Decorated Desert Storm Veteran convicted of 3 murders

#veteran #iraqstories #warstories #truecrimepodcast #truecrime #criminalminds #prisonbreak #ptsd #mentalhealth #murder #homicidestories By Kevin Krause Staff Writer October 08, 2002South Florida Sun-Sentinel• The women were passive and cooperative, but the robbers shot them to death so that the mother, daughter and 17-year-old waitress could not identify them -- all for about $100 from the cash register, police said. But others had noticed the men having dinner at El Rinconcito Venezolano restaurant the night of the triple murder in Greenacres. After the Sept. 26 shootings, witnesses told police about a diner who had the initials "MDW" tattooed on the back of his head, according to the arrest report released on Monday. That detail paid off when an anonymous caller told police about a man who'd moved here from Kansas three weeks ago with a similar tattoo on his head. Police arrested Lloyd Johnson, 29, of Lake Worth, on Saturday -- a day after receiving the anonymous tip -- along with friend Randell Leighty, 23, of Greenacres. The men admitted to being in the restaurant that day, but in statements to detectives they blamed each other for the deadly robbery. Each suspect has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder, making them eligible for the death penalty. The men are being held without bail. Greenacres police say the randomness of the murders is confounding. "I can't understand that type of rationale," Lt. Charlie Orlando said. "It's great to know we've got some closure for the family, and we've got two dangerous people off the street." The suspects, both originally from Kansas, are accused of shooting MarM-ma InM-is Angarita, 63, her daughter Luz Marina RincM-sn, 46, and waitress Amanda RodrM-mguez, 17, at close range during the robbery. Two days earlier, Angarita had become the restaurant's new owner, after working there and making small payments for several years. It was the fulfillment of a dream that led her to leave her native Colombia years earlier. RincM-sn was visiting from Venezuela to help her mother with the restaurant, and RodrM-mguez, who arrived five months earlier from Honduras, was working as a waitress. The small Greenacres Public Safety Department worked around the clock and requested help from several police agencies to investigate the triple slaying -- the first homicide in three years in this city of 27,000 just west of Lake Worth. Johnson, a welder, told detectives he and Leighty went to the restaurant for dinner, the arrest report said. After their meal, he said he went to the restroom while Leighty went to pay the check. As he was walking, Johnson said he heard Leighty yelling and then saw him pointing a black handgun at the women and demanding money.  He said he asked, "Why are you doing this?" while Leighty took cash from the register in the middle of the kitchen, the report said. Johnson told police he told Leighty they needed to leave and that Leighty said they "had seen their faces," the arrest report said.  According to his statement, Johnson heard three gunshots as he was walking to the back of the restaurant. He said they ran west through the parking lot, then turned and ran to Leighty's home less than a mile away when they saw a woman getting into her car. He told police Leighty tried to give him $100 from the restaurant, but he refused. He did, however, throw the gun into the Intracoastal Waterway a block north of his Lake Worth home, as instructed by Leighty, according to the report. Police have recovered a gun from the water where Johnson told them he threw the murder weapon. Ballistics tests have not been completed. Johnson's criminal record dates to 1993 and includes convictions on marijuana charges, resisting arrest without violence and solicitation of a prostitute. He also faces charges of aggravated assault and driving with a suspended license in Geary County, Kan.