Lakeland man guilty of attempted murder, facing mandatory life

SENTENCING UPDATE: Bennett sentenced to life after being convicted of attempted murder

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When Derek Maude got into the car with Kaheem Bennett, he had no way of knowing he would be robbed, kidnapped, and paralyzed from a gunshot wound that severed his spinal cord.

On Jan. 25, 2015, Bennett and two others violently beat Maude before unlocking the doors of the car they had him trapped in. While Maude was running away, Bennett stepped out of the car and shot Maude in the back.

At the end of a trial prosecuted by Assistant State Attorney Bonde Johnson, a jury convicted Bennett Feb. 22 of attempted first-degree murder, robbery with a firearm, and armed kidnapping.

At his sentencing Thursday, Judge Sharon Franklin handed down a life sentence for each of the charges. She also sentenced Bennett to 15 years in prison for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, which will run concurrent to his life sentences.

Bennett was arrested by the Lakeland Police Department for Maude’s attempted murder in January of 2015.

Over the past three years, the numbers of Lakeland’s violent crimes and shootings have decreased by 32 percent. While Police Chief Larry Giddens said he believes Bennett’s arrest played a role in the reduction of violent crime, he cannot say how big or small that role was.

“Any time that we can take a violent criminal off the streets through the cooperative partnership between the State Attorney’s Office and The Lakeland Police Department, it makes all of the citizens of Lakeland safer,” Giddens said.

State Attorney Brian Haas said he’s grateful for the outcome of Bennett’s trial and sentencing.

“I appreciate the hard work of Assistant State Attorney Bonde Johnson and the thorough investigation of the Lakeland Police Department in sending Kaheem Bennet to prison for the rest of his life,” Haas said.

Haines City man sentenced to 25 years for execution-style robbery

SENTENCING UPDATE: Haines City man sentenced to 25 years for execution-style robbery

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Nicolas Vasquez held a gun to the back of Joshua Dibling’s head, threatening to kill him if he did not hand over money.

Nicolas Vasquez, 21, of Haines City.

Vasquez was convicted by a jury Oct. 25, 2017, of three counts of robbery with a deadly weapon and one count of burglary while armed with assault or battery. He was sentenced Tuesday to 25 years in prison by Judge Roddenbery.

Assistant State Attorney Amy Smith tried Vasquez’s case and walked the jurors through the events of Dec. 2, 2015.

About 10:15 a.m., Vasquez and his co-defendant Zachary Bitner went to Executive Insurance in Lake Alfred with handguns. Upon entering the building, the masked men drew their weapons and demanded money.

Bitner stayed in the front of the agency, pointing a gun at an employee and customer. Vasquez went back to the offices and pointed a gun at Dibling.

Vasquez threatened to kill the man if he did not hand over money.

While holding a gun to the back of Dibling’s head, Vasquez then walked him to the owner’s office and demanded more money. He told Dibling to get down on the ground, while still holding the gun to the back of his head.

Vazquez then took the money and ran out of the agency, followed by Bitner.

They stole about $1,000 from the victims and fled on foot into a wooded area. While fleeing, they removed the clothing they were wearing and hid it under a trailer.

Vasquez and Bitner then got into a white Toyota truck, which was driven by co-defendant Koree Warren.

A Polk County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Deputy tracked Vasquez and Bitner through the wooded area behind the agency but only located the discarded items of clothing.

Assistant State Attorney Amy Smith, right, and Vasquez’s defense attorney address Judge Roddenbery during the sentencing hearing Tuesday.

A witness saw a white Toyota leaving a neighborhood located North East of the Insurance Agency.  Later, a second witness saw the same white Toyota parked near his cousin’s residence.

When the witness attempted to make contact with the occupants, a Hispanic male, later identified as Vasquez, displayed an apparent semi-automatic firearm. The weapons were later found to be Airsoft guns.

Law enforcement located and completed a traffic stop on the truck the following day.

The description of the suspects in the Toyota matched the description of the suspects from the armed robbery. DNA testing confirmed the identity of both Vasquez and Bitner.

Prior to Vasquez’s sentencing, Warren – the getaway driver – testified against his co-defendant and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Bitner – the second gunman – was sentenced to life in prison.

Man convicted of DUI manslaughter, faces 30 years

JURY VERDICT: Man convicted of DUI manslaughter, faces 30 years

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James Marcelin had been partying all day when he made the decision to drive three of his friends to Haines City.

James Marcelin, 27.

While traveling at least 20 MPH over the speed limit, Marcelin veered off the roadway and crashed head-on into a tree. The collision killed 19-year-old Andrew Valdez and critically injured Jose Almanzar and James Richards.

After about an hour and 20 minutes of deliberation, a jury convicted 27-year-old Marcelin Thursday of DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide, two counts of DUI with serious bodily injury, two counts of reckless driving resulting in serious bodily injury, three counts of driving while license suspended or revoked, and one count each of grand theft of a motor vehicle and burglary of a conveyance.

Marcelin is facing a maximum of 30 years in prison for the DUI manslaughter. His sentencing has not yet been scheduled.

Assistant State Attorney Amy Smith walked jurors through the events of that led up to the fatal crash on April 26, 2015.

Eleven days prior to the incident, Marcelin stole a 2007 Mazda minivan from Orlando. Marcelin drove the van to a party in Winter Haven at about 4 p.m. on April, 26, where he and the victims drank alcohol, smoked marijuana and did drugs.

They went to a second party in Orlando, where they continued to drink and smoke. When they ran out of marijuana, Marcelin got behind the wheel of the van and attempted to drive Valdez, Almanzar, and Richards to another party in Haines City.

About 11:15 p.m., Marcelin was driving on Lake Marion Creek Road in Haines City, which has multiple 90 degree turns. As he came out of a turn, Marcelin drifted off the road way and lost control, braking for 88 feet before colliding with the tree at 65 MPH.

Valdez was thrown from the front passenger seat and into the windshield, where he was entrapped. He lost consciousness and never regained it.

Valdez died on May 14, 2015.

Almanzar had a broken spine and a brain bleed. Richards had a cracked skull, which required 22 staples.

Both men were unconscious after the collision.

Marcelin had his right leg broken in two spots and a broken left arm, broken pelvis, sternum, and ribs. Multiple witnesses saw him in the driver’s seat and said he was the only occupant still conscious.

While witnesses called 911, Marcelin pulled himself out of the vehicle and to the ground, where he stayed until paramedics and law enforcement arrived.

In court, Marcelin took the stand and admitted he drank alcohol and did drugs before getting in the minivan. He said he could not remember if he was the one who drove it.

Assistant State Attorney Amy Smith addresses jurors during closing arguments Thursday. Marcelin was found guilty as charged and faces 30 years in prison.

The defense claimed that Almanzar was the driver and that Marcelin’s injuries were consistent with being in the passenger seat, arguing that Almanzar got away with homicide.

But Smith reminded jurors that witnesses on scene testified that the driver of the minivan clearly had a broken arm and broken leg – he also pulled himself out of the seat he was trapped in. None of the other victims had those injuries, and all but Marcelin were unconscious.

She said the argument that Almanzar got away with homicide is not supported by any of the facts in this case.

“Just because an attorney says it doesn’t make it so,” Smith said in her closing arguments. “It has to be supported by the evidence.”

She added that Almanzar could not have been the driver because he has hundreds of pages of medical records that say he had a broken spine, was in a coma, and was unable to speak from the moment of impact.

“The defense is asking you to disregard all of the evidence and somehow believe these men got switched. To speculate that Almanzar was the driver is not a part of this case. It is not supported by the facts,” Smith said.

“This is not complicated. All of the testimony is consistent,” she said. “When you step back and apply some common sense, it’s very clear there’s not some crazy oddity or mix-up. It’s that the defendant is guilty.”

Auburndale man found guilty in fatal hit-and-run, faces 60 years in prison

JURY VERDICT: Auburndale man found guilty in fatal hit-and-run, faces 60 years in prison

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Paul Marx consumed numerous alcoholic drinks and drifted off the roadway while driving home, striking and instantly killing a pedestrian.

Paul Marx, 45, of Auburndale.

After three hours of deliberation, Marx, 45, was convicted Friday of vehicular homicide with failure to render aid and leaving the scene of a crash involving death. He is facing up to 60 years in prison.

Marx will be sentenced May 3.

Assistant State Attorneys Mattie Tondreault and Courtney Durden tried the case and took jurors back to the night of Sept. 27, 2014, when 52-year-old John Haney was killed.

Marx started drinking at about 4 p.m. that day with his neighbor, consuming drinks with double shots of alcohol. He took his neighbor home about two hours later and went back out to drink, visiting at least three different establishments, until he left the XYZ Lounge about 11:15 p.m.

Haney walked up to the Circle K on U.S. 92 and was headed back home. He was walking in the grassy area on the eastbound side of the road, which is about three feet from where the pavement ends.

Marx was travelling about 55 miles per hour down U.S. 92 in his 2004 Ford F-150 when he veered off the roadway. He drove on the side of the road for 224 feet, and he struck Haney with the front right section of his truck.

Haney’s back hit the hood of Marx’s truck before his body was thrown 141 feet from the point of impact. Marx continued driving on the side of the roadway for over 150 feet before he re-entered it.

There were clear tire tracks left at the scene, which showed that Marx did not swerve or attempt to hit the brakes.

When Marx got home, his neighbor noticed that the truck was parked funny and saw Marx drunkenly leaning on the vehicle. The two men found blood spots on the hood of the truck, and Marx admitted he heard a thud while driving home but thought it was road debris.

The neighbor drove Marx back to the bar in an attempt to find the scene of the incident, but they were unable to. Marx went back home and waited another two hours before calling police to report the crash.

Haney’s body was found about 3 a.m.

The defense argued that Marx didn’t see the victim or know what he hit, so he kept driving. They claimed it was just an accident.

But Tondreault told jurors that at least two feet of Haney’s body would have been visible above the hood of the truck at the point of impact. She also reminded the jury that Marx had his headlights and fog lights on, illuminating the grass in the 224 feet leading up to the victim.