A circuit judge sentenced a 19-year-old Bartow man to life in prison Friday for raping a 2-year-old girl in 2018.
Thomas Johnson, who was 17 when he assaulted the girl, showed little emotion throughout the two-day sentencing hearing. In 2019, he pleaded no contest to sexual battery on child under 18 and tampering with physical evidence.
The rape of the girl, who is now 4, caused her to suffer numerous injuries and undergo multiple surgeries.
During closing arguments, Assistant State Attorney Ashley McCarthy asked Judge Kevin Abdoney to sentence Johnson to life in prison.
Johnson’s lawyer asked for a lighter sentence to allow him to eventually be released and undergo therapy.
McCarthy said it was one of the most horrific cases she’s worked, describing the rape as “inherently despicable.”
Johnson showed little remorse after the rape, McCarthy said. Instead, he hid evidence and made up a story to law enforcement about a masked man who broke into the home where he babysat the girl.
Ultimately, McCarthy said, the physical and emotional effects of the rape will linger for the rest of the girl’s life.
“The effect of this crime has been devastating on this family,” McCarthy said, detailing the surgeries the girl has undergone. “It’s unbelievable how far that will reach into her life.”
State Attorney Brian Haas thanks Assistant State Attorney McCarthy and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office for their work on the case.
https://www.sao10.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/0302johnson.jpg512414john chamblisshttps://www.sao10.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Office-of-the-State-Attorney-10th-Judicial-Circuit-Logo.pngjohn chambliss2020-03-02 15:33:452020-03-02 15:33:45Bartow teen receives life sentence for raping toddler
A jury found a 55-year-old Haines City man guilty Wednesday of attempted second-degree murder for shooting a man in the stomach in 2019.
William Gilbert will be sentenced by Judge Keith Spoto on April 3 for shooting the 51 year-old victim, who had been sitting outside with friends in Haines City.
Gilbert suspected he and the victim were both seeing the same woman. During the evening of March 13, Gilbert located the victim and attempted to start a verbal argument with him. When the victim stood up, Gilbert shot the victim once in the stomach.
Assistant State Attorney William Beaver told the jury in closing arguments that “He (the defendant) did all the talking.”
Gilbert was later arrested after witnesses identified him as the shooter. The victim was treated at a nearby hospital.
State Attorney Brian Haas thanks Assistant State Attorney Beaver and the Haines City Police Department for their work on the case.
https://www.sao10.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/0228gilbert.jpg512414john chamblisshttps://www.sao10.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Office-of-the-State-Attorney-10th-Judicial-Circuit-Logo.pngjohn chambliss2020-02-28 11:50:182020-02-28 11:53:18Haines City man found guilty of shooting man in the stomach
A Lakeland man who sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl in 2018 was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Wednesday.
Jessie Thomas, 29, was also designated as a sexual predator.
Assistant State Attorney Randall Daugustinis prosecuted the case.
The sexual assault occurred in July 2018. Thomas was confronted about molesting the child during a recorded phone call several weeks after the victim came forward about the assault.
He admitted he touched the girl, saying it was a mistake.
“I was stupid,” Thomas said during the call. “I’m stupid, OK?”
State Attorney Brian Haas thanks Assistant State Attorney Daugustinis and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office for investigating the case.
https://www.sao10.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/0207thomas.jpg512414john chamblisshttps://www.sao10.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Office-of-the-State-Attorney-10th-Judicial-Circuit-Logo.pngjohn chambliss2020-02-24 16:42:432020-02-24 17:15:42Lakleand man sentenced to 25 years for sexually assaulting girl
The State Attorney’s Office is accepting applications for the second annual Citizens Academy.
The eight-week program will run from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. each Thursday starting March 12 in the Bartow courthouse. The Academy gives residents in the 10th Circuit an opportunity to learn more about the criminal justice system. Citizens will hear from some of the top prosecutors in the circuit about how they develop cases then take them to trial. Please click on the link below to apply for the Academy. The deadline to apply is Feb. 28. Please visit www.sao10.com/about-us/citizens-academy/.
https://www.sao10.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/haas_112016_0015.jpg23933000john chamblisshttps://www.sao10.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Office-of-the-State-Attorney-10th-Judicial-Circuit-Logo.pngjohn chambliss2020-02-18 16:46:052020-02-18 16:46:53Enrollment Opens for Second Annual SAO Citizens Academy
A 35-year-old man was sentenced to two life sentences Thursday for raping a 14-year-old girl who became pregnant and later gave birth.
Jason Elsea, of Lakeland, pleaded guilty in December. Before Elsea was sentenced, Assistant State Attorney Ashley McCarthy urged Circuit Judge William “Bill” Sites to sentence Elsea to life in prison.
McCarthy explained to Sites that Elsea’s actions in 2018 were egregious.
She said Elsea had a number of opportunities to do the right thing but continued to have sex with the girl even after he knew she was pregnant. The girl, McCarthy said, must live with the emotional scars the rest of her life.
In addition, McCarthy said that after Elsea found out the girl was pregnant he fed her medication in an attempt to abort the fetus.
Sites told Elsea his actions were atrocious. He sentenced Elsea to life in prison for the two counts of sexual battery on a child under 18.
“What you did was one of the most horrible things that a person can do,” Sites said.
State Attorney Brian Haas thanks Assistant State Attorney McCarthy and the Lakeland Police Department for their work on the case.
https://www.sao10.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/212elsea.jpg512414john chamblisshttps://www.sao10.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Office-of-the-State-Attorney-10th-Judicial-Circuit-Logo.pngjohn chambliss2020-02-12 08:57:422020-02-12 08:57:42Lakeland man receives life sentence for raping 14-year-old girl
A Miami man was recently sentenced to life in prison for killing three Lakeland residents during a robbery inside a Lakeland home in 2016.
Jamaal Smith, 29, became the second person sentenced in the brutal killing and robbery of Angelica Castro, Eneida Branch and David Washington. In 2019, Johnathan Alcegaire, 31, was sentenced to death by Circuit Judge Jalal Harb on the three murder convictions.
Smith was sentenced to a mandatory life sentence by Harb following a decision by jurors not to recommend a death sentence.
Andrew Joseph, a third defendant, will face the same three murder charges in a trial in May.
Assistant State Attorneys Mark Levine and Kristie Ducharme prosecuted the case against Smith. Jurors convicted Smith of the murders before the trial entered the death penalty phase.
“Make no mistake about it,” Levine told jurors during closing arguments. “There are four victims in the case and the defendant is not one of them.”
“His intentions could not have been clearer in what he planned to accomplish,” Levine said.
Levine said that when Smith and Alcegaire left the house, they believed they had “successfully wiped them out.”
But Felix Campos survived a gunshot wound to the face. During the trial, Campos testified that Smith had shot him below his ear.
Alcegaire, Smith and Joseph were all selling drugs out of Miami. Washington had been buying drugs from Andrew to sell in Lakeland.
State Attorney Brian Haas thanks Assistant State Attorneys Levine and Ducharme and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office for their work on the case.
https://www.sao10.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/0210jamaalsmith.jpg600480john chamblisshttps://www.sao10.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Office-of-the-State-Attorney-10th-Judicial-Circuit-Logo.pngjohn chambliss2020-02-10 10:35:152020-02-10 10:35:15Miami man sentenced to life for 2016 fatal shootings
Bartow teen receives life sentence for raping toddler
/in SAO10 Blog /by john chamblissThomas Johnson
A circuit judge sentenced a 19-year-old Bartow man to life in prison Friday for raping a 2-year-old girl in 2018.
Thomas Johnson, who was 17 when he assaulted the girl, showed little emotion throughout the two-day sentencing hearing. In 2019, he pleaded no contest to sexual battery on child under 18 and tampering with physical evidence.
The rape of the girl, who is now 4, caused her to suffer numerous injuries and undergo multiple surgeries.
During closing arguments, Assistant State Attorney Ashley McCarthy asked Judge Kevin Abdoney to sentence Johnson to life in prison.
Johnson’s lawyer asked for a lighter sentence to allow him to eventually be released and undergo therapy.
McCarthy said it was one of the most horrific cases she’s worked, describing the rape as “inherently despicable.”
Johnson showed little remorse after the rape, McCarthy said. Instead, he hid evidence and made up a story to law enforcement about a masked man who broke into the home where he babysat the girl.
Ultimately, McCarthy said, the physical and emotional effects of the rape will linger for the rest of the girl’s life.
“The effect of this crime has been devastating on this family,” McCarthy said, detailing the surgeries the girl has undergone. “It’s unbelievable how far that will reach into her life.”
State Attorney Brian Haas thanks Assistant State Attorney McCarthy and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office for their work on the case.
Haines City man found guilty of shooting man in the stomach
/in SAO10 Blog /by john chamblissWilliam Gilbert
A jury found a 55-year-old Haines City man guilty Wednesday of attempted second-degree murder for shooting a man in the stomach in 2019.
William Gilbert will be sentenced by Judge Keith Spoto on April 3 for shooting the 51 year-old victim, who had been sitting outside with friends in Haines City.
Gilbert suspected he and the victim were both seeing the same woman. During the evening of March 13, Gilbert located the victim and attempted to start a verbal argument with him. When the victim stood up, Gilbert shot the victim once in the stomach.
Assistant State Attorney William Beaver told the jury in closing arguments that “He (the defendant) did all the talking.”
Gilbert was later arrested after witnesses identified him as the shooter. The victim was treated at a nearby hospital.
State Attorney Brian Haas thanks Assistant State Attorney Beaver and the Haines City Police Department for their work on the case.
Lakleand man sentenced to 25 years for sexually assaulting girl
/in SAO10 Blog /by john chamblissJessie Thomas
A Lakeland man who sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl in 2018 was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Wednesday.
Jessie Thomas, 29, was also designated as a sexual predator.
Assistant State Attorney Randall Daugustinis prosecuted the case.
The sexual assault occurred in July 2018. Thomas was confronted about molesting the child during a recorded phone call several weeks after the victim came forward about the assault.
He admitted he touched the girl, saying it was a mistake.
“I was stupid,” Thomas said during the call. “I’m stupid, OK?”
State Attorney Brian Haas thanks Assistant State Attorney Daugustinis and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office for investigating the case.
Enrollment Opens for Second Annual SAO Citizens Academy
/in SAO10 Blog /by john chamblissState Attorney Brian Haas
The State Attorney’s Office is accepting applications for the second annual Citizens Academy.
The eight-week program will run from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. each Thursday starting March 12 in the Bartow courthouse. The Academy gives residents in the 10th Circuit an opportunity to learn more about the criminal justice system. Citizens will hear from some of the top prosecutors in the circuit about how they develop cases then take them to trial. Please click on the link below to apply for the Academy. The deadline to apply is Feb. 28. Please visit www.sao10.com/about-us/citizens-academy/.
Lakeland man receives life sentence for raping 14-year-old girl
/in SAO10 Blog /by john chamblissJason Elsea
A 35-year-old man was sentenced to two life sentences Thursday for raping a 14-year-old girl who became pregnant and later gave birth.
Jason Elsea, of Lakeland, pleaded guilty in December. Before Elsea was sentenced, Assistant State Attorney Ashley McCarthy urged Circuit Judge William “Bill” Sites to sentence Elsea to life in prison.
McCarthy explained to Sites that Elsea’s actions in 2018 were egregious.
She said Elsea had a number of opportunities to do the right thing but continued to have sex with the girl even after he knew she was pregnant. The girl, McCarthy said, must live with the emotional scars the rest of her life.
In addition, McCarthy said that after Elsea found out the girl was pregnant he fed her medication in an attempt to abort the fetus.
Sites told Elsea his actions were atrocious. He sentenced Elsea to life in prison for the two counts of sexual battery on a child under 18.
“What you did was one of the most horrible things that a person can do,” Sites said.
State Attorney Brian Haas thanks Assistant State Attorney McCarthy and the Lakeland Police Department for their work on the case.
Miami man sentenced to life for 2016 fatal shootings
/in SAO10 Blog /by john chamblissJamaal Smith
A Miami man was recently sentenced to life in prison for killing three Lakeland residents during a robbery inside a Lakeland home in 2016.
Jamaal Smith, 29, became the second person sentenced in the brutal killing and robbery of Angelica Castro, Eneida Branch and David Washington. In 2019, Johnathan Alcegaire, 31, was sentenced to death by Circuit Judge Jalal Harb on the three murder convictions.
Smith was sentenced to a mandatory life sentence by Harb following a decision by jurors not to recommend a death sentence.
Andrew Joseph, a third defendant, will face the same three murder charges in a trial in May.
Assistant State Attorneys Mark Levine and Kristie Ducharme prosecuted the case against Smith. Jurors convicted Smith of the murders before the trial entered the death penalty phase.
“Make no mistake about it,” Levine told jurors during closing arguments. “There are four victims in the case and the defendant is not one of them.”
“His intentions could not have been clearer in what he planned to accomplish,” Levine said.
Levine said that when Smith and Alcegaire left the house, they believed they had “successfully wiped them out.”
But Felix Campos survived a gunshot wound to the face. During the trial, Campos testified that Smith had shot him below his ear.
Alcegaire, Smith and Joseph were all selling drugs out of Miami. Washington had been buying drugs from Andrew to sell in Lakeland.
State Attorney Brian Haas thanks Assistant State Attorneys Levine and Ducharme and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office for their work on the case.