

CountI           First-Degree Murder

CountII          Attempted First-DegreeMurder

CountIII         Attempted First-DegreeMurder

04/24/92         Entered a plea of not guilty.

05/20/92         Jury returned guilty verdict on all three counts, but third count reduced to

AggravatedAssault.

05/21/92         Jury recommended death penalty by a vote of 7-5.

07/16/92         Sentenced as follows:

CountI           First-Degree Murder – Death

CountII          Attempted First-DegreeMurder – Life

CountIII         Attempted First-DegreeMurder – Five years

Appeal Summary:

Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal

FSC# 80,278

696 So. 2d 317

08/05/92         Appeal filed

05/08/97         FSC affirmed conviction and sentence

06/26/97         Motion for rehearing denied

07/28/97         Mandate issued

U.S. Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Certiorari

USSC# 97-6932

522 U.S. 1120

11/28/97         Petition filed

02/23/98         USSC denied Petition

Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion

CC# 89-12383-B

03/01/01         Motion filed

06/27/01         Motion amended

01/17/03         Circuit Court denied Motion

Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Motion Appeal

FSC# 03-362

903 So. 2d 888

02/27/03         Appeal filed

03/31/05         FSC affirmed denial of 3.850 Motion

05/26/05         Rehearing denied

06/13/05         Mandate issued

Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus

FSC# 03-1752

903 So. 2d 888

10/02/03         Petition filed

03/31/05         FSC affirmed denial of 3.850 Motion

05/26/05         Rehearing denied

06/13/05         Mandate issued

U.S. Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Certiorari

USSC# 05-6776

126 S. Ct. 802

08/24/05         Petition filed

12/05/05         USSC denied Petition

U.S. District Court, Southern District – Petition forWrit of Habeas Corpus

USDC# 05-23293

480 F. Supp. 2d 1309

12/22/05         Petition filed

03/29/07         USDC denied petition.

U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit – Petition forWrit of Habeas Corpus Appeal

USCA# 07-12115

513 F. 3d 1328

04/30/07         Appeal filed.

10/17/08         Appeal denied.

U.S. Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Certiorari

USSC# 07-11146

129 S. Ct 348

05/20/08         Petition filed.

10/06/08         Petition denied.

Factors Contributing to the Delay in Imposition ofSentence:

The Direct Appeal was pending for five years.

Case Information:

Johnson filed a Direct Appeal with the Florida Supreme Courton 08/05/92, claiming: the trial court erred in denying the motion to suppressa confession, improprieties in jury discussions (jurors discussing case outsideof the trial), finding that Johnson caused a great risk of death to manypersons, and discrepancy in sentence of accomplices. The Florida Supreme Courtaffirmed the conviction and sentence of death on 05/08/97. 

On 11/28/97, Johnson filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorariwith the United States Supreme Court, which was denied on 02/23/98.

Johnson filed a 3.850 Motion in the Circuit Court on03/01/01 and amended the motion on 06/27/01.  The five issues raised byJohnson in the motion are: ineffective assistance of counsel, denied access tostate agency records, sentencing jury misled, discrepancy in sentence ofaccomplices, and jury prejudiced by court’s instructions regardingnon-statutory aggravating circumstances.  On 01/17/03, the Circuit Courtdenied the Motion.

Johnson filed a 3.850 Motion Appeal with the Florida SupremeCourt on 02/27/03, citing the following errors: ineffective assistance ofcounsel, improper substitution of trial counsel, denying a motion to suppress,withholding of evidence by the State, and failing to give proper juryinstructions.  On 03/31/05, the FSC affirmed the denial of the 3.850Motion. 

Johnson filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with theFlorida Supreme Court on 10/02/03, alleging ineffective assistance ofcounsel.   On 03/31/05, the FSC denied the Petition.   

Johnson filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with theU.S. Supreme Court on 08/24/05 that was denied on 12/05/05.

Johnson filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with theU.S. District Court, Southern District, on 12/22/05 that was denied on03/29/07. 

Johnson filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus Appealwith the U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit on 04/30/07 that was denied on10/17/08.

Johnson filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with theU.S. Supreme Court on 05/20/08 that was denied on 10/06/08.

Institutional Adjustment:

THE FOLLOWING ENTRIESREFLECT DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS AGAINST THE INMATE FOR VIOLATION OF THE RULE CITEDAND INDICATE THE GAIN TIME DAYS LOST.

 DATE             DAYS                VIOLATION                       LOCATION      

05/03/94              0              DISOBEYINGORDER              UNIONC. I.        

05/22/95              0              FAILURETO COMPLY            UNIONC. I.         

05/27/96              0        DISORDERLYCONDUCT          UNIONC.I.-MED.FAC.

01/24/97              0           DISOBEYINGORDER                UNION C. I.        

03/26/97              180       REF. SUB. ABUSETEST             UNION C. I.        

01/23/98              0           UNARMEDASSAULT                  UNION C. I.        

01/07/00              0           POSS OFCONTRABAND            UNION C. I.        

08/05/04              0         DISORDERLYCONDUCT              UNION C. I.

________________________________________________________________________

Report Date:  05/14/01          JFL

Approved:     06/05/01         WS

Updated:        05/24/10         CAR