Johnson v. State

• Decision Date: 23 June 2022
• Docket Number: M2021-01420-CCA-R3-PC
• Parties: MYRON LORENZO JOHNSON v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
• Court: Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals

MYRON LORENZO JOHNSON
v.
STATE OF TENNESSEE

No. M2021-01420-CCA-R3-PC

Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, Nashville

June 23, 2022

Assigned on Briefs June 21, 2022

Appeal from the Criminal Court for Davidson County No. 2006-A-396 Mark J. Fishburn, Judge

A Davidson County jury convicted the Petitioner, Myron L. Johnson, of first degree premeditated murder, first degree felony murder, and especially aggravated robbery, and the trial court sentenced him to confinement for life plus sixty years. State v. Myron L. Johnson ("Johnson I"), No. M2008-02198-CCA-R3-CD, 2010 WL 521028, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Nashville, Feb. 12, 2010), perm. app. denied (Tenn. May 12, 2010). The Petitioner subsequently filed and adjudicated multiple post-conviction petitions and a habeas corpus petition, for all of which he was not granted relief. In his appeal of his most recent filing, the Petitioner contends that the post-conviction court erred in summarily dismissing his post-conviction petition. He contended below that his convictions could not stand because there was no fingerprint evidence to corroborate the eyewitness testimony. After review, we conclude the post-conviction court properly summarily dismissed the petition and affirm the post-conviction court's judgment.

Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Criminal Court Affirmed.

Myron Lorenzo Johnson, Clifton, Tennessee, Pro Se.

Herbert H. Slatery III, Attorney General and Reporter; Ronald L. Coleman, Assistant Attorney General; Glenn E. Funk, District Attorney General; and Janice Norman, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

ROBERT W. WEDEMEYER, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which JAMES CURWOOD WITT, JR. and J. ROSS DYER JJ., joined.

OPINION

ROBERT W. WEDEMEYER, JUDGE

I. Facts and Background

A. Trial

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This case arises from the death of Eugene "Juan" McAdams, who was found by Nashville Metropolitan Police Department ("Metro") officers in the bed of an abandoned truck in 2001. Years later, Metro officers developed the Petitioner as a suspect. Thereafter, for the victim's death, a Davidson County grand jury indicted the Petitioner and two codefendants for first degree felony murder, first degree premeditated murder, and especially aggravated robbery. The jury convicted the Petitioner as charged.

This court summarized the facts presented at trial as follows:

On July 22, 2001, Detective Brad Corcoran with the Nashville Metropolitan Police Department was called to the scene of an abandoned truck off Old Hickory Boulevard. The body of the victim, Eugene "Juan" McAdams, was discovered in the bed of the truck covered with a white sheet; his ankles and wrists had been duct-taped. Following an autopsy, the cause of death was determined to be asphyxia and blunt force trauma to the head

Initially, investigators were unable to develop a suspect Several years later, Alvin Stokes, aka "Brother Gold," was facing federal drug trafficking charges. In the hopes of receiving favorable consideration on his sentence, Stokes provided Detective Derry Baltimore with the names of the [Petitioner], Christopher Nunley, and Paul Anderson as the possible perpetrators of the killing of the victim. Detective Baltimore interviewed Nunley on February 17, 2005. Nunley took Det. Baltimore to the house where the murder occurred, and Det. Baltimore also verified Nunley's phone number. After interviewing Nunley, Det Baltimore proceeded to interview Anderson on May 12, 2005. Anderson provided details about the murder of the victim.

Anderson testified against the [Petitioner] at trial. Anderson stated that he met the [Petitioner] in 2000, and the two became good friends. Anderson moved into the [Petitioner's] girlfriend's house, and Anderson confirmed that he was drug addict during this time. He had also met Nunley on at least two occasions prior to the murder and knew him as "Skinny." According to Anderson, the [Petitioner] and Nunley were involved together in the sale of drugs, and they often went to Stokes to get drugs.

On July 20, 2001, around 10:00 a.m., the [Petitioner] came over to the place where Anderson was temporarily residing. The [Petitioner] made a proposition to Anderson: In exchange for $500 and an ounce of cocaine, Anderson was to set up a drug deal with the victim and rob him of his drugs and money.

Anderson stated that the [Petitioner] and Nunley were angry with the

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victim because he had tried to go around them in the drug trade; normally, they would purchase cocaine from the victim for $22,000 and then sell it for $26,000. However, the victim had slipped a note into the cocaine, providing a cell phone number and stating to the second buyer to deal with the victim directly. Anderson did not know the victim prior to July 20.

Nunley called the victim and arranged the deal. The plan was for Anderson to arrive to purchase four ounces of cocaine from the victim, but instead he would rob everyone. They were to later split the drugs and money. The [Petitioner] arrived in his truck with Nunley around 7:00 p.m. that evening to pick up Anderson, and they went to Nunley's house. However, the [Petitioner] and Nunley stated that they wanted to change the amount to eighteen ounces, "a half of key." Anderson no longer wanted to participate because he feared that there would be repercussions for stealing such a large amount of cocaine. The [Petitioner] instructed him to be quiet and sit down; Anderson complied. Nunley phoned the victim requesting the increased amount of cocaine.

While they were waiting on the victim to arrive, the [Petitioner] went out to his truck and retrieved a shotgun and a white bag. Inside the bag was a box of latex gloves. The [Petitioner] placed the bag and the gloves on the top of the refrigerator. The victim then entered the house and asked Anderson, "Do you want to buy some dope?" According to Anderson, the [Petitioner] then jumped up from the table and hit the victim in the head with the butt of the shotgun, rendering the victim unconscious. As soon as the victim fell to the floor, Nunley put on a pair of gloves and began wrapping duct tape around the victim's head. The [Petitioner] also put on gloves. They taped the victim's head "completely up," also taping his hands and feet. When the victim started to come to, he was unable to breathe and began "flopping around just like a fish dying ...." The victim soon ceased moving.

The [Petitioner] then removed a gold necklace from around the victim's neck. The [Petitioner] went outside to the victim's truck; meanwhile, Nunley was cleaning up blood on the floor. Thereafter, they carried the victim to a bedroom window and pushed

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