Ronald Palmer Heath

Case record: Ronald Palmer Heath

Timeline

• 05/24/89 — Ronald Heath and his live-in girlfriend, Penny Powell, drove to Heath’s grandmother’s house in Jacksonville; Heath and Powell had an argument, after which Powell returned to their residence in Douglas, Georgia.
• 05/24/89 (evening) — Heath and his brother Kenneth visited friends who worked as waitresses at the Purple Porpoise Lounge; during the evening the brothers initiated a conversation with a traveling salesman, Sheridan.
• 05/24/89 (after purchasing a drink and discussing marijuana) — Heath suggested robbing Sheridan at an alternate location; Heath drove the trio in Kenneth’s vehicle to an isolated area in Alachua County, where they proceeded to exit the vehicle and smoke marijuana.
• 05/24/89 (during the robbery) — Heath made a pistol gesturing motion and asked Kenneth, “Did you get it?” Kenneth reached under the seat of the car and came back with a small-caliber handgun; Kenneth pointed the gun at Sheridan while informing him that he was being robbed.
• 05/24/89 (shooting and stabbing) — Kenneth shot Sheridan once in the chest; Heath kicked Sheridan and used a hunting knife to stab him in the neck and unsuccessfully attempted to slit his throat; Heath told Kenneth to use the gun to kill Sheridan; Kenneth proceeded to shoot him twice in the head.
• 05/24/89 (after the killing) — The brothers moved the body deeper into the woods and then returned to the Purple Porpoise; they relocated Sheridan’s rental car to another location and burned it after removing some items.
• 05/25/89 (the following day) — The brothers purchased numerous items at a Gainesville mall using Sheridan’s credit cards.
• 05/25/89 (during mall purchases) — Various store clerks in a photo lineup identified Heath, even though Kenneth signed all of the credit card slips.
• 05/25/89 (after being unable to answer questions) — The brothers stopped using the credit cards after being asked biographical questions they could not answer and returned to Jacksonville.
• 05/25/89 (after returning to Jacksonville) — The brothers threw the handgun into the St. John’s River, but it was never recovered.
• After the murder (while in Georgia) — Heath returned to the trailer in Georgia that he shared with Powell.
• Several weeks after the murder — Heath was arrested at his trailer for using the stolen credit cards.
• 07/12/89 — Heath was indicted with the following: Count I: First-Degree Murder; Count II: Robbery with a Deadly Weapon.
• 07/27/89 — Heath was charged by Information with the following: Count III: Conspiracy to Commit Uttering a Forgery; Count IV: Forgery; Count V: Uttering a Forged Instrument; Count VI: Forgery; Count VII: Uttering a Forged Instrument; Count VIII: Forgery; Count IX: Uttering a Forged Instrument.
• 09/13/89 — Heath was charged by an amended Information to include the following charges: Count X: Forgery; Count XI: Uttering a Forged Instrument; Count XII: Forgery; Count XIII: Uttering a Forged Instrument; Count XIV: Forgery; Count XV: Uttering a Forged Instrument; Count XVI: Forgery; Count XVII: Uttering a Forged Instrument; Count XVIII: Forgery; Count XIX: Uttering a Forged Instrument; Count XX: Forgery; Count XXI: Uttering a Forged Instrument.
• 10/20/94 — The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence of Death.
• 11/15/90 — The trial jury found Heath guilty of First-Degree Murder, Robbery with a Deadly Weapon, Conspiracy to Commit Uttering a Forgery, and seven counts of Forgery and Uttering a Forgery.
• 11/27/90 — The jury recommended Death by a vote of ten to two.
• 11/06/90 — The two cases were consolidated.
• 12/17/90 — Heath was sentenced as follows: Count I: First-Degree Murder — Death; Count II: Robbery with a Deadly Weapon — Life sentence; Count III: Conspiracy to Commit Uttering a Forgery — 6 mo.; Count VIII: Forgery — 10 years; Count IX: Uttering a Forged Instrument — 10 years; Count X: Forgery — 10 years; Count XI: Uttering a Forged Instrument — 10 years; Count XII: Forgery — 10 years; Count XIII: Uttering a Forged Instrument — 10 years; Count XIV: Forgery — 10 years; Count XV: Uttering a Forged Instrument — 10 years; Count XVI: Forgery — 10 years; Count XVII: Uttering a Forged Instrument — 10 years; Count XVIII: Forgery — 10 years; Count XIX: Uttering a Forged Instrument — 10 years; Count XX: Forgery — 10 years; Count XXI: Uttering a Forged Instrument — 10 years.
• 01/16/91 — A Direct Appeal was filed.
• 04/24/95 — A Petition for Writ of Certiorari was filed.
• 06/26/95 — The Petition for Writ of Certiorari was denied.
• 03/24/97 — A 3.850 motion was filed with the circuit court.
• 03/29/06 — An Evidentiary Hearing was held.
• 08/02/04 — The 3.850 motion was amended.
• 04/18/05 — The 3.850 motion was amended.
• 04/18/05 (after amendment) — The motion remained pending.

Background

Ronald Heath and his live-in girlfriend, Penny Powell, drove to Heath’s grandmother’s house in Jacksonville, and Heath and Powell had an argument; Powell returned to their residence in Douglas, Georgia. Heath drove to Gainesville to visit some friends and was accompanied by his brother Kenneth.

There was an indictment on both Ronald Heath and Kenneth Heath for the First-Degree Murder and Armed Robbery of Sheridan. There was also another case where the brothers were indicted with offenses connected with the forgeries of the credit cards. The two cases were consolidated on 11/06/90.

The offence

On the evening of May 24, 1989, Heath and Kenneth went to visit two of Heath’s friends who worked as waitresses at the Purple Porpoise Lounge. During the evening, the brothers initiated a conversation with a traveling salesman, Sheridan. After purchasing the brothers a drink, Sheridan inquired as to whether they used marijuana. At Heath’s suggestion, the brothers agreed to rob Sheridan at an alternate location.

Heath drove the trio in Kenneth’s vehicle to an isolated area in Alachua County. Heath parked the vehicle on a dirt road and all three proceeded to exit the vehicle and smoke marijuana. At this point, Heath made a pistol gesturing motion and asked Kenneth:

“Did you get it?”

Kenneth reached under the seat of the car and came back with a small-caliber handgun. Kenneth pointed the gun at Sheridan while informing him that he was being robbed. Sheridan indicated that he was not going to give the brothers anything and, at Heath’s prompting, Kenneth shot Sheridan once in the chest. As Sheridan began removing his possessions, Heath kicked him and used a hunting knife to stab him in the neck and unsuccessfully attempted to slit his throat.

Heath then told Kenneth to use the gun to kill Sheridan, and Kenneth proceeded to shoot him twice in the head. The brothers moved the body deeper into the woods. After they returned to the Purple Porpoise, they relocated Sheridan’s rental car to another location and burned it after removing some items.

The following day, the brothers purchased numerous items at a Gainesville mall using Sheridan’s credit cards. Various store clerks in a photo lineup identified Heath, even though Kenneth signed all of the credit card slips. The brothers stopped using the credit cards after being asked biographical questions they could not answer and returned to Jacksonville.

They threw the handgun into the St.

Investigation

Officers obtained permission to search the trailer shared by Heath and Powell. The officers found several of the clothing items purchased using Sheridan’s credit cards as well as Sheridan’s watch.

Arrest

Heath was arrested at his trailer several weeks after the murder for using the stolen credit cards.

Trial

Heath was indicted on 07/12/89 with:

• Count I: First-Degree Murder
• Count II: Robbery with a Deadly Weapon

Heath was charged by Information on 07/27/89 with:

• Count III: Conspiracy to Commit Uttering a Forgery
• Count IV: Forgery
• Count V: Uttering a Forged Instrument
• Count VI: Forgery
• Count VII: Uttering a Forged Instrument
• Count VIII: Forgery
• Count IX: Uttering a Forged Instrument

Heath was charged by an amended Information on 09/13/89 to include:

• Count X: Forgery
• Count XI: Uttering a Forged Instrument
• Count XII: Forgery
• Count XIII: Uttering a Forged Instrument
• Count XIV: Forgery
• Count XV: Uttering a Forged Instrument
• Count XVI: Forgery
• Count XVII: Uttering a Forged Instrument
• Count XVIII: Forgery
• Count XIX: Uttering a Forged Instrument
• Count XX: Forgery
• Count XXI: Uttering a Forged Instrument

On 11/15/90, the trial jury found Heath guilty of First-Degree Murder, Robbery with a Deadly Weapon, Conspiracy to Commit Uttering a Forgery, and seven counts of Forgery and Uttering a Forgery.

Kenneth pled guilty to the charges in a plea agreement and agreed to testify about the robbery and murder of Sheridan. For the murder conviction, the sentence that Kenneth received was life imprisonment without eligibility for parole for 25 years.

Sentencing

On 11/27/90, the jury recommended Death by a vote of ten to two.

On 12/17/90, Heath was sentenced as follows:

• Count I: First-Degree Murder — Death
• Count II: Robbery with a Deadly Weapon — Life sentence
• Count III: Conspiracy to Commit Uttering a Forgery — 6 mo.
• Count VIII: Forgery — 10 years
• Count IX: Uttering a Forged Instrument — 10 years
• Count X: Forgery — 10 years
• Count XI: Uttering a Forged Instrument — 10 years
• Count XII: Forgery — 10 years
• Count XIII: Uttering a Forged Instrument — 10 years
• Count XIV: Forgery — 10 years
• Count XV: Uttering a Forged Instrument — 10 years
• Count XVI: Forgery — 10 years
• Count XVII: Uttering a Forged Instrument — 10 years
• Count XVIII: Forgery — 10 years
• Count XIX: Uttering a Forged Instrument — 10 years
• Count XX: Forgery — 10 years
• Count XXI: Uttering a Forged Instrument — 10 years

Appeals

A Direct Appeal was filed on 01/16/91. Issues raised included:

1. the trial court erred by admitting victim character evidence;
2. the trial court erred by admitting testimony regarding his desire to escape from jail;
3. the trial court erred by excluding Powell’s testimony regarding a statement made by Heath.

The Florida Supreme Court found all of these claims either without merit or harmless and affirmed the conviction and sentence of Death on 10/20/94.

A Petition for Writ of Certiorari was filed on 04/24/95 and denied on 06/26/95.

A 3.850 motion was filed on 03/24/97 and amended on 08/02/04 and 04/18/05. An Evidentiary Hearing was held on 03/29/06. The motion remained pending.

Outcome

Heath received a 30-year sentence in 1977 and was paroled in 1988. He was sentenced to death on December 17, 1990.

Other details

• Name: Ronald Palmer Heath
• Sex: M
• Race: W
• Type: N
• Date of birth (DOB): 07/06/61
• Eighth Judicial Circuit, Alachua County
• Case # 89-3026
• Florida Supreme Court opinion: 77234; SC07-771; DC# 065145
• Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Robert P. Cates
• Trial Attorney: Stephen Scheck — Special Public Defender
• Attorney (Direct Appeal): David A. Davis — Assistant Public Defender
• Collateral Appeals: Robert Harper
• Register date: (the record shows “Registry Date of Offense: 05/24/89”; it does not provide a separate registry date for the other phases)
• Date of Offense: 05/24/89
• Date of Sentence: 12/17/90
• Victim: Sheridan (a traveling