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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The State Attorney's Office intends to seek the death penalty for Jecorian McCray if he is found guilty of first-degree murder in the September 2016 slaying of a witness.
McCray, 24, is accused of masterminding the plot to kill University of North Florida employee Joe Brenton and using jailhouse calls to recruit his teen stepbrother to carry out the killing.
Brenton was gunned down at his Oceanway home Sept. 21 to keep him from testifying against McCray in a 2014 burglary case, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
McCray and his stepbrother, Dakarai Maxwell, were indicted last month on murder and conspiracy charges. Maxwell, who was 17 at the time of the killing, won't face the death penalty.
The step siblings were charged with burglary after Brenton's home was broken into and ransacked in 2014. Prescription drugs and jewelry were taken in the burglary, which was caught on camera.
McCray, who previously served time for armed robbery, was arrested for the burglary in 2015. Police said recorded phone conversations indicated he was anxious about returning to prison.
According to court records, McCray first enlisted his girlfriend, Teirany Shelton, to lean on Brenton's family. When that plan fell through, records state McCray ordered a hit to silence Brenton.
McCray has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and witness tampering. Jury selection in the case is set for November.
Source: News4Jax, September 22, 2017
Death penalty sought for accused Kissimmee cop killer
KISSIMMEE, Fla. - Prosecutors with the state announced Friday that they plan to seek the death penalty against the man accused of killing two Kissimmee police officers.
Everett Miller shot and killed Officer Matthew Baxter and Sgt. Sam Howard last month near Palmway and Cypress Streets in Kissimmee after they responded to a suspicious persons call, investigators said.
Kissimmee police Chief Jeff O'Dell said the officers didn't even have time to draw their weapons.
Miller appeared in court Friday afternoon, where the court heard arguments on whether he’s competent to stand trial. Miller underwent a mental health evaluation weeks before the shooting regarding a standoff with police.
A doctor testified that Miller has a mental illness that was not disclosed in court, but that he's competent to stand trial.
"He was at least average, possibly above-average intelligence. He had no suicidal or homicidal ideations or delusions," said Circuit Court Judge Greg Tynan.
Shortly after Miller was arrested at Roscoe’s bar, he asked officers to kill him and that “he did a bad thing," investigators said.
Baxter's wife, Sadia was also in court, and was seen wiping around tears. It was her first time seeing Miller since her husband was killed.
Sadia Baxter is a former Kissimmee police officer now agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
"She wants the community to know she senses their prayers and is asking they continue to pray for her and her little girls who are without their father," said Angela Starke, spokeswoman for FDLE.
Miller was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of first-degree murder earlier this month.
Source: WFTV9, Sept. 22, 2017
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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
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