Johnnie Malarkey

Overview

Johnnie Malarkey was convicted of committing the worst mass murder in Fresno County history. He admitted fatally shooting seven people while robbing a southeast Fresno bar in 1993, and he also admitted committing three unrelated killings that year.

The offence

Carrillo’s Club mass murder and related killings

Malarkey was identified as the leading suspect in the shooting deaths of seven people at Carrillo’s Club on May 16, 1993. Two men entered the bar just after closing and opened fire.

The seven people killed were:

• Reyes Carrillo, the owner
• Rachel Carrillo, his mother
• Alfredo Carrillo, his half brother
• Marciano Perez, the cook
• Alicia Duenas Perez, his wife
• Mary Ruiz, a customer
• Rudy Sanchez, a bouncer

Malarkey also admitted killing Charles Ray Martin, 35. Martin’s burned body was found in the back of his torched pickup two weeks before the Carrillo’s Club massacre. Martin was shot several times in the head.

Malarkey admitted killing tax examiner Lee Grant, 27. Grant was shot to death while riding his bicycle in Fresno’s Sunnyside neighborhood in May 1993. Authorities did not disclose the additional slaying.

The second gunman in the Carrillo’s Club shooting was believed to have been Allen Heflin, who committed suicide in October.

Additional 1993 shootings and wounding of a police officer

Authorities stated that Malarkey was already serving a 25-year prison term for a series of other shootings in 1993. That series included:

• the wounding of Fresno Police Officer Jeff Dockweiler
• helping his sister kill Carl Worley, 70

Lanelle Malarkey Denn shot the victim to loot his mobile home, police said. She was sentenced to 34 years to life in prison.

Investigation

Fresno Police Detective Danny Martin said at a news conference: “We've developed information that possibly links John Malarkey to the Carrillo Club murders.” He declined to reveal a motive or any new details in the unsolved killings.

Burton Francis said prosecutors agreed to Malarkey’s plea deal because there was no guarantee the Carrillo’s Club case would ever have gone to trial. Francis said: “We have saved years in litigation, millions in prosecution costs and achieved a result that is life without possibility of parole eight times over,”

Arrest

John Malarkey was arrested without incident on a fugitive warrant by FBI agents and Oklahoma state and local authorities in Oklahoma.

The arrest occurred in Tahlequah, a small college town near the Arkansas border, where Malarkey was found in a used car lot. He had fled to his grandparents’ house. A possible suspect in the nightclub killings of seven people was seized on June 29, 1993.

Fresno police authorities also wanted to question Malarkey’s sister, Lanelle, about the elderly man’s murder. She was arrested and held on a $250,000 bond.

John Malarkey was held on a $655,000 bond.

Trial

Plea and agreement with prosecutors

Malarkey confessed to committing the seven killings during the 1993 robbery of a southeast Fresno bar, and he admitted committing three unrelated killings that year. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty.

Sentencing remarks and lawyer statements

David Gottlieb, Malarkey’s lawyer, said: “Johnnie does have a conscience, despite the fact that he's admitted to 10 murders,”

Gottlieb added: “In meetings that I've had with him, he's cried. He does feel remorse.”

Sentencing

Fresno County Superior Court Judge Gene Gomes sentenced Malarkey to eight consecutive life terms with no possibility of parole. The sentencing also included:

• a 37-year term
• a term of 40 years to life

The eight consecutive life terms were added to a 25-year sentence he was serving for a series of 1993 shootings.

Timeline

• May 16, 1993 — Two men entered Carrillo’s Club just after closing and opened fire, killing Reyes Carrillo; Rachel Carrillo; Alfredo; Marciano Perez; Alicia Duenas Perez; Mary Ruiz; and Rudy Sanchez.
• May 1993 — Lee Grant, 27, was shot to death while riding his bicycle in Fresno’s Sunnyside neighborhood.
• Two weeks before May 16, 1993 — The burned body of Charles Ray Martin, 35, was found in the back of his torched pickup; he had been shot several times in the head.
• May 19, 1993 — A news report described John Malarkey as a possible suspect in the nightclub killings of seven people.
• June 6, 1993 — Malarkey allegedly shot and wounded two men at an apartment complex in southeast Fresno after an argument.
• June 20, 1993 — Police discovered the body of Carl James Worley, 70, on a southeast Fresno street; he had been shot twice in the head and apparently run over by a car.
• October 1993 — The second gunman, believed to be Allen Heflin, committed suicide.
• June 29, 1993 — John Malarkey was arrested in Oklahoma on a fugitive warrant.
• July 8, 1998 — Judge Gene Gomes sentenced Malarkey to eight consecutive life terms with no possibility of parole.
• July 09, 1998 — Malarkey admitted the killings during his plea.

Outcome

Malarkey was sentenced to eight consecutive life terms with no possibility of parole on July 8, 1998, after a plea agreement in which prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty.

Other details

• Malarkey was 28 at the time of the confession described on July 09, 1998.
• Malarkey had worked four years as a custodian for the Fresno Unified School District before his 1993 arrest.
• He had attended DeWolf Continuation School.
• A graduate of DeWolf Continuation School impressed teachers who wrote letters on his behalf before he was originally sent to prison. One wrote: “He undoubtedly was the best, the most reliable student I have ever worked with in my entire career with Fresno Unified. He was prompt, courteous, quiet and diligent in his duties. He never showed any signs of anger . . . or a rebellious nature so often displayed by our students.”
• Fresno police arrested Lawrence Azevedo, 19, of Fresno as an accessory to attempted murder; authorities believed Malarkey was the gunman.
• Authorities stated that the rampage began June 6 after an argument, and that later a Fresno police officer responding to a report of shots fired was shot in the face.
• The second gunman’s identification was believed to be Allen Heflin, who committed suicide in October.