awaiting sentencing. Co-defendant Green is cur-rently serving two life sentences for First De-gree Murder in two unre-lated cases. Johnson now faces a minimum of 60 years and up to life in prison. He will be sentenced the week of October 27. Johnson also has a pending RICO case.

The SAO has put an-other member of the Grand Park gang in pris-on with the conviction of 25-year-old Demarcus Sharod Johnson. Assis-tant State Attorneys Mark Caliel and Rich Mantei recently convicted John-son on one count of Mur-der in the Second De-gree, one count of At-tempted Murder in the First Degree and one count of Aggravated Bat-tery. In April 2009, Johnson and his two co-defendants, Deshawn Green and Eric Andrews, loaded up in a pick-up truck with assault rifles and did a drive-by shoot-ing at the home of their

rival gang, Flag Street. Over 40 shots were fired into the home. Inside, 23-year-old Bryan James Clemons was struck by gunfire and died as a re-sult. Bobby Eady, 30, was also shot, but later recov-ered from his injuries. The investigation re-vealed that the shooting stemmed from an earlier incident in which one of the victims threw a drink in Andrews’ face while at a local nightclub. The in-tended target of the drive-by, 23-year-old Ryan Wil-liams, was not injured dur-ing the shooting, but was later killed during another incident. Co-defendant Andrews pleaded guilty to Murder in the Second Degree and is

Pulled From The Headlines

The State Attorney Sidebar O C T O B E R 2 0 1 4 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1 2

SPECIAL

POINTS OF

INTEREST:

A message

from the

State Attor-

ney

Recent SAO

trial victories

Featured

SAO em-

ployee

Domestic

violence

safety tips

A Message From the State Attorney I am so proud of the work our office does in helping those who are on the front lines in our community. Let me share with you what one of our Assistant State Attor-neys (ASA) recently did on his days off. ASA Terence Martin spent his weekend training new nurses on how to spot and assist sex crime victims. Many times, nurses are the

first to come into contact with a sex crime victim. It’s in those first few moments that a victim can provide critical information or evidence in a case. You can read more about the work ASA Martin did in the “Off The Record” section on page three of this newslet-ter. God Bless. ~ Angela

Demarcus Johnson 

P A G E 2 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1 2

Deliver Cocaine within 1,000 feet of a School. ~ASA Kate-lyn Knaak

Demarcus S. Johnson was found guilty of Murder in the Second Degree, Att. Murder in the First Degree, and Agg. Battery. ~ASAs Mark Caliel and Rich Mantei

Louis E. Pender was con-victed of Manslaughter with a Weapon, Att. Second De-gree Murder, and PFCF. ~ASAs Janeen Kirch and Jes-sica Hensley

Shameil D. Smith was found guilty of PFCF. ~ASAs Jacob McCrea and Finley Williams

Christopher M. Charles was sentenced to life in pris-on for Murder in the Second

Degree. ~ASAs Matt Poli-meni and Alan Mizrahi

Brandon L. Acker was convicted of Murder in the First Degree, Att. Murder in the First Degree, and PFCF. ~ASAs Brittany Hulsey and Mark Hulsey

Kenneth A. Wilson re-ceived two life sentences for Murder in the First Degree and Armed Robbery. ~ASAs Janeen Kirch and Ryan Healy

Codeon Chambers was found guilty of PFCF. ~ASAs Brett Mereness and Ricardo Vega

Michael D. Dunn was con-victed of Murder in the First Degree. ~SA Angela Corey and ASAs Erin Wolfson and John Guy

Antoine D. Simms was convicted of Att. Murder in the Second Degree, Shoot-ing or Throwing Deadly Mis-siles and PFCF. ~ASAs Gar-rett Hill and Matt Polimeni

Roland S. Mainor was found guilty of Murder in the Second Degree. ~ASA Dan Skinner

Jamie L. Meekins was sen-tenced to life plus 15 years in prison for Murder in the Second Degree and PFCF. ~ASAs Peter Overstreet and Collins Cooper

Kenneth J. Lukens was convicted of Murder in the First Degree. ~ASAs Jessica Garcia and Leah Daza

Marlon S. Potts was con-victed of Sale, Manufacture,

Justice Promised, Justice Delivered

Hearings and Cheerings    After working at the SAO since 2011, Assistant State Attorney Ryan Healy has accepted a new position with the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG). Although he will be greatly missed, we are thankful for all of the work he has done here and support him as he be-gins his new career with the U.S. Navy. JAG is responsible for providing solutions to legal issues involving military operations, organization, and personnel as well as legal assis-tance to active duty personnel, their families and Wounded Warriors. We wish Ryan the best of luck as he begins his new career with the U.S. Navy!

Ryan Healy 

P A G E 3

“Having Martin’s conviction and death sentence affirmed on appeal ensures that he will never be released, and will never be able to harm another person again.”

Victim’s Voice

Off The Record

Special Acknowledgement Opportunity    Carla Jennings has been part of 

the SAO for over five years. 

    In September 2009, Carla was 

hired as a Witness Coordinator 

assigned to Diversion.  In Novem‐

ber 2010, she transferred to the 

Youth Offender Program, where 

she currently works as a Juvenile 

Hearing Officer/Case Manager.   

   Carla is very involved in the SAO’s 

juvenile prevention and intervention 

programs, which are designed to 

help at‐risk youth stay out of the 

criminal justice system.  She works 

closely with the kids  by making sure  

they are placed in the appropriate 

program and that they are making 

good choices and staying  on the 

right path.  

   Carla’s co‐workers describe her as 

an extremely hard worker that 

goes above and beyond what she’s 

expected to do.  

will be performing exams on sexual assault vic ms, on the legal system.    Terence spent the day 

discussing several topics, 

including trial prepara on 

for sexual assault cases. By 

learning more about the 

   Recently, ASA Terence Mar n spoke during the Sexual Assault Nurse Ex‐aminer (SANE) training session at Bap st Medical Center.  This lecture was designed to educate new nurses, many of whom 

process of the legal sys‐

tem, these nurses will 

have a be er understand‐

ing of what to look for 

during an exam in order 

to assist prosecutors 

more effec vely.  

James Martin. In 2009, Martin shot the victim, 19-year-old Javon Daniels, twelve times as the teen sat in his car in the parking lot of his apartment complex. The murder took place in broad daylight and was wit-nessed by children who were playing nearby. In 2012, a jury found Mar-tin guilty as charged for Daniels’ death. They also recommended that he be sent to death row after con-sidering the aggravating circumstances, including the fact that Martin had been released from prison just six months prior to this incident for another murder conviction from Dade County. The judge ultimate-ly sentenced Martin to death row. In cases where the death

penalty is appropriate, we do our best to make sure that is the sentence that the defendant receives. In his appeal, the Florida Supreme Court thoroughly reviewed Martin’s case and found that the death sen-tence was the appropriate punishment. Having Mar-tin’s conviction and death sentence affirmed on ap-peal ensures that he will never be released, and will never be able to harm an-other person again. It also gives the victim’s family peace-of-mind knowing that justice has been served for their loved one and that the defendant will forever be held accountable for his horrific actions.

   Even after a case has gone to trial and a defend-ant has been sentenced, the case can still go on through the appeals pro-cess. There are many in-stances in which a defend-ant will appeal his or her case in hopes of getting their conviction and/or sen-tence overturned. It is our job here at the SAO to make sure that we present a strong factual case so that there is no possibility of a case being returned dur-ing an appeal. This is es-pecially important when the defendant is facing the death penalty. A perfect example of this would be the Florida Su-preme Court recently affirm-ing the first-degree murder conviction and death sen-tence for 49-year-old Arthur

Carla Jennings 

ASA Terence Martin 

ble for filing thousands of felony cases each year. Felony cases from the Circuit line divisions, Repeat Offender Court, Homi-cide and Major Crimes divisions all go through FFD. FFD is tasked with tracking the defendant’s arraignment date, creating the Information, which is a document detailing the charge and facts surrounding the crime, sending a letter to the victim, if applicable, and adding case file data to the SAO’s com-puter tracking program called STAC. FFD is also responsible for doing the data entry and pro-cessing the paperwork for DN’s, diverted cases and TCC’s. Once all the filing paperwork is com-plete, it is sent to the appropriate division for attorney approval

In the last edition of the news-letter, we told you about the In-take Unit and its responsibility to track new cases. Once Intake has done its job of assigning a case number and doing a crimi-nal history review of the defend-ant, the next step is to make the formal charging decision. Once an arrest is made, it is then time for the attorney to de-cide what they will do with the case. The prosecutor can drop the case (DN), transfer it to county court (TCC), divert it to a Diversion Program or file an In-formation. When a prosecutor makes a filing decision, the case is then sent to what is called the Felony Filing Division or FFD. Two employees are as-signed to FFD and are responsi-

and then to the Clerk of the Court. FFD makes four runs throughout the day delivering work they have completed and picking up work for them to process. FFD is responsible for setting a date for the defendant’s ar-raignment and then notifying the Clerk, Public Defender, Bailiffs, etc. of the defendant’s next arraignment date. This is done on a daily basis by 10:30 a.m. and then emailed to the appropriate people. In the next edition of the newsletter, we will tell you about one of the first steps in prepping a new case for court - the criminal background check known as NCIC.

Behind The Scenes

 

Safety Zone Safety  ps on protec ng yourself against domes c violence 

Learn where to get help and memorize emergency phone numbers. If you have children, make sure they learn them as well.

Have a safety plan set in place for you and your children in case of an attack. Pack a bag with important documents, clothing, medication, ect. and give it to a trusted individual to keep in case of an emergency.

If an attack occurs stay away from the kitchen, where there are knives and sharp objects. Also, bath-rooms, closets and other small areas should be avoided. If possible, get to a room with a door or window to escape.

Get to a safe location as quickly as possible and call 911. If you speak with an officer, be sure to provide all details of the incident. Take pictures of any bruises or injuries and if necessary, get proper medical treatment.

Even if the abuser has moved out, it is still important to be prepared. Change locks on doors and place locks on windows. You may also want to prepare by taking a self-defense course.

Reach out to a local domestic violence program or shelter, such as Hubbard House, for additional help and safety information.

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