James Eugene Hunter

Case identification

James Eugene Hunter was sentenced to death on August 18, 1993. The case involved the Seventh Judicial Circuit, Volusia County, Case # 92-34170. The sentencing judge was The Honorable Gayle Graziano. The trial attorney was George Burden – Assistant Public Defender. The direct appeal attorney was George Burden – Assistant Public Defender. The collateral appeals attorney was Paul Kalil – CCRC-S. Hunter’s date of birth was 12/17/70.

Timeline

• 09/16/1992 — James Hunter, Tammie Cowan, Cathy Woodward, Charles Anderson, Andre Smith, and Lee Lewis (a.k.a. Eric Boyd) drove to DeLand from St. Augustine.
• 09/17/1992 — Date of offense.
• 10/06/1992 — James Hunter was indicted with multiple counts including first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.
• 08/06/1993 — James Hunter was found guilty by the trial jury on all counts.
• 08/13/1993 — The jury recommended death by a vote of nine to three.
• 08/18/1993 — James Hunter was sentenced: death for Count I and life sentences for Counts II, III, IV, VI, VII, and VIII.
• 09/07/1993 — A direct appeal was filed with the Florida Supreme Court.
• 06/01/1995 — The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence of death.
• 12/19/1995 — A Petition for Writ of Certiorari was filed.
• 02/20/1996 — The Petition for Writ of Certiorari was denied.
• 03/31/1997 — A 3.850 motion was filed with the circuit court.
• 07/25/2000 — The 3.850 motion was denied.
• 05/14/2001 — A 3.850 appeal was filed with the Florida Supreme Court.
• 04/04/2002 — The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the denial of post-conviction relief.
• 06/06/2002 — A Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus was filed with the United States District Court.
• 06/16/2004 — The Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus was denied.
• 07/15/2004 — A Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus appeal was filed with the United States Court of Appeal.
• 01/04/2005 — The denial of the petition was affirmed.
• 05/31/2005 — A Petition for Writ of Certiorari was filed with the United States Supreme Court.
• 10/03/2005 — The Petition for Writ of Certiorari was denied.
• 10/03/2005 — A 3.851 motion was filed with the Circuit Court.
• 01/11/2006 — The 3.851 motion was amended.

Background

James Hunter, Tammie Cowan, Cathy Woodward, Charles Anderson, Andre Smith, and Lee Lewis (a.k.a. Augustine beginning on September 16, 1992. At the time of sentencing for the current offenses, Hunter was also convicted and sentenced to life incarceration for Armed Robbery in DeLand on 09/16/92 (Case # 92-1236).

The offence

Cowan testified that Lewis and Anderson each carried black BB guns and Hunter had a silver handgun. The group made a brief stop in DeLand to visit Smith’s mother. Cowan stopped the car at about 11:45 p.m. to let Anderson, Lewis, Smith, and Hunter out. Hunter robbed a man on the street at gunpoint.

After the group went back to the car to reunite, Cowan drove them to Daytona Beach. After they departed for Daytona Beach, a “be on the lookout” (BOLO) message was circulated through the Volusia County area looking for the robbery suspects in a four-door gray car carrying at least five African-Americans, two of whom were female.

Hunter directed Cowan to drive to the Bethune-Cookman College area. Hunter instructed Cowan to stop the vehicle when she saw four young men outside of the “Munch Shop.” Hunter, Lewis, Smith, and Anderson exited the vehicle and walked towards the four men. Hunter was still carrying the firearm.

Hunter directed the men to “give it up” and he and his companions proceeded to rob the men at gunpoint. Hunter shot each of the men in turn while they were lying on the sidewalk face down. The last man to get shot, Wayne Simpson, died from his wound.

Hunter and his companions fled the scene with the clothing and other possessions belonging to the victims. When they returned to the car, Hunter directed Cowan to leave and relayed to her that he fired the gun because a victim had attempted to flee.

Investigation

At 12:40am, Deputy Graves spotted a vehicle that matched the DeLand BOLO message. Deputy Graves pulled the car over and Cowan admitted that they had come from DeLand. The victim of the DeLand robbery was brought to the stopped car and identified Hunter as the robber. The victim also identified the vehicle as the one involved.

Cowan consented to a police search of the vehicle where officers discovered items stolen from both robberies as well as the two BB guns. Investigators never recovered the gun used by Hunter in the robberies.

Trial

Charges and verdict

James Hunter was indicted with the following counts:

• Count I: First-Degree Murder
• Count II: Attempted First-Degree Murder
• Count III: Attempted First-Degree Murder
• Count IV: Attempted First-Degree Murder
• Count VI: Attempted Robbery with a Firearm
• Count VII: Attempted Robbery with a Firearm
• Count VIII: Attempted Robbery with a Firearm

James Hunter was found guilty by the trial jury on all counts on 08/06/93.

Jury recommendation

On 08/13/93, the jury recommended Death by a vote of nine to three.

Sentencing

On 08/18/93, James Hunter was sentenced as follows:

• Count I: First-Degree Murder – Death
• Count II: Attempted First-Degree Murder – life sentence
• Count III: Attempted First-Degree Murder – life sentence
• Count IV: Attempted First-Degree Murder – life sentence
• Count VI: Attempted Robbery with a Firearm – life sentence
• Count VII: Attempted Robbery with a Firearm – life sentence
• Count VIII: Attempted Robbery with a Firearm – life sentence

The sentences were to run consecutively.

Appeals

Direct appeal

A Direct Appeal was filed with the Florida Supreme Court (FSC) on 09/07/93. The issues raised included whether the trial court erred in finding Hunter competent to stand trial and whether the trial court erred in allowing evidence from the stop and search of the vehicle to be admitted in court.

Several mental-health and neurology experts examined Hunter and the trial court found Hunter competent to stand trial even though the expert testimony was conflicting. The Florida Supreme Court found all of the claims either without merit or harmless and affirmed the conviction and sentence of death on 06/01/95.

Certiorari and post-conviction

A Petition for Writ of Certiorari was filed on 12/19/95 and denied on 02/20/96.

A 3.850 motion was filed with the circuit court on 03/31/97 and denied on 07/25/00. A 3.850 Appeal was filed with the FSC on 05/14/01, and the FSC affirmed the trial court’s denial of post-conviction relief on 04/04/02.

Federal habeas corpus

A Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus was filed with the United States District Court on 06/06/02 and was denied on 06/16/04.

A Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus Appeal was filed with the United States Court of Appeal on 07/15/04, and the denial of the petition was affirmed on 01/04/05.

A Petition for Writ of Certiorari was filed with the United States Supreme Court on 05/31/05 and was denied on 10/03/05.

3.851 motion

A 3.851 Motion was filed with the Circuit Court on 10/03/05 and was amended on 01/11/06. The motion was pending.

Other details

Codefendant information

Andre Smith was serving ten life sentences. Lee Lewis (a.k.a. Eric Boyd) was serving nine life sentences. Charles Anderson was serving seven life sentences for their involvement in the robberies.

Case metadata

The Florida Supreme Court opinion number was 82312, and other opinion identifiers were SC0 0-1885, SC01-982, and SC0 7-161. The case number was DC# 115624.

Verbatim statements included in the case narrative

Hunter directed the men to “give it up”. When Hunter returned to the car, he relayed to Cowan that he fired the gun because a victim had attempted to flee.