Paul Dennis Reid
Encyclopedia
Paul Dennis Reid, Jr. is an American serial killer
, convicted and sentenced to death
for seven murders during three fast food restaurant robberies
in Metropolitan Nashville, Tennessee
and Clarksville, Tennessee
between the months of February and April 1997. At the time of the murders, Reid was on parole
from an 1983 conviction in Texas
on charges relating to the aggravated armed robbery of a Houston
steakhouse. He had served seven years of a 20-year sentence, and was paroled in 1990. Originally from Richland Hills, Texas
, a suburb
of Fort Worth
, Reid came to Nashville to pursue a career as a country music
singer. He is currently awaiting execution
.
ed eight victims in the three robberies, killing all of them. No one survived the murderous threats of Paul Dennis Reid.
on Lebanon Road in Donelson, Tennessee
, on the morning of February 16, 1997, Reid entered the store before opening, under the guise of applying for a job. Once inside, he forced employee Sarah Jackson, 16, and the manager, Steve Hampton, 25, into the restaurant's cooler and bound their hands and feet. Reid forced the two to lie on the floor and then shot them execution style
. Money, including large amounts of change, was found missing from the cash register. Reid used the cash from this robbery as a down payment on a car two days later.
on Lebanon Road in Hermitage, Tennessee
, on the evening of March 23, 1997, Reid approached two employees behind the store after closing. At gunpoint, he forced them back into the restaurant. Reid shot three employees to death execution style in the storeroom: Andrea Brown, 17; Ronald Santiago, 27; and Robert A. Sewell, Jr., 23. Reid attempted to shoot José Antonio Ramirez Gonzalez, but his weapon failed. Reid then stabbed Gonzalez 17 times and left him for dead. Gonzalez avoided further attacks by lying completely still and pretending to be deceased. Reid then took US$
3000 from the cash registers and fled. When the scene was discovered, Gonzalez was taken to the hospital, treated, and ultimately survived. He eventually testified against Reid.
on Wilma Rudolph Boulevard in Clarksville, Tennessee
, on the evening of April 23, 1997, Reid went to the door after closing and persuaded the employees to let him inside. Once inside, Reid kidnapped Angela Holmes, 21, and Michelle Mace, 16 and forced the two to Dunbar Cave State Park
. Their bodies were discovered the next day on a lake shore with their throats cut.
manager who fired him from a dishwashing job the day before the Captain D's murders (the stated reason for his firing was Reid losing his temper and throwing a dish at a fellow employee). Reid, armed with a knife, approached the man's front door and attempted to get in, but the screen door was locked. The man's son videotaped the encounter, and the footage was subsequently released to the media following police investigation. After the kidnapping attempt failed, Reid left the home without further incident and was subsequently arrested by Nashville police, after which he was considered the prime suspect and charged in the Captain D's and McDonald's murders, and eventually, the Baskin-Robbins murders.
across three trials. Jurors from West and East Tennessee were brought in and sequestered, because a judge determined that the overwhelming media coverage in Nashville would prevent the selection of an unbiased jury from Middle Tennessee.
from the victims, as well as evidence of a credit card gasoline purchase near the location of the bodies on the night of the murders, placing him at the scene around the time of the crime in an area roughly 40 miles (64.4 km) from his home. Blood evidence from the victims was found on his shoes. He was found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder. The Clarksville trial took place in the time between the two Nashville trials.
In addition to his seven murder convictions, Reid was also convicted on multiple counts of lesser charges related to the same crimes, including especially aggravated robbery and especially aggravated kidnapping.
. Members of his family, along with anti-death penalty activists, claim he is mentally challenged and unable to make such a decision, and have filed multiple motions (both successful and unsuccessful) to stay his execution. However, the Tennessee Supreme Court has upheld all of Reid's sentences. Reid's case has received national attention among anti-death penalty activists.
Reid currently resides at Tennessee's Morgan County Correctional Complex
(Inmate #303893). His seven death sentences are the most ever handed down to a single person in the state of Tennessee.
His latest execution date was scheduled for January 3, 2008, but was stayed on December 26, 2007 by US District Judge Todd J. Campbell
, pending investigation into the constitutionality of Tennessee's lethal injection
methods. The stay is part of a larger investigation, and not directly related to Reid's case. On April 16, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion in a Kentucky
case upholding the legality of execution by lethal injection. The state of Tennessee immediately began appealing stays of execution to resume death penalty cases, including Reid's.
, calling his defense team "actors" and claiming he is part of a United States government mind-control project called "Scientific Technology" that monitors his every move. In cross-examinations, the prosecution has attempted to counter this defense by claiming Reid is a crafty con artist using these "delusions" as a defense mechanism.
, a Nashville suburb, began a program requiring all fast food employees to carry a decal on the rear window of their automobiles, so police could identify any out-of-place cars in late-night patrols.
in Palatine, Illinois
due to the similar nature of the crime in relation to the two incidents in Nashville. Characteristics including shoeprints found at the scene and descriptions of the killer that matched Reid's profile. His alibi
checked out, however, and Reid was later ruled out as a suspect. Juan Luna was convicted on seven counts of murder in 2007. On September 29, 2009, Luna's cohort, James Degorski, was found guilty of all seven counts of murder. On October 20, 2009, Degorski was sentenced to life in prison. All but two of the jurors had voted for the death penalty.
's NewsChannel5+ cable channel), following the allowance of cameras in the courtroom a few years earlier. His subsequent trials were also broadcast live. More than a decade later, Reid's story still gets top-billing on Nashville-area newscasts when new information is revealed. His story was also the subject of a Discovery Channel
documentary in 2004.
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
, convicted and sentenced to death
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
for seven murders during three fast food restaurant robberies
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
in Metropolitan Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
and Clarksville, Tennessee
Clarksville, Tennessee
Clarksville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States, and the fifth largest city in the state. The population was 132,929 in 2010 United States Census...
between the months of February and April 1997. At the time of the murders, Reid was on parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
from an 1983 conviction in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
on charges relating to the aggravated armed robbery of a Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
steakhouse. He had served seven years of a 20-year sentence, and was paroled in 1990. Originally from Richland Hills, Texas
Richland Hills, Texas
Richland Hills is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,801 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Richland Hills is located at ....
, a suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
, Reid came to Nashville to pursue a career as a country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer. He is currently awaiting execution
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
.
Crimes
Reid assaultAssault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
ed eight victims in the three robberies, killing all of them. No one survived the murderous threats of Paul Dennis Reid.
Captain D's
At Captain D'sCaptain D's
Captain D’s is a U.S.-based chain of fast-food restaurants, specializing in seafood and fish and chips. The restaurant also features a low-carbohydrate menu. The restaurant chain's headquarters is located in Nashville, Tennessee....
on Lebanon Road in Donelson, Tennessee
Donelson, Tennessee
Donelson is a neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee located east of downtown Nashville along U.S. Highway 70. It is named in honor of John Donelson, co-founder of Nashville and father-in-law of Andrew Jackson, Nashvillian and seventh President of the United States...
, on the morning of February 16, 1997, Reid entered the store before opening, under the guise of applying for a job. Once inside, he forced employee Sarah Jackson, 16, and the manager, Steve Hampton, 25, into the restaurant's cooler and bound their hands and feet. Reid forced the two to lie on the floor and then shot them execution style
Execution-style murder
Execution-style murder, also known as Chicago-style murder, and execution-style killing are news media buzzwords applied to various acts of criminal murder where the perpetrator kills at close range a conscious victim who is under the complete physical control of the assailant and who has been left...
. Money, including large amounts of change, was found missing from the cash register. Reid used the cash from this robbery as a down payment on a car two days later.
McDonald's
At McDonald'sMcDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
on Lebanon Road in Hermitage, Tennessee
Hermitage, Tennessee
Hermitage, Tennessee is a section of Metropolitan Nashville, Tennessee located in eastern Davidson County, adjacent to, and named in honor of, The Hermitage, home of Andrew Jackson, seventh President of the United States...
, on the evening of March 23, 1997, Reid approached two employees behind the store after closing. At gunpoint, he forced them back into the restaurant. Reid shot three employees to death execution style in the storeroom: Andrea Brown, 17; Ronald Santiago, 27; and Robert A. Sewell, Jr., 23. Reid attempted to shoot José Antonio Ramirez Gonzalez, but his weapon failed. Reid then stabbed Gonzalez 17 times and left him for dead. Gonzalez avoided further attacks by lying completely still and pretending to be deceased. Reid then took US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
3000 from the cash registers and fled. When the scene was discovered, Gonzalez was taken to the hospital, treated, and ultimately survived. He eventually testified against Reid.
Baskin-Robbins
At Baskin-RobbinsBaskin-Robbins
Baskin-Robbins is a global chain of ice cream parlors founded by Burt Baskin and Irvine Robbins in 1953, from the merging of their respective ice cream parlors, in Glendale, California. It claims to be the world's largest ice cream franchise, with more than 5,800 locations, 2,800 of which are...
on Wilma Rudolph Boulevard in Clarksville, Tennessee
Clarksville, Tennessee
Clarksville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States, and the fifth largest city in the state. The population was 132,929 in 2010 United States Census...
, on the evening of April 23, 1997, Reid went to the door after closing and persuaded the employees to let him inside. Once inside, Reid kidnapped Angela Holmes, 21, and Michelle Mace, 16 and forced the two to Dunbar Cave State Park
Dunbar Cave State Park
Dunbar Cave State Park is a 110 acre park in Clarksville, Tennessee, situated around Dunbar Cave. Dunbar Cave is the 280th largest cave complex in the world, stretching 8.067 miles inward. In front of the cave entrance is a large concrete poured structure with three distinct arches...
. Their bodies were discovered the next day on a lake shore with their throats cut.
Apprehension
On June 25, 1997, Reid went to the home of the Shoney'sShoney's
Shoney’s is a privately held restaurant chain that operates primarily in the Southeast, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. It is named after Alex Schoenbaum, who was the owner of the original chain of Big Boy restaurants in the southeastern United States...
manager who fired him from a dishwashing job the day before the Captain D's murders (the stated reason for his firing was Reid losing his temper and throwing a dish at a fellow employee). Reid, armed with a knife, approached the man's front door and attempted to get in, but the screen door was locked. The man's son videotaped the encounter, and the footage was subsequently released to the media following police investigation. After the kidnapping attempt failed, Reid left the home without further incident and was subsequently arrested by Nashville police, after which he was considered the prime suspect and charged in the Captain D's and McDonald's murders, and eventually, the Baskin-Robbins murders.
Trials
Reid was convicted on seven counts of first-degree murderMurder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
across three trials. Jurors from West and East Tennessee were brought in and sequestered, because a judge determined that the overwhelming media coverage in Nashville would prevent the selection of an unbiased jury from Middle Tennessee.
Captain D's
In the Captain D's murders, Steve Hampton's driver's license and a video rental card were found in the median of Ellington Parkway with Reid's fingerprints on each. Reid was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder.Baskin-Robbins
In the Baskin-Robbins murders, Reid's car was found to contain forensic evidenceForensic identification
Forensic identification is the application of forensic science, or "forensics", and technology to identify specific objects from the trace evidence they leave, often at a crime scene or the scene of an accident. Forensic means "for the courts"....
from the victims, as well as evidence of a credit card gasoline purchase near the location of the bodies on the night of the murders, placing him at the scene around the time of the crime in an area roughly 40 miles (64.4 km) from his home. Blood evidence from the victims was found on his shoes. He was found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder. The Clarksville trial took place in the time between the two Nashville trials.
McDonald's
Jose Antonio Ramirez Gonzalez, the lone surviving victim of the McDonald's robbery, identified Reid as his attacker in court. This was considered the key piece of evidence needed to convict him of the McDonald's murders. Reid was found guilty on three counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.In addition to his seven murder convictions, Reid was also convicted on multiple counts of lesser charges related to the same crimes, including especially aggravated robbery and especially aggravated kidnapping.
Sentences
Reid received seven death sentences for his convictions, the first two coming on April 20, 1999. Reid's execution has been stayed several times since then, including an instance in 2003 just hours before the scheduled execution. Reid eventually waived his right to an appealAppeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
. Members of his family, along with anti-death penalty activists, claim he is mentally challenged and unable to make such a decision, and have filed multiple motions (both successful and unsuccessful) to stay his execution. However, the Tennessee Supreme Court has upheld all of Reid's sentences. Reid's case has received national attention among anti-death penalty activists.
Reid currently resides at Tennessee's Morgan County Correctional Complex
Morgan County Correctional Complex
Morgan County Correctional Complex is a maximum security prison in unincorporated Morgan County, Tennessee, operated by the Tennessee Department of Correction. It opened in 1980. An expansion completed in 2009 increased its capacity to more than 2,400 prisoners. The prison is accredited by American...
(Inmate #303893). His seven death sentences are the most ever handed down to a single person in the state of Tennessee.
His latest execution date was scheduled for January 3, 2008, but was stayed on December 26, 2007 by US District Judge Todd J. Campbell
Todd J. Campbell
Todd J. Campbell is a United States federal judge, currently the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.- Early life and education :...
, pending investigation into the constitutionality of Tennessee's lethal injection
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
methods. The stay is part of a larger investigation, and not directly related to Reid's case. On April 16, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion in a Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
case upholding the legality of execution by lethal injection. The state of Tennessee immediately began appealing stays of execution to resume death penalty cases, including Reid's.
Mental issues
Since his arrest, Reid's family (notably his sister, Linda Martiniano) has argued that he is mentally incompetent to stand trial, and since his convictions, they have argued that he is not able to make sound legal decisions. Reid has displayed erratic decision-making, choosing to appeal some verdicts and not others, and professing his will to die as sentenced after fighting to avoid such a fate earlier in his defense. At the same time, however, Reid has shown signs of paranoiaParanoia
Paranoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...
, calling his defense team "actors" and claiming he is part of a United States government mind-control project called "Scientific Technology" that monitors his every move. In cross-examinations, the prosecution has attempted to counter this defense by claiming Reid is a crafty con artist using these "delusions" as a defense mechanism.
Effects
As a result of Reid's spree, several fast food restaurants in the Nashville area began closing earlier and police patrols around such establishments became more frequent. The city of Mt. Juliet, TennesseeMt. Juliet, Tennessee
Mt. Juliet is a city located in the western portion of Wilson County, Tennessee, U.S.A. It is a suburb of Nashville, and is approximately east of downtown. It is located roughly between two major national east-west routes, Interstate 40 and U.S. Route 70. As of the 2010 census, the city had a...
, a Nashville suburb, began a program requiring all fast food employees to carry a decal on the rear window of their automobiles, so police could identify any out-of-place cars in late-night patrols.
Other crimes suspected
For a time, Reid was considered a prime suspect in the 1993 Brown's Chicken massacreBrown's Chicken massacre
The Brown's Chicken massacre was a mass murder that occurred at a Brown's Chicken restaurant in Palatine, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago, in the United States in 1993. The massacre occurred on January 8, 1993, when two assailants robbed the Brown's Chicken restaurant and then proceeded to...
in Palatine, Illinois
Palatine, Illinois
Palatine is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a northwestern residential suburb of Chicago. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 65,479, making it the sixth-largest community in Cook County and the 16th-largest in the state of Illinois at that time...
due to the similar nature of the crime in relation to the two incidents in Nashville. Characteristics including shoeprints found at the scene and descriptions of the killer that matched Reid's profile. His alibi
Alibi
Alibi is a 1929 American crime film directed by Roland West. The screenplay was written by West and C. Gardner Sullivan, who adapted the 1927 Broadway stage play, Nightstick, written by Elaine Sterne Carrington, J.C...
checked out, however, and Reid was later ruled out as a suspect. Juan Luna was convicted on seven counts of murder in 2007. On September 29, 2009, Luna's cohort, James Degorski, was found guilty of all seven counts of murder. On October 20, 2009, Degorski was sentenced to life in prison. All but two of the jurors had voted for the death penalty.
Media attention
Reid's original trial was the first murder trial to be broadcast live in the state of Tennessee (via WTVFWTVF
WTVF is the CBS-affiliated television station for Middle Tennessee that is licensed to Nashville. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 5 from a transmitter north of downtown along I-24. Owned by Landmark Media Enterprises, the station has studios on James Robertson Parkway...
's NewsChannel5+ cable channel), following the allowance of cameras in the courtroom a few years earlier. His subsequent trials were also broadcast live. More than a decade later, Reid's story still gets top-billing on Nashville-area newscasts when new information is revealed. His story was also the subject of a Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
documentary in 2004.
External links
- http://www.tsc.state.tn.us/opinions/tsc/CapCases/reidPD/ReidPD.htm - Various legal documentation related to Reid case
- https://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC/2006/reidpd_122706.pdf - 2006 Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals decision to uphold death sentences
- https://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC/2006/reidpdDIS_122706.pdf - 2006 Tennessee Court of Criminal appeals dissenting opinion