Murders of Alex Hopps and James Green
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David Rocheville (January 28, 1968 – December 3, 1999) was an American murderer executed by lethal injection, having been convicted of two counts of murder, one count of kidnapping, and one count of armed robbery.
The murders
In the evening of January 7, 1991, Rocheville and his friend Richard Longworth decided, while driving around in their minivan, to rob the WestGate Mall Cinema in Spartanburg, South Carolina. After entering the theater, Longworth took his handgun from his shoulder holster and gave it to Rocheville, and the two viewed the movie Dances With Wolves for a short time. The two then proceeded into the lobby to implement their plan to rob the theater of money located in the ticket booth. When they encountered an usher, Alexander George Hopps, 19, walking down the hallway, Longworth knocked Hopps down, jumped on him, held his hand over Hopps’ mouth, and dragged him outside of the theater through the side exit. As Longworth pinned Hopps against a waist-high bar that protected the air conditioning unit, Rocheville shot Hopps in the left side of the head. Rocheville then returned the gun to Longworth, who placed it back in his shoulder holster.
To reenter the theater, Longworth and Rocheville walked around to the front of the cinema and found the front doors locked. They motioned to James Todd Greene, 24, a cinema employee to whom they had waved when they initially entered the theater, and Greene opened the door. At that point, Longworth drew his gun and demanded that Greene open the safe in the ticket booth. Longworth took several money bags from the safe and ascertained from Greene that there were more bags in Greene’s automobile, ready for deposit. After retrieving those bags, Longworth and Rocheville forced Greene into their minivan, which Longworth drove. Longworth again handed his gun to Rocheville and instructed him to shoot Greene if he moved. After driving away from the theater, Longworth stopped the vehicle and instructed Greene to get out, walk five paces, get on his knees, and stare straight ahead. At that point, Rocheville shot Greene in the back of the head.
Arrest and trial
Longworth and Rocheville were arrested the next day, after Rocheville led law enforcement officers to Greene’s body. After Longworth was arrested, he provided officers with a detailed statement of the crimes that he and Rocheville had committed. Each was indicted on two counts of murder, one count of kidnapping, and one count of armed robbery. Separate juries convicted them and sentenced them to death.
Rocheville admitted that he killed Greene but said that he was coerced into it and claimed that he was afraid that Longworth would kill him.
Rocheville was executed on December 3, 1999, while his accomplice, Richard Longworth, was executed more than 5 years later, on April 15, 2005.
See also
- Capital punishment in South Carolina
- Capital punishment in the United States
- List of people executed in South Carolina
General references
- US Executions since 1976
- "Longworth Executed For Spartanburg Double Murder Convicted Of Killing Two Theater Employees In 1991 (April 15, 2005)". Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved December 13, 2005.