Florida 2006

Sentenced to death in Duval County, Florida

By: A judge, after a 9-3 recommendation of death by a jury

Date of crime: August 2003

Prosecution’s case/defense response:  Davis was convicted of fatally stabbing Alice Albin and her 16-year-old daughter, Loretta, in their home.  Davis used three kitchen knives in the killings.  Davis had been dating another of Albin’s daughters, who had just left him to reconcile with her husband.  Davis confessed to the crimes, but claimed he was insane at the time of the killings and was ordered to kill the women by a demon.

Prosecutor(s): Bernie de la Rionda  Defense lawyer(s):  Lewis Buzzell

Sources:  The Florida Times-Union 5/11/06, 5/14/06, 8/16/06

Sentenced to death in Volusia County, Florida

By: A judge, after a recommendation of death by a jury

Date of crime: August 6, 2004

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Hunter, along with three other men, burst into a home and beat six people to death with baseball bats.  The men had been illegally staying at the one of the victim’s vacant house before being kicked out.  They came that night to get back personal belongings that had been removed from the vacant home, including an Xbox.  Two of the men took pleas and received lesser sentences, while Troy Victorino received the death penalty.  Defense argued that Hunter was intimidated by Victorino and feared for his life if he did not go along with the crime, and that Victorino committed all six murders.

Prosecutor(s): John Tanner    Defense lawyer(s):  Ed Mills, Frank Bankowitz

Sources: St. Augustine Record 7/25/06; Orlando Sentinel 8/12/04, 9/1/06, 9/22/06, 1/3/07

Sentenced to death in Seminole County, Florida

By: A judge, following a jury recommendation of 7-5 for death for victim Williams, and a 9-3 recommendation for death for victim Bareis

Date of Crime:  6/17/04

Prosecution’s case/defense response: During an invasion of his neighbors’ home Aguirre-Jarquin stabbed Cheryl Williams to death with over 120 wounds.  He then stabbed her mother Carol Bareis twice—Bareis was in a wheelchair.  The defense claimed innocence, and that Aguirre-Jarquin had only discovered the bodies, which was why he had blood on his clothes.  But a prosecution expert testified that one of the bloody patterns on Aguirre-Jarquin’s pants could only have come from a blood spatter.

Prosecutor(s):  Jim Carter Defense Lawyer(s):  James Figgatt

Sources:  Orlando Sentinel 3/1/06 (2006 WLNR 7366385), 3/11/06 (2006 WLNR 7348588), 6/2/06 (2006 WLNR 9473250), 7/1/06 (2006 WLNR 11400406).

Sentenced to death in Charlotte County, Florida

By: A judge, after an 8-4 recommendation of death by a jury

Date of crime: June 2003

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Eaglin, along with fellow inmates Michael Jones and Stephen Smith, beat to death corrections officer Darla Lathram and inmate Charles Fuston when he tried to intervene during an attempt to break out of prison. Eaglin was serving a life sentence for a 1999 murder in which he cut a man’s throat to the point of severing his spinal cord. The jury deliberated for 19 minutes before advising the judge for the death penalty. Defense said that the prison system should take some of the blame for the crime, considering that Lathram was supervising a working group of five men and she had no weapon. Jones and Smith’s murder trials are scheduled for later this year.

Prosecutor(s): Steve Russell       Defense lawyer(s): Neil McLoughlin, Douglas Withee

Sources: Sarasota Herald Tribune 2/25/06, 2/28/06, 3/11/06, 4/1/06; St. Petersburg Times 3/1/06; Bradenton Herald 4/2/06

Sentenced to death in Alachua County, Florida

By: A judge, after defendant waived a jury trial

Date of Crime: 1999

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Gill was in jail from ages 17-30, then within 11 months of his release killed a travel agent during a home invasion robbery, and attempted to murder another woman.  During that sentencing he asked the judge to sentence him to death, but the judge imposed a life sentence.  Then while in prison Gill strangled cellmate Orlando Rosello with cloth strips torn from a bedsheet.  Gill pleaded guilty, and again asked the sentencing judge for a death sentence, saying, “Please make the right decision and don’t be at fault of another loss of life.”  The defense would have been able to present mitigating evidence of ongoing mental problems, and a horrific upbringing.  This time the judge went along with Gill’s sentencing recommendation.

Prosecutor(s):  Defense Lawyer(s):

Sources:  Gainesville Sun 7/9/05; www.alligator.org/edit/issues/99-sumr/990701/b07murder1.htm; www.fadp.org/news/GS-20050715.htm.

Sentenced to death in Pensacola, Florida

By: A judge, after a 10-2 recommendation of death by a jury

Date of crime: February 2003

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Green claimed he killed retired police officer James Hallman because he thought the “A” on Hallman’s University of Alabama ball cap meant that he was the Antichrist. Green pleaded insanity and had a long history of mental illness. Prosecutors claimed that Hallman witnessed Green shoot a bull, so he killed him to cover up that crime.  Green said he shot the bull because it was talking to him. The trial was delayed for over a year when Green was declared mentally incompetent. After treatment, Green was then found competent.

Prosecutor(s): David Rimmer Defense lawyer(s):  unknown

Sources:  Associated Press 10/22/05, 1/12/06; Mobile Register 1/13/06; Miami Herald 1/13/06

Sentenced to death in Broward County, Florida

By: Unknown

Date of Crime:  10/17/92

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Hoskins robbed, raped, beat, kidnapped, strangled, bludgeoned, and buried his 80-year old neighbor Dorothy Berger.  The defense argued that Hoskins had brain damage and a low IQ.  The Florida Supreme Court had reversed an earlier death sentence on the basis that Hoskins was unfairly denied a brain scan that might have revealed a neurological defect.

Prosecutor(s):  Defense Lawyer(s):

Sources:  Orlando Sentinel 10/24/92 (LEXIS USPAPR file), 11/6/94 (LEXIS USPAPR file), 5/14/99 (LEXIS USPAPR file); Florida Today 12/7/99 (LEXIS USPAPR file), 5/3/01 (LEXIS USPAPR file).

Cite:  Hoskins v. State, 702 So.2d 202 (Fla. Sup. Ct. 1997).

Sentenced to death in Broward County, Florida

By: A judge, after a 7-5 recommendation of death by a jury

Date of crime: October 2001

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Hudson killed Lance Peller by shooting him in the head after holding him hostage in his own apartment for hours and allowing him to call his parents to say goodbye. Hudson then kidnapped Peller’s girlfriend, Jennifer Fizzuoglio, and held her hostage until she managed to escape. Fizzuoglio testified to witnessing the murder at trial. Defense claimed that Hudson was forced to commit the murder or he would be killed by an unidentified source. Hudson had been convicted of second-degree murder, but only served 12 of a 25-year sentence. He had been out of prison for two years. Defense begged for leniency stating that Hudson’s mother left him when he was six, and he had been the victim of a child-prostitution ring in his teens.

Prosecutor(s): Peter Holden Defense lawyer(s): Evan Baron, Mitchell Polay

Sources: Sun-Sentinel 11/2/01, 4/27/04, 6/25/04, 6/26/04; Palm Beach Post 11/3/01

Sentenced to death in Osceola County, Florida

By: A judge, after a 7-5 recommendation of death by a jury

Date of crime:  1995

Prosecution’s case/defense response:  LeBron was originally convicted in 1998 for the robbery and murder of Larry Neal Oliver Jr. His motive was to steal the custom pickup truck that Oliver owned. In 2001, the Florida Supreme Court vacated LeBron’s first death sentence and demanded a new penalty hearing on the grounds that the trial judge overruled the jury’s verdict that LeBron did not fire the fatal shot but was still guilty of felony murder. The following year, the jury recommended death sentence. But in 2005, the Florida Supreme Court rule that the judge erred by allowing the jury to hear evidence regarding a previous robbery conviction, and again demanded a new penalty hearing. A new hearing started in May 2005 but resulted in a mistrial because a sheriff called LeBron the shooter during testimony. The final penalty hearing was in December 2005.

Prosecutor(s): Jeffrey Ashton  Defense lawyer(s): Robert Norgard

Sources:  Orlando Sentinel 1/14/05, 1/20/05, 12/25/05; Associated Press 12/27/05; Osceola News Gazette 12/28/05, 12/29/05

Sentenced to death in Martin County, Florida

By: A judge, after a 10-2 recommendation of death by a jury

Date of crime: 2004

Prosecution’s case/defense response: McWatters was convicted for the strangulation murders of three women.  He was dubbed the “Salerno Strangler.”  The key evidence in the murders was a confession by McWatters, which defense stated was caused by drug and police interrogation.  Prosecutors said McWatters was acting on rage for his girlfriend prostituting herself.  The victims had a history of prostitution.

Prosecutor(s): Tom Bakkedahl   Defense lawyer(s): Robert Udell, Rusty Akins

Sources: Palm Beach Post 11/11/06 (2006 WLNR 19733550), 12/5/06 (Westlaw); Associated Press 12/5/06 (2006 WLNR 21035890); Stuart News 12/5/06 (2006 WLNR 21015390)

Sentenced to death in Duval County, Florida

By: A judge, after an 8-4 jury recommendation of death

Date of Crime:  4/22/04

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Mosley had a pending hearing on whether he was the father of Lynda Wilkes’s 10 month-old baby Jay-Quan Mosley.  To avoid such a finding, Mosley strangled Wilkes.  He then thrust Jay-Quan into a plastic bag to suffocate him.  He tried to burn Wilkes’s body, and threw Jay-Quan’s body into a trash bin—it was never found.  Mosley claimed he was innocent of the murders.

Prosecutor(s):  Libby Senterfitt Defense Lawyer(s):  Richard Kuritz, Quentin Fill

Sources:  AP Alert – Florida 11/9/05; AP Alert – Crime 11/16/05; AP Alert – Florida 11/19/05; Bradenton Herald 12/2/05 (2006 WLNR 19392890); AP Alert – Florida 6/30/06.

Sentenced to death in Brevard County, Florida

By: A judge, after a 7-5 recommendation of death by a jury

Date of crime: June 2002

Prosecution’s case/defense response: In April 2002, Nowell and Jermaine Bellamy were injured in a shooting. They went to the home of Kelvis Smith, a known drug dealer, to retaliate. Smith was shot twice in the head, but survived. Smith’s girlfriend, Michelle Gill was shot six times and was fatally wounded. She was seven months pregnant. In May of 2006, a jury recommended the death penalty for Jermaine Bellamy.

Prosecutor(s): Rob Parker Defense lawyer(s): Ernest Chang

Sources: Florida Today 7/28/02, 9/29/05, 10/17/05, 10/23/05, 5/26/06

Sentenced to death in Pinellas County, Florida

By: A judge, after an 8-4 recommendation of death by a jury

Date of crime: December 24, 1997

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Peterson was convicted of killing convenience store worker Robert Cardoso during a robbery of the store. He was not charged until four years after the crime because he left no evidence at the crime scene. A break came in the case when he robbed another convenience store, as well as raping two workers in the process, and using the same language and method as before. He was serving multiple life sentences for that crime when sentenced to death. Defense presented evidence that Peterson had the mental capacity of a 14- to 16-year old.

Prosecutor(s): Doug Crow, Glenn Martin Defense lawyer(s):  Joe McDermott, Dick Watts

Sources: St. Petersburg Times 1/20/01; Tampa Tribune 6/22/05, 7/27/05, 7/28/05, 7/30/05, 1/7/06

Sentenced to death in Okeechobee County, Florida

By: A judge, after a unanimous jury recommendation of death

Date of Crime:  6/27/00

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Along with two cohorts, Salazar broke into an apartment, bound victims Evelyn Nutter and her boyfriend Ronze Cummings with duct tape, and shot both of them in the head.  Cummings survived.  The motive was apparently some sort of revenge.

Prosecutor(s):  Defense Lawyer(s):

Sources:  Palm Beach Post 7/7/00 (LEXIS USPAPR file), 8/8/00 (LEXIS USPAPR file); English.nessunotocchicaino.it/bancadati/schedastato.php?idstato=8000393&idconti…. 5/30/06.

Sentenced to death in Sarasota County, Florida

By: A judge, after a 10-2 recommendation of death by a jury

Date of crime: February 2004

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Smith was convicted of abducting, raping and killing 11 year-old Carlie Brucia. Smith was seen on a car-wash security videotape luring Brucia away. Smith claimed that he was a drug addict that could not control his impulses, under severe emotional distress, and did not remember much of the day the crime took place.

Prosecutor(s): Debra Riva Defense lawyer(s): Adam Tebrugge

Sources: Herald Tribune 12/2/05; Miami Herald 3/16/06; Houston Chronicle 3/16/06; Charleston Gazette 3/16/06; Associated Press 3/16/06

Sentenced to death in Charlotte County, Florida

By: A judge, after a 9-3 recommendation of death by a jury

Date of crime: June 11, 2003

Prosecution’s case/defense response:  Smith killed correctional officer Darla Lathrem while attempting to escape from jail.  Lathrem was the only officer supervising five inmates during a construction job.  She was hit with a sledge hammer so the inmates could get her keys.  Defense argued that Smith did not have Lathrem’s DNA on his clothing, thus he was not the one who killed her. The state said  that Smith was the mastermind of the attack.  During the penalty phase, Smith took the stand and agreed that he should die for his crimes. His sisters testified that he was a victim of child abuse and incest.  A mental health expert testified that Smith suffered from a below normal IQ

Prosecutor(s): Steve Russell      Defense lawyer(s): Paul Sullivan

Sources: Sarasota Herald Tribune 7/2/06, 7/28/06, 10/20/06

Sentenced to death in Broward County, Florida

By: A judge, after an 8-4 jury recommendation for death

Date of Crime:  6/2/03

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Tennis wanted to marry a Roma (gypsy) girl.  Her mother demanded a $3400 dowry.  Tennis committed a home invasion robbery to obtain money and severely injured the victim.  Two weeks later, during another home invasion robbery, Tennis stomped to death 91-year-old, disabled Albert Vessella.

Prosecutor(s):  Howard Scheinberg Defense Lawyer(s):  Patrick Rastatters

Sources:  South Florida Sun-Sentinel 3/1/06 (2006 WLNR 7341633); Miami Herald 3/19/06 (2006 WLNR 4547921); 4/7/06 (2006 WLNR 5844647); South Florida Sun-Sentinel 4/7/06 (2006 WLNR 7343439).

Sentenced to death in Volusia County, Florida

By: A judge, after a recommendation of death by a jury

Date of crime: August 6, 2004

Prosecution’s case/defense response:  Victorino, along with three other men, burst into a home and beat six people to death with baseball bats.  The men had been illegally staying at one the victim’s vacant house before being kicked out.  They came that night to get back personal belongings, including an Xbox that had been removed from the vacant home.  Victorino had also threatened one of the victims a few days before the murders.  Two of the men took pleas and received lesser sentences, while Jerone Hunter received the death penalty.  Victorino was much other than the other three men, and was thought to have recruited the young men to help.  Defense argued that Victorino was in a bar at the time of the crime.  At the penalty phase, defense argued Victorino suffered from a brain defect and that he was abused and hospitalized since he was very young.  At the time of the crime, Victorino was on probation for nearly beating a man to death with a stick.

Prosecutor(s): Leah Case Defense lawyer(s):  Jeff Dowdy, Michael Nielsen

Sources: St. Augustine Record 7/25/06; Orlando Sentinel 8/12/04, 9/1/06, 9/22/06, 1/3/07

Sentenced to death in Brevard County, Florida

By: A judge, after a unanimous recommendation of death by a jury

Date of crime: December 2000

Prosecution’s case/defense response:  Welch lived next door to his victims, Rufus and Kyoko Johnson while growing up. On the date of the murders, he arrived at their house and said he had been ordered to kill them by an unidentified person unless they gave him $5000. When the Johnsons refused, he pulled a displayed samurai sword off of their wall and killed them. Welch says he was high on cocaine and ecstasy and does not remember the murders. Welch had pled guilty to the murders.

Prosecutor(s): Rob Parker  Defense lawyer(s): unknown

Sources:  Associated Press 3/8/06; Orlando Sentinel 3/9/06

Sentenced to death in Lake County, Florida

By: A judge, after a 10-2 recommendation of death by a jury

Date of crime: Feb. 9, 2005

Prosecution’s case/defense response: Wheeler was convicted of the shooting death of a police officer, and for wounding two others.  Wheeler was shot and left paralyzed during the shootout.  Police had been called to Wheeler’s home after his girlfriend called alleging he raped her.  Defense argued Wheeler was impaired by stress and drugs during the shooting.

Prosecutor(s): Bill Gladson  Defense lawyer(s): William Grossenbacher, Liza Hammond

Sources: Orlando Sentinel 8/12/06 (2006 WLNR 13975708), 9/16/06 (2006 WLNR 161001174); 10/16/06 (2006 WLNR 17924221)