Man pleads guilty in ‘Cash Feenz’ double murder; Must testify against co-defendants

By CONNOR HOLMES
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze and the Naples Daily News 4/31/09

Alexis Fernandez, 20, pleaded guilty Wednesday in the "Cash Feenz" torture and killings of Alexis and Jeffrey Sosa, one week before co-defendant Roderick Washington's trial is scheduled to begin.

Fernandez pleaded before Lee Circuit Judge Thomas Reese to two counts each of second-degree murder, aggravated battery and kidnapping.

He will be sentenced to 26 years in prison in exchange for his testimony as a state witness in his co-defendants' upcoming trials, said State Attorney's Office spokesperson Samantha Syoen.

Fernandez is one of 10 defendants charged in the 2006 double murder. Others who have accepted plea deals in exchange for their testimony include Melissa Rivera, Iriana Santos, Cody Roux and Michael Balint.

If Fernandez does not testify truthfully as a state's witness in his co-defendants' trials, he faces a life prison sentence without parole.

"We asked for sentencing to be deferred until the trials of the remaining co-defendants in this case have completed," Syoen said.

Fernandez drove the Sosas, who were bound in the trunk of his car, to an industrial park in north Cape Coral, where they were shot and killed, and their bodies burned, according to police and state documents.

Prior to being shot, the Sosas were tortured and beaten at defendant Kemar Johnston's Cape home during a party, documents state.

Johnston and two other defendants in the case, Kenneth Lopez and Paul Nunes, have impending trials and face the death penalty if convicted.

Co-defendant Ashley Toye was found guilty in a jury trial and sentenced to life in prison.

Washington's trial begins Tuesday, and he faces a life prison sentence if convicted.