Bio

Jason Bryce Looney was born on April 5, 1977. By 1997, he was living in Florida and was associated with Guerry Wayne Hertz and Jimmy Dewayne Dempsey, the two men who later joined him in the robbery and murders of Melanie King and Robin Keith Spears.

Before the murders, Looney had a prior record involving property crimes. Florida capital case records list prior community supervision from Leon County for offenses including forgery/uttering, uttering a forged instrument, and grand theft. These offenses had a sentence date of April 22, 1996.

On the night before the murders, Looney was with Hertz and Dempsey at an acquaintance’s house. The three men left on foot at about 11:00 p.m. on July 26, 1997, and later walked toward the home of Melanie King and Robin Keith Spears. When Looney saw the victims’ black Ford Mustang, he commented that it was the car he wanted. That moment became part of the evidence showing the robbery motive behind the crime.

Looney’s case remained active for many years because of appeals and death-penalty resentencing litigation. His convictions were affirmed by the Florida Supreme Court on November 1, 2001, and later postconviction claims were denied. After later changes in Florida death-penalty law, his case returned for resentencing. In 2025, he was resentenced to life imprisonment without parole.

Murder Story

The murders happened in the early morning hours of July 27, 1997, in Wakulla County, Florida. The victims, Melanie King and Robin Keith Spears, were found inside their burning home. Investigators later determined that they had been shot before the fire was set.

On the night of July 26, 1997, Jason Looney, Guerry Hertz, and Jimmy Dempsey left an acquaintance’s home on foot at about 11:00 p.m. The location was within walking distance of King and Spears’ home. Around 2:00 a.m., Hertz went to a nearby woman’s house and asked to use the telephone, claiming that his truck had broken down. She refused. The three men then continued toward the victims’ home. When Looney saw the black Ford Mustang outside the home, he said it was the car he wanted.

Dempsey and Hertz approached the front door and acted as decoys. They asked to use a telephone. Melanie King gave them a cordless phone, and Dempsey pretended to make a call. When he began handing the phone back, Hertz forced his way inside at gunpoint. Looney entered behind him and aimed his rifle at Robin Keith Spears.

King and Spears were forced face down on their bed. They were bound and gagged with duct tape. The men then stole property from the home, including a television, VCR, furniture, jewelry, compact discs, and about $1,500 in cash. They loaded the stolen property into the victims’ two vehicles.

After the robbery, Hertz and Looney decided that they could not leave witnesses alive. Dempsey later testified that Hertz and Looney poured accelerants throughout the home. The three men then returned to the bedroom armed. King pleaded not to be shot in the head. Hertz fired first, followed by Looney and then Dempsey. Both King and Spears died from gunshot wounds.

After the shootings, the house was set on fire. Looney drove away in the victims’ black Ford Mustang, with Dempsey as his passenger. Hertz left in the victims’ white Ford Ranger. The men drove to Hertz’s house to divide the money and unload the stolen property.

Later that morning, two Tallahassee Wal-Mart employees saw the men with the victims’ stolen vehicles, a black Ford Mustang and a white Ford Ranger. A Wal-Mart receipt for clothing was later found in the Mustang, supporting the timeline.

Looney, Hertz, and Dempsey then drove to Daytona Beach. After a police pursuit, they became involved in a shootout with police. Looney and Dempsey abandoned the Mustang and were arrested while fleeing. Hertz was shot, abandoned the Ford Ranger, and later paid for a cab ride to his aunt’s home in St. Augustine, where he was arrested the same day. Police found Spears’ 9mm gun in Hertz’s bag.

Forensic evidence helped connect the defendants to the crime. One bullet fired inside the victims’ home came from a .380 Lorcin gun that was in Looney’s possession when he was arrested. Investigators also found Looney’s wallet containing $464, Dempsey’s wallet containing $380, and a roll of duct tape in the Mustang. Fingerprints from all three men were recovered from the vehicle. Evidence of accelerants was found on clothing in the Mustang, and experts concluded that the fire damage to the home could only have been caused by accelerants.

Looney, Hertz, and Dempsey were indicted on August 26, 1997. The charges included two counts of first-degree murder, armed burglary of a dwelling, robbery with a firearm, arson of a dwelling, and threatening to use a firearm. On December 9, 1999, Looney was found guilty on all counts. On December 11, 1999, the jury recommended death by a vote of 10–2. On February 18, 2000, the court sentenced him to death for both murders, life imprisonment for armed burglary, life imprisonment for robbery with a firearm, 30 years for arson, and 15 years for threatening to use a firearm.

His co-defendant Guerry Wayne Hertz received the same convictions and death sentences. Jimmy Dewayne Dempsey entered into a plea agreement with the State and received life sentences instead of death. Looney appealed. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed his convictions and death sentences on November 1, 2001. The United States Supreme Court denied certiorari on June 28, 2002. Later postconviction claims, including ineffective-assistance-of-counsel arguments, were rejected by the Florida Supreme Court in 2006.

After changes in Florida death-penalty law following Hurst, Looney received a new penalty phase. A resentencing proceeding was delayed in 2023 while courts considered how Florida’s updated death-penalty law should apply. In January 2025, a jury recommended life imprisonment without parole for Looney on both counts. On March 6, 2025, the court resentenced him to life without parole.