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Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Yahoo
Jury votes life in prison for Ronny Walker in 14-year-old girl's murder
TAMPA — The same jury that found Ronny Tremel Walker guilty of murdering 14-year-old Nilexia Alexander decided Friday that he should spend the rest of his life in prison. After a two-day penalty hearing, the panel of five men and seven women discussed the case for a little less than two hours before rejecting a death sentence. Hillsborough Circuit Judge Robin Fuson immediately imposed a life sentence, the only other option. Walker showed no immediate reaction upon hearing the jury's decision, but moments later as he sat at a defense table, he removed his glasses and gazed at the jury. As sheriff's deputies placed him in handcuffs, Walker turned toward Ashley Alexander, Nilexia's mother, who wept in the courtroom gallery. 'I didn't kill your daughter, ma'am,' Walker said. 'I didn't kill your baby.' 'You should have gotten death,' Alexander shouted. Veronica Denson, the daughter of Elaine Caldwell, whom Walker was previously convicted of killing, shouted back at him. 'You're a natural born killer,' Denson said. 'You've been killing for a long time. You just got caught this time.' Sheriff's deputies ushered both women out of the courtroom. In closing arguments Friday afternoon, Walker's defense urged the jury to choose mercy, emphasizing that the guilty verdict this week ensures that he will face retribution. 'Keep in mind, Mr. Walker is severely punished for what he did to Miss Alexander with life in prison without parole,' Assistant Public Defender Carolyn Schlemmer said. 'He will never walk free again.' The jury's decision capped a two-day penalty hearing in which prosecutors focused heavily on Walker's prior conviction for another homicide — a 2003 home invasion robbery in which the victim, Caldwell, was shot in her head. Walker ultimately pleaded guilty to a manslaughter charge for that crime and spent several years in prison. He'd been free about six months when Nilexia was killed. She was a troubled teen who'd run away from home, and she wandered one early morning through the Belmont Heights neighborhood. Surveillance cameras recorded footage of a black Ford Fusion as it cruised Tampa's darkened streets as Nilexia sat in the backseat. Minutes after she got in the car, it turned down a dead-end stretch of Floribraska Avenue, made a U-turn, then stopped. Robert Creed, a passenger in the car who later pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact, testified that Walker began to argue with the girl there. The dispute had something to do with sex. Creed said Walker pulled a gun and shot Nilexia once in the car, then again multiple times after she got out. Walker's past conviction for the violent felony was one of the aggravating factors prosecutors cited to justify capital punishment. They also argued Nilexia's murder was committed in a 'cold, calculated and premeditated' manner. In the state's closing argument, Assistant State Attorney Chinwe Fossett reiterated much of the evidence the jury used to find Walker guilty, asserting that it showed he planned and thought about the killing before it happened. There was the drive to a darkened area, the carrying of a loaded weapon, the confrontation, the multiple gunshots. All of it, the prosecutor argued, suggested premeditation. 'On May 6 of 2022, the defendant, Ronny Walker, made up his mind that was the day he was going to kill Nilexia Alexander,' Fossett said. The defense, though, countered that there was no evidence of 'heightened' premeditation that could support a death sentence. At the same time, they argued that Walker's life circumstances and personal character weighed against death. His mother, Emma Hamilton, detailed her son's chaotic early life. He was afflicted with pneumonia and bronchitis shortly after his birth. He suffered seizures as a child and was prescribed medication. He once rolled out a two-story window and injured his head. He stammers sometimes when he speaks. He never knew his father. He grew up largely in public low-income housing. He was one of six siblings, for whom his mother struggled to provide. His school records indicated he didn't advance past the 6th grade. At age 9, he was deemed 'emotionally disturbed.' Two years later, records labeled him 'profoundly mentally handicapped.' When Walker was 10, his mother missed a medical appointment. State social workers got involved and split up the children. He and two brothers went to live with an aunt while his sisters went elsewhere. He became accustomed to life in some of East Tampa's toughest neighborhoods, where he was exposed to drug dealing. He did poorly in school and never graduated. Do you still love your son? Hamilton was asked. 'Yes,' she said. The jury heard much of the same from one of Walker's sisters, his niece, a cousin and his son's mother. Walker has three children. He carried pictures of them. A year before he was accused of murdering Nilexia, his oldest son was killed in a shooting. He visited his grave daily. The jury appeared to heed the words of the defense. 'If you simply see even a small spark of humanity in Mr. Walker,' Schlemmer told the jury, 'even if no one else sees it, you can give it the weight of life.'
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ruston breaks ground on Buc-ee's to make way for the Beaver in Louisiana
Buc-ee's is one step closer to bringing the Beaver to Ruston after the city broke ground on its infrastructure project to support the new travel center, which has a cult-like following among travelers. "We're on the move," Ruston Mayor Ronny Walker said in an interview with USA Today Network. "We can't wait." The city's $8 million infrastructure project to improve the Tarbutton Road Interstate 20 interchange for the Buc-ee's campus will widen Tarbutton to five lanes to accommodate the anticipated increase in traffic. Walker said the company projects 15,000 vehicles a day stopping at Buc-ee's with 80% coming from 200 miles or more away. "We were in Laurel, Miss., last week and when people found out we were from Ruston they were asking about Buc-ee's," Walker said. Ruston will later will extend the service road to connect with the I-20 Grambling interchange in Phase 2. "It's going to be a tremendous boost not just for Ruston and Grambling, but for the entire region," Walker said. Walker said Buc-ee's is expected to break ground on its campus around May 1. Ruston will finish its $8 million infrastructure project to improve the Tarbutton Road Interstate 20 interchange in 10 to 12 months, while construction of the Buc-ee's will take 12 to 15 months, the mayor said. Buc-ee's, with its toothy Beaver mascot, has developed a loyal following among travelers who consider the stores tourism destinations rather than just giant convenience stores. Every Buc-ee's has a wide variety of meat jerky, roasted nuts, and other culinary delights, like the signature Buc-ee's Beaver Nuggets (similar to caramel popcorn), fudge, brisket, and sausage on a stick, and is also known for immaculate bathrooms. Ruston's Buc-ee's will employ at least 200 people at $18 to $20 per hour with benefits. The Lake Jackson, Texas-headquartered company has more than 40 stores in seven southern states and Colorado, but none in Louisiana. A new Buc-ee's is also being built in Lafayette. Buc-ee's owner Arch "Beaver" Aplin III's grandparents lived in Harrisonburg, La., and he often spent summers there as a child. "For our family, opening a Buc-ee's in Louisiana is like coming home," Aplin said in a previous statement to USA Today Network. "We are very excited about Buc-ee's coming to Ruston." Ruston's City Council, the Lincoln Parish School Board and Lincoln Parish Police Jury approved a tax incentive package that set the project in motion in 2022. More: Buc-ee's origin story began in Louisiana at a general store in tiny Harrisonburg Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1. This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Ruston breaks ground on Buc-ee's project in Louisiana
