Cesar Contreras was found guilty as charged of First Degree Murder, Arson (of a vehicle) and Kidnapping for the attack on Adam Cortes. Cortes was beaten, kicked,
tied-up, suffocated and shot before his body was loaded into his vehicle and burned in Lehigh Acres. The state called 23 witnesses during the 4 day trial.

Contreras is scheduled to be sentenced in June and faces life in prison. Two co-defendants have already been sentenced to life in prison. Assistant State Attorney Dan Feinberg of our Homicide Unit handled this case with co-counsel from Assistant State Attorney Jennifer Gutmore.

Kevin Palmer of Fort Myers was sentenced to 7 years in prison for a high-speed chase through Collier County during which he hit a Florida Highway Patrol car. Palmer has a history of trouble with the law, he has been sentenced in the past for a variety of crimes. Palmer will also be on probation for two years following his release from prison. Assistant State Attorney Chris Klink handled the case.  

Heidi Wunsch was found guilty of Child Abuse, Aggravated Child Neglect following a 3 day trial in Charlotte County. A young boy, only 3 years old, was found by police after an anonymous phone call, with black eyes, numerous bruises and a bite mark on his leg.

Anibal Mayor was convicted of First-Degree Murder for the stabbing death of Dan Blietz in Fort Myers in 2008. He was also convicted of Robbery with a Deadly Weapon.
28-year-old Mayor had gotten out of prison just about a month prior to the murder after serving time for grand theft and burglary. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled. He faces life in prison. Assistant State Attorney Bob Lee of our Homicide Unit handled the case with Assistant State Attorney Carrie Pollock as co-counsel. 

Ashley Toye, the 21-year-old sentenced to life in prison has had her conviction upheld. She had appealed for a new trial alleging her defense attorney was ineffective. Assistant State Attorney Cynthia Ross, the head of our Post-Conviction Unit handled the appeal.
Toye was convicted in 2008 of two counts each of First-Degree Murder, Kidnapping and Aggravated Battery and one count of Tampering with Evidence. It was for the deaths of Jeffrey and Alexis Sosa that was part of the so-called “Cash Feenz” trials.

Defendant Robert Joseph Garcia, Jr. of Charlotte County was sentenced to 40 years in prison for Armed Home-Invasion Robbery, Second Degree Felony Murder, Aggravated Battery while Possessing a Firearm, and Burglary with a Battery and Actual Possession of a Firearm. 
In this case, Garcia broke into a home along with  co-defendant, A.J. Mayo who accidentally shot and killed himself. Garcia was charged with Mayo’s death along with the other charges under Florida’s felony murder law. Assistant State Attorneys John Burns and Scott Patterson handled the case.

A Port Charlotte man, Ronald Smith, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for driving under the influence and crashing into another vehicle in February 2009, killing a 7-year-old girl. The crash also injured her 10-year-old sister and their father. In addition to the prison sentence, Smith’s license was also permanently revoked. Assistant State Attorney Ron Smith, no relation to the defendant, handled the case.

Assistant State Attorney’s Lisa Mead and Mara Marzano in our Collier County office got a guilty verdict against defendant Sean Andre Singleton. He was found guilty of Burglary of a Dwelling and Grand Theft. 
Singleton is a  career criminal in both Collier and Lee Counties and qualifies as a Habitual Felony Offender. In this recent case, Collie County Sheriff’s Deputies recovered a “smoking cigar” at the scene. DNA on the cigar came back to Singleton.

Defendant Halden Casey was sentenced to 40 years in prison for Attempted First Degree Murder with a Weapon. The 29-year-old had viciously attacked his then-girlfriend. Assistant State Attorneys Lisa Mead and Mara Marzano with our Collier County office handled the case.

A 31-year-old Port Charlotte man was sentenced to 7 years in prison for the lewd or lascivious molestation of a 14-year-old girl. Rasheem Stewart will also be registered as a sex offender and will be on 8 years of sex offender probation when he is released.  Assistant State Attorney Jennifer Garczewski handled the case.

Joseph Shook was sentenced to two life sentences for the murder of his wife Melissa Shook. She vanished in mid 2007 from her Lee County home and was found 5 days after being reported missing, buried in a shallow grave near her house.

Melissa, the mother of three, and her husband were in the process of divorcing when she disappeared. Shook received a life sentence for each count he was convicted of; Second-Degree Murder and Kidnapping. The case was handled by Assistant State Attorneys Bob Lee and Francine Donnorummo.

Mark Schack was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of Second Degree Murder for the murder of his girlfriend 32-year-old Amy Boscarino. She was shot in the neck in the couple’s San Carlos park home. Schack claimed he was cleaning his gun around  2AM when he dropped the gun and it went off, killing Amy. Prosecutors Dan Feinberg and Andrew Marcus used a lot of forensic evidence to prove Schack’s story was not true. It took a jury less than an hour to find Schack guilty.

Nicole Brewington of Fort Myers was sentenced to 30 years in prison after being found guilty of Aggravated Manslaughter of a Child in the death of her son, Zahid Jones Jr. Zahid died in 2007 after being beaten by Brewington’s boyfriend, Kashon Scott. Scott was previously sentenced to 60 years in prison for the crime. Assistant State Attorney Carrie Pollock handled the case.

Phillipe Gayle of Cape Coral was sentenced to the maximum sentence of 30 years in prison for Aggravated Manslaughter for the death of his 6-year-old stepson, Joshua Jenkins. The little boy had multiple bruises, severe trauma to his body internally and externally, as well as bite marks. He died at a local hospital in 2008. Assistant State Attorney Francine Donnorummo handled the case. 

Octavio Torres Ortega was sentenced to life in prison immediately after a Lee County jury found him guilty of Sexual Battery Upon a Child Less Than 12 Years of Age. The jury came back with the guilty verdict just before 7 p.m. on January 21st. Assistant State Attorney Carrie Pollock handled the case. Ortega has other similar charges pending. 

Abenamar Benavides was sentenced to two life sentences after being convicted of the First Degree Murder and Kidnapping of Fort Myers resident Adam Cortes. Assistant State Attorneys Dan Feinberg and Marie Doerr of our Homicide Unit handled the case. Co-defendant Cesar Contreras is still awaiting trial.

Kenneth Mitchell was sentenced to life in prison for the Second Degree Murder of a North Fort Myers man in 2008. Mitchell had a 10-20-Life firearm enhancement on his murder charge since a firearm was used in the crime. Assistant State Attorney Bob Lee handled the case.

Emanuel Leshawn Ross was sentenced to 15 years in prison for Aggravated Battery Upon a Pregnant Victim and 5 years in prison for False Imprisonment, which was the maximum sentence.

Ross beat up his ex-girlfriend who was pregnant with his baby. The mother and baby survived the attack. Ross was sentenced as a prison release re-offender. Assistant State Attorney Sara Mabrey handled the case.

Christopher Shanks Jr. was sentenced to 14 years in prison for a 2008 home invasion in Port Charlotte. He is one of three people charged in the crime. The fourth suspect was killed.

The 27-year-old plead guilty to Home Invasion with a  Firearm and Aggravated Battery with a Firearm.  Assistant State Attorney John Burns handled the case. The other two defendants, Robert Garcia Jr. and Anthony Johnson still have cases pending.

Bernald Ramos-Vasquez was sentenced to life in prison as a prison release reoffender. He was found guilty of beaking into the trailer of a Hendry County woman, raping her, and then stealing her money. Assistant State Attorneys Jill Cabai and Hamid Hunter handled the case.

Joe Nathan Willingham, who is already serving a 25 year sentence for Robbery with a Mask was convicted by a Hendry County jury of Aggravated Battery with a Firearm and Shooting into an Occupied Vehicle. He was involved in an altercation with the victim when he drew a 40-caliber firearm and fired more than ten rounds at the victim who was standing near a crowd of people. The victim was hit once and survived.
Willingham was sentenced to life in prison consecutive to the previous 25 years due to the 10-20-life law since a firearm was used. Assistant State Attorney Hamid Hunter handled the case.

Juan Mendez Jr. was found guilty of two counts of Second-Degree Murder for the 2006 murders of Whitney Mendez and Lorena Stone. Whitney was his estranged wife and Lorena was her mother.

Together, the women had been stabbed a total of 47 times in their Lehigh Acres home. Javon, the son of Whitney and Juan, just two years old, was found alive outside in a highchair when the bodies were discovered.

The jury deliberated for less than two hours before coming back with a guilty verdict on both counts. The trial lasted 7 days and was handled by Chief Assistant State Attorney Randall McGruther and Assistant State Attorney Cynthia Ross.

The trial made national news as it was carried live on the TruTV cable network for the In Session program.

Mendez will be sentenced on February 22nd. He faces two life prison terms.

Jean Jean Baptiste was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences as an habitual violent felony offender in Naples court.  Baptiste was convicted in three separate cases that were consolidated for trial.

He was found guilty of First Degree Burglary while Armed, Aggravated Battery with a Firearm, 2 counts of First Degree Burglary with Assault or Battery, Burglary of a Dwelling, and 2 counts of Battery on a Person Aged 65 or Older.  Baptiste burglarized neighbors’ homes. Assistant State Attorneys Lisa Mead and Mara Marzano handled the case.

A Naples man was sentenced to 9 ½ years in prison as an habitual felony offender for raping a woman. The woman was sleeping on a friend’s couch when Jaime Acosta approached her. Assistant State Attorney Deborah Cunningham handled the case.

A Collier County woman was sentenced to 12 years in prison followed by 10 years probation for embezzling more than $200,000 from a former employer. 60-year old Mary Jo Clark stole from John Rice Plumbing. Assistant State Attorney James Molenaar handled the case.

Carl Lloyd James was sentenced to 20 years in prison on a charge of Robbery with a Firearm. He was sentenced as a habitual felony offender. James will have to serve 100% of the first 10 years of his sentence under Florida’s 10-20-Life law. The crime dealt with a 28-year-old James robbing another man at gunpoint in Immokalee.
His co-defendant, 23-year-old Ricardo Rodriguez was also convicted of Robbery with a Firearm. Rodriguez was also sentenced to 20 years in prison. Assistant State Atttorney Mara Marzano in our Collier County office handled the cases.

Hendry County resident Willie Parker was found guilty of Felony Animal Cruelty with enhancement for beating his dog to death with a garden hose. He was found guilty and given a suspended sentence of 24 months in prison as part of a 36 month probation sentence. 
Since the jury found him guilty of the enhancement he is also mandated to pay $2,500 and has to undergo a psychological evaluation, along with any treatment recommended. He is also no longer allowed to have any contact with animals. Assistant State Attorney Jill Cabai handled the case.