Days from his trial on a first-degree murder charge, Michael Cummings, 48, pleaded to second degree murder in the death of Faith Cummings, 44, at their Point Pleasant home in Palm Coast in January 2018.
Circuit & County Court
James Taylor, 42, Is Sentenced to Life in Prison for Molesting 11-Year-Old Step-Daughter
The mandatory sentence was expected. Circuit Judge Terence Perkins had no choice because Taylor is a previously convicted felon several times over, and the victim at the time of the offense was younger than 12.
Rare Look at Minefield of Self-Representation as Judge Perkins Defends Decision to Deny Murder Suspect’s 6th Amendment Right
Circuit Judge Terence Perkins for the second time in five weeks on Tuesday defended his decision to deny Joseph Bova the right to represent himself during his trial on a first-degree murder charge at the end of September. Bova was found guilty and Perkins sentenced him to life in prison. The case is on appeal.
Turning Down Plea Offer, Michael Cummings Will Be Tried Nov. 18 on Wife’s Murder
Michael Cummings is accused of murdering his ex-wife at the house they shared on Point Pleasant Drive in Palm Coast in November 2018. Faith Cummings, 44, was found bludgeoned and asphyxiated.
Appeals Court Upholds Attempted Murder Conviction of Jonathan Canales, Who’s Serving Life Term
Jonathan Canales, now 32, was convicted of shooting his live-in girlfriend and the mother of three young children in the neck in their Daytona North trailer in 2014. His appeal focused on his prior acts of domestic violence toward the victim, saying thay should not have been admitted at trial.
Jury Finds Victor Williams, 43, Guilty of Lesser Charge In Case of Sex and Drugs With Boy, 16
Victor Williams of Palm Coast faces up to 15 years in prison. He would have faced life in prison on the more serious charge. The five-day trial hinged on whether Williams had impaired the boy with alcohol and Xanax when they had sex.
Victor Williams’s Odd Defense: The 16-Year-Old Boy Was Drugged When They Had Sex, But Not Impaired
Victor Williams, 43, says he never drugged the 16-year-old boy he had sex with at his house, and that all acts were consensual. The boy’s account differs, but a pharmacologist says there was little evidence of impairment.
Accused Rapist of a 16-Year-Old Boy, and Jury, Witness Mother’s Wrath and Anguish as Trial Takes a Turn
The defense of Victor Williams, 43, will have a difficult time recovering from the testimony of the mother of the boy he is accused of raping, and a from a key detail the prosecution showed the jury through a picture today, and that goes to the heart of the trial’s questions.
Now 17, Boy Recalls From the Stand Night of Alleged Rape By 42-Year-Old Man Who Says It Was all Consensual
Victor Williams faces life in prison unless he convinces the jury that, while he concedes having had sex with a 16-year-old boy, the act was not non-consensual, and drugs did not impair the alleged victim. Williams will have difficulties overcoming the boy’s testimony.
For Victor Williams, Context of 16 Year Old’s Rape Will Decide Whether He Spends Life in Prison, Or a Few Years
In his trial starting Monday, Palm Coast’s Victor Williams, 43, admits to sex with a 16-year-old -boy, but not to drugging him and raping him. The difference is the difference between 15 years in prison or a life term.