Penalty arguments begin in quadruple killing trial

Greg Tuttle

Tuesday, June 13, 2000 | 10:57 a.m.

Arguments began this morning in Clark County District Court to determine whether Donte Johnson should be sentenced to death for the slaying of four people two years ago.

Johnson, 21, was convicted last week in Clark County District Court of the Aug. 14, 1998, quadruple slaying of four young men. Killed inside a home on Terra Linda Avenue were Matthew Mowen, 19, Jeffrey Biddle, 19, Tracey Gorringe, 21, and Peter Talamantez, 17.

All four victims were bound at the wrists and ankles and killed by a single gunshot to the back of the head. The killings occurred during a botched robbery in which three armed men entered the home, looking for cash and drugs.

Johnson also was convicted of four counts of robbery, four counts of kidnapping and one count each of burglary and conspiracy. The verdicts followed a four-day trial and seven hours of jury deliberations. The same jury that convicted Johnson will decide whether he should be sentenced to death.

Two other men involved in the incident were sentenced to life in prison without parole at separate trials last year.

Evidence at Johnson's murder trial included the pants he wore the night of the killings. DNA testing linked blood found on one of the pant legs as coming from one of the murder victims. And a cigarette butt found at the scene was determined through DNA testing to have been smoked by Johnson.

Johnson's fingerprint was found on an empty cigarette box inside the home, and the palm print of one of his accomplices was found on a VCR taken during the robbery.

Witnesses, including Johnson's ex-girlfriend, said he boasted of the killings and was thrilled to see a front-page newspaper account of the quadruple murder.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Johnson, they said, because he was the triggerman.

After opening arguments Tuesday morning, prosecutors were expected to begin their case during the penalty phase by calling two victims of a California bank robbery and a detective who investigated the case. Johnson is accused of robbing the bank at gunpoint when he was 16 years old.

Chief Assistant District Attorney Gary Guymon said he will give jurors evidence of Johnson's lengthy and violent criminal past, including an attempted murder three months before the shootings on Terra Linda Avenue. Johnson still faces charges in that case.

Family members of the victims and a man left paralyzed in a shooting allegedly committed by Johnson are also expected to testify during the hearing before Judge Jeffrey Sobel.

Guymon said he expects to wrap up his case by today.