JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - A New Orleans street performer known as “Uncle Louie” admitted to killing a Florida store owner in 1974 and walked out of a courthouse a free man after being given credit for under a year he had spent in jail.
The Florida Times-Union reports 61-year-old Johnie Lewis Miller pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Wednesday in the shooting death of 34-year-old Freddie Farah at his Jacksonville food store. Cold-case investigators matched Miller’s fingerprints last year.
News outlets report the then-17-year-old Miller killed the grocer. No money was taken from the cash register.
State Attorney Melissa Nelson says the case against him was weak because the key witness died in December.
But instead of dropping charges, a deal that involves admitting guilt and answering the family’s gnawing questions was worked out.
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Information from: The (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union, http://www.jacksonville.com
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