SC11-427 – Terance Valentine v. Kenneth S. Tucker, etc.

State: Florida

Docket No: SC11-427

Case Date: 05/17/2012

Preview:Supreme Court of Florida
____________ No. SC10-1463 ____________ TERANCE VALENTINE, Appellant, vs. STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee. ____________ No. SC11-427 ____________ TERANCE VALENTINE, Petitioner, vs. KENNETH S. TUCKER, etc., Respondent. [May 17, 2012] PER CURIAM. Terance Valentine appeals an order of the circuit court denying his motion to vacate his conviction for first-degree murder and sentence of death filed under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. He also petitions this Court for a writ

of habeas corpus. 1 For the reasons that follow, we affirm the denial of his motion and deny his habeas petition. I. BACKGROUND Terance Valentine met and married Livia Romero prior to emigrating with her to the United States from their native Costa Rica. Valentine v. State, 616 So. 2d 971, 972 (1993) (Valentine I). In New Orleans, the couple adopted a child, but eventually divorced in 1986.2 Id. Romero later married Ferdinand Porche and moved with him to Tampa to start a family. 3 Id. After learning of the couple`s marriage and relocation, Valentine began placing telephone threats to the couple`s home. Id. In September of 1988, Valentine brutally attacked Romero and Porche in their home, drove the couple to a remote location, and shot them both in the head. Id. The trial court`s sentencing order describes Valentine`s attack as follows: On September 9, 1988, Ferdinand Porche returned to his home in mid-afternoon expecting to meet his pregnant wife and small child. Instead he was greeted by a bullet in the back which [severed his spinal cord and] rendered him paralyzed from the waist down. Mr. Porche was then confronted by Mr. Valentine who announced this is my revenge. Mr. Porche was forced to crawl into a bedroom where he found his wife nude, bound, and gagged and his baby crying and covered in blood. Mr. Valentine then pistol whipped Mr. Porche. Mr. 1. We have jurisdiction. See art.V,

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