By CONNOR HOLMES
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze 8/8/09
Damion Shearod is not guilty of felony murder in the shooting death of his friend, John Patrick Moore Jr., 21, during a 2007 botched robbery attempt.
The 22-year-old is not guilty of attempted armed robbery with a firearm.
He is guilty, according to a four-man, two-woman Lee County jury, of armed burglary of a dwelling.
State attorneys spent the better part of a week attempting to convince jurors that on May 16, Cape Coral resident Jacob Seckler shot and killed Moore with Moore's revolver as he and Shearod attempted to rob Seckler at gunpoint.
Shearod, they argued, was responsible for Moore's death because he was a principal to an attempted robbery on Seckler and his wife, Elizabeth Kachnic, at their home.
"For better or for worse, (Moore) got his justice," Assistant State Attorney David Maijala said during his closing arguments Friday. "Today I ask that you give Jacob Seckler his justice. Convict Damion Shearod on all counts."
However, after almost three hours behind closed doors Friday evening, the six jurors reached a unanimous verdict indicating Shearod was not criminally responsible for Moore's death.
"Obviously that wasn't the outcome we were hoping for, but burglary while armed is a serious offense and we were glad to get a conviction on that," Maijala said following the trial's conclusion.
Maijala said he wasn't sure what factors may have contributed to the jury's decision, nor would the jury members comment on the decision as they left Lee Circuit Judge Mark Steinbeck's courtroom late Friday evening.
"If I could read jurors' minds I would win every case," Maijala said.
Shearod's defense attorney, Maria Pace, declined comment Friday.
"One young man has lost his life because of this incident," Pace said during closing arguments. "Myself and Mr. Shearod ask you to go back to the evidence, the conflicts in the state's case, the lack of evidence in the state's case, and return a verdict of not guilty, and give back Mr. Shearod's life."
Shearod took the stand in his own defense Friday, telling his version of the events leading to Moore's death.
Shearod rode with Moore and Moore's girlfriend, Jazzmyne Carrol-Love, from Fort Myers to Seckler's Cape Coral home when told Moore needed to "pick something up," Shearod testified.
Shearod, Moore and Carrol-Love passed Seckler's home, circled the block then returned as Seckler mowed his lawn, Shearod said. Shearod testified that he and Moore got out of the car and Moore brandished a revolver, leading to a struggle between Moore and Seckler over the gun.
Shearod said he shoved Seckler and fled, at which point shots were fired.
"I didn't really know what was going on, I was just scared," Shearod said. "I took off running, because I didn't want to get shot."
Carrol-Love, who was detained by police after fleeing the scene in Shearod's car, was initially charged in the incident. According to court documents, the state did not file charges against Carrol-Love because of insufficient evidence.
Shearod and Moore had never discussed a robbery, and Shearod often gave his friend rides so he thought nothing of the trip to Cape Coral, he told jurors.
"I didn't know where we were going, I just gave him the keys," Shearod testified.
Kachnic also testified Friday, and was called by the defense as a hostile witness for purposes of questioning.
The legal definition of a hostile witness suggests that he or she is considered aggressive or adversarial to the party calling the witness to testify. The ruling allows attorneys to ask leading questions on direct examination, a line of questioning normally only allowed during cross examination.
According to testimony, Kachnic and Seckler both believed an acquaintance of Kachnic's named Carroll Cody was behind the incident leading to Moore's death.
Kachnic, who said Cody cleaned her home, said Cody admitted to stealing a watch valued at $5,000-6,000.
Cody has not been accused as a suspect or charged in the incident.
Neither Kachnic nor Seckler could immediately be reached by telephone Friday evening.
Kachnic was inside her home when Moore and Shearod approached Seckler in the home's front entryway, she said.
"I heard Jacob scream," Kachnic said. "He asked me to call 911."
Friday marks the second time Shearod has faced, but not been convicted of, murder charges.
A jury found Shearod guilty of second-degree murder in the 2005 shooting death of 18-year-old Giannis V. Avrampopulos in Lehigh Acres. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison, however the charge was later dropped, according to court records.
Shearod will be sentenced Oct. 5.
Showing posts with label murder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label murder. Show all posts
Monday, August 10, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
Defendant says he knew nothing about robbery; Police interviews played for jury
By CONNOR HOLMES
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze 8/7/09
Jurors listened to audio Thursday of Damion Shearod telling police his version of events leading up to the fatal shooting of his friend during a botched robbery attempt.
An eight-person jury must decide if Shearod, 22, is guilty in connection to the incident that ended with the death of 21-year-old John Patrick Moore Jr., reportedly as the two attempted to rob Cape Coral resident Jacob Seckler at his home May 16, 2007.
Moore was killed when Seckler gained control of Moore's revolver and shot him, and Shearod has been charged as a principal in the death.
He faces the charges of second-degree murder with a firearm, attempted armed robbery with a firearm and armed burglary.
"I just don't want you guys to think I had anything to do with this," jurors heard Shearod tell officers in the recorded interview.
Shearod maintained that he knew nothing of the robbery or of Moore's .357-caliber Magnum Smith and Wesson revolver until Moore pointed it at Seckler.
Moore called him and asked that the two go to Cape Coral with Moore's girlfriend, Jazzmyne Carrol-Love, so Moore could run an errand, Shearod told police.
He said they talked about girls, not a robbery, as they waited for Carrol-Love to arrive at Moore's apartment so the three could leave together.
When the group drove past Seckler's home a second time, Shearod noticed but said he thought nothing sinister of it.
Even as Moore exited the vehicle to approach Seckler in his yard, Shearod said he thought Moore was only picking something up from the residence.
"(Moore) said (to Shearod), 'You better come up there with me,'" Shearod said.
"(Moore) pulls his gun out, says 'Lay down' (to Seckler). I won't ever forget that look. (Seckler) gave us a look like, 'Who are you guys?'"
Shearod said Seckler refused to lay down and a confrontation between Seckler and Moore occurred at the front door, at which point Moore's gun dropped to the ground.
As Moore and Seckler struggled for the gun, Shearod fled, he said.
"I heard three to four shots, and when I looked back I saw my car drive off. I thought (Moore) grabbed the gun and shot (Seckler), so I got scared," Shearod told the officers. "I thought, 'They're going to pin this on me.'"
According to testimony by Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Robert Pfalzgraf, one of the shots fired by Seckler hit Moore in the left side of his back. The bullet severed his pulmonary veins and aortic artery, causing him to bleed to death in Seckler's front yard.
The state rested its case Thursday against Shearod, and the defense will call its first witness at 9:15 a.m. today.
The defense anticipates Shearod will take the stand in his own defense, and council may call one additional witness.
The state may present a rebuttal, then attorneys will give their closing arguments. After the judge's instructions on the law, the jury will begin deliberations.
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze 8/7/09
Jurors listened to audio Thursday of Damion Shearod telling police his version of events leading up to the fatal shooting of his friend during a botched robbery attempt.
An eight-person jury must decide if Shearod, 22, is guilty in connection to the incident that ended with the death of 21-year-old John Patrick Moore Jr., reportedly as the two attempted to rob Cape Coral resident Jacob Seckler at his home May 16, 2007.
Moore was killed when Seckler gained control of Moore's revolver and shot him, and Shearod has been charged as a principal in the death.
He faces the charges of second-degree murder with a firearm, attempted armed robbery with a firearm and armed burglary.
"I just don't want you guys to think I had anything to do with this," jurors heard Shearod tell officers in the recorded interview.
Shearod maintained that he knew nothing of the robbery or of Moore's .357-caliber Magnum Smith and Wesson revolver until Moore pointed it at Seckler.
Moore called him and asked that the two go to Cape Coral with Moore's girlfriend, Jazzmyne Carrol-Love, so Moore could run an errand, Shearod told police.
He said they talked about girls, not a robbery, as they waited for Carrol-Love to arrive at Moore's apartment so the three could leave together.
When the group drove past Seckler's home a second time, Shearod noticed but said he thought nothing sinister of it.
Even as Moore exited the vehicle to approach Seckler in his yard, Shearod said he thought Moore was only picking something up from the residence.
"(Moore) said (to Shearod), 'You better come up there with me,'" Shearod said.
"(Moore) pulls his gun out, says 'Lay down' (to Seckler). I won't ever forget that look. (Seckler) gave us a look like, 'Who are you guys?'"
Shearod said Seckler refused to lay down and a confrontation between Seckler and Moore occurred at the front door, at which point Moore's gun dropped to the ground.
As Moore and Seckler struggled for the gun, Shearod fled, he said.
"I heard three to four shots, and when I looked back I saw my car drive off. I thought (Moore) grabbed the gun and shot (Seckler), so I got scared," Shearod told the officers. "I thought, 'They're going to pin this on me.'"
According to testimony by Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Robert Pfalzgraf, one of the shots fired by Seckler hit Moore in the left side of his back. The bullet severed his pulmonary veins and aortic artery, causing him to bleed to death in Seckler's front yard.
The state rested its case Thursday against Shearod, and the defense will call its first witness at 9:15 a.m. today.
The defense anticipates Shearod will take the stand in his own defense, and council may call one additional witness.
The state may present a rebuttal, then attorneys will give their closing arguments. After the judge's instructions on the law, the jury will begin deliberations.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Defendant’s mom: Unfair on conviction
By CONNOR HOLMES
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze 9/21/09
Roderick Washington is a 19-year-old who once played football and basketball, ran on the school track team and held a steady job at a Cape Coral McDonald's. He enjoyed dancing.
Family members hoped Washington would one day inherit the family business, a mobile barbecue restaurant.
But a night at Kemar Johnston's birthday party in 2006 changed the then 16-year-old's life forever - a night that ended in the brutal murders of Alexis Sosa, 18, and Jeffrey Sosa, 14.
Washington was found guilty as a principal in the slayings, first of two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon in May, then of two counts each of first-degree murder and kidnapping in a retrial last week.
Washington and nine others are accused in the killings, several of whom are allegedly members of a rap group called the "Cash Feenz."
According to his mother, Lashun Washington, her son was not a part of the Cash Feenz.
"What hurt me the most is how they were trying to label him as a Cash Feenz," she said Monday, following her son's sentencing.
Lashun has been Washington's mother since his biological mother died when he was 2 years old. She is married to his father, Rickey Washington.
A 12-person jury decided Washington held Jeffrey and Alexis Sosa at gunpoint in Johnston's home as they were tied, beaten, carved and covered in bleach, and helped load them into the trunk of a car used to transport them to a north Cape Coral industrial site where they were shot to death.
He was sentenced Monday to serve four consecutive life sentences, which will be added to the 30 years he is already serving from his conviction in May.
Lashun said her son's life was taken for a crime he did not commit, and murders he had no idea would take place as a result of his actions.
She feels that because Washington chose to go to trial, he was punished.
"You shouldn't take away his life when you know he wasn't the one who killed them," she said.
Lashun said that after the first trial, state attorneys offered Washington 10 years in addition to his 30-year sentence in exchange for his testimony against co-defendants, but Washington refused.
State Attorney's Office spokesperson Samantha Syoen said no information was available Monday evening regarding a proposed agreement between the state and Washington.
Lashun said her son wanted to fight for his innocence.
"He said, 'I'm not the bad guy, not me. I didn't do that. I'm going to fight for this. I'm fighting,'" she said.
Though Lashun feels it is unjust - that others at Johnston's party received plea deals or were never charged, that witness testimony was inconsistent and that, she believes, Lee County could not provide a fair trial given the publicity of the case - she still knows Washington did not do the right thing.
"My son, he did wrong, and he has to pay for that," Lashun said. "It was hard for us at first. He came to us and broke down. He knew we did our work to him as parents, and he just apologized to us. He went to God and asked for forgiveness."
Washington ran away from home prior to the Sosas' murders and became associated with co-defendant Kenneth "Ant" Lopez.
Lashun said that prior to leaving home, her son had never been in trouble with the law.
"He was a good kid, and I think the majority of people who knew him know that," she said. "He just got messed up with the wrong kids."
Though the jury decided evidence against Washington exceeded the burden of proof to find him guilty, the Cape teen will appeal the conviction.
"I just want to get it out that that this is unfair," Lashun said. "All we can do is pray, and we tell him to pray. It's not over until God says it's over."
Washington will try to retain his lawyer, Paul Sullivan, for the appeal process, or otherwise will hire private council.
Washington's father, mother, 23-year-old brother and 18-year-old sister continue to cope with what has happened, and have offered their condolences to the Sosa family for the loss of Alexis and Jeffrey.
"You just can't imagine how they're feeling right now," Lashun said. "You just don't know. Nobody really wins."
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze 9/21/09
Roderick Washington is a 19-year-old who once played football and basketball, ran on the school track team and held a steady job at a Cape Coral McDonald's. He enjoyed dancing.
Family members hoped Washington would one day inherit the family business, a mobile barbecue restaurant.
But a night at Kemar Johnston's birthday party in 2006 changed the then 16-year-old's life forever - a night that ended in the brutal murders of Alexis Sosa, 18, and Jeffrey Sosa, 14.
Washington was found guilty as a principal in the slayings, first of two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon in May, then of two counts each of first-degree murder and kidnapping in a retrial last week.
Washington and nine others are accused in the killings, several of whom are allegedly members of a rap group called the "Cash Feenz."
According to his mother, Lashun Washington, her son was not a part of the Cash Feenz.
"What hurt me the most is how they were trying to label him as a Cash Feenz," she said Monday, following her son's sentencing.
Lashun has been Washington's mother since his biological mother died when he was 2 years old. She is married to his father, Rickey Washington.
A 12-person jury decided Washington held Jeffrey and Alexis Sosa at gunpoint in Johnston's home as they were tied, beaten, carved and covered in bleach, and helped load them into the trunk of a car used to transport them to a north Cape Coral industrial site where they were shot to death.
He was sentenced Monday to serve four consecutive life sentences, which will be added to the 30 years he is already serving from his conviction in May.
Lashun said her son's life was taken for a crime he did not commit, and murders he had no idea would take place as a result of his actions.
She feels that because Washington chose to go to trial, he was punished.
"You shouldn't take away his life when you know he wasn't the one who killed them," she said.
Lashun said that after the first trial, state attorneys offered Washington 10 years in addition to his 30-year sentence in exchange for his testimony against co-defendants, but Washington refused.
State Attorney's Office spokesperson Samantha Syoen said no information was available Monday evening regarding a proposed agreement between the state and Washington.
Lashun said her son wanted to fight for his innocence.
"He said, 'I'm not the bad guy, not me. I didn't do that. I'm going to fight for this. I'm fighting,'" she said.
Though Lashun feels it is unjust - that others at Johnston's party received plea deals or were never charged, that witness testimony was inconsistent and that, she believes, Lee County could not provide a fair trial given the publicity of the case - she still knows Washington did not do the right thing.
"My son, he did wrong, and he has to pay for that," Lashun said. "It was hard for us at first. He came to us and broke down. He knew we did our work to him as parents, and he just apologized to us. He went to God and asked for forgiveness."
Washington ran away from home prior to the Sosas' murders and became associated with co-defendant Kenneth "Ant" Lopez.
Lashun said that prior to leaving home, her son had never been in trouble with the law.
"He was a good kid, and I think the majority of people who knew him know that," she said. "He just got messed up with the wrong kids."
Though the jury decided evidence against Washington exceeded the burden of proof to find him guilty, the Cape teen will appeal the conviction.
"I just want to get it out that that this is unfair," Lashun said. "All we can do is pray, and we tell him to pray. It's not over until God says it's over."
Washington will try to retain his lawyer, Paul Sullivan, for the appeal process, or otherwise will hire private council.
Washington's father, mother, 23-year-old brother and 18-year-old sister continue to cope with what has happened, and have offered their condolences to the Sosa family for the loss of Alexis and Jeffrey.
"You just can't imagine how they're feeling right now," Lashun said. "You just don't know. Nobody really wins."
Cape man accused in deadly shooting
By CONNOR HOLMES
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze 7/21/09
Police arrested and charged a Cape Coral man Sunday in a Fort Myers shooting death that occurred Friday evening.
Demarro Deshawn Battle, 21, of 632 S.E. 13th Ave., has been charged with second-degree murder by Fort Myers police.
He is accused of fatally shooting Omar Bonilla at 3670 Pearl St. at about 9:12 p.m.
According to police, Battle shot Bonilla in the upper right torso, right wrist and back after Bonilla brandished a .22-caliber handgun during an argument.
Bonilla died of his injuries at 10:06 p.m. after he was taken to Lee Memorial Hospital.
According to police, witnesses referred to Battle as "Cal," a man who was friends with Bonilla.
Kyle Lawrence, who was initially wanted for questioning in the shooting incident, has been cleared of wrongdoing.
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze 7/21/09
Police arrested and charged a Cape Coral man Sunday in a Fort Myers shooting death that occurred Friday evening.
Demarro Deshawn Battle, 21, of 632 S.E. 13th Ave., has been charged with second-degree murder by Fort Myers police.
He is accused of fatally shooting Omar Bonilla at 3670 Pearl St. at about 9:12 p.m.
According to police, Battle shot Bonilla in the upper right torso, right wrist and back after Bonilla brandished a .22-caliber handgun during an argument.
Bonilla died of his injuries at 10:06 p.m. after he was taken to Lee Memorial Hospital.
According to police, witnesses referred to Battle as "Cal," a man who was friends with Bonilla.
Kyle Lawrence, who was initially wanted for questioning in the shooting incident, has been cleared of wrongdoing.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Roderick Washington 'Cash Feenz' retrial day 4
4:32 -- Jury finds Washington guilty
A jury has found Roderick Washington, 19, guilty of first-degree murder and kidnapping in the 2006 slayings of Alexis, 18, and Jeffrey Sosa, 14.
After approximately three hours of deliberations, the jury brought back a guilty verdict on all four counts.
Sentencing before Judge Thomas Reese will be Monday.
Washington is accused of holding the Sosas at gunpoint as they were tortured in the kitchen of co-defendant Kemar Johnston's home, and also of helping carry the Sosas to the trunk of a car used to drive them to an industrial site where they were killed.
Washington, who was convicted of two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon during his first trial and sentenced to 30 years, faces a life sentence as a result of today's guilty verdicts.
3:29 -- writer's note: The jury asked if the principal rule applied to Washington holding a firearm during the commission of the crimes of which he is accused, a subsection of the verdict form. Judge Reese told the jury Washington alone had to be holding a gun to find guilt in that subsection. The jury has returned to deliberations.
3:23 -- writer's correction: The jury has asked a question about the verdict forms. It is unclear how close they are to reaching a verdict at this point. Council is discussing the issue with judge Reese.
3:20 -- writer's note: It appears the jury has reached a verdict. Washington and council have been brought back into the courtroom.
2:48 -- The jury enters its second hour of deliberations. Little has transpired in the courtroom. Bailiffs and reporters chat lightly.
2:05 -- several pleas were entered with judge Reese as Roderick Washington's jury continues to deliberate this afternoon. Those cases have concluded and only court personnel and media persons remain in Reese's 8th-floor courtroom, overlooking the Caloosahatchee River from the new Justice Center annex building.
1:42 -- writer's note: The jury has been given written copies of the judge's instructions and begins their deliberations.
1:30 -- writer's note: The jury will return from lunch shortly to begin deliberations in Washington's double-murder trial. It appears several other cases will be addressed by judge Reese this afternoon; the courtroom is speckled with those involved in other cases and their lawyers, who will address those cases after Washington's jury is ushered into the jury room.
11:32 -- Closing statements in Washington trial focus on witness reliability
Following closing arguments and the judge’s instructions in the double-murder retrial of 19-year-old Roderick Washington, one alternate juror will be dismissed and the remaining 12 jurors will begin their deliberations. They must decide if Washington is guilty of two counts each of first-degree murder and kidnapping in the 2006 slayings of Alexis and Jeffrey Sosa.
Washington, accused with nine others in the tortures and killings of the Sosas at a Cape Coral birthday party, faces life in prison if convicted. Witness testimony during trial suggested Washington held the Sosas at gunpoint as they were tortured in the kitchen of co-defendant Kemar Johnston’s home, and also helped carry the Sosas to the trunk of a car used to drive them to an industrial site where they were killed.
“It’s almost impossible to make any sense of at all,” Assistant State Attorney Marie Doerr said during closing arguments. “This started out as a birthday party, which most of us think as a happy thing, and ended up with these two teenagers tortured for hours, shot, and one of them burned beyond recognition. Each of these acts taken alone is enough to turn your stomach, but put these together and it’s enough to blow the mind of a rational person.”
Though several witnesses who testified against Washington were co-defendants who had taken plea deals from the state, Doerr suggested that inconsistencies among the witnesses showed they were truthful.
“We didn’t choose these witnesses,” Doerr said. “Mr. Washington chose these witnesses. These are his friends. You have a bunch of self-absorbed people, high on drugs and alcohol, wandering in and out of the kitchen. It’s not perfect, it’s not bought and payed for, obviously they’re not coached.”
Defense attorney Paul Sullivan argued the inconsistencies in testimony and lack of physical evidence against Washington created reasonable doubt. A majority of witnesses were drunk and high on narcotics during Johnston’s party, he said.
“Those who’ve drank too much know what it can do to their minds,” Sullivan said. “We know from testimony that marijuana only makes it worse. We’ve heard the effect that Xanex has on your mind. How dare they come in here and pretend to have an accurate memory.”
Sullivan pointed to three police witnesses whose recollections differed on whether Alexis Sosa’s body was taken to the Medical Examiner’s Office in the trunk of a car or in a body bag.
“These people are sober. If you see that in three professionals who have no interest in this case, then when you start looking at the testimony from these other witnesses here, you’ll see that there’s no evidence against Rod Washington beyond a reasonable doubt because there can’t be,” Sullivan said. “The cops can’t remember. That’s why they write it down.”
Sullivan also dismissed the notion of peer pressure as an element of Washington’s trial.
“If they would suggest that peer pressure is enough to make a person commit murder, then I would submit to you that to sit and wait in a prison cell in this county for a chance to testify in this trial, with a chance they’ll never leave those prison walls, is a pressure those teenagers have never heard of,” he said. “It’s enough to make them remember things any way they have to.”
Assistant State Attorney Bob Lee is continuing closing statements.
A jury has found Roderick Washington, 19, guilty of first-degree murder and kidnapping in the 2006 slayings of Alexis, 18, and Jeffrey Sosa, 14.
After approximately three hours of deliberations, the jury brought back a guilty verdict on all four counts.
Sentencing before Judge Thomas Reese will be Monday.
Washington is accused of holding the Sosas at gunpoint as they were tortured in the kitchen of co-defendant Kemar Johnston's home, and also of helping carry the Sosas to the trunk of a car used to drive them to an industrial site where they were killed.
Washington, who was convicted of two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon during his first trial and sentenced to 30 years, faces a life sentence as a result of today's guilty verdicts.
3:29 -- writer's note: The jury asked if the principal rule applied to Washington holding a firearm during the commission of the crimes of which he is accused, a subsection of the verdict form. Judge Reese told the jury Washington alone had to be holding a gun to find guilt in that subsection. The jury has returned to deliberations.
3:23 -- writer's correction: The jury has asked a question about the verdict forms. It is unclear how close they are to reaching a verdict at this point. Council is discussing the issue with judge Reese.
3:20 -- writer's note: It appears the jury has reached a verdict. Washington and council have been brought back into the courtroom.
2:48 -- The jury enters its second hour of deliberations. Little has transpired in the courtroom. Bailiffs and reporters chat lightly.
2:05 -- several pleas were entered with judge Reese as Roderick Washington's jury continues to deliberate this afternoon. Those cases have concluded and only court personnel and media persons remain in Reese's 8th-floor courtroom, overlooking the Caloosahatchee River from the new Justice Center annex building.
1:42 -- writer's note: The jury has been given written copies of the judge's instructions and begins their deliberations.
1:30 -- writer's note: The jury will return from lunch shortly to begin deliberations in Washington's double-murder trial. It appears several other cases will be addressed by judge Reese this afternoon; the courtroom is speckled with those involved in other cases and their lawyers, who will address those cases after Washington's jury is ushered into the jury room.
11:32 -- Closing statements in Washington trial focus on witness reliability
Following closing arguments and the judge’s instructions in the double-murder retrial of 19-year-old Roderick Washington, one alternate juror will be dismissed and the remaining 12 jurors will begin their deliberations. They must decide if Washington is guilty of two counts each of first-degree murder and kidnapping in the 2006 slayings of Alexis and Jeffrey Sosa.
Washington, accused with nine others in the tortures and killings of the Sosas at a Cape Coral birthday party, faces life in prison if convicted. Witness testimony during trial suggested Washington held the Sosas at gunpoint as they were tortured in the kitchen of co-defendant Kemar Johnston’s home, and also helped carry the Sosas to the trunk of a car used to drive them to an industrial site where they were killed.
“It’s almost impossible to make any sense of at all,” Assistant State Attorney Marie Doerr said during closing arguments. “This started out as a birthday party, which most of us think as a happy thing, and ended up with these two teenagers tortured for hours, shot, and one of them burned beyond recognition. Each of these acts taken alone is enough to turn your stomach, but put these together and it’s enough to blow the mind of a rational person.”
Though several witnesses who testified against Washington were co-defendants who had taken plea deals from the state, Doerr suggested that inconsistencies among the witnesses showed they were truthful.
“We didn’t choose these witnesses,” Doerr said. “Mr. Washington chose these witnesses. These are his friends. You have a bunch of self-absorbed people, high on drugs and alcohol, wandering in and out of the kitchen. It’s not perfect, it’s not bought and payed for, obviously they’re not coached.”
Defense attorney Paul Sullivan argued the inconsistencies in testimony and lack of physical evidence against Washington created reasonable doubt. A majority of witnesses were drunk and high on narcotics during Johnston’s party, he said.
“Those who’ve drank too much know what it can do to their minds,” Sullivan said. “We know from testimony that marijuana only makes it worse. We’ve heard the effect that Xanex has on your mind. How dare they come in here and pretend to have an accurate memory.”
Sullivan pointed to three police witnesses whose recollections differed on whether Alexis Sosa’s body was taken to the Medical Examiner’s Office in the trunk of a car or in a body bag.
“These people are sober. If you see that in three professionals who have no interest in this case, then when you start looking at the testimony from these other witnesses here, you’ll see that there’s no evidence against Rod Washington beyond a reasonable doubt because there can’t be,” Sullivan said. “The cops can’t remember. That’s why they write it down.”
Sullivan also dismissed the notion of peer pressure as an element of Washington’s trial.
“If they would suggest that peer pressure is enough to make a person commit murder, then I would submit to you that to sit and wait in a prison cell in this county for a chance to testify in this trial, with a chance they’ll never leave those prison walls, is a pressure those teenagers have never heard of,” he said. “It’s enough to make them remember things any way they have to.”
Assistant State Attorney Bob Lee is continuing closing statements.
Washington won’t testify in his own defense
By CONNOR HOLMES
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze and the Naples Daily News 7/11/09
Police told Roderick Washington he had the right to remain silent when arrested in the 2006 double-slaying of 18-year-old Alexis Sosa and his nephew Jeffrey Sosa, 16, and, as is his right, he will maintain his silence through two felony murder trials.
Washington told Lee Circuit Judge Thomas Reese, who is presiding the 19-year-old's retrial, he understood the decision he was making and would not testify on his own behalf. He also chose to remain silent during his first trial in May.
"You understand that you must live with the ramifications of this decision," Reese told Washington.
"Yes, sir," he said, the only words he has spoken thus far during the trial.
Washington is accused with nine others in the binding, beating, torture and killing of the Sosas at co-defendant Kemar Johnston's birthday party Oct. 6, 2006. Washington and Johnston are allegedly members of the "Cash Feenz" rap group accused in the tortures and killings.
A Lee County jury found Washington guilty of two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon during his first trial, and he has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. However, the jury deadlocked on two counts each of first-degree murder and kidnaping and Washington is now being retried on those counts by another 12-juror panel.
He faces life in prison if convicted.
Assistant state attorneys Bob Lee and Marie Doerr have spent the past two days calling witness after witness to testify about Washington's alleged involvement in the Sosa murders: holding them at gunpoint as they were beaten, carved into with knives, Tasered and covered in bleach, and helping transport them to a north Cape Coral industrial site where they were shot to death.
Party-goers and co-defendants testified to the details of the Sosas' killings Thursday and Friday, and all seemed to remember Washington's role that night.
However, when pressed by defense attorney Paul Sullivan to accurately produce other details about the night, their memories seemed to falter. Some admitted to relying on prior statements or were called out on inconsistencies throughout multiple statements, including those made during Washington's first trial.
Co-defendant Alex Fernandez said he saw Washington "squatting down on the floor with a rifle in his lap," and later hitting Alexis Sosa in the head with a pistol.
Fernandez recalled that, while at the industrial site where the Sosas were killed, he saw Johnston and another individual shooting into the trunk of the Sosas' Lexus where the two teens had been placed. He said he couldn't see who the second shooter was, despite earlier statements that it was co-defendant Kenneth Lopez.
Sullivan recited the earlier statement before the jury, a legal process referred to as impeaching a witness. The statement said that Fernandez pegged Lopez as the second shooter at the industrial site. Lopez was also Fernandez's cell mate in the Lee County Jail and in 2007 admitted to shooting Alexis and Jeffrey in the head to "make sure they were dead," the statement read.
"Does that refresh your recollection?" Sullivan asked Fernandez.
Fernandez said no, it didn't.
"I just thought about it and focused, and I can't be 100 percent sure," Fernandez explained.
Andrew Touchstone and Michael Taylor both said they witnessed Washington's involvement, stating again that he held both a rifle and a handgun on the Sosas, but Touchstone couldn't remember if Paul Nunez held an AK-47 or a handgun as he guarded the door at Johnston's home.
He was absolutely sure that Cody Roux, who stood directly next to Nunez, held an AK-47.
Aside from Washington, accounts varied throughout the state's witness list on who else at the party held or didn't hold guns and what kind of guns were brandished.
The only physical evidence presented at trial that may link Washington to the killings was a .22 rifle he allegedly used to hold Jeffrey and Alexis at gunpoint.
Ryan Peters said he bought a .22 rifle from Washington that looked similar in size and color to the one presented as evidence, but that he couldn't be sure it was the same gun.
After finding out the Sosas had been killed on the news, Peters said he dumped the gun in a canal.
"I didn't want it coming back on me," he said.
Reese denied a motion by Sullivan to have Washington acquitted on all counts, and reserved closing arguments for Monday morning at 9 a.m.
After that, the jury will be asked to decide Washington's fate.
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze and the Naples Daily News 7/11/09
Police told Roderick Washington he had the right to remain silent when arrested in the 2006 double-slaying of 18-year-old Alexis Sosa and his nephew Jeffrey Sosa, 16, and, as is his right, he will maintain his silence through two felony murder trials.
Washington told Lee Circuit Judge Thomas Reese, who is presiding the 19-year-old's retrial, he understood the decision he was making and would not testify on his own behalf. He also chose to remain silent during his first trial in May.
"You understand that you must live with the ramifications of this decision," Reese told Washington.
"Yes, sir," he said, the only words he has spoken thus far during the trial.
Washington is accused with nine others in the binding, beating, torture and killing of the Sosas at co-defendant Kemar Johnston's birthday party Oct. 6, 2006. Washington and Johnston are allegedly members of the "Cash Feenz" rap group accused in the tortures and killings.
A Lee County jury found Washington guilty of two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon during his first trial, and he has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. However, the jury deadlocked on two counts each of first-degree murder and kidnaping and Washington is now being retried on those counts by another 12-juror panel.
He faces life in prison if convicted.
Assistant state attorneys Bob Lee and Marie Doerr have spent the past two days calling witness after witness to testify about Washington's alleged involvement in the Sosa murders: holding them at gunpoint as they were beaten, carved into with knives, Tasered and covered in bleach, and helping transport them to a north Cape Coral industrial site where they were shot to death.
Party-goers and co-defendants testified to the details of the Sosas' killings Thursday and Friday, and all seemed to remember Washington's role that night.
However, when pressed by defense attorney Paul Sullivan to accurately produce other details about the night, their memories seemed to falter. Some admitted to relying on prior statements or were called out on inconsistencies throughout multiple statements, including those made during Washington's first trial.
Co-defendant Alex Fernandez said he saw Washington "squatting down on the floor with a rifle in his lap," and later hitting Alexis Sosa in the head with a pistol.
Fernandez recalled that, while at the industrial site where the Sosas were killed, he saw Johnston and another individual shooting into the trunk of the Sosas' Lexus where the two teens had been placed. He said he couldn't see who the second shooter was, despite earlier statements that it was co-defendant Kenneth Lopez.
Sullivan recited the earlier statement before the jury, a legal process referred to as impeaching a witness. The statement said that Fernandez pegged Lopez as the second shooter at the industrial site. Lopez was also Fernandez's cell mate in the Lee County Jail and in 2007 admitted to shooting Alexis and Jeffrey in the head to "make sure they were dead," the statement read.
"Does that refresh your recollection?" Sullivan asked Fernandez.
Fernandez said no, it didn't.
"I just thought about it and focused, and I can't be 100 percent sure," Fernandez explained.
Andrew Touchstone and Michael Taylor both said they witnessed Washington's involvement, stating again that he held both a rifle and a handgun on the Sosas, but Touchstone couldn't remember if Paul Nunez held an AK-47 or a handgun as he guarded the door at Johnston's home.
He was absolutely sure that Cody Roux, who stood directly next to Nunez, held an AK-47.
Aside from Washington, accounts varied throughout the state's witness list on who else at the party held or didn't hold guns and what kind of guns were brandished.
The only physical evidence presented at trial that may link Washington to the killings was a .22 rifle he allegedly used to hold Jeffrey and Alexis at gunpoint.
Ryan Peters said he bought a .22 rifle from Washington that looked similar in size and color to the one presented as evidence, but that he couldn't be sure it was the same gun.
After finding out the Sosas had been killed on the news, Peters said he dumped the gun in a canal.
"I didn't want it coming back on me," he said.
Reese denied a motion by Sullivan to have Washington acquitted on all counts, and reserved closing arguments for Monday morning at 9 a.m.
After that, the jury will be asked to decide Washington's fate.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Roderick Washington 'Cash Feenz' retrial day 3
2:25 -- 'Cash Feenz' defendant will not testify
Roderick Washington will not testify on his own behalf.
Both sides have now rested their cases in the retrial of Washington, a 19-year-old double-murder defendant.
Presiding Lee Circuit Judge Thomas Reese has denied the defense?'s request to acquit Washington of two counts each of first-degree murder and kidnaping.
Several more witnesses from the night Alexis Sosa, 18, and his 14-year-old nephew Jeffrey were tortured and killed have pointed to Washington as holding the victims at gunpoint and aiding in taking them to a north Cape Coral industrial park where they were fatally shot.
Andrew Touchstone and Michael Taylor, who attended co-defendant Kemar Johnston?'s 2006 birthday party, said they saw Washington holding a rifle and later a handgun that he used to pistol whip Alexis Sosa.
Touchstone had trouble recalling what kinds of guns others in the house were holding the evening the Sosas were killed.
Ryan Peters, a friend of co-defendant Kenneth Lopez, said he purchased a .22-caliber rifle from Washington for protection. He testified that he later threw the weapon in a canal upon learning the Sosas had been killed.
"I didn't want it coming back on me," he said.
Reese told the jury the trial would break early for the day.
"I doubt we could have this back to the jury before 6 p.m. or later," Reese
said, stating it would be more appropriate to resume Monday
He stressed the importance of avoiding media accounts of the trial over the weekend.
Closing arguments will begin Monday at 9 a.m.
11:17 -- Co-defendant Fernandez testifies in Washington re-trial
Alex Fernandez is yet another co-defendant who has pegged Roderick Washington as holding Jeffrey and Alexis Sosa at gunpoint when they were tortured in Kemar Johnston's home, and then helping take the Sosas to a north Cape industrial park where they were killed in 2006.
"He was squatting down on the floor with a rifle in his lap," Fernandez testified.
Washington also pistol whipped Alexis with a handgun at one point, he said.
Fernandez testified that Washington and co-defendant Kenneth Lopez carried the Sosas from the home and put them in the trunk of a car, and that Fernandez drove at Johnston's threats.
"Basically if I didn't comply, I could end up like the Sosas also," he said.
Fernandez said a .380 later found in the glove box of his car was not his.
Fernandez said he had never heard of or been a part of the Cash Feenz, the rap group accused in the slayings.
10:30 -- Medical examiner testifies as Washington retrial resumes
The retrial of Roderick Washington in the 2006 murders of Jeffrey and Alexis Sosa has resumed.
Washington faces two counts each of first-degree murder and kidnaping in the double-slaying.
This morning the state called Chief Deputy Medical Examiner Robert Pfalzgraf, who described the autopsy findings of the Sosas.
Pfalzgraf said Alexis had been shot at least four times, two of which were fatal. Due to the condition of his burnt remains, it is unclear whether or not other bullets had entered his body.
Alexis Sosa had been burned in the trunk of a car in a north Cape Coral industrial park, while Jeffrey Sosa's body was found on the ground near the vehicle.
A lack of any significant amount of carbon monoxide in the Sosas' lungs indicated they had suffered fatal gunshot wounds prior to the car having been set fire to, Pfalzgraf said. Small amounts of carbon monoxide, such as the amount found in Jeffrey's lungs, could indicate cigarette smoke or various other things.
"It is my opinion (Alexis Sosa) was not alive when he was burned," he said.
Defense attorney Paul Sullivan is asking Pfalzgraf questions about the transportation of the Sosas bodies from the industrial site to the Medical Examiner's Office and about the autopsy process.
Roderick Washington will not testify on his own behalf.
Both sides have now rested their cases in the retrial of Washington, a 19-year-old double-murder defendant.
Presiding Lee Circuit Judge Thomas Reese has denied the defense?'s request to acquit Washington of two counts each of first-degree murder and kidnaping.
Several more witnesses from the night Alexis Sosa, 18, and his 14-year-old nephew Jeffrey were tortured and killed have pointed to Washington as holding the victims at gunpoint and aiding in taking them to a north Cape Coral industrial park where they were fatally shot.
Andrew Touchstone and Michael Taylor, who attended co-defendant Kemar Johnston?'s 2006 birthday party, said they saw Washington holding a rifle and later a handgun that he used to pistol whip Alexis Sosa.
Touchstone had trouble recalling what kinds of guns others in the house were holding the evening the Sosas were killed.
Ryan Peters, a friend of co-defendant Kenneth Lopez, said he purchased a .22-caliber rifle from Washington for protection. He testified that he later threw the weapon in a canal upon learning the Sosas had been killed.
"I didn't want it coming back on me," he said.
Reese told the jury the trial would break early for the day.
"I doubt we could have this back to the jury before 6 p.m. or later," Reese
said, stating it would be more appropriate to resume Monday
He stressed the importance of avoiding media accounts of the trial over the weekend.
Closing arguments will begin Monday at 9 a.m.
11:17 -- Co-defendant Fernandez testifies in Washington re-trial
Alex Fernandez is yet another co-defendant who has pegged Roderick Washington as holding Jeffrey and Alexis Sosa at gunpoint when they were tortured in Kemar Johnston's home, and then helping take the Sosas to a north Cape industrial park where they were killed in 2006.
"He was squatting down on the floor with a rifle in his lap," Fernandez testified.
Washington also pistol whipped Alexis with a handgun at one point, he said.
Fernandez testified that Washington and co-defendant Kenneth Lopez carried the Sosas from the home and put them in the trunk of a car, and that Fernandez drove at Johnston's threats.
"Basically if I didn't comply, I could end up like the Sosas also," he said.
Fernandez said a .380 later found in the glove box of his car was not his.
Fernandez said he had never heard of or been a part of the Cash Feenz, the rap group accused in the slayings.
10:30 -- Medical examiner testifies as Washington retrial resumes
The retrial of Roderick Washington in the 2006 murders of Jeffrey and Alexis Sosa has resumed.
Washington faces two counts each of first-degree murder and kidnaping in the double-slaying.
This morning the state called Chief Deputy Medical Examiner Robert Pfalzgraf, who described the autopsy findings of the Sosas.
Pfalzgraf said Alexis had been shot at least four times, two of which were fatal. Due to the condition of his burnt remains, it is unclear whether or not other bullets had entered his body.
Alexis Sosa had been burned in the trunk of a car in a north Cape Coral industrial park, while Jeffrey Sosa's body was found on the ground near the vehicle.
A lack of any significant amount of carbon monoxide in the Sosas' lungs indicated they had suffered fatal gunshot wounds prior to the car having been set fire to, Pfalzgraf said. Small amounts of carbon monoxide, such as the amount found in Jeffrey's lungs, could indicate cigarette smoke or various other things.
"It is my opinion (Alexis Sosa) was not alive when he was burned," he said.
Defense attorney Paul Sullivan is asking Pfalzgraf questions about the transportation of the Sosas bodies from the industrial site to the Medical Examiner's Office and about the autopsy process.
Washington’s retrial begins with witness testimony; Co-defendants, others recall event
By CONNOR HOLMES
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze and Naples Daily News 7/10/09
One by one, familiar faces took the stand Thursday to testify about the night Jeffrey and Alexis Sosa were terrorized and murdered.
Eyewitnesses, co-defendants and police painted a picture for the second time of the 2006 beating, torture and double slaying, allegedly at the hands of a rap group called the "Cash Feenz," during the first day of Roderick Washington's retrial.
Washington, one of 10 accused in the killings, faces life in prison if convicted of two counts each of first-degree murder and kidnaping.
He was found guilty of two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon in May and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. The jury could not reach a decision on the remaining four counts and a mistrial was declared.
"These young teens, Jeffrey and Alexis Sosa, were tied up, beat, Tasered, carved with knives, bleach was poured into their wounds and onto their faces. They were shot, killed and eventually set on fire," Assistant State Attorney Marie Doerr said during opening statements. "This is a case that starts out a mob mentality, peer pressure at its ugliest."
Doerr described a night of drugs, alcohol and brutal violence at the birthday party of co-defendant Kemar Johnston.
The Sosas' deaths were the result of the cooperation of many individuals acting together, one of whom was Washington, she said.
Defense Attorney Paul Sullivan agreed that a heinous crime had occurred, but argued the evidence cannot prove the details of Washington's involvement beyond a reasonable doubt.
Part of what makes the evidence unreliable, he said, are witnesses who had either been intoxicated the night of the killings or had received plea bargains from the state.
"What else happened that night?" Sullivan asked the jury. "Who did what? Who poured bleach on these poor kids? Who hit somebody with a gun? Who did this, who did that, who did what, when?
"All of that evidence is locked up in the heads of young people whose minds were messed up on drugs and alcohol that night, who've told lie after lie after lie," he said.
Those who attended Johnston's birthday party recalled Washington holding the Sosas at gunpoint while they were tortured and driving out to a north Cape Coral industrial park where the Sosas were fatally shot.
William Arciszewski, who attended the party and produced rap music for the Cash Feenz, said a cell phone voice message sparked the violence toward Jeffrey and Alexis when they came to the party.
"It was like when they showed up you could hear a pin drop," he said. "They started beating them. I could hear plates breaking and everything."
Arciszewski said that from his hiding place in Johnston's bathroom, he heard a gunshot and Alexis pleading for his life as his back was carved with knives.
"I recall very vividly," he said. "It's one of the things that sticks out the most in my mind, Jeffrey Sosa begging for his life. He said, 'I have a lot to live for, don't kill me.'"
Arciszewski recalled seeing the Sosas carried out of Johnston's home through the garage area, and that Alexis had a black bag covering his head.
Several individuals, including Washington and co-defendants Paul Nunez, Kenneth Lopez, Iriana Santos and Melissa Rivera, left Johnston's home with the Sosas and later returned after Jeffrey and Alexis had been killed, he said.
"There's no nice way to put it," Arciszewski said. "(The Sosas) were taken out like they were trash. They were taken out like they didn't matter."
He said he was afraid that if he left Johnston's home or called the police he would be killed. Arciszewski told the jury that the Cash Feenz transformed from a rap group into a violent lifestyle, which he rejected.
"It's like they began living the music they made," he said. "To me, music is expression. They overdid it."
Sullivan attempted to disprove that Arciszewski disapproved of the lifestyle by discussing an Internet picture of him holding a gun and a rap album of Arciszewski's called "Enemy of the State" with explicit lyrics.
Arciszewski said his lifestyle has changed and he no longer associates with the Cash Feenz.
Co-defendants Michael Balint, Melissa Rivera and Iriana Santos have taken the stand. All three said Washington held either a handgun or a rifle on the Sosas at various times throughout the evening as they were tortured.
Balint, Rivera and Santos have stricken plea deals with the state for lighter sentences in exchange for their testimony against their co-defendants.
Balint, who hogtied Alexis with shoelaces, said he saw Washington holding a gun prior to leaving Johnston's home.
"He was poking them in the ribs with it, telling them not to move and stuff," Balint told the jury.
Rivera and Santos, who said they were active participants in the assault on the Sosas, testified to Washington having held a gun throughout the night and going to the industrial site where the Sosas were killed.
Sullivan questioned how Rivera could recall Washington being armed, but could not recall whether he held a rifle or handgun. She also could not describe the knife or Taser she allegedly used on Alexis.
Rivera said she did not remember that night, only what she had read from a recent statement to state attorneys.
Cape Coral detective Kurt Grau and forensics supervisor Larry Stringham discussed evidence they found at the industrial site and Johnston's home, including bullets and casings, a handgun, shoe prints, tire tracks and a comforter with the DNA of Alexis.
Washington's trial continues today at 9 a.m. and will likely continue through early next week.
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze and Naples Daily News 7/10/09
One by one, familiar faces took the stand Thursday to testify about the night Jeffrey and Alexis Sosa were terrorized and murdered.
Eyewitnesses, co-defendants and police painted a picture for the second time of the 2006 beating, torture and double slaying, allegedly at the hands of a rap group called the "Cash Feenz," during the first day of Roderick Washington's retrial.
Washington, one of 10 accused in the killings, faces life in prison if convicted of two counts each of first-degree murder and kidnaping.
He was found guilty of two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon in May and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. The jury could not reach a decision on the remaining four counts and a mistrial was declared.
"These young teens, Jeffrey and Alexis Sosa, were tied up, beat, Tasered, carved with knives, bleach was poured into their wounds and onto their faces. They were shot, killed and eventually set on fire," Assistant State Attorney Marie Doerr said during opening statements. "This is a case that starts out a mob mentality, peer pressure at its ugliest."
Doerr described a night of drugs, alcohol and brutal violence at the birthday party of co-defendant Kemar Johnston.
The Sosas' deaths were the result of the cooperation of many individuals acting together, one of whom was Washington, she said.
Defense Attorney Paul Sullivan agreed that a heinous crime had occurred, but argued the evidence cannot prove the details of Washington's involvement beyond a reasonable doubt.
Part of what makes the evidence unreliable, he said, are witnesses who had either been intoxicated the night of the killings or had received plea bargains from the state.
"What else happened that night?" Sullivan asked the jury. "Who did what? Who poured bleach on these poor kids? Who hit somebody with a gun? Who did this, who did that, who did what, when?
"All of that evidence is locked up in the heads of young people whose minds were messed up on drugs and alcohol that night, who've told lie after lie after lie," he said.
Those who attended Johnston's birthday party recalled Washington holding the Sosas at gunpoint while they were tortured and driving out to a north Cape Coral industrial park where the Sosas were fatally shot.
William Arciszewski, who attended the party and produced rap music for the Cash Feenz, said a cell phone voice message sparked the violence toward Jeffrey and Alexis when they came to the party.
"It was like when they showed up you could hear a pin drop," he said. "They started beating them. I could hear plates breaking and everything."
Arciszewski said that from his hiding place in Johnston's bathroom, he heard a gunshot and Alexis pleading for his life as his back was carved with knives.
"I recall very vividly," he said. "It's one of the things that sticks out the most in my mind, Jeffrey Sosa begging for his life. He said, 'I have a lot to live for, don't kill me.'"
Arciszewski recalled seeing the Sosas carried out of Johnston's home through the garage area, and that Alexis had a black bag covering his head.
Several individuals, including Washington and co-defendants Paul Nunez, Kenneth Lopez, Iriana Santos and Melissa Rivera, left Johnston's home with the Sosas and later returned after Jeffrey and Alexis had been killed, he said.
"There's no nice way to put it," Arciszewski said. "(The Sosas) were taken out like they were trash. They were taken out like they didn't matter."
He said he was afraid that if he left Johnston's home or called the police he would be killed. Arciszewski told the jury that the Cash Feenz transformed from a rap group into a violent lifestyle, which he rejected.
"It's like they began living the music they made," he said. "To me, music is expression. They overdid it."
Sullivan attempted to disprove that Arciszewski disapproved of the lifestyle by discussing an Internet picture of him holding a gun and a rap album of Arciszewski's called "Enemy of the State" with explicit lyrics.
Arciszewski said his lifestyle has changed and he no longer associates with the Cash Feenz.
Co-defendants Michael Balint, Melissa Rivera and Iriana Santos have taken the stand. All three said Washington held either a handgun or a rifle on the Sosas at various times throughout the evening as they were tortured.
Balint, Rivera and Santos have stricken plea deals with the state for lighter sentences in exchange for their testimony against their co-defendants.
Balint, who hogtied Alexis with shoelaces, said he saw Washington holding a gun prior to leaving Johnston's home.
"He was poking them in the ribs with it, telling them not to move and stuff," Balint told the jury.
Rivera and Santos, who said they were active participants in the assault on the Sosas, testified to Washington having held a gun throughout the night and going to the industrial site where the Sosas were killed.
Sullivan questioned how Rivera could recall Washington being armed, but could not recall whether he held a rifle or handgun. She also could not describe the knife or Taser she allegedly used on Alexis.
Rivera said she did not remember that night, only what she had read from a recent statement to state attorneys.
Cape Coral detective Kurt Grau and forensics supervisor Larry Stringham discussed evidence they found at the industrial site and Johnston's home, including bullets and casings, a handgun, shoe prints, tire tracks and a comforter with the DNA of Alexis.
Washington's trial continues today at 9 a.m. and will likely continue through early next week.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Roderick Washington 'Cash Feenz' retrial day 2
3:30 -- Party-goers testify to Washington's involvement in "Cash Feenz" murders
The state has called two party-goers to testify about the evening Alexis and Jeffrey Sosa were brutally murdered.
Both have placed Roderick Washington at co-defendant Kemar Johnston’s 2006 birthday party holding the Sosas at gunpoint as they were bound, beat and tortured.
William Arciszewski said he saw Washington holding a rifle to the Sosas, and that Johnston also had a firearm. He testified that a cell phone voice message sparked the violence towards Jeffrey and Alexis when they came to Johnston’s party.
“It was like when they showed up you could hear a pin drop,” Arciszewski said. “They started beating them. I could hear plates breaking and everything.”
Arciszewski said that, from his hiding place in Johnston’s bathroom, he heard a gunshot and Alexis Sosa pleading for his life and screaming as his back was carved with knives.
“I recall very vividly,” he said. “It’s one of the things that sticks out the most in my mind, Jeffrey Sosa begging for his life. He said, ‘I have a lot to live for, don’t kill me.’”
Arciszewski recalled seeing the Sosas carried out of Johnston’s home through the garage area, and also that Alexis Sosa had a black bag covering his head.
Several individuals, including Washington and co-defendants Paul Nunez and Kenneth Lopez, left Johnston’s home with the Sosas and later returned to the home after they’d killed Jeffrey and Alexis, Arciszewski said.
“There’s no nice way to put it,” he said. “(The Sosas) were taken out like they were trash. They were taken out like they didn’t matter.”
Arciszewski said he was afraid that if he left Johnston’s home or called the police he would be killed. He told the jury the Cash Feenz transformed from a rap group into a violent lifestyle, one which he rejected.
“It’s like they began living the music they made,” he said. “To me, music is expression. They overdid it.”
Donteavious Overmyer, Washington’s friend, said he was the first to hit Alexis Sosa in the face, cutting his hand open and beginning the onslaught of violence against the Sosas. He said Washington held a handgun on the Sosas, and later a rifle.
Attorneys are now questioning co-defendant Iriana Santos.
11:45 -- Co-defendant, police testify in Washington retrial
Michael Balint, a co-defendant in the Roderick Washington double-murder retrial, has taken the stand as a state's witness.
Balint is accused of hogtying Alexis Sosa with shoelaces prior to the Sosas being tortured and killed at co-defendant Kemar Johnston's birthday party in 2006. He has accepted a plea deal to serve 14 years in prison for two counts of kidnaping in exchange for his testimony.
He is also serving a concurrent 5-year prison term for battery on an inmate.
Balint said he beat Kenneth Mitchell, a man convicted of killing his best friend.
Balint told jurors he had spent the night drinking, smoking pot and taking Xanex the night the Sosas were killed. He testified to visiting the strip club Emerald City in Port Charlotte before going to Kemar Johnston's house to buy pot at 2 a.m.
Balint testified that Washington held a handgun to the Sosas as they sat on the floor of Johnston's home, and later a .22 rifle.
"He was poking them in the ribs with it, telling them not to move and stuff," Balint told the jury.
Balint said he went home prior to the torture and killing of Jeffrey and Alexis Sosa and did not witness the acts. He said he was still intoxicated the next day, and did not know who called him to tell him the Sosas had been killed.
Larry Stringham, forensic supervisor for the Cape Coral Police Department, testified to evidence found at the north Cape industrial site where the Sosas' bodies were discovered as well as at Johnston's home. Evidence found includes bullet casings, live rounds, shoe and tire prints and a comforter containing Alexis Sosa's DNA.
Additionally, a firearm was later discovered under insulation in Johnston's attic, which had not been located there initially.
The trial is in recess for lunch, and will resume at 1:20 p.m.
10:30 -- State begins case against Cash Feenz defendant Washington
Both the state and defense have given opening arguments this morning in the double-murder retrial of Roderick Washington.
Kurtis Grau, the lead Cape Coral detective in the 2006 murders of Jeffrey and Alexis Sosa, is currently on the witness stand. The jury is being shown a forensics video of the north Cape industrial site where the charred remains of the Sosas and a vehicle were discovered. The video was also shown during Washington’s first trial.
Washington’s friends and family are among those watching the video quietly.
Brian Lauer, an Operations Lt. for the Cape Coral Fire Department, also testified. Lauer was a first responder to a vehicle fire Oct. 7, 2006 at the industrial site where the Sosas were found. Lauer said he discovered a bloody blanket among the remains, which he brought to the attention of police.
“These young teens, Jeffrey and Alexis Sosa, were tied up, beat, tasered, carved with knives, bleach was poured into their wounds and onto their faces. They were shot, killed and eventually set on fire,” Marie Doerr said during opening statements. “This is a case that starts out a mob mentality, peer pressure at its ugliest.”
Doerr described a night of drugs, alcohol and brutal violence at the birthday party of co-defendant Kemar Johnston. The Sosas’ deaths were the result of the cooperation of many individuals acting together, one of whom was Washington, she said.
Defense Attorney Paul Sullivan agreed that a heinous crime had occurred, but argued the evidence couldn’t prove the details of Washington’s involvement beyond a reasonable doubt.
Part of what made the evidence unreliable, Sullivan said, was the unreliability of witnesses who were either intoxicated or had received plea bargains from the state.
“What else happened that night?” Sullivan asked the jury. “Who did what? Who poured bleach on these poor kids? Who hit somebody with a gun? Who did this, who did that, who did what, when? All of that evidence is locked up in the heads of young people whose minds were messed up on drugs and alcohol that night, who’ve told lie after lie after lie.”
Sullivan pointed specifically to the inconsistent statements of co-defendant and state’s witness Alex Fernandez regarding the slayings.
“There’s not going to be evidence of anything to indicate that Rod Washington is guilty of first-degree murder,” Sullivan said. “There’s not going to be evidence that Rod Washington is guilty of a kidnaping.”
9:45 -- Juror dismissed in Cash Feenz re-trial
The 14-person jury of Roderick Washington’s double-murder retrial, two of whom were alternates, has been reduced by one after presiding Lee Circuit Judge Thomas Reese learned Thursday morning that one of the jurors attempted to discuss the case with a Cape Coral detective on multiple occasions.
The jury was seated hardly more than 12 hours ago in Washington's retrial in the 2006 double-murder of Alexis and Jeffrey Sosa, allegedly perpetrated by a rap group called the Cash Feenz. He is one of 10 accused in the binding, torturing and killing of the Sosas at a house party in Cape Coral.
Reese voiced his concerns about the male juror's prior vocalizations of the case to the detective. "What he had to say to him I do not know, but it doesn't really matter," Reese said. “He has already demonstrated issues of concern to be a juror in this case. What concerns me more than anything: what, if anything, has he said to the other jurors?”
The juror told Reese he called the detective's son to discuss football, and mentioned his participation as a juror in passing to the detective, but did not recall prior conversations. Each of the remaining 13 jurors said they had neither discussed the case nor watched media accounts. Washington was convicted in May of two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. He faces life in prison if convicted of two counts each of first-degree murder and kidnapping, charges the jury deadlocked on during his first trial.
Attorneys are now giving their opening statements.
The state has called two party-goers to testify about the evening Alexis and Jeffrey Sosa were brutally murdered.
Both have placed Roderick Washington at co-defendant Kemar Johnston’s 2006 birthday party holding the Sosas at gunpoint as they were bound, beat and tortured.
William Arciszewski said he saw Washington holding a rifle to the Sosas, and that Johnston also had a firearm. He testified that a cell phone voice message sparked the violence towards Jeffrey and Alexis when they came to Johnston’s party.
“It was like when they showed up you could hear a pin drop,” Arciszewski said. “They started beating them. I could hear plates breaking and everything.”
Arciszewski said that, from his hiding place in Johnston’s bathroom, he heard a gunshot and Alexis Sosa pleading for his life and screaming as his back was carved with knives.
“I recall very vividly,” he said. “It’s one of the things that sticks out the most in my mind, Jeffrey Sosa begging for his life. He said, ‘I have a lot to live for, don’t kill me.’”
Arciszewski recalled seeing the Sosas carried out of Johnston’s home through the garage area, and also that Alexis Sosa had a black bag covering his head.
Several individuals, including Washington and co-defendants Paul Nunez and Kenneth Lopez, left Johnston’s home with the Sosas and later returned to the home after they’d killed Jeffrey and Alexis, Arciszewski said.
“There’s no nice way to put it,” he said. “(The Sosas) were taken out like they were trash. They were taken out like they didn’t matter.”
Arciszewski said he was afraid that if he left Johnston’s home or called the police he would be killed. He told the jury the Cash Feenz transformed from a rap group into a violent lifestyle, one which he rejected.
“It’s like they began living the music they made,” he said. “To me, music is expression. They overdid it.”
Donteavious Overmyer, Washington’s friend, said he was the first to hit Alexis Sosa in the face, cutting his hand open and beginning the onslaught of violence against the Sosas. He said Washington held a handgun on the Sosas, and later a rifle.
Attorneys are now questioning co-defendant Iriana Santos.
11:45 -- Co-defendant, police testify in Washington retrial
Michael Balint, a co-defendant in the Roderick Washington double-murder retrial, has taken the stand as a state's witness.
Balint is accused of hogtying Alexis Sosa with shoelaces prior to the Sosas being tortured and killed at co-defendant Kemar Johnston's birthday party in 2006. He has accepted a plea deal to serve 14 years in prison for two counts of kidnaping in exchange for his testimony.
He is also serving a concurrent 5-year prison term for battery on an inmate.
Balint said he beat Kenneth Mitchell, a man convicted of killing his best friend.
Balint told jurors he had spent the night drinking, smoking pot and taking Xanex the night the Sosas were killed. He testified to visiting the strip club Emerald City in Port Charlotte before going to Kemar Johnston's house to buy pot at 2 a.m.
Balint testified that Washington held a handgun to the Sosas as they sat on the floor of Johnston's home, and later a .22 rifle.
"He was poking them in the ribs with it, telling them not to move and stuff," Balint told the jury.
Balint said he went home prior to the torture and killing of Jeffrey and Alexis Sosa and did not witness the acts. He said he was still intoxicated the next day, and did not know who called him to tell him the Sosas had been killed.
Larry Stringham, forensic supervisor for the Cape Coral Police Department, testified to evidence found at the north Cape industrial site where the Sosas' bodies were discovered as well as at Johnston's home. Evidence found includes bullet casings, live rounds, shoe and tire prints and a comforter containing Alexis Sosa's DNA.
Additionally, a firearm was later discovered under insulation in Johnston's attic, which had not been located there initially.
The trial is in recess for lunch, and will resume at 1:20 p.m.
10:30 -- State begins case against Cash Feenz defendant Washington
Both the state and defense have given opening arguments this morning in the double-murder retrial of Roderick Washington.
Kurtis Grau, the lead Cape Coral detective in the 2006 murders of Jeffrey and Alexis Sosa, is currently on the witness stand. The jury is being shown a forensics video of the north Cape industrial site where the charred remains of the Sosas and a vehicle were discovered. The video was also shown during Washington’s first trial.
Washington’s friends and family are among those watching the video quietly.
Brian Lauer, an Operations Lt. for the Cape Coral Fire Department, also testified. Lauer was a first responder to a vehicle fire Oct. 7, 2006 at the industrial site where the Sosas were found. Lauer said he discovered a bloody blanket among the remains, which he brought to the attention of police.
“These young teens, Jeffrey and Alexis Sosa, were tied up, beat, tasered, carved with knives, bleach was poured into their wounds and onto their faces. They were shot, killed and eventually set on fire,” Marie Doerr said during opening statements. “This is a case that starts out a mob mentality, peer pressure at its ugliest.”
Doerr described a night of drugs, alcohol and brutal violence at the birthday party of co-defendant Kemar Johnston. The Sosas’ deaths were the result of the cooperation of many individuals acting together, one of whom was Washington, she said.
Defense Attorney Paul Sullivan agreed that a heinous crime had occurred, but argued the evidence couldn’t prove the details of Washington’s involvement beyond a reasonable doubt.
Part of what made the evidence unreliable, Sullivan said, was the unreliability of witnesses who were either intoxicated or had received plea bargains from the state.
“What else happened that night?” Sullivan asked the jury. “Who did what? Who poured bleach on these poor kids? Who hit somebody with a gun? Who did this, who did that, who did what, when? All of that evidence is locked up in the heads of young people whose minds were messed up on drugs and alcohol that night, who’ve told lie after lie after lie.”
Sullivan pointed specifically to the inconsistent statements of co-defendant and state’s witness Alex Fernandez regarding the slayings.
“There’s not going to be evidence of anything to indicate that Rod Washington is guilty of first-degree murder,” Sullivan said. “There’s not going to be evidence that Rod Washington is guilty of a kidnaping.”
9:45 -- Juror dismissed in Cash Feenz re-trial
The 14-person jury of Roderick Washington’s double-murder retrial, two of whom were alternates, has been reduced by one after presiding Lee Circuit Judge Thomas Reese learned Thursday morning that one of the jurors attempted to discuss the case with a Cape Coral detective on multiple occasions.
The jury was seated hardly more than 12 hours ago in Washington's retrial in the 2006 double-murder of Alexis and Jeffrey Sosa, allegedly perpetrated by a rap group called the Cash Feenz. He is one of 10 accused in the binding, torturing and killing of the Sosas at a house party in Cape Coral.
Reese voiced his concerns about the male juror's prior vocalizations of the case to the detective. "What he had to say to him I do not know, but it doesn't really matter," Reese said. “He has already demonstrated issues of concern to be a juror in this case. What concerns me more than anything: what, if anything, has he said to the other jurors?”
The juror told Reese he called the detective's son to discuss football, and mentioned his participation as a juror in passing to the detective, but did not recall prior conversations. Each of the remaining 13 jurors said they had neither discussed the case nor watched media accounts. Washington was convicted in May of two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. He faces life in prison if convicted of two counts each of first-degree murder and kidnapping, charges the jury deadlocked on during his first trial.
Attorneys are now giving their opening statements.
Jury seated in Washington ‘Cash Feenz’ trial — again
By CONNOR HOLMES
published the Cape Coral Daily Breeze, under headline 'Jurors picked for ‘Cash Feenz’ trial; Defendant again facing murder and kidnapping' and in the Naples Daily News under given headline
---
A seemingly daunting task, state and defense attorneys have now seated an unbiased jury for the second time to try Roderick Washington in the highly-publicized "Cash Feenz" double murder case.
The 12-man, two-woman jury, including two alternates, was seated Wednesday afternoon in the courtroom of Lee Circuit Judge Thomas Reese.
Washington is one of 10 individuals initially charged in the 2006 beating, torture and killing of Alexis and Jeffrey Sosa during a birthday party of co-defendant Kemar Johnston.
The Sosas were tied up at gunpoint, carved with knives, covered in bleach, and eventually shot and killed in a north Cape Coral industrial park, according to police documents.
Washington is accused of holding a gun on the Sosas as they were tied up and tortured in Johnston's Cape home.
In May, Washington was tried on two counts each of first-degree murder, kidnaping and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. After a day and a half of deliberations, the jury found him guilty of the two counts of aggravated battery but deadlocked on the other charges.
A mistrial was declared for the remaining counts.
Washington was sentenced Tuesday afternoon, a day before his retrial began for the remaining four charges, to serve two 15-year prison sentences for the aggravated battery counts.
If convicted in the retrial, Washington faces life in prison.
Though many of the 55 potential jurors Wednesday had heard of the killings through news accounts and word of mouth, most said they could remain unbiased regardless.
Attorneys felt that one woman, a Challenger Middle School teacher who had known the Sosas, and a former North Fort Myers High student who said he knew co-defendant Cody Roux and several witnesses could not be unbiased. They were dismissed during questioning.
Several others whose religions did not allow them to stand in judgment of others were also dismissed.
Jurors were questioned by attorneys throughout the afternoon into the evening, both individually and in open court.
They were asked how they would consider the testimony of co-defendants who had accepted state plea deals, if they thought mixing pills with alcohol altered a person's ability to remember and what they thought about peer pressure and gang violence.
Both the state and the defense will present their opening arguments today at 9 a.m.
Washington's trial is anticipated to run into early next week, possibly Tuesday, according to Reese.
published the Cape Coral Daily Breeze, under headline 'Jurors picked for ‘Cash Feenz’ trial; Defendant again facing murder and kidnapping' and in the Naples Daily News under given headline
---
A seemingly daunting task, state and defense attorneys have now seated an unbiased jury for the second time to try Roderick Washington in the highly-publicized "Cash Feenz" double murder case.
The 12-man, two-woman jury, including two alternates, was seated Wednesday afternoon in the courtroom of Lee Circuit Judge Thomas Reese.
Washington is one of 10 individuals initially charged in the 2006 beating, torture and killing of Alexis and Jeffrey Sosa during a birthday party of co-defendant Kemar Johnston.
The Sosas were tied up at gunpoint, carved with knives, covered in bleach, and eventually shot and killed in a north Cape Coral industrial park, according to police documents.
Washington is accused of holding a gun on the Sosas as they were tied up and tortured in Johnston's Cape home.
In May, Washington was tried on two counts each of first-degree murder, kidnaping and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. After a day and a half of deliberations, the jury found him guilty of the two counts of aggravated battery but deadlocked on the other charges.
A mistrial was declared for the remaining counts.
Washington was sentenced Tuesday afternoon, a day before his retrial began for the remaining four charges, to serve two 15-year prison sentences for the aggravated battery counts.
If convicted in the retrial, Washington faces life in prison.
Though many of the 55 potential jurors Wednesday had heard of the killings through news accounts and word of mouth, most said they could remain unbiased regardless.
Attorneys felt that one woman, a Challenger Middle School teacher who had known the Sosas, and a former North Fort Myers High student who said he knew co-defendant Cody Roux and several witnesses could not be unbiased. They were dismissed during questioning.
Several others whose religions did not allow them to stand in judgment of others were also dismissed.
Jurors were questioned by attorneys throughout the afternoon into the evening, both individually and in open court.
They were asked how they would consider the testimony of co-defendants who had accepted state plea deals, if they thought mixing pills with alcohol altered a person's ability to remember and what they thought about peer pressure and gang violence.
Both the state and the defense will present their opening arguments today at 9 a.m.
Washington's trial is anticipated to run into early next week, possibly Tuesday, according to Reese.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Murder retrial to start for ‘Cash Feenz’ defendant; Convicted of battery counts in May
By CONNOR HOLMES
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze 7/8/09
A minimum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life - this is the reality Roderick Washington must face as he sits before a jury of his peers for the second time.
Jury selection for Washington's retrial as one of 10 defendants in the 2006 "Cash Feenz" murders of Alexis and Jeffrey Sosa begins today before Judge Thomas Reese.
Reese saw Washington go to trial the first time in his Lee County courtroom in early May.
Washington was tried in the brutal kidnapping, torture, beating and killing of the Sosas that authorities said began at co-defendant Kemar Johnston's birthday party and ended in a north Cape Coral industrial park, where the Sosas were fatally shot.
After nearly a day and a half of deliberations, jury members convicted Washington of two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon - a knife - during the first trial.
However, jurors were unable to reach a decision regarding whether Washington was guilty of two counts each of kidnapping and first-degree murder.
The state filed for a retrial May 28.
Washington was sentenced Tuesday afternoon to two consecutive 15-year prison sentences for the aggravated battery counts, which he must serve regardless of the outcome of the retrial, said State Attorney's Office spokesperson Samantha Syoen.
Syoen said the retrial will focus on the four remaining charges. Jurors will be asked to determine Washington's guilt or innocence based only on the remaining counts against him.
Washington is the second defendant to be convicted in the Sosas' killings. Co-defendant Ashley Toye was sentenced to life in prison in 2007.
Paul Sullivan, Washington's defense attorney, could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.
Washington's retrial begins at 9 a.m.
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze 7/8/09
A minimum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life - this is the reality Roderick Washington must face as he sits before a jury of his peers for the second time.
Jury selection for Washington's retrial as one of 10 defendants in the 2006 "Cash Feenz" murders of Alexis and Jeffrey Sosa begins today before Judge Thomas Reese.
Reese saw Washington go to trial the first time in his Lee County courtroom in early May.
Washington was tried in the brutal kidnapping, torture, beating and killing of the Sosas that authorities said began at co-defendant Kemar Johnston's birthday party and ended in a north Cape Coral industrial park, where the Sosas were fatally shot.
After nearly a day and a half of deliberations, jury members convicted Washington of two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon - a knife - during the first trial.
However, jurors were unable to reach a decision regarding whether Washington was guilty of two counts each of kidnapping and first-degree murder.
The state filed for a retrial May 28.
Washington was sentenced Tuesday afternoon to two consecutive 15-year prison sentences for the aggravated battery counts, which he must serve regardless of the outcome of the retrial, said State Attorney's Office spokesperson Samantha Syoen.
Syoen said the retrial will focus on the four remaining charges. Jurors will be asked to determine Washington's guilt or innocence based only on the remaining counts against him.
Washington is the second defendant to be convicted in the Sosas' killings. Co-defendant Ashley Toye was sentenced to life in prison in 2007.
Paul Sullivan, Washington's defense attorney, could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.
Washington's retrial begins at 9 a.m.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Cape man charged in fatal stabbing of companion
By CONNOR HOLMES
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze 6/20/09
A man was arrested and charged in the stabbing death of his companion of four years in their south Cape apartment Friday morning.
Wayne J. Zaleski Jr., 24, has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of 29-year-old Miguel Vandi, Zaleski's companion and roommate.
The stabbing death occurred in unit 33 of Amherst Manor Apartments where the couple stayed, located at 4808 Atlantic Court, at about 3:05 a.m.
Police said Zaleski told 911 operators Vandi had been stabbed early Friday morning, but initially said he did not know the origin of Vandi's injuries.
Responding officers said they discovered Vandi's body in the master bedroom of the couple's apartment with a stab wound to the side of his body and covered with blood.
Zaleski later admitted to stabbing Vandi during an argument, police said.
Zaleski reportedly said he and Vandi had been drinking at several bars the prior evening, at which point the victim became jealous and went home.
When both men had returned home, Vandi brandished a knife during an argument, at which point Zaleski grabbed the knife and stabbed Vandi, according to police statements.
Vandi's death marks the third murder in Cape Coral in 2009.
"There's always arguing over there at night," said Linda Hines, who has lived across the street from the complex for three years.
Hines said she didn't know any of the residents, but that there were many late-night arguments on the open stairwells of the complex.
Hines said she wasn't surprised at what had happened, as the apartment complex had seen a visit from the SWAT Team in 2008.
Due to the blighted nature of the area in which Vandi was murdered, Officer Gerry Moll said the Cape Coral Police Department has been working closely with the community to make the area more livable. It's something they call the "Weed and Seed" program.
Moll said the department has applied for a federal grant for the program, and already works with community groups, churches and the CRA in their efforts to clean up the area and deter crime.
"There's a lot of proactive community policing," he said. "The area needed care, and it still needs care."
Moll called Vandi's death "very disappointing and discouraging."
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze 6/20/09
A man was arrested and charged in the stabbing death of his companion of four years in their south Cape apartment Friday morning.
Wayne J. Zaleski Jr., 24, has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of 29-year-old Miguel Vandi, Zaleski's companion and roommate.
The stabbing death occurred in unit 33 of Amherst Manor Apartments where the couple stayed, located at 4808 Atlantic Court, at about 3:05 a.m.
Police said Zaleski told 911 operators Vandi had been stabbed early Friday morning, but initially said he did not know the origin of Vandi's injuries.
Responding officers said they discovered Vandi's body in the master bedroom of the couple's apartment with a stab wound to the side of his body and covered with blood.
Zaleski later admitted to stabbing Vandi during an argument, police said.
Zaleski reportedly said he and Vandi had been drinking at several bars the prior evening, at which point the victim became jealous and went home.
When both men had returned home, Vandi brandished a knife during an argument, at which point Zaleski grabbed the knife and stabbed Vandi, according to police statements.
Vandi's death marks the third murder in Cape Coral in 2009.
"There's always arguing over there at night," said Linda Hines, who has lived across the street from the complex for three years.
Hines said she didn't know any of the residents, but that there were many late-night arguments on the open stairwells of the complex.
Hines said she wasn't surprised at what had happened, as the apartment complex had seen a visit from the SWAT Team in 2008.
Due to the blighted nature of the area in which Vandi was murdered, Officer Gerry Moll said the Cape Coral Police Department has been working closely with the community to make the area more livable. It's something they call the "Weed and Seed" program.
Moll said the department has applied for a federal grant for the program, and already works with community groups, churches and the CRA in their efforts to clean up the area and deter crime.
"There's a lot of proactive community policing," he said. "The area needed care, and it still needs care."
Moll called Vandi's death "very disappointing and discouraging."
Teen will be tried as adult in mother’s killing
By CONNOR HOLMES
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze 6/20/09
A Cape Coral teen accused in the stabbing death of his mother earlier this month will be charged as an adult, according to state prosecutors.
David Joel Hankins, 15, faces life in prison if convicted of the 2nd degree murder of his mother, 40-year-old Myra Rodriguez.
The state has direct filed the charge against Hankins as an adult, State Attorney's Office spokesperson Samantha Syoen said Friday evening.
Hankins is currently in juvenile detention awaiting his next court date, Syoen said.
Police accused Hankins of stabbing Rodriguez with a kitchen knife, stealing her car and leading officers on a foot and vehicle pursuit that ended with a crash at a local business on Viscaya Parkway June 3, according to reports.
He also faces charges of operating a motor vehicle without a valid license and four counts of leaving the scene of a crash involving property damage, according to court records.
Hankins will be arraigned on those charges Monday afternoon in a Lee County courtroom, records indicate.
It is unclear at this time whether or not Hankins will be arraigned on the charge of 2nd degree murder during the Monday hearing.
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze 6/20/09
A Cape Coral teen accused in the stabbing death of his mother earlier this month will be charged as an adult, according to state prosecutors.
David Joel Hankins, 15, faces life in prison if convicted of the 2nd degree murder of his mother, 40-year-old Myra Rodriguez.
The state has direct filed the charge against Hankins as an adult, State Attorney's Office spokesperson Samantha Syoen said Friday evening.
Hankins is currently in juvenile detention awaiting his next court date, Syoen said.
Police accused Hankins of stabbing Rodriguez with a kitchen knife, stealing her car and leading officers on a foot and vehicle pursuit that ended with a crash at a local business on Viscaya Parkway June 3, according to reports.
He also faces charges of operating a motor vehicle without a valid license and four counts of leaving the scene of a crash involving property damage, according to court records.
Hankins will be arraigned on those charges Monday afternoon in a Lee County courtroom, records indicate.
It is unclear at this time whether or not Hankins will be arraigned on the charge of 2nd degree murder during the Monday hearing.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Teen accused in murder has prior arrest record; Battery, aggravated assault on list
By CONNOR HOLMES
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze and the Naples Daily News 6/5/09
In the wake of being accused in the stabbing death of his mother, 15-year-old David Joel Hankins will spend the next 21 days in juvenile detention as state prosecutors decide how to proceed against him.
Police charged Hankins with second-degree homicide after he allegedly stabbed 40-year-old Myra Rodriguez with a kitchen knife, stole her car, visited friends and returned to the home where she had been killed before leading police on a car chase that ended with a crash at a business on Viscaya Parkway.
Hankins' grandfather called 911 at about 9:14 a.m. Wednesday after he discovered Rodriguez's body in the master bedroom closet of her home, located at 1031 S.E. Eighth Terrace, Apt. 2G, a police report states.
Hankins was at the residence with two friends when his grandfather arrived, then fled in Rodriguez's 2002 Mazda when confronted, the grandfather reportedly told police.
Police believe the homicide happened at about 7:37 a.m., when a resident in a neighboring unit reportedly heard Rodriguez screaming, "Don't do that! Don't do that! I'm going to call police!" and repeating "Oh my God!" followed by silence.
Hankins had several encounters with the local juvenile justice system over the past several years, beginning February 2007 for aggravated assault and battery. In the incident, family members sought alternatives to the Department of Juvenile Justice's recommendation for a Family Teen Violence program.
He was arrested for possession of marijuana and paraphernalia in November 2007, and completed Juvenile Arbitration through January 2008.
A juvenile petition was filed against Hankins a year later for battery, and in February for grand theft auto and trespassing to a conveyance. Another petition for grand theft auto was filed in March against Hankins.
He was sentenced to probation in May for battery and one of the grand theft auto petitions as part of a plea agreement. The other charges were dropped.
Hankins visited friends after the stabbing, revealing to them that he had killed his mother after a confrontation over a liquor bottle discovered in his room, according to police statements.
Hankins reportedly shared disturbing details with the friends, including that she had made "grunting" noises after being stabbed in the chest.
Seeming to realize the severity of what he had done, Hankins reportedly told the friends that he was "going away for a long time," offering them his possessions and even contemplating suicide.
Police detained Hankins after he crashed his mother's car and led officers on a brief foot chase.
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze and the Naples Daily News 6/5/09
In the wake of being accused in the stabbing death of his mother, 15-year-old David Joel Hankins will spend the next 21 days in juvenile detention as state prosecutors decide how to proceed against him.
Police charged Hankins with second-degree homicide after he allegedly stabbed 40-year-old Myra Rodriguez with a kitchen knife, stole her car, visited friends and returned to the home where she had been killed before leading police on a car chase that ended with a crash at a business on Viscaya Parkway.
Hankins' grandfather called 911 at about 9:14 a.m. Wednesday after he discovered Rodriguez's body in the master bedroom closet of her home, located at 1031 S.E. Eighth Terrace, Apt. 2G, a police report states.
Hankins was at the residence with two friends when his grandfather arrived, then fled in Rodriguez's 2002 Mazda when confronted, the grandfather reportedly told police.
Police believe the homicide happened at about 7:37 a.m., when a resident in a neighboring unit reportedly heard Rodriguez screaming, "Don't do that! Don't do that! I'm going to call police!" and repeating "Oh my God!" followed by silence.
Hankins had several encounters with the local juvenile justice system over the past several years, beginning February 2007 for aggravated assault and battery. In the incident, family members sought alternatives to the Department of Juvenile Justice's recommendation for a Family Teen Violence program.
He was arrested for possession of marijuana and paraphernalia in November 2007, and completed Juvenile Arbitration through January 2008.
A juvenile petition was filed against Hankins a year later for battery, and in February for grand theft auto and trespassing to a conveyance. Another petition for grand theft auto was filed in March against Hankins.
He was sentenced to probation in May for battery and one of the grand theft auto petitions as part of a plea agreement. The other charges were dropped.
Hankins visited friends after the stabbing, revealing to them that he had killed his mother after a confrontation over a liquor bottle discovered in his room, according to police statements.
Hankins reportedly shared disturbing details with the friends, including that she had made "grunting" noises after being stabbed in the chest.
Seeming to realize the severity of what he had done, Hankins reportedly told the friends that he was "going away for a long time," offering them his possessions and even contemplating suicide.
Police detained Hankins after he crashed his mother's car and led officers on a brief foot chase.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Cape teen accused of stabbing, killing his mother; Police: Visited friends after murder
By CONNOR HOLMES
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze and the Naples Daily News 6/4/09
A 15-year-old boy was arrested Wednesday after he stabbed his mother to death, fled in her car and then crashed into several vehicles parked outside a metal work shop on Viscaya Parkway, officials said.
David Joel Hankins has been charged with second-degree homicide in the death of Mayra R. Rodriguez, 40.
Hankins was arrested Wednesday morning following a brief pursuit by police officers, which ended when Hankins lost control of his vehicle at Country Club Boulevard and Viscaya Parkway.
Cape police received a 911 call from a relative at 9:14 a.m. reporting that Rodriguez had been stabbed at her home at 1031 S.E. Eighth Terrace. An investigation by detectives found that Hankins stabbed his mother after an alleged altercation at their home, officials said.
Hankins fled the scene in his mother's car, visited friends and returned to the home. He fled a second time when the relative came to the house and discovered the body, according to police.
Hankins was taken into custody a short time later following a targeted be-on-the-lookout effort by local law enforcement. Aerial surveillance spotted Hankins' vehicle along Viscaya Parkway and a brief chase ensued. He was taken into custody and taken to the Cape Coral Police Station.
Barry Crumpler, owner of Gulf Coast Metal Works Inc. at 1228 Viscaya Parkway, said he had stepped out of the path of a black four-door vehicle less than a minute before it plowed into his work truck and several other parked vehicles.
"They hit that truck and then proceeded to hit three more cars in the parking lot, and spun out," he said. "I had just walked into the front door, through the office, and back towards the bay door that faces towards Viscaya. That's when I heard the noise ... it was just a real loud noise, squealing tires and smoke."
Crumpler said he and fellow employees watched as pursuing police arrived with weapons drawn, then fled into the building and locked it for their safety.
Multiple police units, officers on foot, dogs and a helicopter had searched a neighborhood near Veteran's Memorial Parkway and Everest Parkway before the vehicle Hankins was reportedly driving was spotted.
One witness said he saw a man, who was sweating profusely, get into a black car matching the description of the vehicle that crashed at Gulf Coast Metal Works. The car earlier had been parked in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze parking lot, he said.
Daniel Armendariz and his father, Ignacio, said they saw a man with the same description attempting to break into their home on Everest, but the man fled after Ignacio confronted him. After being interviewed by police, Ignacio said, they were told the man they saw fit the description of a suspect in a homicide.
Prior, a man of the same description had wandered from Saint Andrew Catholic Church and asked to use the bathroom at Blayne's Auto and Air, according to manager Steve Skryd.
"He was sweating, huffing and puffing," he said. "When I asked him what he was doing, he said, 'I stole $20 from my brother and he's after me.'"
After using the restroom, the man hid in a 1956 Ford van in the parking lot, then walked northbound toward the Cape Coral Daily Breeze office, Skryd said.
He said the man wore glasses and was well dressed.
"He looked like he wouldn't hurt anybody," Skryd said.
Police have not confirmed the search in the neighborhood is related to the chase or the homicide.
This is the second homicide this year in Cape Coral.
Valarie Harring contributed to this article.
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze and the Naples Daily News 6/4/09
A 15-year-old boy was arrested Wednesday after he stabbed his mother to death, fled in her car and then crashed into several vehicles parked outside a metal work shop on Viscaya Parkway, officials said.
David Joel Hankins has been charged with second-degree homicide in the death of Mayra R. Rodriguez, 40.
Hankins was arrested Wednesday morning following a brief pursuit by police officers, which ended when Hankins lost control of his vehicle at Country Club Boulevard and Viscaya Parkway.
Cape police received a 911 call from a relative at 9:14 a.m. reporting that Rodriguez had been stabbed at her home at 1031 S.E. Eighth Terrace. An investigation by detectives found that Hankins stabbed his mother after an alleged altercation at their home, officials said.
Hankins fled the scene in his mother's car, visited friends and returned to the home. He fled a second time when the relative came to the house and discovered the body, according to police.
Hankins was taken into custody a short time later following a targeted be-on-the-lookout effort by local law enforcement. Aerial surveillance spotted Hankins' vehicle along Viscaya Parkway and a brief chase ensued. He was taken into custody and taken to the Cape Coral Police Station.
Barry Crumpler, owner of Gulf Coast Metal Works Inc. at 1228 Viscaya Parkway, said he had stepped out of the path of a black four-door vehicle less than a minute before it plowed into his work truck and several other parked vehicles.
"They hit that truck and then proceeded to hit three more cars in the parking lot, and spun out," he said. "I had just walked into the front door, through the office, and back towards the bay door that faces towards Viscaya. That's when I heard the noise ... it was just a real loud noise, squealing tires and smoke."
Crumpler said he and fellow employees watched as pursuing police arrived with weapons drawn, then fled into the building and locked it for their safety.
Multiple police units, officers on foot, dogs and a helicopter had searched a neighborhood near Veteran's Memorial Parkway and Everest Parkway before the vehicle Hankins was reportedly driving was spotted.
One witness said he saw a man, who was sweating profusely, get into a black car matching the description of the vehicle that crashed at Gulf Coast Metal Works. The car earlier had been parked in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze parking lot, he said.
Daniel Armendariz and his father, Ignacio, said they saw a man with the same description attempting to break into their home on Everest, but the man fled after Ignacio confronted him. After being interviewed by police, Ignacio said, they were told the man they saw fit the description of a suspect in a homicide.
Prior, a man of the same description had wandered from Saint Andrew Catholic Church and asked to use the bathroom at Blayne's Auto and Air, according to manager Steve Skryd.
"He was sweating, huffing and puffing," he said. "When I asked him what he was doing, he said, 'I stole $20 from my brother and he's after me.'"
After using the restroom, the man hid in a 1956 Ford van in the parking lot, then walked northbound toward the Cape Coral Daily Breeze office, Skryd said.
He said the man wore glasses and was well dressed.
"He looked like he wouldn't hurt anybody," Skryd said.
Police have not confirmed the search in the neighborhood is related to the chase or the homicide.
This is the second homicide this year in Cape Coral.
Valarie Harring contributed to this article.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Man to serve life for home invasion shooting death; Attorneys plan to appeal conviction
by CONNOR HOLMES
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze 4/21/09
One of five defendants in the 2005 home invasion shooting death of Jose Gomez was sentenced to life in prison Monday afternoon in a Lee County courtroom.
Anibal Morales, 22, was convicted of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder with a firearm and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon by a Lee County jury in early February.
Morales fatally shot Gomez through the heart during a robbery at 18060 Nalle Road, North Fort Myers, in November 2005, according to state prosecutors. Two others were shot, and another man was beaten with a tire iron.
Fort Myers police testified they later found the murder weapon in Morales' car during a traffic stop.
"We believe this case calls for the maximum sentence ... " Assistant State Attorney Andrew Marcus told Lee Circuit Judge Mark Steinbeck during Morales' sentencing hearing Monday, citing the use of firearms to kill Gomez and injure two others.
Steinbeck sentenced Morales to serve three mandatory life sentences and 15 years in prison consecutively for the charges of which he has been convicted.
Morales was the fourth suspect found guilty in Gomez's death.
Co-defendant Dave Gaphoor of Cape Coral was found guilty by a jury Thursday of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder with a firearm and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
He will be sentenced June 21 and faces a mandatory life prison sentence.
Miguel Pedraza is currently serving a life prison sentence in the incident.
He is in the process of appealing for a new trial, Marcus said Monday.
Christopher Neuberger was acquitted of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated battery in a February jury trial.
Elizabeth Reed, who was initially scheduled to be sentenced Monday, agreed to be a state's witness against Gaphoor and also in an unrelated first-degree capital case in exchange for 10 years in prison and 15 years probation.
Reed pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and attempted home invasion robbery. Her sentencing has been moved to July 27 due to Gaphoor's recent conviction, Pedraza's appeal and other factors pending Reed's cooperation with ongoing investigations.
Morales will appeal his conviction, defense attorneys told Steinbeck.
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze 4/21/09
One of five defendants in the 2005 home invasion shooting death of Jose Gomez was sentenced to life in prison Monday afternoon in a Lee County courtroom.
Anibal Morales, 22, was convicted of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder with a firearm and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon by a Lee County jury in early February.
Morales fatally shot Gomez through the heart during a robbery at 18060 Nalle Road, North Fort Myers, in November 2005, according to state prosecutors. Two others were shot, and another man was beaten with a tire iron.
Fort Myers police testified they later found the murder weapon in Morales' car during a traffic stop.
"We believe this case calls for the maximum sentence ... " Assistant State Attorney Andrew Marcus told Lee Circuit Judge Mark Steinbeck during Morales' sentencing hearing Monday, citing the use of firearms to kill Gomez and injure two others.
Steinbeck sentenced Morales to serve three mandatory life sentences and 15 years in prison consecutively for the charges of which he has been convicted.
Morales was the fourth suspect found guilty in Gomez's death.
Co-defendant Dave Gaphoor of Cape Coral was found guilty by a jury Thursday of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder with a firearm and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
He will be sentenced June 21 and faces a mandatory life prison sentence.
Miguel Pedraza is currently serving a life prison sentence in the incident.
He is in the process of appealing for a new trial, Marcus said Monday.
Christopher Neuberger was acquitted of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated battery in a February jury trial.
Elizabeth Reed, who was initially scheduled to be sentenced Monday, agreed to be a state's witness against Gaphoor and also in an unrelated first-degree capital case in exchange for 10 years in prison and 15 years probation.
Reed pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and attempted home invasion robbery. Her sentencing has been moved to July 27 due to Gaphoor's recent conviction, Pedraza's appeal and other factors pending Reed's cooperation with ongoing investigations.
Morales will appeal his conviction, defense attorneys told Steinbeck.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Cape man guilty on all counts in ’05 shooting death; Jurors deliberate for nearly 4 hours
by CONNOR HOLMES
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze 4/17/09
Dave Gaphoor embraced his mother, removed his coat and let the bailiff take his fingerprints after a 12-person Lee County jury found him guilty Thursday of first-degree felony murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder with a firearm and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
Gaphoor has been convicted as a principle in the 2005 shooting death of Jose Gomez, 25, which occurred during an armed robbery in which Gaphoor took part.
Several others were injured, including Rigoberto Vasquez, who state attorneys argued was shot in the stomach by Gaphoor, and later in the arm by co-defendant Anibal Morales; Jose Reyes-Garcia, who was shot in the arm by Morales; and Salatiel Vasquez, who was beaten with a tire iron.
The jury returned from approximately three hours and 45 minutes of deliberations at 8 p.m. with the verdict finding Gaphoor guilty on all counts.
At the tail end of a three-day trial and years of preparation by state and defense attorneys, Assistant State Attorney Andrew Marcus said he believed the jury made the right decision.
"I'm very pleased with the verdict," he said Thursday. "This is a tough case. It was very emotional for the jurors, but I think it was the right decision given the evidence and the facts of the case."
Defense council declined to comment, though assistant public defenders Kathleen Fitzgeorge and Connie Kelly were visibly upset after the reading of the verdict, attempting to comfort family members and friends of Gaphoor.
Tracy Barrett, whose twin sister Stacy Francis is the mother of Gaphoor's young son, said she does not believe Gaphoor is capable of the violent acts depicted by witnesses and the state during the trial.
"I feel like it was the wrong verdict," she said, citing a lack of physical evidence placing Gaphoor at the scene of the robbery. "They couldn't even put him at the crime scene at all. The Lee County Sheriff's department did not do a good job in processing evidence. I really do feel like he was framed."
Due to a lack of what Marcus called "scientific evidence" linking Gaphoor directly to the robbery, jurors were asked to cautiously regard the testimony of co-defendant Elizabeth Reed, who placed Gaphoor at the crime scene, along with that of eyewitness Eduardo Pardo-Martinez and other evidence presented during trial.
"There is no DNA evidence or fingerprint evidence connecting anyone to this crime," he said during his closing arguments. "Does that mean no one did it? Of course not. You cannot turn a blind eye on the facts of this case."
Kelly argued the description Pardo-Martinez gave to detectives better fit co-defendant Miguel Pedraza, who is serving a life prison sentence in Gomez's slaying.
Additionally, she argued, Reed is untrustworthy because she cut a deal with state prosecutors for 10 years in prison and 15 years probation in exchange for a guilty plea and her testimony.
"Elizabeth Reed ... is a liar, but she is not an idiot," Kelly said. "She knew exactly what she had to say, how she had to spin it, when she needed to embellish ... to ensure she kept her deal. The state and law enforcement officers utterly failed in their duty to prove this case beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt."
Though jurors disagreed with Kelly as to the state being unable to prove its case, Barrett and Francis said they think Reed's testimony cannot be trusted.
"She would say whatever it is they wanted her to say to get her plea deal," Francis said.
She added that she is upset Gaphoor can no longer be there for his son and other children.
"He has a 2-year-old son he's never met until yesterday," Francis said. "(Gaphoor's children) had to hear this awful thing, that their father is gone for life."
Gaphoor was the last of five defendants in the case to stand trial.
In February, Morales was convicted of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated battery. The state dropped an attempted home invasion robbery charge against him.
Morales is scheduled to be sentenced Monday along with Reed.
Christopher Neuberger was acquitted of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated battery in a February jury trial.
Gaphoor will be sentenced June 21 before Lee Circuit Judge Mark Steinbeck. He faces life in prison.
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze 4/17/09
Dave Gaphoor embraced his mother, removed his coat and let the bailiff take his fingerprints after a 12-person Lee County jury found him guilty Thursday of first-degree felony murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder with a firearm and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
Gaphoor has been convicted as a principle in the 2005 shooting death of Jose Gomez, 25, which occurred during an armed robbery in which Gaphoor took part.
Several others were injured, including Rigoberto Vasquez, who state attorneys argued was shot in the stomach by Gaphoor, and later in the arm by co-defendant Anibal Morales; Jose Reyes-Garcia, who was shot in the arm by Morales; and Salatiel Vasquez, who was beaten with a tire iron.
The jury returned from approximately three hours and 45 minutes of deliberations at 8 p.m. with the verdict finding Gaphoor guilty on all counts.
At the tail end of a three-day trial and years of preparation by state and defense attorneys, Assistant State Attorney Andrew Marcus said he believed the jury made the right decision.
"I'm very pleased with the verdict," he said Thursday. "This is a tough case. It was very emotional for the jurors, but I think it was the right decision given the evidence and the facts of the case."
Defense council declined to comment, though assistant public defenders Kathleen Fitzgeorge and Connie Kelly were visibly upset after the reading of the verdict, attempting to comfort family members and friends of Gaphoor.
Tracy Barrett, whose twin sister Stacy Francis is the mother of Gaphoor's young son, said she does not believe Gaphoor is capable of the violent acts depicted by witnesses and the state during the trial.
"I feel like it was the wrong verdict," she said, citing a lack of physical evidence placing Gaphoor at the scene of the robbery. "They couldn't even put him at the crime scene at all. The Lee County Sheriff's department did not do a good job in processing evidence. I really do feel like he was framed."
Due to a lack of what Marcus called "scientific evidence" linking Gaphoor directly to the robbery, jurors were asked to cautiously regard the testimony of co-defendant Elizabeth Reed, who placed Gaphoor at the crime scene, along with that of eyewitness Eduardo Pardo-Martinez and other evidence presented during trial.
"There is no DNA evidence or fingerprint evidence connecting anyone to this crime," he said during his closing arguments. "Does that mean no one did it? Of course not. You cannot turn a blind eye on the facts of this case."
Kelly argued the description Pardo-Martinez gave to detectives better fit co-defendant Miguel Pedraza, who is serving a life prison sentence in Gomez's slaying.
Additionally, she argued, Reed is untrustworthy because she cut a deal with state prosecutors for 10 years in prison and 15 years probation in exchange for a guilty plea and her testimony.
"Elizabeth Reed ... is a liar, but she is not an idiot," Kelly said. "She knew exactly what she had to say, how she had to spin it, when she needed to embellish ... to ensure she kept her deal. The state and law enforcement officers utterly failed in their duty to prove this case beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt."
Though jurors disagreed with Kelly as to the state being unable to prove its case, Barrett and Francis said they think Reed's testimony cannot be trusted.
"She would say whatever it is they wanted her to say to get her plea deal," Francis said.
She added that she is upset Gaphoor can no longer be there for his son and other children.
"He has a 2-year-old son he's never met until yesterday," Francis said. "(Gaphoor's children) had to hear this awful thing, that their father is gone for life."
Gaphoor was the last of five defendants in the case to stand trial.
In February, Morales was convicted of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated battery. The state dropped an attempted home invasion robbery charge against him.
Morales is scheduled to be sentenced Monday along with Reed.
Christopher Neuberger was acquitted of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated battery in a February jury trial.
Gaphoor will be sentenced June 21 before Lee Circuit Judge Mark Steinbeck. He faces life in prison.
Co-defendant in ’05 home invasion shooting testifies; Cape man facing life if found guilty
by CONNOR HOLMES
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze 4/16/09
Dave Gaphoor, Anibal Morales, Christopher Neuberger, Miguel Pedraza and Elizabeth Reed spent the evening of Nov. 23, 2005, driving around in a Ford Expedition, sniffing cocaine, smoking marijuana and scouring Lee County for a group of Hispanics to rob at gunpoint.
That is the picture Reed painted Wednesday as she took the stand against Gaphoor in day two of his trial in the slaying of 25-year-old Jose Gomez.
Gaphoor faces a life prison sentence if convicted of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder, one count of aggravated battery and one count of attempted home invasion robbery.
He is accused in a break-in at 18060 Nalle Road, North Fort Myers, that led to Gomez being shot through the heart and several others injured.
When Reed was arrested in January 2006, she faced the same charges Gaphoor is facing.
However, Reed agreed to testify as a state's witness not only against Gaphoor, but also in an unrelated case, in exchange for a lighter prison sentence - taking the death penalty or life sentence off the table.
Reed now faces 10 years in prison and 15 years on state probation for second-degree murder and home invasion robbery. She will be sentenced Monday.
Initial statements Reed made to Lee County Sheriff's detectives indicated Pedraza was not involved in the robbery.
She later admitted Pedraza suggested a robbery of the Nalle Road home because his uncle, Rafael Tinoco, housed 17 Hispanic construction workers there, testimony revealed.
"As long as you testify to what (state attorneys) expect, you feel you've upheld your part of the bargain," Kathleen Fitzgeorge, Gaphoor's defense attorney, told Reed.
Fitzgeorge asked if Reed changed her statement at the whims of the State Attorney's Office, "because you believed it was in your best interest."
Yes, Reed said, it was in her best interest to testify, but her testimony was truthful whereas her statements to detectives were meant to protect Pedraza.
Reed testified that she, Gaphoor, Morales, Neuberger and Pedraza drove to the home close to midnight and parked in a driveway across the street. Gaphoor, Morales and Neuberger committed the robbery, while she and Pedraza waited in the car.
That is when Reed heard gunfire, she said.
"I lost count after ten (shots)," Reed said.
When Gaphoor, Morales and Neuberger returned to the car they called the robbery a "waste of time" and the five left the crime scene, she testified.
But what was left behind for detectives to find was the body of Gomez, shot through the heart, foot and ankle, along with several injured and scared construction workers and a house riddled with bullet holes and spent ammo, detectives testified.
Medical examiner Robert Phalzgraf testified that an autopsy revealed the shot through Gomez's heart, which traveled through his diaphragm and liver before exiting from his lower back, killed him.
"It's my opinion that (Gomez) died of a gunshot wound to the chest with a perforation to the heart," he said.
Morales was convicted of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated battery in February. The state dropped an attempted home invasion robbery charge against him.
Morales also is scheduled to be sentenced Monday.
Neuberger was acquitted of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated battery in a February jury trial.
Pedraza was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Gaphoor's trial resumes today at 9:30 a.m.
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze 4/16/09
Dave Gaphoor, Anibal Morales, Christopher Neuberger, Miguel Pedraza and Elizabeth Reed spent the evening of Nov. 23, 2005, driving around in a Ford Expedition, sniffing cocaine, smoking marijuana and scouring Lee County for a group of Hispanics to rob at gunpoint.
That is the picture Reed painted Wednesday as she took the stand against Gaphoor in day two of his trial in the slaying of 25-year-old Jose Gomez.
Gaphoor faces a life prison sentence if convicted of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder, one count of aggravated battery and one count of attempted home invasion robbery.
He is accused in a break-in at 18060 Nalle Road, North Fort Myers, that led to Gomez being shot through the heart and several others injured.
When Reed was arrested in January 2006, she faced the same charges Gaphoor is facing.
However, Reed agreed to testify as a state's witness not only against Gaphoor, but also in an unrelated case, in exchange for a lighter prison sentence - taking the death penalty or life sentence off the table.
Reed now faces 10 years in prison and 15 years on state probation for second-degree murder and home invasion robbery. She will be sentenced Monday.
Initial statements Reed made to Lee County Sheriff's detectives indicated Pedraza was not involved in the robbery.
She later admitted Pedraza suggested a robbery of the Nalle Road home because his uncle, Rafael Tinoco, housed 17 Hispanic construction workers there, testimony revealed.
"As long as you testify to what (state attorneys) expect, you feel you've upheld your part of the bargain," Kathleen Fitzgeorge, Gaphoor's defense attorney, told Reed.
Fitzgeorge asked if Reed changed her statement at the whims of the State Attorney's Office, "because you believed it was in your best interest."
Yes, Reed said, it was in her best interest to testify, but her testimony was truthful whereas her statements to detectives were meant to protect Pedraza.
Reed testified that she, Gaphoor, Morales, Neuberger and Pedraza drove to the home close to midnight and parked in a driveway across the street. Gaphoor, Morales and Neuberger committed the robbery, while she and Pedraza waited in the car.
That is when Reed heard gunfire, she said.
"I lost count after ten (shots)," Reed said.
When Gaphoor, Morales and Neuberger returned to the car they called the robbery a "waste of time" and the five left the crime scene, she testified.
But what was left behind for detectives to find was the body of Gomez, shot through the heart, foot and ankle, along with several injured and scared construction workers and a house riddled with bullet holes and spent ammo, detectives testified.
Medical examiner Robert Phalzgraf testified that an autopsy revealed the shot through Gomez's heart, which traveled through his diaphragm and liver before exiting from his lower back, killed him.
"It's my opinion that (Gomez) died of a gunshot wound to the chest with a perforation to the heart," he said.
Morales was convicted of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated battery in February. The state dropped an attempted home invasion robbery charge against him.
Morales also is scheduled to be sentenced Monday.
Neuberger was acquitted of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated battery in a February jury trial.
Pedraza was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Gaphoor's trial resumes today at 9:30 a.m.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Trial opens for last defendant in 2005 homicide; Five charged for home invasion
by CONNOR HOLMES
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze 4/15/09
A Cape Coral man is the last of five defendants accused in a 2005 North Fort Myers murder to face trial.
Dave Gaphoor, 26, of 3003 S.W. Santa Barbara Lane, began trial before a 14-person Lee County jury Tuesday.
Gaphoor is charged with first-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder, one count of aggravated battery and one count of attempted home invasion robbery in a Thanksgiving Day break-in that left Jose Gomez, 25, shot to death and others injured.
Gaphoor faces a possible life sentence if convicted.
The home invasion and slaying happened at 18060 Nalle Road, where approximately 11 to 16 employees of Fort Myers construction company Carpentry Houses stayed while they worked on various projects, testified the home's owner and owner of Carpentry Houses, Rafael Tinoco, Tuesday.
Gomez was one of several workers staying at the home when Gaphoor allegedly entered the home with a revolver, along with two co-defendants also alleged to have been armed with weapons.
Anibal Morales, Christopher Neuberger, Elizabeth Reed and Miguel Pedraza were also charged in Gomez's death.
Morales was convicted of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated battery in February. The state dropped an attempted home invasion robbery charge against him.
Morales is scheduled to be sentenced April 20.
Neuberger was acquitted of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated battery in a February jury trial.
Pedraza was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
As part of a plea agreement, Reed pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and attempted home invasion robbery in March.
She will be sentenced April 20.
Several occupants who were in the home the night Gomez was killed testified Monday that they and their co-workers were battered, robbed at gunpoint and shot at.
Gaphoor's trial resumes today at 9 a.m.
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze 4/15/09
A Cape Coral man is the last of five defendants accused in a 2005 North Fort Myers murder to face trial.
Dave Gaphoor, 26, of 3003 S.W. Santa Barbara Lane, began trial before a 14-person Lee County jury Tuesday.
Gaphoor is charged with first-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder, one count of aggravated battery and one count of attempted home invasion robbery in a Thanksgiving Day break-in that left Jose Gomez, 25, shot to death and others injured.
Gaphoor faces a possible life sentence if convicted.
The home invasion and slaying happened at 18060 Nalle Road, where approximately 11 to 16 employees of Fort Myers construction company Carpentry Houses stayed while they worked on various projects, testified the home's owner and owner of Carpentry Houses, Rafael Tinoco, Tuesday.
Gomez was one of several workers staying at the home when Gaphoor allegedly entered the home with a revolver, along with two co-defendants also alleged to have been armed with weapons.
Anibal Morales, Christopher Neuberger, Elizabeth Reed and Miguel Pedraza were also charged in Gomez's death.
Morales was convicted of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated battery in February. The state dropped an attempted home invasion robbery charge against him.
Morales is scheduled to be sentenced April 20.
Neuberger was acquitted of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated battery in a February jury trial.
Pedraza was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
As part of a plea agreement, Reed pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and attempted home invasion robbery in March.
She will be sentenced April 20.
Several occupants who were in the home the night Gomez was killed testified Monday that they and their co-workers were battered, robbed at gunpoint and shot at.
Gaphoor's trial resumes today at 9 a.m.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Report: Cape man strangled girlfriend during argument; She ‘wouldn’t shut ... up,’ he stated
by CONNOR HOLMES
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze 4/8/09
Matthew Gullett told a witness he strangled his live-in girlfriend and put her body in an adjoining apartment bathroom, according to an arrest report released Tuesday.
Gullett, 26, reportedly admitted to an individual, whose name was redacted from police documents, that he had strangled Shannon Sweet, 27, during an argument because she "just wouldn't shut the (expletive) up."
The couple may have been arguing about drugs and money, documents state.
Police discovered Sweet's body in an efficiency shower stall, covered with a blow-up mattress, at 4921 Coronado Parkway on March 30 after a neighbor reported a strong odor.
The Medical Examiner's Office has determined Sweet's death was caused by strangulation, officials said. She was found with a belt and pants wrapped around her neck.
From the condition of Sweet's body, police determined she had been dead for "more than a few days; more likely closer to a week," reports state.
An arrest warrant was issued for Gullett and he was detained by the Muskingum County sheriff's deputies at an Ohio hotel Friday after being injured by gunfire in the incident.
He faces second-degree murder charges when returned to Florida.
Police said Gullett stole Sweet's car, which he later wrecked in a DUI accident. During his treatment at Lee Memorial Hospital for injuries sustained in the crash, Gullett allegedly fled the hospital.
Gullett later stole and wrecked a truck belonging to his father, Glenn Gullett, according to an investigation by the Lee County Sheriff's Office.
He also had reportedly stolen a ".380 firearm and various electronics" from his father's home and left behind various papers and clothes.
The witness said Gullett told him about the killing on March 27, at which point Gullett reportedly already had possession of his father's truck.
The witness said he did not believe Gullett killed Sweet at the time because "Gullett had talked in the past about how Shannon drove him crazy and how he wanted to kill her, but (the witness) believed it was just the aggravation talking."
The witness detailed a weekend trip to Englewood, where Gullett dropped him off at a friend's home in his father's truck, and later returned to the home in a white Cadillac.
Police found Gullett at the Best Value Inn at 4925 E. Pike in Zanesville, Ohio, after deputies spotted the 1995 Cadillac El Dorado which was reported stolen.
"Based on the information gathered and obtained, it is believed that Matthew F. Gullett strangled and killed Shannon Sweet on Tuesday 3/24/09," Cape Coral detective Christy Jo Ellis wrote in a document warranting Gullett's arrest.
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze 4/8/09
Matthew Gullett told a witness he strangled his live-in girlfriend and put her body in an adjoining apartment bathroom, according to an arrest report released Tuesday.
Gullett, 26, reportedly admitted to an individual, whose name was redacted from police documents, that he had strangled Shannon Sweet, 27, during an argument because she "just wouldn't shut the (expletive) up."
The couple may have been arguing about drugs and money, documents state.
Police discovered Sweet's body in an efficiency shower stall, covered with a blow-up mattress, at 4921 Coronado Parkway on March 30 after a neighbor reported a strong odor.
The Medical Examiner's Office has determined Sweet's death was caused by strangulation, officials said. She was found with a belt and pants wrapped around her neck.
From the condition of Sweet's body, police determined she had been dead for "more than a few days; more likely closer to a week," reports state.
An arrest warrant was issued for Gullett and he was detained by the Muskingum County sheriff's deputies at an Ohio hotel Friday after being injured by gunfire in the incident.
He faces second-degree murder charges when returned to Florida.
Police said Gullett stole Sweet's car, which he later wrecked in a DUI accident. During his treatment at Lee Memorial Hospital for injuries sustained in the crash, Gullett allegedly fled the hospital.
Gullett later stole and wrecked a truck belonging to his father, Glenn Gullett, according to an investigation by the Lee County Sheriff's Office.
He also had reportedly stolen a ".380 firearm and various electronics" from his father's home and left behind various papers and clothes.
The witness said Gullett told him about the killing on March 27, at which point Gullett reportedly already had possession of his father's truck.
The witness said he did not believe Gullett killed Sweet at the time because "Gullett had talked in the past about how Shannon drove him crazy and how he wanted to kill her, but (the witness) believed it was just the aggravation talking."
The witness detailed a weekend trip to Englewood, where Gullett dropped him off at a friend's home in his father's truck, and later returned to the home in a white Cadillac.
Police found Gullett at the Best Value Inn at 4925 E. Pike in Zanesville, Ohio, after deputies spotted the 1995 Cadillac El Dorado which was reported stolen.
"Based on the information gathered and obtained, it is believed that Matthew F. Gullett strangled and killed Shannon Sweet on Tuesday 3/24/09," Cape Coral detective Christy Jo Ellis wrote in a document warranting Gullett's arrest.
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