Suspect is arraigned for a 20-year-old kidnap-murder

By Jason Baker

A Superior Court judge in Santa Clara County on Aug. 27 arraigned Troy Lee Johnson, 53, in the 20-year-old murder of a Los Gatos woman.

Prosecutors said they believe they can successfully prosecute Johnson, charged with killing Gloria "Tookie" Acronico, despite the fact that almost two decades have passed since her death in 1979.

Investigators ran old fingerprints collected from the crime scene through the state Department of Justice's computer system earlier in August to see whether or not anything had changed since the initial investigation of Acronico's death. After investigators discovered Johnson's prints to be a match, a county judge issued a no-bail felony warrant charging Johnson with kidnapping, robbery and homicide.

Acronico, 49, was abducted from the Courtside Tennis Club parking lot in Los Gatos and found dead two days later on Dec. 7 in a Piedmont church parking lot. He body had been stuffed in the trunk of her Mercedes Benz. She had been shot once in the head, authorities said, and her car had been set on fire. Acronico was a former Santa Clara County civil grand juror.

Officials said the case remained inactive until two weeks ago when a state parole agent notified investigators that a recently released convict might have been responsible for Acronico's death. The convict was cleared of involvement in the death, but investigators decided to take a new look at all of the evidence in the case. That review led to a break when investigators were able to match fingerprints from the Acronico case with Johnson's. Johnson, an unemployed drifter, was arrested on Aug. 25 in San Bernardino County while on a bus bound for Oklahoma.

Authorities said the suspect had been in the Bay Area until he learned that authorities were looking for him. Johnson's girlfriend assisted police in locating Johnson when she learned that he was wanted, they said.

Assistant district attorney Joyce Ferris-Metcalf is prosecuting the case.

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