Johnathan Alcegaire stood still as Judge Jalal Harb handed down three death sentences for each of the lives he claimed.

Alcegaire was convicted on Sept. 27, 2018, of three counts of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, burglary of a dwelling with an assault or battery while armed with a firearm, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence, and armed robbery.

He was one of three men who traveled to Lakeland for a drug-related home-invasion robbery and murdered 24-year-old David Washington, 31-year-old Stacy Branch, and 23-year-old Angelica Castro.

The same jurors who convicted Alcegaire in September then recommended that he should be sentenced to death. Judge Harb imposed those three death sentences Friday morning, along with the maximum amount for Alcegaire’s additional convictions.

Alcegaire is the second defendant in the Tenth Circuit to be sentenced to death under the new death penalty law, which requires jurors to have a unanimous vote instead of majority.

Former Assistant State Attorney Hope Pattey and ASA Mark Levine prosecuted both the trial phase and penalty phase of this case. State Attorney Brian Haas said Friday that he is pleased with the outcome and that he is thankful for the hard work put in to the Alcegaire case by both Pattey and Levine.

Patrick Rayha was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday for the fatal shooting of Russell Jackson.

Patrick Rayha

After two hours of deliberation Monday, jurors convicted Rayha of first-degree murder, robbery with a firearm, and burglary of a dwelling while armed with a firearm.

Phone records show Rayha’s phone pinged in Dade City about 2:45 p.m. on Christmas Day. His phone then pinged off towers as he travelled to Lakeland.

Surveillance video at a business near Jackson’s home shows Rayha’s girlfriend, co-defendant Carla Bolin, exit the passenger side of his green Saturn. A few minutes later, she is shown exiting the store, getting in the driver’s seat, and pulling away.

More footage shows a tall, white male enter Jackson’s trailer on Christmas. The man leaves about a minute later.

Phone records placed Rayha’s phone right in the area of the murder at the time of the murder. By that evening, Rayha’s phone pinged in Dade City.

In addition to cell records and video surveillance, Johnson showed jurors photos from Rayha’s phone where he is holding a gun. A shell casing found in Jackson’s trailer matched the gun Rayha owned.

At trial, Rayha’s attorney claimed there was not enough evidence to convict him of first-degree murder. He tried to convince jurors that the cell phone could have been in anyone’s car – that the white male in the surveillance video could have been anyone.

While Rayha’s attorney claimed all of the evidence didn’t matter, Johnson told jurors the Defendant’s argument punctuated just how much evidence there was against Rayha.  

“All of it converges and falls together,” Johnson said, “It’s your phone, your car, your girlfriend, video catching a tall white male, a shell casing matching the gun found in his (Rayha’s) house.”

“It’s statistically impossible for it to be anyone else,” he said.