Bio

Gary James Johnson was born on October 17, 1950, in St. Louis County, Missouri. He completed approximately eight years of formal education and spent much of his adult life working manual labor jobs. According to Texas Department of Criminal Justice records, he worked as a laborer and at one point was employed as a ranch hand at Triple Creek Ranch near Huntsville, Texas.

Johnson was familiar with the ranch property because he had previously repaired fences and performed maintenance work there. This knowledge later became significant during the investigation because prosecutors argued that his familiarity with the property helped him and his brother plan the burglary.

Unlike many Texas death row inmates, Johnson had no significant prior prison record before the murders. Former employers, relatives, and acquaintances who later testified on his behalf described him as hardworking and generally nonviolent. However, prosecutors presented evidence of earlier troubling behavior, including an incident in Missouri in which Johnson shot and killed a neighbor's dog from a considerable distance while the owner stood nearby.

By the mid-1980s, Johnson and his older brother, Terry Del Johnson, had become involved in property crimes. Investigators later concluded that the brothers had committed burglaries together and were familiar with remote ranch properties in the Huntsville area. On the night of April 30, 1986, what began as a planned burglary escalated into a double homicide that would eventually send Gary Johnson to Texas death row.

Murder Story

On the evening of April 30, 1986, Bill and Shannon Ferguson were tending livestock on their property near Triple Creek Ranch west of Huntsville, Texas. They noticed a truck approach a locked gate leading into the neighboring ranch. The truck's headlights were turned off, and they observed someone manipulating the gate before entering the property. Concerned that a burglary might be taking place, Shannon Ferguson contacted ranch manager James Hazelton and informed him of the suspicious activity.

Hazelton, accompanied by his 23-year-old brother-in-law Peter Sparagana, drove to the ranch to investigate. When they arrived, they encountered Terry Johnson but did not realize that Gary Johnson was hiding nearby.

According to testimony later presented at trial, Terry distracted the two men while Gary Johnson emerged from concealment armed with a .44-caliber revolver. He immediately opened fire on Sparagana, striking him multiple times. Hazelton attempted to flee but was captured by the Johnson brothers.

Evidence showed that Hazelton was taken back to a barn area where his hands were tied behind his back. Witness testimony and forensic evidence indicated that Hazelton pleaded for his life. Prosecutors presented evidence that Gary Johnson then forced the barrel of the revolver into Hazelton's mouth and fired. The medical examiner confirmed that Hazelton died from a contact gunshot wound to the mouth. Sparagana also died from multiple close-range gunshot wounds.

Investigators initially had little physical evidence linking the Johnson brothers to the murders. The case remained unsolved for nearly two years while authorities continued gathering information.

The investigation eventually advanced when several of Gary Johnson's brothers came forward. Tracey Johnson testified that Gary returned a .44-caliber pistol and asked him to destroy it because it had been used in a double murder. Ricky Johnson testified that Gary admitted killing one victim and described the killing of a second victim. Randy Johnson testified that Gary explained the motive for the murders by saying, "Dead men don't talk." Ballistics testing later linked the recovered firearm to bullet fragments removed from one of the victims.

Johnson's brother Terry eventually accepted a plea agreement. In exchange for his testimony, he received a 99-year prison sentence after being convicted of murder. Terry testified about the events at Triple Creek Ranch and identified Gary as the gunman.

A Walker County jury convicted Gary Johnson of capital murder on August 19, 1988. Following the punishment phase, jurors concluded that he posed a continuing threat to society and sentenced him to death.

Johnson spent more than twenty years on Texas death row pursuing appeals through state and federal courts. His attorneys challenged numerous aspects of the conviction and sentence, but each appeal was ultimately denied. The United States Supreme Court declined to intervene in the case, and an execution date was scheduled for January 12, 2010.

On January 12, 2010, Gary James Johnson was executed by lethal injection at the Huntsville Unit in Texas. Before the execution began, he initially declined to make a final statement but then addressed family members witnessing the execution. He maintained that he had been unfairly blamed and denied harming anyone. Johnson was pronounced dead at 6:26 p.m.