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SPECIAL
POINTS OF
INTEREST:
A message
from the
State Attorney
Recent SAO
trial victories
Featured
SAO employee
Domestic
violence
safety tips

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I S S U E

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O C T O B E R

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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 Attorneys (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. Its 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 newsletter.
God Bless. ~ Angela

Pulled From The Headlines

The SAO has put another member of the
Grand Park gang in prison with the conviction of
25-year-old Demarcus
Sharod Johnson. Assistant State Attorneys Mark
Caliel and Rich Mantei
recently convicted Johnson on one count of Murder in the Second Degree, one count of Attempted Murder in the
First Degree and one
count of Aggravated Battery.
In April 2009, Johnson
and his two codefendants, Deshawn
Green and Eric Andrews,
loaded up in a pick-up
truck with assault rifles
and did a drive-by shooting at the home of their

rival gang, Flag Street.

Over 40 shots were fired
into the home. Inside, 23year-old Bryan James
Clemons was struck by
gunfire and died as a result. Bobby Eady, 30, was
also shot, but later recovered from his injuries.
The investigation revealed 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 intended target of the driveby, 23-year-old Ryan Williams, was not injured during the shooting, but was
later killed during another
incident.
Co-defendant Andrews
pleaded guilty to Murder in
the Second Degree and is

awaiting sentencing. Co
-defendant Green is currently serving two life
sentences for First Degree Murder in two unrelated 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.

DemarcusJohnson

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 12

PAGE 2

Justice Promised, Justice Delivered

Antoine D. Simms was
Deliver Cocaine within 1,000
convicted of Att. Murder in
feet of a School. ~ASA Katethe Second Degree, Shootlyn Knaak

ing or Throwing Deadly Mis- Demarcus S. Johnson was

siles and PFCF. ~ASAs Garfound guilty of Murder in the
rett Hill and Matt Polimeni
Second Degree, Att. Murder
Roland S. Mainor was
in the First Degree, and Agg.
found guilty of Murder in the
Battery. ~ASAs Mark Caliel
Second Degree. ~ASA Dan
and Rich Mantei

Skinner
Louis E. Pender was con

Jamie L. Meekins was sentenced 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 convicted of Sale, Manufacture,

Degree. ~ASAs Matt Polimeni 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 received two life sentences for
Murder in the First Degree
and Armed Robbery. ~ASAs
Janeen Kirch and Ryan Healy

victed of Manslaughter with

a Weapon, Att. Second Degree Murder, and PFCF.
~ASAs Janeen Kirch and Jes- Codeon Chambers was
sica Hensley
found guilty of PFCF. ~ASAs
Brett Mereness and Ricardo
Shameil D. Smith was
Vega
found guilty of PFCF. ~ASAs
Jacob McCrea and Finley
Michael D. Dunn was conWilliams
victed of Murder in the First
Christopher M. Charles
was sentenced to life in prison for Murder in the Second

Degree. ~SA Angela Corey

and ASAs Erin Wolfson and
John Guy

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
Generals 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 begins 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 assistance 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!

RyanHealy

PAGE 3

Special Acknowledgement Opportunity

CarlaJenningshasbeenpartof
theSAOforoverfiveyears.
InSeptember2009,Carlawas
hiredasaWitnessCoordinator
assignedtoDiversion.InNovem
ber2010,shetransferredtothe
YouthOffenderProgram,where

CarlaJennings

Having Martins
conviction and
death sentence
affirmed on
appeal ensures
that he will never
be released, and
will never be
able to harm
another person
again.

shecurrentlyworksasaJuvenile
HearingOfficer/CaseManager.
CarlaisveryinvolvedintheSAOs
juvenilepreventionandintervention
programs,whicharedesignedto
helpatriskyouthstayoutofthe
criminaljusticesystem.Sheworks
closelywiththekidsbymakingsure

theyareplacedintheappropriate
programandthattheyaremaking
goodchoicesandstayingonthe
rightpath.
Carlascoworkersdescribeheras
anextremelyhardworkerthat
goesaboveandbeyondwhatshes
expectedtodo.

Victims Voice
Even after a case has
gone to trial and a defendant has been sentenced,
the case can still go on
through the appeals process. There are many instances in which a defendant will appeal his or her
case in hopes of getting
their conviction and/or sentence 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 during an appeal. This is especially important when the
defendant is facing the
death penalty.
A perfect example of this
would be the Florida Supreme Court recently affirming the first-degree murder
conviction and death sentence for 49-year-old Arthur

James Martin. In 2009,

Martin shot the victim, 19year-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 witnessed by children who
were playing nearby.
In 2012, a jury found Martin guilty as charged for
Daniels death. They also
recommended that he be
sent to death row after considering 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 ultimately 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 Martins case and
found that the death sentence was the appropriate
punishment. Having Martins conviction and death
sentence affirmed on appeal ensures that he will
never be released, and will
never be able to harm another person again. It also
gives the victims 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.

Off The Record

ASATerenceMartin

Recently,ASATerence
Mar nspokeduringthe
SexualAssaultNurseEx
aminer(SANE)training
sessionatBap stMedical
Center.Thislecturewas
designedtoeducatenew
nurses,manyofwhom

willbeperformingexams
onsexualassaultvic ms,
onthelegalsystem.
Terencespenttheday
discussingseveraltopics,
includingtrialprepara on
forsexualassaultcases.By
learningmoreaboutthe

processofthelegalsys
tem,thesenurseswill
haveabe erunderstand
ingofwhattolookfor
duringanexaminorder
toassistprosecutors
moreeec vely.

PAGE 4

SafetyZone
Safety psonprotec ngyourselfagainstdomes cviolence

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, bathrooms, 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.

Behind The Scenes

In the last edition of the newsletter, we told you about the Intake Unit and its responsibility to
track new cases. Once Intake
has done its job of assigning a
case number and doing a criminal history review of the defendant, the next step is to make the
formal charging decision.
Once an arrest is made, it is
then time for the attorney to decide 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 Information. 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 assigned to FFD and are responsi-

ble for filing thousands of felony

cases each year. Felony cases
from the Circuit line divisions,
Repeat Offender Court, Homicide and Major Crimes divisions
all go through FFD.
FFD is tasked with tracking the
defendants 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 SAOs computer tracking program called
STAC. FFD is also responsible
for doing the data entry and processing the paperwork for DNs,
diverted cases and TCCs. Once
all the filing paperwork is complete, it is sent to the appropriate
division for attorney approval

www.sao4th.com

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 defendants arraignment and then notifying
the Clerk, Public Defender,
Bailiffs, etc. of the defendants
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.