A Sebring man was found guilty earlier this month of shooting and killing his roommate in 2016 then stealing his Lexus with the man’s body in the trunk.
Michael Celello was convicted of second degree murder with a firearm, grand theft and tampering with evidence. Celello, 59, faces life in prison.
Celello dumped the body of Michael Cerillo in the Everglades off Alligator Alley after shooting him five times in his bed at their home in Sebring.
The two often argued.
Assistant State Attorney Steve Houchin told jurors that Celello had become irritated with Cerillo’s constant criticism of him.
Celello reached a breaking point after the latest argument on the night of June 28, 2016.
He grabbed a gun under the couch, walked to the bedroom and shot Cerillo then wrapped his body in a sheet and loaded it into in the back of the Lexus. On the way to the Everglades, he picked up a friend then headed to the swamp to dump the body.
After dumping the body, Celello stopped at a service plaza in Broward County. His friend, passed a note to an employee at the station, asking him to call the police because she had just seen her friend dump a body in the Everglades.
The clerk called the Miccosukee Police Department and an officer later stopped the Lexus and arrested Celello.
On Saturday, jurors deliberated for about two hours before finding Celello guilty. Circuit Judge Peter Estrada will sentence Celello in the coming weeks.
State Attorney Brian Haas thanks all law enforcement agencies, including the Highland County Sheriff’s Office, and Assistant State Attorney Houchin for their work on the case.
https://www.sao10.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/1118cerello.jpg480384john chamblisshttps://www.sao10.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Office-of-the-State-Attorney-10th-Judicial-Circuit-Logo.pngjohn chambliss2019-11-18 12:33:032019-11-18 12:33:03Man guilty of fatally shooting roommate, dumping his body in Everglades
A 65-year-old Winter Haven man was sentenced to 15 years in prison last week for sexually assaulting a teenage girl.
Ezekial Ortiz was convicted as charged by a jury in September of lewd battery, transforming material harmful to minors, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device.
Circuit Judge Neil Roddenbery sentenced Ortiz to 15 years followed by five years of sex offender probation. He was arrested by Winter Haven Police in 2016. Assistant State Attorney Randall Daugustinis prosecuted the case.
State Attorney Brian Haas thanks Assistant State Attorney Daugustinis and Winter Haven Police detectives for their work on the case.
https://www.sao10.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/1112ezekialortiz.jpg600480john chamblisshttps://www.sao10.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Office-of-the-State-Attorney-10th-Judicial-Circuit-Logo.pngjohn chambliss2019-11-12 11:53:052019-11-12 11:53:05Winter Haven man, 65, sentenced to 15 years for lewd battery on a teen girl
A 39-year-old Lakeland man who sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl in 2016 was sentenced to life in prison on Friday.
Before the sentence, Jose Vargas, standing in an orange jumpsuit, and his lawyer, asked Circuit Judge Neil Roddenbery for leniency. Assistant State Attorney Courtney Durden countered that Florida statute required a sentence of life.
Roddenbery listened to both sides then ordered Vargas to serve life in prison.
In October, jurors took 80 minutes to find Vargas guilty.
The case broke in September, 2016 when the victim told her teacher about repeated sexual assaults. The teacher then notified the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
State Attorney Brian Haas thanks ASA Durden and Polk County Sheriff’s detectives for their work on the case.
https://www.sao10.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/1108vargas.jpg600480john chamblisshttps://www.sao10.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Office-of-the-State-Attorney-10th-Judicial-Circuit-Logo.pngjohn chambliss2019-11-08 16:50:332019-11-08 16:51:13Lakeland man sentenced to life for sexually assaulting 12-year-old girl
A 31-year-old Lakeland man was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Monday for molesting an 11-year-old girl.
Humberto Cueto pled no contest to attempted sexual battery and lewd molestation. Circuit Judge Keith Spoto sentenced Cueto to 25 years in state prison as a minimum mandatory, meaning Cueto is not eligible for any type of gain time, followed by 10 years of probation. Once released, Cueto must be required to register as a sexual predator.
Assistant State Attorney Courtney Durden prosecuted the case.
Cueto was arrested by Lakeland Police in 2018.
State Attorney Brian Haas thanks ASA Durden and detectives from the Lakeland Police Department for their work on the case.
https://www.sao10.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/1105cueto.jpg512414john chamblisshttps://www.sao10.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Office-of-the-State-Attorney-10th-Judicial-Circuit-Logo.pngjohn chambliss2019-11-05 09:11:502019-11-05 09:11:50Lakeland man sentenced to 25 years for molesting girl
A 33-year-old Frostproof man who robbed a Lake Wales convenience store clerk at knifepoint has been sentenced to life in prison.
Julio Aponte robbed the store on Oct. 30, 2018, only 15 days after he had escaped from a halfway house at the end of a five-year federal prison sentence for possession of heroin with intent to deliver.
Assistant State Attorney Jessica Fisher prosecuted the case. She told jurors during the trial that blue latex gloves found outside the Lake Wales Food Mart matched the DNA of Aponte. Aponte was seen on a store video wearing the gloves and holding a large knife when he stole money and cigarettes from the convenience store on State Road 60.
Circuit Judge Larry Helms sentenced Aponte to two separate life sentences for the charges of robbery with a deadly weapon and burglary while armed. Since Aponte committed the crime soon after escaping from the halfway house, he was classified as a prison releasee reoffender and must carry out a full life sentence in prison.
During the robbery, Aponte pointed the knife at the clerk as he demanded her to open the cash register. He emptied the register then took nine packs of Newport cigarettes from the rack before leaving the store with an accomplice.
Aponte was arrested after a second armed robbery occurred at another store a week later. Charged with armed robbery, Aponte’s trial date has not yet been scheduled in that case.
When Polk Sheriff’s Office detectives searched his home following the second robbery, they found a blue hoodie sweatshirt, dark sweat pants, and black and white Under Armour sneakers. It was the same outfit he was wearing when he robbed the convenience store a week earlier. A DNA test was then conducted and months later results showed that it matched the gloves collected at the crime-scene.
State Attorney Brian Haas thanks Assistant State Attorney Fisher and Sheriff’s detectives for their work on the case.
https://www.sao10.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/1101aponte.jpg512414john chamblisshttps://www.sao10.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Office-of-the-State-Attorney-10th-Judicial-Circuit-Logo.pngjohn chambliss2019-11-01 09:07:422019-11-01 09:07:42Frostproof man who robbed clerk at knifepoint sentenced to life in prison
Ismael Bragin explained to jurors that he never thought about questioning why two random people outside of Atlanta offered him money to deliver a heavy orange Nike shoe box to Davenport.
Through an interpreter, Bragin, 71, of Cartersville, Ga., said he thought that men had just given him important documents to deliver to Florida.
Six jurors didn’t believe his story.
They deliberated earlier this month for an hour before convicting him of two first degree felonies, conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine and trafficking methamphetamine. Bragin, who is scheduled to be sentenced in November, faces up to 30 years in prison.
Instead of documents inside the Nike box there were two large plastic bags filled with two kilograms of of methamphetamine, which has a street value of more than $50,000.
Assistant State Attorney Lauren Randall prosecuted the case. She questioned Bragin’s veracity during cross-examination.
“Your telling me these people gave you papers drive all the way down from Atlanta, Georgia to Polk County,” Randall said.
“You are aware that things exist like FedEx and a postal service,” Randall asked. “You can get a box full of papers delivered to you sometimes in a day.”
Bragin said looking back, he should have been more suspicious. But he said he was simply pleased he was receiving $500 for his trip to Miami.
Bragin was arrested in October, 2016, during a sting by Polk County Sheriff’s Office detectives. Detectives, posing as drug buyers, were expected to pay $36,000 for the meth. Once the deal was made, Bragin was arrested in a parking lot at Posner Park. When questioned, he told detectives someone he met while fishing in Georgia asked him to bring the shoe box to Florida since he was already traveling there. The man also gave Bragin a cell phone to carry and told him they will call him and direct him where to go once he arrived in Florida. Upon delivering the box of drugs to undercover detectives, Bragin immediately began asking for the money.
State Attorney Brian Haas thanks Assistant State Attorney Randall and Polk Sheriff’s detectives for their work on the case.
https://www.sao10.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/1011bragin.jpg14111058john chamblisshttps://www.sao10.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Office-of-the-State-Attorney-10th-Judicial-Circuit-Logo.pngjohn chambliss2019-10-25 11:58:042019-10-25 11:58:04Georgia man convicted of trafficking meth between Atlanta and Polk County
Man guilty of fatally shooting roommate, dumping his body in Everglades
/in SAO10 Blog /by john chamblissMichael Celello
A Sebring man was found guilty earlier this month of shooting and killing his roommate in 2016 then stealing his Lexus with the man’s body in the trunk.
Michael Celello was convicted of second degree murder with a firearm, grand theft and tampering with evidence. Celello, 59, faces life in prison.
Celello dumped the body of Michael Cerillo in the Everglades off Alligator Alley after shooting him five times in his bed at their home in Sebring.
The two often argued.
Assistant State Attorney Steve Houchin told jurors that Celello had become irritated with Cerillo’s constant criticism of him.
Celello reached a breaking point after the latest argument on the night of June 28, 2016.
He grabbed a gun under the couch, walked to the bedroom and shot Cerillo then wrapped his body in a sheet and loaded it into in the back of the Lexus. On the way to the Everglades, he picked up a friend then headed to the swamp to dump the body.
After dumping the body, Celello stopped at a service plaza in Broward County. His friend, passed a note to an employee at the station, asking him to call the police because she had just seen her friend dump a body in the Everglades.
The clerk called the Miccosukee Police Department and an officer later stopped the Lexus and arrested Celello.
On Saturday, jurors deliberated for about two hours before finding Celello guilty. Circuit Judge Peter Estrada will sentence Celello in the coming weeks.
State Attorney Brian Haas thanks all law enforcement agencies, including the Highland County Sheriff’s Office, and Assistant State Attorney Houchin for their work on the case.
Winter Haven man, 65, sentenced to 15 years for lewd battery on a teen girl
/in SAO10 Blog /by john chamblissEzekial Ortiz
A 65-year-old Winter Haven man was sentenced to 15 years in prison last week for sexually assaulting a teenage girl.
Ezekial Ortiz was convicted as charged by a jury in September of lewd battery, transforming material harmful to minors, and unlawful use of a two-way communication device.
Circuit Judge Neil Roddenbery sentenced Ortiz to 15 years followed by five years of sex offender probation. He was arrested by Winter Haven Police in 2016. Assistant State Attorney Randall Daugustinis prosecuted the case.
State Attorney Brian Haas thanks Assistant State Attorney Daugustinis and Winter Haven Police detectives for their work on the case.
Lakeland man sentenced to life for sexually assaulting 12-year-old girl
/in SAO10 Blog /by john chamblissJose Vargas
A 39-year-old Lakeland man who sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl in 2016 was sentenced to life in prison on Friday.
Before the sentence, Jose Vargas, standing in an orange jumpsuit, and his lawyer, asked Circuit Judge Neil Roddenbery for leniency. Assistant State Attorney Courtney Durden countered that Florida statute required a sentence of life.
Roddenbery listened to both sides then ordered Vargas to serve life in prison.
In October, jurors took 80 minutes to find Vargas guilty.
The case broke in September, 2016 when the victim told her teacher about repeated sexual assaults. The teacher then notified the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
State Attorney Brian Haas thanks ASA Durden and Polk County Sheriff’s detectives for their work on the case.
Lakeland man sentenced to 25 years for molesting girl
/in SAO10 Blog /by john chamblissHumberto Cueto
A 31-year-old Lakeland man was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Monday for molesting an 11-year-old girl.
Humberto Cueto pled no contest to attempted sexual battery and lewd molestation. Circuit Judge Keith Spoto sentenced Cueto to 25 years in state prison as a minimum mandatory, meaning Cueto is not eligible for any type of gain time, followed by 10 years of probation. Once released, Cueto must be required to register as a sexual predator.
Assistant State Attorney Courtney Durden prosecuted the case.
Cueto was arrested by Lakeland Police in 2018.
State Attorney Brian Haas thanks ASA Durden and detectives from the Lakeland Police Department for their work on the case.
Frostproof man who robbed clerk at knifepoint sentenced to life in prison
/in SAO10 Blog /by john chamblissJulio Aponte
A 33-year-old Frostproof man who robbed a Lake Wales convenience store clerk at knifepoint has been sentenced to life in prison.
Julio Aponte robbed the store on Oct. 30, 2018, only 15 days after he had escaped from a halfway house at the end of a five-year federal prison sentence for possession of heroin with intent to deliver.
Assistant State Attorney Jessica Fisher prosecuted the case. She told jurors during the trial that blue latex gloves found outside the Lake Wales Food Mart matched the DNA of Aponte. Aponte was seen on a store video wearing the gloves and holding a large knife when he stole money and cigarettes from the convenience store on State Road 60.
Circuit Judge Larry Helms sentenced Aponte to two separate life sentences for the charges of robbery with a deadly weapon and burglary while armed. Since Aponte committed the crime soon after escaping from the halfway house, he was classified as a prison releasee reoffender and must carry out a full life sentence in prison.
During the robbery, Aponte pointed the knife at the clerk as he demanded her to open the cash register. He emptied the register then took nine packs of Newport cigarettes from the rack before leaving the store with an accomplice.
Aponte was arrested after a second armed robbery occurred at another store a week later. Charged with armed robbery, Aponte’s trial date has not yet been scheduled in that case.
When Polk Sheriff’s Office detectives searched his home following the second robbery, they found a blue hoodie sweatshirt, dark sweat pants, and black and white Under Armour sneakers. It was the same outfit he was wearing when he robbed the convenience store a week earlier. A DNA test was then conducted and months later results showed that it matched the gloves collected at the crime-scene.
State Attorney Brian Haas thanks Assistant State Attorney Fisher and Sheriff’s detectives for their work on the case.
Georgia man convicted of trafficking meth between Atlanta and Polk County
/in SAO10 Blog /by john chamblissIsmael Bragin
Ismael Bragin explained to jurors that he never thought about questioning why two random people outside of Atlanta offered him money to deliver a heavy orange Nike shoe box to Davenport.
Through an interpreter, Bragin, 71, of Cartersville, Ga., said he thought that men had just given him important documents to deliver to Florida.
Six jurors didn’t believe his story.
They deliberated earlier this month for an hour before convicting him of two first degree felonies, conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine and trafficking methamphetamine. Bragin, who is scheduled to be sentenced in November, faces up to 30 years in prison.
Instead of documents inside the Nike box there were two large plastic bags filled with two kilograms of of methamphetamine, which has a street value of more than $50,000.
Assistant State Attorney Lauren Randall prosecuted the case. She questioned Bragin’s veracity during cross-examination.
“Your telling me these people gave you papers drive all the way down from Atlanta, Georgia to Polk County,” Randall said.
“You are aware that things exist like FedEx and a postal service,” Randall asked. “You can get a box full of papers delivered to you sometimes in a day.”
Bragin said looking back, he should have been more suspicious. But he said he was simply pleased he was receiving $500 for his trip to Miami.
Bragin was arrested in October, 2016, during a sting by Polk County Sheriff’s Office detectives. Detectives, posing as drug buyers, were expected to pay $36,000 for the meth. Once the deal was made, Bragin was arrested in a parking lot at Posner Park. When questioned, he told detectives someone he met while fishing in Georgia asked him to bring the shoe box to Florida since he was already traveling there. The man also gave Bragin a cell phone to carry and told him they will call him and direct him where to go once he arrived in Florida. Upon delivering the box of drugs to undercover detectives, Bragin immediately began asking for the money.
State Attorney Brian Haas thanks Assistant State Attorney Randall and Polk Sheriff’s detectives for their work on the case.