Cash register thief guilty of robbery

Johnnie Ray Johnson, the man accused of stealing a cash register from D&D Liquor a little over a year ago, was convicted of the crime, and is currently awaiting sentencing.

Johnson, 57, of Gonzales, was found guilty of robbery during proceedings before Judge W.C. Kirkendall 2nd 25th Judicial District Court this week.

On Jan. 23, 2012, Gonzales police responded to a call from Kathy Burrier, a clerk at D&D Liquor, saying a man had walked into the store and, after a few minutes of looking around, decided to pick up the cash register and walk out the door with it.

After the verdict was read, Kirkendall ordered a pre-sentencing investigation (PSI) be conducted on Johnson in order to determine fitting punishment when Johnson reappears for sentencing on April 19. The crime of robbery is a second-degree felony that carries a sentence of 2 to 20 years.

A PSI delves into the history of a person convicted of a crime before sentencing to determine if there are factors that should alter the sentence or if there is a history of criminal behavior that warrants increasing the harshness of the sentence.

Johnson had previously been convicted of burglary in 1975, burglary of a habitation in 1979, aggravated robbery in 1982 and burglary of a habitation in 1988. Those charges led to a total sentencing of 81 years in prison.

Johnson was out on parole for the 1988 conviction (where he was sentenced to 60 years), of which he served 20 years.

Gonzales officer Tanner Schwake testified that he and fellow officer Allen Greyhouse found Johnson near the intersection of Botts and Wallace Streets, carrying a cash register, just a few blocks from D&D.

Schwake related to the jury that when he and Greyhouse tried to apprehend Johnson, Johnson resisted arrest, leaving Schwake no other choice but to pepper spray him.

But Johnson continued to resist arrest. Schwake said a Department of Public Safety trooper arrived on the scene shortly afterwards and tasered Johnson at Schwake’s request.

After finally subduing Johnson, Schwake said they took him to Gonzales Memorial Hospital for treatment from the spraying per police protocol.

Assistant district attorney Chris Lyerla then presented a video taken from one of the police cars and played it for the jury.

Early in the video, a man was seen dropping an object, which was later determined to be a cash register. The tape also revealed sounds of a struggle, during which Schwake repeatedly said “give me your arm.”

The state’s next witness was Leslie Janssen, who is the director of health information at GMH. One of Janssen’s duties is to act as custodian of medical records.

Lyerla showed her documentation from that night concerning the treatment of Burrier, the store’s clerk. Janssen confirmed the section of the report that said Burrier had been treated that night for chest pains, which Lyerla said was caused by the robbery.

Upon cross-examination by Johnson’s defense attorney Travis Hill, Janssen also attested to a part of the same report that said Burrier denied having chest pains.

The next witness for the prosecution was Gonzales Police Capt. Allen Taylor, who testified that he talked to Burrier at the hospital on the night in question.

“My understanding was she had received injuries from the incident,” Taylor said. “She advised me that the subject had pushed her into a shelf of some sort.”

Taylor also testified that he spoke with Johnson on the same night while he was being treated at the hospital.

“I could hear him kind of semi-hollering,” he said. “I went to check on his status and he seemed to be intoxicated or high on something.”

Taylor said he had an officer pick up Johnson from the Gonzales County Jail the next day and take him to the police department for an interview. The interrogation was recorded and that video was played for the jury.

The tape revealed Johnson admitting to stealing the cash register, but also saying he didn’t take any money from it.

And then … the unthinkable happened.

Out of nowhere, Johnson shouted, “I want to make a statement!”

Nonplussed by Johnson’s outburst, Kirkendall ordered the immediate removal of the jury and chastised Johnson for the disruption.

“I will advise you if that happens again, you will either be removed from the courtroom or you will be bound and gagged for the rest of these proceedings,” Kirkendall said in a tone that invited no argument. “This is your only warning.”

After a short break, Kirkendall asked Hill if he thought Johnson would be able to behave himself for the remainder of the trial, to which Hill said, “He has assured me that he can.”

Before the trial resumed Tuesday, the prosecution offered Johnson a sentence of 20 years if he pled guilty to robbery.

However, Johnson declined.

Lyerla then picked up where he left off, questioning Taylor, who testified that police managed to access the store’s surveillance video from the night of the incident. All in attendance watched the tape.

The playback, which had no sound, showed a man walking into the store and looking around. The man then went to the counter and began pushing buttons on the cash register. Presumably frustrated because the drawer failed to open, he then picked up the register and walked out with it.

The video showed Burrier following the man outside into the parking lot. The man hurriedly left the premises with cash register in tow.

Shortly afterward, the video showed Burrier flagging down police and pointing them in the man’s direction.

The state then called Burrier to the stand as its final witness, who testified that she was seated in the store’s office when Johnson entered.

“I got up and went to help him and he walked past me awfully fast and then whirled around,” Burrier said. “I told him he wasn’t allowed back there, and he just kept coming.”

Burrier said the man then grabbed her and told her it was a robbery.

However, none of this was on any part of the surveillance video.

“We were tussling around a bit and he shoved me into a shelf,” Burrier said. “Then he said ‘Well, I’ll just take your register.’ I thought he was kidding.”

Burrier then said that while Johnson was accosting the cash register, she called the police. She added that the struggle caused her to injure her shoulder and left her wrists bruised.

Burrier said a little while after the robbery, she started feeling pains in her chest.

“I have congestive heart disease and I think I got too excited,” she said. “The officer asked me if I was hurt and I told him not really, but my chest hurts.”

Burrier said the officer called EMS to check her condition, and that she subsequently agreed to go to the hospital at the behest of her supervisor, Steve Wehlmann.

During cross-examination, Hill asked Burrier if at any time during the incident did Johnson brandish a weapon, threaten her or try to keep her from contacting authorities. Her answer was no. Hill next got Burrier to confirm a statement she made to the police where she said she was unharmed during the incident.

Lyerla then resumed his questioning of Burrier, inquiring if she saw the man from that night in the courtroom. She said she did and identified him as Johnson.

Both prosecution and defense rested, and formal charges were provided for the jury to consider. These included robbery and a lesser charge of theft from a person, a state jail felony that carries a maximum sentence of two years.

Adhering to the action of injury to a person as being a component of the legal definition of robbery, Hill concerted that into the scope of his final argument.

“We’re not trying to hide anything from you,” he advised the jurors. “We all saw what happened on that tape. Mr. Johnson entered the premises and removed the cash register. That’s theft.”

In addition to his summary, Hill refuted Burrier’s claims of injury.

“She repeatedly told the police she was okay,” he said. “She denied having chest pains at the hospital and she repeatedly denied being injured.

“We don’t believe the state has met their burden of proof. There is reasonable doubt that she was not injured. Mr. Johnson committed theft, not robbery,” Hill concluded.

During his final argument, Lyerla concurred with Hill’s assessment that, without a doubt, Johnson was there that night.

“We all know he was the one who ran off with the register and got into a scuffle with the police that night,” Lyerla said. “His fight with the police are the actions of a guilty man.”

Lyerla also advised the jury not to discount Burrier’s assessment of her injuries. “Ms. Burrier is a tough woman,” he said. “Just because she took her injuries lightly, it doesn’t mean she wasn’t in pain.”

“Acquittal was the goal today, but the jury had different ideas about that,” Hill said after the trial. “We’ll come back here April 19 for Judge Kirkendall to determine [punishment]. There are other prior convictions that [will be pertinent to] his sentencing, and the PSI will be a part of that as well.”