Johnson v. State

The defendant entered a bookstore, which the victim owned and operated, waited until she was alone, then stabbed her to death, taking rings off of her fingers and money from the cash register.

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Appellant Gregory Johnson was convicted after a jury trial for the malice murder of Carol Kaye Lewis and other related crimes.1 He appeals from his convictions and the trial court’s denial of his motion for new trial in which he raised claims of trial court error and ineffective assistance of trial counsel. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

1. Based on the evidence presented at trial, the jury was authorized to conclude that appellant entered the bookstore owned and operated by the victim and waited until she was alone. He then fatally stabbed the victim, took several distinctive rings from her fingers and cash from the cash register, and left her body in the back of the store. Appellant, who was seen after the crimes wearing the victim’s rings, told one witness he had rings to trade for crack cocaine and that the rings, which he “removed from a lady,” came off easily “because of the blood.” Just prior to her death, the victim spoke on the telephone with her husband, Harold Lewis, and mentioned that the “creepy guy” had been in the store for several hours and she wished he would leave. Lewis, who occasionally worked in the bookstore, was familiar with the person to whom his wife referred and encouraged his wife to step outside until the man left. Less than an hour after the call ended, the victim’s son arrived at the store and discovered his mother’s body. A few days after the murder, Lewis told police he remembered the name of the person he and his wife referred to as the “creepy guy,” Gregory Johnson, and he identified appellant in a photographic lineup.

Johnson v. State

The defendant entered a bookstore, which the victim owned and operated, waited until she was alone, then stabbed her to death, taking rings off of her fingers and money from the cash register.

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