The State Attorney Sidebar

V O L U M E

SPECIAL
POINTS OF
INTEREST:
A message
from the
State Attorney
Update on
the new
building

2 ,

I S S U E

At the State Attorneys

Office, our focus is on only
one category - V for Victims.
We see victims who are
young, old, black, white,
male and female. For us, it
does not matter the race,
the gender, or the creed.
Every victim is important to
us, whether it is a victim of a
car theft or a murder. As a
homicide prosecutor, I can
tell you we do not see black

Paperless
initiative

2 0 1 4

and white ~ the only color a

prosecutor sees is the red
flow of blood.
In my 32 years as a prosecutor, I have yet to see tears
that were a different color or
hurt that was less painful
because someone was a
certain color or looked a
certain way. Please remember to keep all of our victims
in your prayers as we seek
justice. ~ Angela

On The Move

trial victories

to report a
crime

M A R C H

A Message From the State Attorney

Recent SAO

Tips on how

We are excited to tell

you that the new SAO
building is moving right
along. In the last week,
progress has been made
on the bridge as well as
the office space. The
windows are in and the
framework for each office
is complete. The drywall
is in the process of going
in, and the light fixtures
have been picked out.

Over the next two

weeks, the roof will go
up on the bridge and
other exterior work to
the building will be
done.
The bridge, which
connects the SAO to
the Duval County
Courthouse, is almost
complete. The bridge
work began in late 2013
and will be done this
spring. Recently,
State Attorney Corey
was able to walk the
bridge for the first time
(pictured). This walkover will cut down on
the travel time it currently takes prosecu-

tors and law enforcement to get to and from

court. It also will allow
prosecutors to travel
safely to and from the
courthouse.
While this project has
been quite a journey, we
are happy to report that
the move-in date is still
planned for December
2014.

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2

PAGE 2

Justice Promised, Justice Delivered

Skyler W. Coburn was

found guilty of Armed Robbery. ~ ASAs Rachel Demers
and Gary Bryant

Peter J. Klemm was found

guilty of Murder in the First Degree. ~ASAs London Kite and
Sandra Rosendale

Calvin B. Wright was convicted of Murder in the Second Degree, five counts of
Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, and Possession of
a Firearm by a Convicted Felon and was sentenced to life in
prison. ~ASAs Katie Deal and
David Thompson

Jimmie R. Jackson was sentenced to life in prison for

Murder in the Second Degree,
First Degree Arson and Burglary to a Dwelling. ~ASA
Alexis Anum
Santi E. Barnes Jr. was convicted of Agg. Battery with a
Deadly Weapon. ~ASAs Alexis
Anum and Brittany Mauerberger

John A. Temple was convicted

of Agg. Battery with a Deadly
Weapon and Shooting or Throwing Deadly Missiles. ~ASA Jeff
Moody

Christopher R. Bacca was

sentenced to 30 years for Att.
Sexual Battery and 40 years for
Lewd or Lascivious Molestation
of a Child Less than 12. ~ASA
Theresa Simak

Miguel A. Delfin-Manta was

found guilty of Lewd or Lascivious Molestation and Att. Lewd
or Lascivious Molestation. ~ASAs
Adair Rommel and Rachael Algee

Terrell J. Reed was convicted

of Murder in the First Degree,
Att. Armed Robbery and Tampering with Evidence. ~ASAs
David Thompson and Pam Hazel

Robert T. Culver was found

guilty of Armed Robbery,
Armed Burglary, Poss. Of More
that 20 Grams of Cannabis while
Armed, Resisting an Officer
without Violence, and Carrying
a Concealed Firearm. ~ ASAs
Garrett Hill and Matt Polimeni

Michael W. Morris was convicted of Murder in the First

Degree. ~ASAs Mark Caliel and
Jessica Klingensmith

Bryan A. Flowers was found

guilty of Murder in the Second
Degree and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.
~ASAs Alexis Anum and Garrett
Hill
Jackie J. Wingate was convicted of Armed Burglary. ~ASAs
Bradley Bodiford and Matt Polimeni

Hearings and Cheerings

HereattheSAO,wecon

nuetopromoteourgoalofbecomingpaperless.Theprac ceofstoringallfiles,photos,anddocumentsinelectronicformatiseasier,moreecient,andfinancially
friendlier.Infact,inthelastfouryears,theSAOhassavedatleast$44,000intaxpayermoneyby
reducingtheamountofpaperweuse!
Partofthisini a vehasalreadybeenadoptedbythecourtsthroughtheprac ceofe-filing,
whichrequiresa orneystofileallcourtdocumentselectronically.Bye-filing,
allpar esinvolvedinacasereceiveinstantaccesstoneededmaterials.
Everyoneisencouragedtocon nueinthispaperlessini a vebyop ngto
usedigitalcopiesratherthanpaperones.Ifeveryonedoestheirpart,wecan
reducetheuseofpaperandcon nuetomoveforwardtowardsourgoalof
becomingapaperlessoce.

PAGE 3

Special Acknowledgement Opportunity

RexRudisillhasbeenan sionintheDuvalOcein

inves gatorwiththe
SAOsince2002.
RexworkedinourNassauCountyoceun l
hetransferredtoour
SpecialProsecu onDivi-

InvestigatorRex
Rudisill

It is with stories
like Shannons
that we
understand the
positive impact
we can make in
peoples lives
and it pushes us
to continue our
fight to seek
justice for the
victims and their
loved ones here
in the Fourth
Judicial Circuit.

2004.In2009,RexreturnedtoNassauandhas
con nuedtoworkthere
eversince.
PriortojoiningtheSAO
team,Rexservedourcoun-

tyasaUSMarinefrom
1990-1994.A erbeinghonorablydischarged,Rex
workedasaDetec vewith
theNassauCountySheris
Ocefrom1995-2002.

Victims Voice
After the first trial, which
resulted in a hung jury, Barbara Morris family and
friends continued to have
faith that 68-year-old Michael Morris, her husband,
would one day be held accountable for shooting and
killing Barbara inside their
home.
Barbaras ex-husband,
Shannon, attended the trial,
along with his current wife,
his two sons he shared with
Barbara and other members of Barbaras family. It
was extremely difficult to sit
in that courtroom and see
the things we had to see. It
was tough to go back and
relive the incidents of that
fateful day. Shannon held
tight to his belief that God
has a purpose for everything.

In March 2014, Mr. Morris

was found guilty as charged
for the First Degree Murder
of his wife, Barbara Morris.
Knowing now that Mr. Morris will be held accountable
for what he did, Shannon
feels that he and the rest of
Barbaras family will finally
have the closure theyve
needed.
In addition, Shannon expressed his gratitude to
those that helped them
throughout this difficult process. Regina Vought, the
victim advocate in this case,
was extremely helpful. He
said that she always kept
the family up to date on
what was happening in the
case and was available anytime they needed assistance. Shannon said he is
especially grateful of the

phenomenal job that Assistant State Attorneys

Mark Caliel and Jessica
Klingensmith did in presenting this case to a jury
and is proud to have them
represent the State of
Florida in its efforts to
seek justice for victims of
violent crimes.
It is encouraging to know
that the work we do here
in our office is appreciated. It is with stories like
Shannons that we understand the positive impact
we can make in peoples
lives and it pushes us to
continue our fight to seek
justice for the victims and
their loved ones here in
the Fourth Judicial Circuit.

Off The Record

ASAAaronFeuer

ASAAaronFeuerwillbe
represen ngtheSAOinthe
16thAnnualGunsNHoses
CharityBoxingEventon
April12attheJacksonville
VeteransMemorialArena.
Thiseventconsistsof
about20boxingmatches,

eachwiththreeoneminuterounds.Members
ofJacksonvillesFireand
RescueDepartment,the
JacksonvilleSherisOce
andotherlocallawenforcementwilldukeitout

intheringtohelpraise
moneyforchari es,
suchastheMuscular
DystrophyAssocia on
andthePoliceAthle c
League(PAL).

PAGE 4

SafetyZone
Tipsonhowtoreportacrime
Call911assoonasyousee,hear,experience,orknowofacrimethatisbeingcommi ed.Ifthe
crimeisoccurring,besuretoprovidethedispatcherwithasmuchinforma onaspossible.
Ifthecrimeisnothappeningtoyou,stayawayfromthecrimescene.Waitforthepolicetocontactyou.
Answeranyques onsthepolicemayhaveandwithasmuchdetailaspossible.Startfromthe
beginninganddetaileverythingyouwitnessedasitoccurred.
Youmayalsowalkintoapolicesta ontoreportacrime.Provideadetailedwri enstatement
andyourcontactinforma onsothatpolicecanreachyouifneedbe.
FirstCoastCrimeStoppersisahotlinethatci zensmaycalltoreportanydetailsofacrimethat
hasoccurred.Thiscanbedoneanonymouslyat1-866-845-TIPS(8477).
www.sao4th.com

Setting the Record Straight

There is a big misconception out
there concerning the number of juveniles who are direct filed in the Fourth
Judicial Circuit. We hope to Set The
Record Straight with this article.
The direct file process is designed to
put violent juvenile offenders, as well
as those who are close to the age of
18, into adult court if it is appropriate.
The juvenile system is simply not
equipped to deal with some of this
Citys most violent juvenile offenders
appropriately. However, just because
a case has been sent to adult court
does not mean the defendant will face
adult sanctions. Many times, the SAO
is looking for a hybrid sentence that
allows for the detention (incarceration)
of the violent offender with rehabilitative aspects of the sentence to follow.
In NO instance is a juvenile who is
direct filed EVER put in a facility with
any adult offender. Florida has made
special provisions to house juvenile
direct file offenders separately.
Recently, misinformation has been
spread by some special interest
groups claiming the SAO leads the

state and the country in juvenile direct

files. The truth is the Fourth Judicial
Circuit ranks nowhere near the top in
this statistic. In fact, the Florida Department of Juvenile Justices statistics
show the Fourth Judicial Circuitisnot
firstinthestateandhasnotbeeninany
recentyear.

2009-2010ranked 6th out of 20

circuits.

2010-2011ranked 7th out of 20

circuits.

2011-2012ranked 8th out of 20

circuits.

2012-2013ranked 9th out of 20

circuits.

In regard to the direct file process,

the SAO reviews all cases and juvenile
offenders individually and then makes
the appropriate filing decision based
upon a number of factors. Those fac-

tors include: the juveniles prior criminal history, especially any prior
crimes of violence; any prior efforts
that have been made either within or
outside of the juvenile justice system
to rehabilitate the juvenile offender;
the wishes of the victim of the current
violent crime; and the facts and circumstances of the current violent
crime. If the decision is then made to
file charges in adult court, the judge
in adult court can consider juvenile
sanctions or probation, not only time
in jail or prison. Throughout this process, the juvenile and his or her family is always permitted through their
attorney to submit information and
mitigation about the juvenile to the
SAO and the judges. That mitigation
is always considered when making
any direct file decision and any sentencing decision.