| For Immediate Release June 22, 2011 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
OCDA TO OPPOSE PAROLE OF MAN WHO MURDERED FATHER AND LEFT VICTIM’S 3-YEAR-OLD SON PARALYZED DURING 1977 ROBBERY ATTEMPT
SANTA ANA – Orange County District Attorney (OCDA) Tony Rackauckas is opposing the parole of a man convicted of shooting-murder of a man and paralyzing the victim’s 3-year-old son during a botched robbery attempt in 1977. Johnnie Earl Moore, 54, formerly of Los Angeles, is currently being held at California Medical Facility in Vacaville, CA. Moore was sentenced Sept. 25, 1987, to life in state prison for one felony count of first degree murder and five years for a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a firearm during the commission of a robbery. Deputy District Attorney Douglas Woodsmall originally prosecuted this case. Moore is scheduled for a parole hearing this morning, June 22, 2011, at the prison before the Board of Parole Hearings, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations.
Orange County Senior Deputy District Attorney Susan Price will appear at the hearing to oppose the Moore’s parole.
Shooting-Murder of Bulmaro Amaya and Paralysis of Mario Amaya
On the night of May 11, 1977, then 19-year-old Moore broke into the home of 25-year-old Bulmaro Amaya, a husband and father of two, by prying open a kitchen window with the intent to burglarize the home. Bulmaro Amaya, his 3-year-old son Mario Amaya, and infant daughter were all inside the residence when Moore entered the bedroom where Amaya and his son were sleeping. Amaya awoke to find Moore in the bedroom holding a wooden jewelry box and attempted to get out of bed. Moore shot Amaya in the upper leg and the chest, murdering him. Mario Amaya, who had been sleeping next to his father, was also hit once in the neck. He became paralyzed from the chest down for the rest of his life. Moore then fled the scene, leaving the jewelry box with his fingerprints behind.
The following morning, Amaya’s mother-in-law discovered the bloody crime scene when the victim failed to deliver the children to her home while his wife worked. Moore eluded authorities for nine years until he was arrested in 1986, when new fingerprint technology positively matched him to the wooden jewelry box left at the scene of the crime.
Career Criminal History and Prison Violations
Moore has an extensive criminal history including a December 1975 burglary conviction and a December 1977 robbery conviction. He escaped prison in May 8, 1979, while on a day-leave pass. On June 1, 1982, Moore was detained and released for being in possession of a controlled substance. On Jan. 23, 1985, the inmate was detained and released for being under the influence of a controlled substance. On July 13, 1986, Moore was detained and released for grand theft auto, and later that same year, the inmate was finally linked to and prosecuted for the 1977 murder of Amaya.
Since his incarceration for the murder of Amaya in 1986, the inmate has been cited with eight prison rules violations. The inmate’s two major violations include possessing stimulants and sedatives and failing to report to a scheduled class. The other six violations include tardiness to an assignment, absence from an assignment, poor work performance, absence from a class assignment, and absence from a job assignment.