Southwest
Man who set beloved Texas grandma on fire executed 13 years after her murder
A Texas man was executed on Tuesday evening 13 years after brutally killing a beloved grandma when he set her on fire at a gas station.
Matthew Johnson, 49, was convicted of the heinous murder of Nancy Harris, 76, a gas station clerk he doused with lighter fluid and set on fire during a 2012 robbery in Garland, TX.
He was pronounced dead at 6:53 p.m. after giving a final statement.
“First and foremost, I would like to give all praises to God. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here on this Earth. I thank him for the life he has given me,” Johnson said. “To Mrs. Harris’ family, as I look at each and every one of you, I see her on that day. I just please ask for y’all’s forgiveness. I never meant to hurt her. I pray that she’s the first person that I see when I open my eyes, and I will spend eternity with her.”
TEXAS EXECUTES MAN 20 YEARS AFTER HE STRANGLED, STABBED A YOUNG MOTHER TO DEATH
Matthew Johnson, a Texas death row inmate, was convicted of dousing 76-year-old gas station clerk Nancy Harris with lighter fluid and setting her on fire during a 2012 robbery. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice)
Johnson went on to apologize to his wife and children and admit his wrongdoing, saying: “I made wrong choices, I’ve made wrong decisions, and now I pay the consequences.”
He addressed his fellow death row inmates, telling them “I love y’all man, y’all continue on. Jesus is the way brothers, he is the only way.”
Johnson was 36 at the time of the deadly attack.
The fatal attack happened exactly 13 years ago, on May 20, 2012. Court documents, obtained by The Associated Press, show Johnson walked into the convenience store Harris was working at with a bottle of lighter fluid and a cigarette lighter.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice said Johnson then went behind the counter and stole cigarettes, lighters and cash from the register before dumping the lighter fluid on Harris and setting her on fire before exiting the store.
He was arrested nearly an hour after the attack, according to court documents obtained by The Associated Press.
TEXAS EXECUTION OF ‘DESERT KILLER,’ ON DEATH ROW FOR 30 YEARS, BLOCKED BY COURT
Matthew Johnson was put to death in Texas. (AP)
Officials said Harris, who had worked at the gas station for more than 10 years, died five days after the attack, but was able to describe Johnson to police before her death.
At his 2013 trial, the AP reported Johnson admitted to setting Harris on fire, expressing remorse and calling himself “the lowest scum of the earth.”
TEXAS TO EXECUTE MAN WHO KILLED PASTOR IN CHURCH DAYS AFTER BEING RELEASED FROM ANGER MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville. (Google Maps)
“I hurt an innocent woman. I took a human being’s life. I was the cause of that. It was not my intentions to – to kill her or to hurt her, but I did,” said Johnson.
During his sentencing, Johnson testified that he had been under the influence of drugs and alcohol during the robbery, claiming the lighter fluid was only meant to scare Harris, and he had no intention to kill her.
Johnson tried to appeal his death sentence, but his attempts failed.
Johnson’s execution will mark the fourth in the state this year and would bring the total number of executions in the U.S. to 18 so far this year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com
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A man armed with a knife was shot by L.A. police officers responding to an assault with a deadly weapon call overnight, authorities said.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers with the Hollenbeck Division responded to an apartment complex in the 3000 block of Glenn Avenue in Boyle Heights at 1:45 a.m. Saturday after callers reported a male suspect was armed with a knife and had just assaulted someone in the complex.
Arriving officers found the suspect in front of the residence, but he did not comply with officers’ commands to drop the weapon. He then advanced toward the officers and an officer-involved shooting occurred, LAPD confirmed.
“The suspect was struck by gunfire and remained non-compliant,” the LAPD Public Information Officer said on X early Saturday morning. “Officers deployed a 40mm foam round and ultimately took the suspect into custody.”
Video obtained by KTLA shows the man being loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital; officials said he was transported in stable condition, adding that his knife was recovered at the scene and booked as evidence.
No officers or community members were injured during the incident. The man’s name was not released.
Dangerous rip currents and high surf are forecast for Los Angeles County beaches, including the Malibu Coast this weekend.
The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous beach statement, warning of the potentially deadly beach conditions. The dangerous conditions are forecast to last from Saturday evening to Monday morning.
“There is an increased risk of ocean drowning,” the NWS forecast reads. “Rip currents can pull swimmers and surfers out to sea. Waves can wash people off beaches and rocks, and capsize small boats nearshore.”
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A guide to surviving rip currents from the National Weather Service (NWS)
Minor Beach erosion and coastal flooding is possible through the weekend. The flooding is most likely to occur during evening high tides from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Beachgoers are advised to stay out of the water and remain near lifeguard towers. Jetties and tidepools are also especially dangerous during the weekend forecast.
“Rock jetties can be deadly in such conditions, stay off the rocks,” the NWS forecast reads.
Similar hazardous beach conditions are also in the forecast for Santa Barbara County. A high surf advisory is also in effect for Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties this weekend, where 10 to 15-foot waves will be possible.
If you live or want to live in Los Angeles, the city controller has released a new dashboard highlighting some of the city’s most notorious problem rental properties, a tool designed to help renters avoid future headaches.
“This project comes at a time when tenants are reporting harassment and illegal evictions violating the City’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance, Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance and Tenant Anti‑Harassment Ordinance, but very few of the complaints end up leading to strong enforcement or real accountability,” L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia said in a media release Thursday.
The new Top 100 Problem Rental Properties dashboard includes a searchable database of all residential addresses with reported housing violation cases within the city of Los Angeles, a ranked list of the 100 addresses with the most violations and an interactive map.
“There has never before been an uncomplicated way for anyone to look up years’ worth of violations by address,” Mejia said in the release.
Data for the dashboard was compiled from multiple sources, including the Los Angeles Housing Department, Los Angeles City Planning and the L.A. County Assessor’s Office, according to the controller’s office.
The release also identified the top three addresses with the highest number of reported housing violations:
1. 636 1/2 North Hill Place, Chinatown
192 housing violation cases
2. 11700 West Wilshire Boulevard, Sawtelle
166 housing violation cases
3. 6650 West Forest Lawn Drive, Hollywood Hills
113 housing violation cases
“Our new dashboard is an easy‑to‑understand public tool that we hope will help renters and organizers document patterns of harm, as well as put pressure on both landlords and the City to act,” Mejia said. “Everyone deserves safe, stable and dignified housing.”
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