A jury found a 55-year-old Haines City man guilty Wednesday of attempted second-degree murder for shooting a man in the stomach in 2019. William Gilbert will be sentenced by Judge Keith Spoto on April 3 for shooting the 51 year-old victim, who had been sitting outside with friends in Haines City. Gilbert suspected he […]
A Lakeland man who sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl in 2018 was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Wednesday. Jessie Thomas, 29, was also designated as a sexual predator. Assistant State Attorney Randall Daugustinis prosecuted the case. The sexual assault occurred in July 2018. Thomas was confronted about molesting the child during a recorded […]
A 35-year-old man was sentenced to two life sentences Thursday for raping a 14-year-old girl who became pregnant and later gave birth. Jason Elsea, of Lakeland, pleaded guilty in December. Before Elsea was sentenced, Assistant State Attorney Ashley McCarthy urged Circuit Judge William “Bill” Sites to sentence Elsea to life in prison. McCarthy explained […]
A Miami man was recently sentenced to life in prison for killing three Lakeland residents during a robbery inside a Lakeland home in 2016. Jamaal Smith, 29, became the second person sentenced in the brutal killing and robbery of Angelica Castro, Eneida Branch and David Washington. In 2019, Johnathan Alcegaire, 31, was sentenced to death […]