William Reaves

Case information

• Name: William Reaves
• Date of birth: 12/30/48
• Jurisdiction: Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, Indian River County
• Case number: 86-0729
• Sentencing judge: The Honorable John E. Fennely
• Trial attorney: Clifford Barnes – Special Appointed Public Defender
• Direct appeal (1st): Clifford Barnes – Special Appointed Public Defender
• Direct appeal (2nd): Jonathan Kirschner – Private Attorney
• Collateral appeals: William Hennis and Melissa Donoho – CCRC-S
• Date of offense: 09/23/86
• Date of sentence: 09/02/87
• Date of re-sentence: 03/06/92

Timeline

• 09/23/86 — Deputy Sheriff Richard Raczkowski responded to a 911 call placed from a pay phone at a Zippy Mart convenience store near Vero Beach.
• 09/26/86 — Police were informed that Reaves would be departing from the bus station at 11:30 p.m.; officers attempted to arrest him; a firearm discharged within the bus station during the struggle; Reaves was brought under control, and he was arrested carrying cocaine in a department store bag.
• 10/09/86 — Reaves was indicted on Counts I–III.
• 10/29/86 — Reaves entered a not guilty plea.
• 09/02/87 — Reaves was found guilty on Count I; Counts II and III were Nolle Prossed; the jury voted for the death penalty by a 12 to 0 majority on advisory sentencing; Reaves was sentenced to death for Count I.
• 01/15/91 — The Florida Supreme Court reversed the conviction and sentence and remanded for a new trial.
• 02/25/92 — During the second trial, Reaves was found guilty on Count I.
• 02/28/92 — Advisory sentencing at the second trial resulted in a jury vote for the death penalty by a 10 to 2 majority.
• 03/06/92 — Reaves was sentenced to death for Count I.
• 01/15/91 — The Florida Supreme Court remanded the case to the trial court for a new trial.
• 09/17/87 — Reaves filed his first Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court.
• 03/26/92 — Reaves filed his second Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court.
• 04/07/94 — The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence.
• 07/08/94 — Reaves filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court.
• 11/07/94 — The petition was denied.
• 02/15/96 — Reaves filed a 3.850 Motion in the Indian River Circuit Court.
• 02/17/99 — The 3.850 Motion was denied.
• 04/17/00 — Reaves filed a 3.850 Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court.
• 09/09/02 — Rehearing was denied.
• 10/09/02 — A mandate was issued.
• 01/03/02 — Reaves filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Florida Supreme Court.
• 01/09/03 — The Florida Supreme Court denied the petition.
• 05/24/04 — Reaves filed a 3.850 Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court.
• 09/14/06 — The Florida Supreme Court affirmed Reaves’ conviction and sentence.
• 09/09/02 — Rehearing was denied.
• 10/09/02 — A mandate was issued.

The offence

William Reaves was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Richard Raczkowski.

On 09/23/86, Deputy Sheriff Richard Raczkowski responded to a 911 call placed from the pay phone of a Zippy Mart convenience store near Vero Beach. Reaves said he had placed the call because he did not have money for a taxicab. The deputy called the 911 dispatcher to order a cab and inquired about outstanding warrants for William Reaves.

According to Reaves’ confession, a gun fell out of his pants while he and the deputy were waiting for the cab. When Reaves tried to retrieve the gun, the deputy stepped on his hand. A struggle ensued, during which Reaves eventually grabbed Deputy Raczkowski by the throat and wrestled the gun away from him. Deputy Sheriff Richard Raczkowski stepped away from Reaves asking him not to kill him and then ran. Reaves shot the deputy four times in the back as he was running. The deputy died later in the morning.

A witness reported that the witness saw a black man in red shorts and a white t-shirt running away after the homicide.

Investigation and arrest

Reaves went to the home of Eugene Hinton, who was a friend of Reaves. Reaves reported to Hinton that he had just shot a cop. Reaves told Hinton that the cop begged him to not to kill him. Hinton also reported that Reaves appeared to be in full control of himself.

Reaves claimed that he emptied the gun at the officer as he ran away because he was high on cocaine and panicked.

A firearm expert testified that the type of gun used by Reaves had to have the trigger pulled each time to fire.

Another witness testified that Reaves had been wearing red shorts and a white t-shirt the afternoon of the homicide and did not appear to have been using drugs or alcohol.

The police were informed that Reaves would be departing from the bus station at 11:30 p.m. on 09/26/86. Officers attempted to arrest Reaves who struggled with the officers. During the struggle, a firearm discharged within the bus station. Reaves was brought under control by the officers. He was arrested and found to be carrying cocaine in a department store bag.

Prior history

• 1973: Reaves was sentenced to eight years for Robbery and served four years.
• 1979: Reaves was sentenced to five years for Grand Theft and served four years.
• 1984: Reaves was sentenced to three years and six months for involvement in the selling of heroin and served less than two years.

Indian River County Circuit Court #91-1081:

• 09/30/91: Reaves committed Battery upon a Law Enforcement Officer. He was sentenced to two and one-half years for this offense.

Trial

• 10/09/86: Reaves was indicted on:
  • Count I: Murder in the First - Degree (Richard Raczkowski)
  • Count II: Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon
  • Count III: Trafficking in Cocaine of an amount in excess of 28 grams, but less than 400 grams
• 10/29/86: Reaves entered a not guilty plea.

First trial

• 09/02/87: Reaves was found guilty on Count I.
• 09/02/87: Counts II and III were Nolle Prossed.
• 09/02/87: Upon advisory sentencing, the jury, by a 12 to 0 majority, voted for the death penalty.
• 09/02/87: Reaves was sentenced as follows:
  • Count I: Murder in the First - Degree (Richard Raczkowski) – Death

First appellate reversal

• 01/15/91: The Florida Supreme Court reversed the conviction and sentence and remanded the case to the trial court for a new trial.

Second trial

• 02/25/92: During the second trial, Reaves was found guilty on Count I.
• 02/28/92: Upon advisory sentencing, the jury, by a 10 to 2 majority, voted for the death penalty.
• 03/06/92: Reaves was sentenced as follows:

Sentencing

• 09/02/87: Death sentence entered for Count I after the jury vote of 12 to 0 on advisory sentencing.
• 03/06/92: Death sentence re-entered for Count I after the jury vote of 10 to 2 on advisory sentencing.

Appeals

First direct appeal

Reaves filed his first Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 09/17/87. He raised several issues, including:

• an issue that the prosecutor was at one time Reaves’ defense attorney;
• an issue that the court refused to offer the jury instructions about finding Reaves guilty of Third-Degree murder;
• an issue that the trial court did not inquire into the state’s preemptory challenge of a black juror;
• an issue that the state misrepresented evidence to support the aggravating factor of a prior conviction for a violent felony;
• an issue that Reaves had moved to disqualify the prosecutor before trial and the court did not grant this motion.

The Florida Supreme Court found that the trial court had erred in allowing the prosecutor, Bruce Colton, who had defended Reaves in a criminal matter previously in the role of defense attorney, to the case. The Florida Supreme Court reversed the conviction and sentence and remanded the case to the trial court for a new trial on 01/15/91.

Second direct appeal

Reaves filed his second Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 03/26/92. He argued:

• that statements made by Hinton before and during the trial were inconsistent;
• that there were errors in the jury selection process;
• that the State Attorney’s office should not have been allowed to prosecute him during the second trial because Mr. Colton, Reaves’ previous public defender, was now a prosecutor for the state.

The Florida Supreme Court did not find errors that warranted reversing the conviction or sentence. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence on 04/07/94.

Petition to the United States Supreme Court

• 07/08/94: Reaves filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court.
• 11/07/94: The petition was denied.

3.850 proceedings

• 02/15/96: Reaves filed a 3.850 Motion in the Indian River Circuit Court.
• 02/17/99: The motion was denied.
• 04/17/00: Reaves filed a 3.850 Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court.

In the 3.850 Appeal, Reaves addressed claims of ineffective counsel since counsel denied the right to interview jurors or to confront witnesses. Reaves also contended that he was innocent of First-Degree Murder and that the death penalty was unconstitutional. He argued that error occurred in that the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the 3.850 Denial in all aspects except for Reaves claim of ineffective counsel for which the Florida Supreme Court remanded the case to the trial court for an evidentiary hearing. Rehearing was denied on 09/09/02, and a mandate was issued on 10/09/02.

Habeas corpus

• 01/03/02: Reaves filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Florida Supreme Court.
• 01/09/03: The Florida Supreme Court denied the petition.

Later 3.850 appeal and final affirmance

• 05/24/04: Reaves filed a 3.850 Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court.
• 09/14/06: The Florida Supreme Court affirmed Reaves’ conviction and sentence.

Other details

• Deputy Sheriff Richard Raczkowski responded to the 911 call and was later shot four times in the back while running.
• Witness observations included that a person running away after the homicide was seen as a black man in red shorts and a white t-shirt.
• Reaves told Eugene Hinton that he had just shot a cop, and that the cop begged him not to kill him.
• Hinton reported that Reaves appeared to be in full control of himself.
• Reaves claimed he was high on cocaine and panicked when he shot the officer and emptied the gun.
• A firearm expert testified that the type of gun used required the trigger pulled each time to fire.
• Another witness testified that Reaves did not appear to be using drugs or alcohol and was wearing red shorts and a white t-shirt the afternoon of the homicide.
• Officers informed that Reaves would be departing from the bus station at 11:30 p.m. on 09/26/86 attempted to arrest him, and a firearm discharged within the bus station during the struggle.
• Reaves was arrested and found carrying cocaine in a department store bag.