A circuit judge sentenced a man to death today for the fatal stabbings of a mother and daughter in Haines City in 2015. Circuit Judge Jalal Harb upheld the unanimous death penalty recommendation for Michael Gordon by a jury from 2019, writing in a sentencing order that Gordon’s actions were “consistent with the conclusion that […]
A Frostproof man was convicted Wednesday of robbery. Wearing a mask over his face, Julio Aponte, 33, used a flare gun to rob two people in the La Botana restaurant food store in Lake Wales. Jurors took 30 minutes to convict Aponte of robbery with a weapon, attempted robbery with a weapon, and […]
A 45-year-old Haines City man was convicted today of breaking into an 81-year-old woman’s home and sexually assaulting her in 2017. Julio Alfredo Ruiz faces life in prison after jurors found him guilty of sexual battery and burglary with assault. Jurors deliberated for three hours. Circuit Judge Wayne Durden is scheduled to sentence Ruiz […]
A Lakeland man was recently sentenced to 30 years in prison for raping a woman at gunpoint in her Lakeland home in 2017. Circuit Judge Kevin Abdoney also designated Jerald Dixon, Jr., 27, a sexual predator and ordered him to serve 10 years of probation when he is released. Assistant State Attorney Jennifer Swenson read […]