Opinion ID: 2543261
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: State's case in support of a death sentence

Text: Evidence regarding Johnson's prior bad acts was admitted during this phase of the hearing. A Los Angeles Police Department lieutenant and a bank manager testified regarding Johnson's participation in an armed bank robbery in 1993, when he was about 15 years old. An LVMPD officer testified that in 1998 Johnson was implicated in the shooting of a man in Las Vegas. That man later died. The district court admitted documents into evidence charging Johnson with attempted murder and battery with the use of a deadly weapon relating to the incident, as well as Johnson's guilty plea and judgment of conviction for the battery charge. A California Department of Corrections Parole Division officer testified about Johnson's juvenile record in California. The district court admitted Johnson's judgment of conviction for the 1993 armed bank robbery into evidence, showing that he was sentenced to four years in the California Youth Authority (CYA) program. Johnson was paroled from the CYA program prior to the expiration of his four-year sentence, but he later absconded from parole. LVMPD Officer Alexander Gonzalez testified that he worked at the Clark County Detention Center in February 2001 in the unit housing high-risk inmates. He described a fight between Johnson and another inmate, Oscar Irias. With help from a third inmate, Johnson threw Irias over a second-tier railing. Irias survived. LVMPD Detective James Buczek participated in the quadruple murder investigation. He testified on behalf of Nevada Highway Patrolman Sergeant Robert Honea (who had testified in Johnson's 1998 trial). According to Detective Buczek, Sergeant Honea conducted a traffic stop involving Johnson on August 17, 1998, three days after the murders. Johnson was the driver, but identified himself as Donte Fleck; a passenger in the car was one of his accomplices in the robbery and murders. During the stop, Johnson and his passenger abandoned the car and fled on foot. A rifle loaded with 20 rounds of ammunition was located in the car, along with a clip of ammunition. In addition to the prior bad act evidence, the State also admitted impact testimony from the families of Johnson's four victims. Juanita Aguilar, the mother of Peter Talamantez, testified that Peter was very smart, very caring. He could have done just about anything he wanted to, but at 17, you don't really think too much about what you want to be in the future because you're still out having fun. Peter's murder had caused her severe depression. She lamented: There's not one day I don't think about my baby. Marie Biddle, the mother of Jeffery Biddle, testified that Jeffery liked to play sports, he was a wonderful artist, and someday he either wanted to go into law enforcement or the Air Force. She told the jury that Jeffery's murder had been very devastating. Sandy Viau, the mother of Tracey Gorringe, testified that Tracey wanted to become an electrical engineer. She added, He was a great athlete. He played baseball, he snowboarded, he skied, he water-skied, he roller-bladed, he rode motorcycles. She stated that after his murder, I don't have any goals now. You know, it's one day at a time. David Mowen, the father of Matthew Mowen, testified that Matthew was his only son and wanted to study medicine. He was quite a young man. . . . He was one of those special individuals that, for whatever reason, he had that ability to connect with many, many different types of people. Of the impact of Matthew's murder, his father testified: It's the same pain, the same misery, the same angriness that you have every single day. It doesn't get better. Matthew's younger sister Jennifer also testified that she looked up to her brother, who always gave her comfort and strength. Defense's case for a sentence less than death and State's rebuttal The defense again called members of Johnson's family, many of whom had already testified during the death-eligibility phase. These family members, including his young son, again testified about the positive aspects of Johnson's character and their love for him. Much testimony was presented regarding Johnson's involvement with street gangs beginning when he was about 13 or 14 years old. Johnson joined the Six Duece Brims gang, affiliated with the larger Bloods gang, to stop the harassment of his family. A professor of sociology at the University of California at Berkeley testified about gangs and provided the jury with extensive sociological data. Several specialists who had worked with Johnson also testified. Johnson's former parole agent for the CYA testified that he supervised Johnson after his release from the juvenile program and found Johnson to be a small, quiet young man that seemed to be pleasant and workable. A therapist who worked with Johnson in 2000 at the Clark County Detention Center testified that Johnson was a fairly consistent, decent person in that setting. And a psychologist and clinical neuropsychologist profiled Johnson's personality and summarized his life. Two inmates testified that they saw inmate Irias fall over the second-tier balcony. Johnson's alleged accomplice in the incident, Reginald Johnson (no relation to the appellant), testified that he alone, without Johnson's participation, assaulted [Irias] and helped him over the tier because Irias was a child molester. Reginald's former counsel confirmed that Reginald admitted to her that he did it. A retired California Department of Corrections officer testified about the life that would be expected for an inmate sentenced to a term of life without the possibility of parole in Nevada's Ely State Prison. To rebut this evidence, the State called the warden of the Southern Desert Correctional Facility. Johnson made no statement in allocution. Death sentences The State made a closing argument, and Johnson's two counsel made closing arguments. The State argued in rebuttal. A new set of written instructions was given to the jury. The jury returned four separate verdicts imposing a sentence of death for each of the murders.