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  1. #1
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    Matthew Lee Johnson - Texas Death Row





    Garland police identify woman set on fire, critically injured in Sunday robbery


    This morning just after 7:00 am officers were responding to an alarm in the 3300 block of Broadway Boulevard. While on the call one of the officers looked across the street and thought he saw a flash of fire inside the Fina station just across the intersection of Broadway and Colonel Drive. Both officers drove to the station and as they were pulling up they saw a female step outside who was on fire. One of the officers grabbed the fire extinguisher from his car and began spraying her and put out the fire. The lady was still standing and was able to tell officers she had just been robbed and the suspect doused her with a liquid and set her on fire. She was also able to give a basic description of the suspect.

    Garland Fire Paramedics responded and transported the 76 year old female of Garland to Parkland Memorial Hospital where she is listed in critical condition with burns over 40% of her body.

    Shortly after officers responded to the fire, dispatch operators began receiving calls of a man trying to break into houses in the residential area behind the Fina station. Additional officers responded to the area of the calls and located the man and took him into custody for robbery of an individual at his home. Police detectives now believe the same man is responsible for the robbery of the Fina station and setting the 76 year old woman on fire. The suspect is identified as 36 year old Matthew Lee Johnson of Garland [mugshot pictured]. Johnson is facing at least two charges, Robbery and Criminal Attempt Capital Murder.

    http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2012...-robbery.html/

    I just checked the Dallas County Jail log and the charge has been changed to CAPITAL MURDER BY TERROR THREAT/OTHER FELONY so it seems like Nancy Harris has passed away. So sad.

    Harris’s neighbors said they were shocked by the brutality of the attack on a selfless woman who kept a close eye on her neighborhood.

    “I can’t understand why someone, some idiot, would do this to her,” said Margaret Tatum, 70, who lives a few houses down from Harris in the neighborhood just a few blocks from the crime scene.

    “I know she’s in a lot of pain,” Tatum said. “I can feel that pain here,” she said as she pointed to her heart.

    “I’ve been crying all morning,” Tatum said. “I couldn’t sleep last night.”

    Another neighbor, Jim Bertucci, 62, said Harris always seemed to remember little details about everyone and what was going on in their lives.

    “She was the kind of friend that, you know, you may not see them and then when you see them … It’s like we never missed a beat,” Bertucci said.

    “To rob somebody, that’s one thing,” Bertucci said. “But To throw gas on them and light them — my God, that’s terrible. I wouldn’t do that to a lump of coal.”

    http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2012...-robbery.html/

  2. #2
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    Nancy Harris died on Friday.

    Harris, 76, passed away Friday evening at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, where she had remained in critical condition since the attack at the Fina Whip-In.

    The grandmother of two had been an active member of the South Garland community for years.

    Matthew Johnson, the man arrested and charged with the crime, is in the Dallas County Jail and charged with criminal attempted capital murder. His bond is currently set at $1,000,000

    According to a Garland police news release, detectives will be working with the Dallas District Attorney’s office in pursuing a charge of capital murder in the case.
    http://www.wfaa.com/news/crime/Clerk...154335365.html

    I would put it at a 80% chance this will end up a death penalty case in Dallas County.

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    Craig Watkins to seek Death Penalty against Matthew Lee Johnson

    Matthew Lee Johnson, the man accused of setting an elderly Garland convenience store clerk on fire during a robbery last month, will face charges that include the death penalty.

    Nancy Harris, 76, died of her injuries five days after the May 20 assault at the Fina Whip-In at the corner of Broadway and Colonel Drive.

    She suffered serious burns to her upper torso and face.

    Johnson was arrested later the same day.

    Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins announced Monday that he will seek the death penalty in connection with the capital murder case.

    Johnson, 36, remains jailed at Lew Sterrett Justice Center on a $2 million bond pending trial.

    http://www.wfaa.com/news/crime/Death...160291915.html

    Rightly so. RIP Nancy.

    Johnson's criminal history in Dallas County.


  4. #4
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    Jury sees grisly images of Garland clerk on fire

    A Dallas-area man faces trial over the 2012 burning death of a convenience store clerk who police say was set ablaze during a robbery.

    The capital murder trial of 38-year-old Matthew Johnson of Garland opens Monday in Dallas.

    Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Johnson over the slaying of 76-year-old Nancy Harris, who was attacked at the Garland store where she worked. Security video captured part of the incident.

    Police saw a burning Harris step from the station and sprayed her with a fire extinguisher. She reported being robbed, doused with a flammable liquid and set afire. Harris, who was able to describe the suspect, died several days after the May 20, 2012, attack.

    Johnson was arrested as police investigated reported break-in attempts near the gas station.

    http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/Man-f...229546811.html
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

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    Dallas County jurors watch video of elderly clerk being set on fire

    Dallas County jurors charged with deciding the fate of a man who confessed to killing an elderly convenience store clerk watched a silent surveillance video Monday of the woman being set on fire and then trying to extinguish the blaze.

    One juror covered his mouth with his hand while watching the video, which was compiled from several security cameras. Another man nervously rubbed his hands before raising them to his mouth as the clerk, 76-year-old Nancy Harris, walked through the store while flames consumed her upper body.

    Prosecutors Andrea Mosley, Rocky Jones and Elaine Evans are seeking the death penalty against Matthew Johnson if jurors convict him of capital murder in Harris’ May 2012 death. Monday was the first day of testimony.

    Mosley told jurors that Johnson, 38, walked into a Garland Fina convenience store with a plastic bottle of lighter fluid early one Sunday morning. He poured the contents on Harris’ head and stood behind her, taking cigarettes and a lighter while she opened the register.

    Harris had worked at the store for 14 years and seemed to be complying with Johnson’s demands as employees are instructed to do.

    Johnson attempted to pull a ring off Harris’ hand while she stood at the register. It wouldn’t budge, so he licked his fingers and pulled again.

    The ring still would not move. Johnson again licked his fingers and tried again, this time taking her ring.

    Johnson walks out of the store with some cash and the ring, and a glow is seen on the screen. The video shows Harris on fire for more than two minutes.

    Harris walks over to a sink but cannot put out the fire. She takes off her shirt, but she is still on fire. She then walks outside for help.

    Two nearby Garland police officers saw the fire and put it out with a fire extinguisher from a patrol car. Harris was screaming when they arrived, testified Officer Billy Coffey. She was able to describe the man who set her on fire.

    Johnson did not appear to react to the video as he sat with his attorneys Catherine Bernhard, Kenneth Weatherspoon and Nancy Mulder.

    Firefighter and paramedic William Crews testified that after he arrived a short time later, Harris pleaded, “Help me, help me, help me.”

    Johnson was arrested after an officer found him hiding in the bushes in a nearby neighborhood. Residents began calling 911 to report that a man was trying to break into their homes. Police found Harris’ ring in Johnson’s pocket, according to testimony.

    Prosecutors also played a video of Johnson sitting in the back of a patrol car. The video showed him shirtless, behaving erratically and laying his head back on the seat of the patrol car.

    Johnson constantly tried to strike up a conversation with Coffey, who drove him to jail. When Coffey wouldn’t answer questions about whether a phone call was from the officer’s wife or if he is a family man, Johnson said: “You can’t talk to me? You got that much hate for me?”

    Coffey tells Johnson he is accused of capital murder.

    “Capital murder? What you talking about, man?” Johnson asks incredulously. “Capital murder on who, man?”

    Johnson later tells Coffey that the police caught him only because he wanted to be caught.

    Johnson has a criminal record dating to at least 1993. He has convictions for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, theft, marijuana possession, resisting arrest and evading arrest.

    Also on Monday, one of Harris’ four children, Scott Harris, testified that his mother did not want to be kept alive by machines. She suffered burns over 40 percent of her body. Harris was taken off life support and died five days later.

    “She could not communicate,” Scott Harris said. “I got to see her.”

    Testimony will resume Tuesday.

    http://www.dallasnews.com/news/commu...et-on-fire.ece
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

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  6. #6
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    Guilty! That was quick!

    Man guilty of capital murder in clerk's burning death


    DALLAS - Jurors have convicted a man who killed a convenience store clerk by setting her on fire.

    Matthew Johnson, 38, of Garland was found guilty Wednesday of capital murder for the death of 76-year-old Nancy Harris.

    Harris was working at the Fina Station on Broadway when Johnson tried to rob it in May 2012.

    Surveillance video of the incident was shown in court on Monday. It shows Harris covered in flames, leaving store. She was spotted by Garland police, who put out the fire with an extinguisher.

    Family members chose to leave the courtroom rather than watch the disturbing video.

    Firefighters testified Harris had first, second and third degree burns on her face, shoulders, abdomen, arms and legs.

    She died a few days after the attack, but was able to able to first describe the person responsible.

    The firefighters said Harris told them Johnson poured lighter fluid on her head from a Gatorade bottle, which was later found outside the store.

    A Garland patrol officer testified Johnson was caught in a nearby alley and appeared sober and coherent.

    The victim's family members hugged one another after the verdict, but said they didn't want to comment until after the punishment phase of the trial.

    Johnson can be sentenced to either life in prison or death.

    His defense attorney is hoping for leniency because he said his client's motive was robbery, not to kill anyone.

    http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/238319...-burning-death

    Emphasis mine. Yeah, that is why you squirted her with gasoline as soon as you walked in...I have a feeling that Johnson will be burning in about 10 years.

  7. #7
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    Just 3 days of testimony
    He will get death for sure! Death by burning must be horrible and Nancy Harris had to suffer for several days...

  8. #8
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    Defendant feels like “lowest scum on earth” after setting elderly convenience store clerk on fire

    Matthew Lee Johnson, who last year set an elderly convenience clerk on fire, took the stand Monday as a Dallas County jury considers whether he deserves to be sentenced to death for the crime.

    Jurors have already found Johnson, 38, guilty of capital murder for the death of 76-year-old Nancy Harris, who had burns over 40 percent of her body and later died from her injuries. Prosecutors are asking jurors to give him the death penalty.

    Johnson testified Monday that he has a patchy memory of the morning that he walked into a Garland convenience store, doused Harris in lighter fluid and later ran from police.

    He also detailed a lengthy criminal history, which he said was the result of a drug addiction. Johnson said he started smoking pot at age 7 and later, became addicted to crack cocaine. He also testified that he was sexually abused as a child — once by a family member and once by a family friend that he bought marijuana from.

    Johnson apologized to Harris’ family and said he feels “like the lowest scum on earth.”

    He also said he is sorry for what he’s done to his three daughters.

    “They don’t deserve this, what I’ve been putting them through,” he said. “It’s painful… knowing I’ll never be out there with my children again.”

    Testimony will continue at 1 p.m.

    http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2013...k-on-fire.html

  9. #9
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    Man Who Set Garland Clerk on Fire Sentenced to Death

    A North Texas man convicted of capital murder for setting a clerk on fire as he robbed her Garland convenience store has been sentenced to death.

    After about nine hours of deliberation over the course of two days, the jury unanimously sentenced 38-year-old Matthew Johnson to death. The jury last week returned a guilty verdict for the May 2012 death of Nancy Harris.

    On Monday, Johnson took the stand on his own behalf, trying to save his life.

    "I just want to live long enough to see my girls grow up," he said. "I put myself and family in a bad situation and the victim's families. I feel like a coward. I have my day of redemption, and I ask forgiveness from the victims families and for the court to have mercy."

    Johnson is married and has three daughters, ages 15, 11 and 3.

    Jurors can choose between death or life imprisonment without parole for Johnson, who admitted to police that he killed the 76-year-old Harris.

    Johnson poured lighter fluid on Harris as she stood behind the store counter and set her on fire after she had opened the register for him.

    Harris suffered burns over 40 percent of her body and died days later.

    http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Pun...230970931.html
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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    Jury Still Weighing Fate Of Garland Clerk Killer

    A jury in Dallas County entered its second day of deliberations on Friday, trying to determine the fate of a convicted killer. Matthew Johnson could face the death penalty, depending on the verdict. Jurors spent Thursday night sequestered at a local hotel, so as not to be influenced in what is literally a life-or-death decision.

    These same jurors found Johnson guilty of captial murder last week in the death of a Garland convenience store clerk. Johnson robbed 76-year-old Nancy Harris and set her on fire. The vicious attack was recorded by surveillance cameras.

    If the jury determines that Johnson is a continuing threat to society — and there are no extenuating circumstances for his behavior due to his past — Johnson will be sentenced to death instead of life in prison. If the jury cannot reach an unanimous decision about what the punishment should be, Johnson will automatically receive a sentence of life in prison.

    Jurors were allowed to make phone calls to family members on Friday morning, but were closely monitored by baliffs and only allowed to tell their loved ones that they were okay and heading back to court. Deliberations on Thursday lasted for about six hours.

    http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2013/11/08/j...-clerk-killer/
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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