The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the death sentence of Michael Harrison Hunt, the man convicted of planning a violent home invasion disguised as a pizza delivery that killed a teenage girl and wounded three others.
In a ruling released Dec. 18, the court rejected Hunt’s appeal, which claimed that newer state laws allowing non-unanimous jury recommendations for the death penalty should not apply to his case. The decision solidifies his conviction for the April 2019 attack in Panama City.
The “pizza delivery” ambush
Court records show the violence began around 10:30 p.m. on April 4, 2019, when someone knocked on the door of a home occupied by Alexandra “Lexie” Peck, her family, and several friends. When Lexie’s stepfather, Danny, answered, a man holding a pizza box said he had a delivery.
Danny told him no one had ordered food and attempted to close the door. The man, later identified as Hunt, forced his way inside and pressed a gun under Danny’s chin. Although Hunt’s face was partially covered, Danny recognized him and his “very distinctive” voice.
As Danny yelled for everyone to run, Hunt fired, striking him in the neck. An accomplice entered through the back of the house moments later. Prosecutors said the accomplice mistakenly believed Lexie was the intended target because of her hair color and shot her in the head. He also shot two young men, Brentley and Izac, in the back.
Lexie died at the scene. The others survived but suffered serious injuries.
“No witness, no case”
The Supreme Court detailed the motive behind the attack as an effort to silence a witness in a human trafficking investigation.
Investigators found that Hunt was just days away from arrest for sexually battering and trafficking a young woman identified in court records as “P.O.” She was dating Lexie’s brother and had been hiding at the home after escaping Hunt.
After learning an arrest warrant was imminent, Hunt fled to Atlanta with his girlfriend, purchasing untraceable phones and black clothing. During the trip, Hunt reportedly told his girlfriend he would “do what he had to do,” using the phrase “no witness, no case.”
The attack was intended to kill P.O. Although she was inside the home during the shooting, she hid and survived without physical injuries. The court ruled that the legal doctrine of transferred intent applied, meaning Hunt was just as responsible for Lexie’s murder as if he had killed his intended target.
Challenging the death penalty standard
Hunt’s appeal centered largely on Florida’s revised death penalty laws. He was sentenced under Senate Bill 450, a 2023 law that allows judges to impose the death penalty if at least eight of twelve jurors recommend it. In Hunt’s case, the jury voted 10-2 in favor of death.
Defense attorneys argued that applying this standard to a crime committed in 2019 violated constitutional protections against ex post facto laws, which bar retroactive changes that disadvantage a defendant.
The Supreme Court rejected that argument, citing the precedent set in Dobbert v. Florida. The justices ruled the change was procedural, not substantive, noting that the possible punishment for first-degree murder remained either death or life in prison.
“The statute does not constitute an ex post facto law,” the court wrote, concluding the 10-2 jury recommendation was sufficient to impose the death sentence.
Evidence of other crimes
Hunt’s legal team also argued that the trial court improperly allowed extensive evidence related to the sex trafficking allegations, saying it unfairly prejudiced the jury. The Supreme Court disagreed, finding the evidence was “inextricably intertwined” with the murder.
The court said the jury could not have understood Hunt’s motive for invading the home and killing a teenager without hearing about the trafficking investigation.
With the ruling affirming both the conviction and sentence, Hunt remains on death row. The accomplice who fatally shot Lexie had not been arrested at the time of Hunt’s trial.
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