Bruce Pace was sentenced to death by the State of Florida for the murder of Floyd Covington
According to court documents Bruce Pace would shoot and kill Floyd Covington during a robbery
Bruce Pace would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
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DC Number: | 084643 |
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Name: | PACE, BRUCE D |
Race: | BLACK |
Sex: | MALE |
Birth Date: | 12/12/1959 |
Initial Receipt Date: | 06/28/1982 |
Current Facility: | UNION C.I. |
Current Custody: | MAXIMUM |
Current Release Date: | DEATH SENTENCE |
Bruce Pace Case
On November 7, 1989, investigators found Floyd Covington’s bloodstained taxicab in a wooded area. Bloodstain patterns indicated that Covington was shot while he was sitting in the driver’s seat, with the first shot coming from the passenger’s side. Covington’s body was found three days later in another wooded area approximately twelve miles from where the taxicab was found. Covington had been shot twice with a shotgun. Serology testing showed that the blood in the taxicab was consistent with Covington’s type. An investigation led police to Pace, who was an acquaintance of Covington’s.
During Pace’s trial, the State presented evidence that Pace was seen driving Covington’s taxicab on the morning of the murder; Pace’s clothing had bloodstains that were consistent with Covington’s blood type; Pace’s fingerprint was found on the driver-side window of the taxicab; and Pace stated to a witness the night before the murder that he was going to do something he hated to do because he needed money. Pace’s stepfather testified that Pace informed him that after Covington had given Pace a ride to his stepfather’s home, Pace entered the home through an open window and was choked to unconsciousness. Pace told his stepfather that he awoke in the woods, lying next to a shotgun and Covington’s car, and after noticing blood in the car, he grabbed the gun and left the scene. Also, on the morning after the murder, Pace’s stepfather recovered from the front yard of his house two shotgun shells that were consistent with the type used to kill Covington. Pace had possession of the shotgun believed to be the murder weapon. A jury convicted Pace of first-degree murder and armed robbery.