SAO10 Blog Archives - Page 18 of 68 - State Attorney Office 10th Judicial Circuit

Man who attacked roommates with box cutter sentenced to 17 years

September 14, 2020/in SAO10 Blog /by john chambliss

A Winter Haven man, who stabbed two roommates with a box cutter in 2018, has been sentenced to 17 years in prison.

Justin Handshoe, 35, pleaded no contest to two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, which are second degree felonies.

Justin Handshoe

Handshoe attacked his roommates, a man and a woman, several days after he moved out of the apartment in May, 2018. Handshoe said he needed to move out because he lost his job. When he returned, the roommates thought he was picking up his belongings from the Winter Haven apartment.

For unknown reasons, Handshoe, upon entering the home, said, “Sorry, I got to do this,” and cut the man’s throat. When the woman jumped on Handshoe in an attempt to help the man, Handshoe stabbed her in the head before running from the home.

Both victims have fully recovered from their injuries.

Assistant State Attorney William Beaver prosecuted the case.

State Attorney Brian Haas thanks Assistant State Attorney Beaver and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office for their work on the case.

Lakeland Instagram stalker sentenced to prison

August 7, 2020/in SAO10 Blog /by john chambliss

Eric Cerruti

A 54-year-old Lakeland man who stalked a 19-year-old woman on Instagram for months has been sentenced to 3½-years in prison.

Eric Cerruti pleaded no contest to the charge of written threats to kill or do bodily harm, a second degree felony. In addition to the prison sentence, Circuit Judge Michael McDaniel sentenced Cerruti in July to six years of probation, which includes not having any devices with Internet capabilities and no contact with the victim.

Assistant State Attorney Tim Coleman prosecuted the case.

The stalking began in August, 2018 ,when Cerruti told the victim over Instagram that he saw her “around Lakeland a lot” and planned to “put a bullet” to her head. The victim told Polk Sheriff’s detectives that she thought the stalking had ended after she blocked the suspect.

In October, 2018, the victim again received threatening messages on Instagram from a different Instagram username. This time, Cerruti sent a picture of himself to her while he was holding a knife. Detectives tracked the suspect to his home in Lakeland where he told law enforcement he picked random people to troll on Instagram, and had made dozens of accounts because he continued to be blocked. He told law enforcement that he had a drinking problem, but “didn’t want to use that as an excuse,” according to an arrest report.

State Attorney Brian Haas thanks ASA Coleman and Polk Sheriff’s detectives for their work on the case.

Lake Wales man sentenced to 15 years for having child porn

July 28, 2020/in SAO10 Blog /by john chambliss

Johnny Emmons

A Lake Wales man was sentenced to 15 years in prison earlier this month after he pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography.

Johnny Emmons, 29, pleaded guilty to 10 counts of enhanced possession of child pornography, a second degree felony, and also admitted to violating his probation from a 2015 child porn case.

In January, 2019, the Sheriff’s Office received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that included images and videos from Emmons’ Tumblr account. The files showed young children having sex with adults and other children.

Detectives tracked Emmons to an apartment in Lake Wales where they searched the home and found a cell phone with images of child pornography.

Circuit Judge William Sites sentenced Emmons, who also was designated a sexual predator by Sites because this was his second qualifying sexual offense.

Assistant State Attorney Monica Smith prosecuted the case.

State Attorney Brian Haas thanks ASA Smith and Polk Sheriff’s detectives for their work on the case.

Longtime Assistant State Attorney appointed to Circuit bench

July 1, 2020/in SAO10 Blog /by john chambliss

State Attorney Brian Haas congratulates Assistant State Attorney Heather Beato on her appointment to the 10th Judicial Circuit bench. ASA Beato, a prosecutor in the Sebring office, has been with the State Attorney’s Office since graduating from the Florida State University College of Law in 2002.

Heather Beato

Archive for category: SAO10 Blog