The Commission on Capital Cases updates thisinformation regularly. This information, however, is subject to change and maynot reflect the latest status of an inmate’s case and should not be relied uponfor statistical or legal purposes.
PETERKA, Daniel Jon (W/M)
DC# 119773
DOB: 09/09/67
First Judicial Circuit, Okaloosa County, Case# 89-966C
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Erwin Fleet
Trial Attorney: Robert Elmore – Assistant PublicDefender
Attorney, Direct Appeal: David A. Davis – AssistantPublic Defender
Attorney, Collateral Appeals: Linda McDermott –Registry
Date of Offense: 07/12/89
Date of Sentence: 04/25/90
Circumstances of the Offense:
On 02/11/89, Daniel Jon Peterka was scheduled to report toauthorities in Nebraska to begin serving two consecutive one-year prison termsfor theft. Prior to surrendering, Peterka revealed to his girlfriend at thetime that he did not want to go to jail and that he wanted to get a job andestablish himself somewhere else. Peterka appeared in Niceville, Florida, inlate February 1989. He moved in with Ronald LeCompte. LeCompte bought a .357magnum handgun for Peterka as a favor.
In April of 1989, Peterka moved to a duplex that he sharedwith John Russell. Witnesses stated that the two did not have a goodrelationship. On 06/27/89, Peterka acquired a driver’s license with Russell’sname and his own picture. He then cashed a $300 money order sent to Russell bya relative. When Russell realized that he had not received the money order, hebecame suspicious of Peterka. Russell obtained a copy of the money order from arelative and related his suspicions to the bank. A bank employee, in turn,stated that a formal charge of forgery could begin only when the original copyof the money order was received. A number of witnesses testified that Russelldid not plan on confronting Peterka about the missing money order because hewas uncomfortable due to the gun being in the house.
Peterka’s girlfriend, Frances Thompson, stated that Russellhelped her move her belongings out of the duplex on the morning of 07/12/89.According to Thompson, on the night on 07/12/89, Peterka appeared at Thompson’sjob driving Russell’s car. He took Thompson out to dinner and explained that hewas a fugitive and that he did not want go to prison. Frances stayed the nightat the duplex and then left for work the next morning. Russell did not show upfor work on the morning of 07/13/89. A co-worker, Gary Johnson, went to theduplex around 9:00 a.m. and stated that he saw Russell’s car in the driveway.Concerned about Russell, the coworker let himself into the duplex via a windowwhen no one answered the door. He noticed that the cushions from the couch weremissing and, after locating the gun, noted that it was unloaded. He returnedafter work and questioned Peterka about Russell. Peterka denied any knowledgeof Russell’s whereabouts, stating only that he had left with someone the nightbefore. Johnson filed a missing person report with the Okaloosa CountySheriff’s Department that night.
Deputy Harkins went to the duplex to follow up on thereport. Peterka again reiterated that he did not know where Russell was,stating only that he had left with “a long haired guy” the night before.Peterka gave Deputy Harkins a birth certificate as identification, stating thathe had lost his driver’s license.
Deputy Harkins ran a computer check on Peterka and learnedthat he was a fugitive from Nebraska and was considered “armed and dangerous.”Peterka was arrested on 07/14/89, at 1:30 a.m. The deputies searched the duplexand found the gun. Peterka told the deputies that the gun belonged to a friendand showed them the bill of sale. The gun was not confiscated. The deputiesfound a driver’s license with Peterka’s picture and Russell’s name, Russell’sSocial Security card, other identification belonging to Russell, $407, anewspaper clipping advertising jobs in Alaska, and Peterka’s Nebraska driver’slicense in Peterka’s wallet.
Peterka phoned Frances Thompson from jail and asked her toremove some items from the duplex and save them. Frances found a shovel in thetrunk of the victim’s car and noticed that the cushions for the couch wereoutside. She called the Sheriff’s Department and reported her findings. The gunwas transferred to the deputies’ possession and a police search revealedpossible bloodstains on the couch were the cushions had been and on the carpetbeneath the couch. Bloodstains were also found in the trunk of the car and onthe tail lights.
On 07/18/89, Peterka called his boss, “Shorty” Purvis, andasked him to visit him in jail. During their meeting, Peterka admitted killingRussell. Peterka told police that he had forged Russell’s signature on themoney order and that he had paid Russell $100 to use his identification. Whendiscussing the money order, Russell started shoving Peterak and the two endedup fighting in the living room. Both reached for the gun, and Peterka won. AsRussell got up from the couch, the gun accidentally went off and shot Russellin the top of the head. Peterka wrapped Russell’s body in a rug and drove himto a remote part of Eglin Air Force Base and buried him in a shallow grave.
Peterka took officials to the body. The medical examinertestified that the wound was consistent with the victim being shot from behindwhile he was in a reclining position. A firearms expert testified that the gunused to kill Russell was in good working order and that it would not fireaccidentally, due to the fact that the gun had two safety mechanisms.
Trial Summary:
08/10/89 Indicted as follows:
CountI: First-DegreeMurder (John Russell)
08/28/89 Defendant entered a written plea of not guilty
03/05/90 Jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment
03/05/90 Jury recommended death by a vote of 8-4
04/25/90 Sentenced as follows:
CountI: First-DegreeMurder (John Russell) – Death
Appeal Summary:
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal
FSC# 75,995
640 So. 2d 59
05/14/90 Appeal filed
04/21/94 FSC affirmed the conviction and sentence
08/05/94 Rehearing denied
09/06/94 Mandate issued
United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ ofCertiorari
USSC# 94-6845
513 U.S. 1129
11/02/94 Petition filed
01/23/95 Petition denied
State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion
CC# 89-966C
03/24/97 Motion filed
05/02/02 Motion denied
Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Appeal
FSC# 02-1410
890 So.2d 219
06/26/02 Appeal filed
09/30/04 FSC affirmed denial of 3.850 Motion
Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus
FSC# 03-482
890 So.2d 219
03/21/03 Petition filed
09/30/04 Petition denied
United States District Court, Northern District –Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus
USDC# 05-22
01/25/05 Petition filed
02/04/05 Amended petition filed
03/29/07 Habeas denied
United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ ofCertiorari
USSC# 04-9605
125 S.Ct. 2911
03/21/05 Petition filed
06/13/05 Petition denied
United States Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit – HabeasAppeal
USCA# 07-12363P
05/25/07 Appeal filed
09/02/08 Disposition affirmed
State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion
CC# 89-966C
03/10/08 Motion filed
07/01/08 Motion denied
State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion
CC# 89-966C
07/25/08 Motion filed
11/19/08 Motion denied
Florida Supreme Court – 3.851 Motion Appeal
FSC# 08-1413
08/01/08 Appeal filed
05/22/09 Disposition affirmed
06/08/09 Motion for Rehearing filed
07/23/09 Motion for rehearing denied
United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ ofCertiorari
USSC# 08-7335
11/10/08 Petition filed
01/26/09 Petition denied
United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ ofCertiorari
USSC # 09-8971
12/15/09 Petition filed
04/05/10 Petition denied
Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus
FSC# 10-801
04/26/10 Petition filed
11/15/10 Petition denied
11/22/10 Motion for Rehearing
Circuit Court – Successive 3.851 Motion
CC# 89-966C
(Pending)
11/30/10 Motion filed
Factors Contributing to the Delay in Imposition ofSentence:
The Direct Appeal was pending for four years and the 3.850Motion was pending for five years until both decisions were rendered.
Case Information:
Peterka filed a Direct Appeal to the Florida Supreme Courton 05/14/90. He raised 12 issues on the appeal pertaining to pretrial motions,evidence admitted at trial, and factors relating to mitigation and aggravation.The Court found no merit, no abuse of discretion, or no error with each of theissues. The Court affirmed the conviction and sentence of death on 04/21/94.The rehearing was denied on 08/05/94, and the mandate was issued on 09/06/94.
Peterka filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the UnitedStates Supreme Court on 11/02/94. The petition was denied on 01/23/95.
Peterka filed a 3.850 Motion to the Circuit Court on03/24/97. The motion was pending for five years due to public records issues.On 05/02/02, the Circuit Court denied Peterka’s 3.850 Motion.
Peterka filed a 3.850 Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court on06/26/02, which was affirmed on 09/30/04.
Peterka filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus to theFlorida Supreme Court on 03/21/03, which was denied on 09/30/04.
On 01/25/05, Peterka filed a Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus to the United States District Court, Northern District. Thepetition was amended on 02/04/05 and then denied on 03/29/07.
On 03/21/05, Peterka filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorarito the United States Supreme Court, which was denied on 06/30/05.
On 05/27/05, Peterka filed a Habeas Appeal in the UnitedStates Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit. This appeal was denied on09/02/08.
On 03/10/08, Peterka filed a 3.851 motion in the StateCircuit Court. This motion was denied on 07/01/08.
On 07/25/08, Peterka filed a 3.851 motion in the StateCircuit Court, which was denied on 11/19/08.
On 08/01/08, Peterka filed a 3.851 motion appeal in theFlorida Supreme Court. On 05/22/09, the Florida Supreme Court affirmedthe disposition of the lower court and denied Peterka his appeal. On 06/08/09,Peterka filed a Motion for Rehearing. This motion was denied on 07/23/09.
Peterka filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to theUnited States Supreme Court on 11/10/08. This petition was denied on 01/26/09.
Peterka filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to theUnited States Supreme Court on 12/15/09. This petition was denied on04/05/10.
On 04/26/10, Peterka filed a Petition for Writ of HabeasCorpus to the Florida Supreme Court. This petition was denied on11/15/10. A Motion for Rehearing was filed on 11/22/10. This motionis currently pending.
On 11/30/10, Peterka filed a Successive 3.851 Motion to theCircuit Court. This motion is still pending.
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Report Date: 02/20/02 NMP
Approved: 03/01/02 WS
Updated: 01/26/11 CAR