Bio 

Ronnie Johnson was born on February 23, 1961. He was also known by the aliases “Boo” and “Ronnie Boo.” Publicly available court records and Florida capital case summaries identify him as a Dade County, Florida defendant who was later convicted in two separate first-degree murder cases from March 1989. 

The two murder cases were handled separately, but both were described by courts as murder-for-hire cases. Federal appellate records state that Johnson killed laundromat owner Tequila Larkins for about $300 or $400, and later killed grocery store owner and community anti-drug activist Lee Arthur Lawrence for $1,500.

Murder Story

On March 11, 1989, Tequila “Sugar Momma” Larkins was at Sparkle City Laundromat in Perrine, Florida. She owned the business and had operated it for at least three years before her death. Around 9 p.m., she locked the front door while several people remained inside, including Jerry Briggs, Valerie Briggs, Eric Bettle, and Walter Daniel Hills. A man came to the locked front door and asked for change. When the door was opened, Ronnie Johnson forced his way inside.

Johnson argued with Larkins and physically attacked her. After striking her in the face several times, he pulled a gun and shot her. Larkins died from the shooting. Johnson later confessed to the crime on April 2, 1989, although he later moved to suppress that confession.

Nine days later, on March 20, 1989, Lee Arthur Lawrence was killed at Lee’s Grocery in Dade County, Florida. Lawrence was a grocery store owner and was publicly described as an anti-drug activist in his community. Four men were charged in the killing: Ronnie Johnson, Bobbie Robinson, David Ingraham, and Rodney Newsome. Johnson and Robinson were convicted in separate trials of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. Ingraham was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, while Newsome was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 22 years in prison.

The Lawrence shooting happened outside Lee’s Grocery. Court records state that Lawrence, Bernard Williams, and Josias Dukes were outside the store when Bobbie Ingraham opened fire with an Uzi semiautomatic firearm. Williams was shot in the back and fell to the ground. Ingraham then fired at Lawrence. Johnson then came out of Lee’s Grocery and fired a revolver at Lawrence, who was killed.

Johnson was arrested on April 1, 1989. The following day, April 2, 1989, he confessed to both murders. The Florida Supreme Court later reviewed issues involving the suppression of his confessions in both cases.

In the Larkins case, Johnson pleaded not guilty on April 24, 1989. On November 7, 1991, the jury found him guilty of first-degree murder and armed burglary. On November 13, 1991, the jury recommended death by a 9-3 vote. On December 13, 1991, the court sentenced Johnson to death for the murder and to life imprisonment for armed burglary.

Johnson was also convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Lee Arthur Lawrence. The Florida Supreme Court later affirmed both his conviction and death sentence in the Lawrence case. The court’s opinion confirmed that Lawrence was killed on March 20, 1989, and that Johnson was one of four defendants charged in the crime.

Johnson’s convictions and death sentences were affirmed on direct appeal by the Florida Supreme Court in 1997. The United States Supreme Court denied certiorari review in 1998. Later state and federal postconviction challenges were also denied. In 2008, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of his federal habeas petitions as untimely.

In 2018, the Florida Supreme Court denied Johnson’s later claims seeking relief under Hurst-related death penalty decisions. The court stated that Johnson’s death sentences had become final in 1998 and that Hurst did not apply retroactively to his cases.

Johnson remains under death sentences in Florida. A 2024 death row dataset lists Ronnie Johnson, DC number 440701, at Union Correctional Institution with a death sentence.