SC09-496 – Ray Lamar Johnston v. State of Florida

State: Florida

Docket No: SC09-496

Case Date: 04/28/2011

Preview:Supreme Court of Florida
____________ No. SC09-496 ____________ RAY LAMAR JOHNSTON, Appellant, vs. STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee. ____________ No. SC09-2148 ____________ RAY LAMAR JOHNSTON, Petitioner, vs. KENNETH S. TUCKER, etc., Respondent. [April 28, 2011] REVISED OPINION PER CURIAM. Ray Lamar Johnston appeals the trial court's order denying his motion filed under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.851 to vacate his conviction of first-

degree murder and sentence of death. He also petitions this Court for a writ of habeas corpus.1 For the reasons explained below, we affirm the trial court's order denying postconviction relief. We also deny the habeas petition. I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY Johnston was found guilty of the first-degree murder of Janice Nugent. Johnston v. State, 863 So. 2d 271 (Fla. 2003). The evidence presented at trial revealed that Johnston and Nugent were acquaintances as regular patrons of a bar in Tampa. Id. at 275. A few weeks before the murder, Johnston had been to Nugent's house after the two had gone on a date. Id. at 275 & n.3. Later, Nugent's dead body was discovered in her home by her son-in-law. Id. at 274. Her body, clothed only in underwear, was wrapped in a bed comforter and submerged in her bathtub. Id. She had been manually strangled as well as beaten on her buttocks and hips with a blunt instrument. Id. There were multiple deep bruises on Nugent's neck and shoulders from being throttled, and there were defensive bruises and scratches on Nugent's arms, hands, and face. Id. Johnston's fingerprints were found on a cup in Nugent's kitchen and on the faucet in Nugent's bathtub. Id. at 275. Shoe tracks consistent with shoes recovered from Johnston's apartment were found in Nugent's kitchen. Id. And a

1. We have jurisdiction. See art. V,

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