Oakland Park Taco Bell murder case from 2009 nears trial
By Rafael Olmeda
The Sun Sentinel
On her hands and knees, Tikkitress Johnson begged for her life. Prosecutors say Karari Ritchie showed her no mercy: She was a witness. She could not live.
Ritchie, 25, faces the death penalty if convicted of murdering Johnson, 39, at an Oakland Park Taco Bell on August 10, 2009.
Broward Circuit Judge Ilona Holmes issued a handful of rulings Tuesday to clear the way for Ritchie's trial to begin. Lawyers and the defendant will return to her courtroom on Feb. 25 to set a trial date, likely in late spring or early summer.
Family members of the victim, including two of her three children (all adult), were on hand for Tuesday's hearing. Her husband, Herbert Johnson, hasn't missed a single development in the case. He was in court last July when Ritchie's older brother, Tesfaye Ritchie, pleaded no contest to one count of first-degree murder and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. And he said he'll be there until the case against Karari Ritchie is resolved.
"It's been a long stretch for me and my family," Johnson said. "As long as the case drags on, it doesn't give us the opportunity to completely heal."
The brothers tricked the victim into letting them into the Taco Bell Restaurant at 593 E. Oakland Park Blvd. before it opened by pretending to be job applicants. Once inside, according to investigators, they accepted soft drinks offered by the victim. Then they robbed her.
Assistant Public Defender Caroline McCrae, one of the lawyers representing Ritchie, questioned why the Broward State Attorney's Office was seeking the death penalty, prompting prosecutor Al Ribas to recount the slaying.
"It was done to eliminate her as a witness," Ribas said of the murder. "Johnson was on her hands and knees praying to God, 'Don't kill me.' And he [Ritchie] kills her."
Prosecutors believe Karari Ritchie did the stabbing, with a kitchen knife he brought from his Lauderhill home. His brother was charged with murder under the legal doctrine that two people who commit a felony — the robbery — are equally responsible for other crimes committed in the process.
Testifying against his brother was not part of Tesfaye Ritchie's plea agreement.
Police identified the brothers by examining the fingerprints they left on the cups they accepted from the victim when she handed them their soft drinks.
http://touch.sun-sentinel.com/#secti.../p2p-82583215/
Bookmarks