Tonda Royal, 53, is on trial this week on an accusation of unlawful sex with a 16-year-old girl in the Mondex. Despite uncontested DNA evidence, the defense claims the girl is lying and was part of a plot to damage Royal’s reputation.
Circuit & County Court
One Side Says Defamation. The Other Says Intimidation. The Gardens Development Spins-Off a Lawsuit.
Ken Bryan, a candidate for Flagler Beach City Commission and a board member of the group opposed to The Gardens development, was sued by the developer’s parent company. Bryan’s attorney charges the suit has no merit and says there may be a counter-suit.
This Time Death Row Inmate Cornelius Baker Shows Up, Only To Learn His Chance for Re-Sentencing May Vanish
Death row inmate Cornelius Baker’s fate is undetermined as the judge, the defense and the prosecution are all awaiting direction from other courts as to whether to re-try Baker in a sentencing phase or stick to his original death sentence.
Girl Who Threatened to Kill FPC Teacher in Racist Screed Gets Probation, and Must Write Essay on Hate Speech
The 17-year-old former Flagler Palm Coast High School girl last December was found guilty of terrorist threats to kill her English teacher through racist-laced electronic messages with another student in December 2018.
Prosecution Asks for Temporary Halt in Cornelius Baker Death Penalty Re-Sentencing
The prosecution is arguing that a Supreme Court decision last week may make the re-sentencing of convicted murderer Cornelius Baker, scheduled to start in four weeks in Bunnell, if unnecessary.
Princess Williams Pleads Out in Attempted Murder of Carl Saint-Felix; She Faces 25 Years to Life
Princess Williams, 22, a former Flagler Palm Coast High School basketball player, was charged in October 2018 of attempted felony murder in the shooting of 19-year-old Carl Saint-Felix in Palm Coast, in a feigned drug deal.
Supreme Court Reverses Unanimous-Jury Requirement in Death Penalty, Raising Questions About a Flagler Case
The Florida Supreme Court said unanimous jury recommendations are not necessary before death sentences can be imposed, backing away from a 2016 decision. The ruling puts in question the case of Bunnell’s Cornelius Baker, scheduled for a re-sentencing in February.
Clerk of Court Prepares for 3rd Edition of Valentine’s Day Mass Wedding on Courthouse Steps
The third edition of the ceremony is again scheduled this year for high noon on Feb. 14, of course, as Clerk Tom Bexley’s innovation is becoming its own tradition, with music, goodies and a touch of wisdom.
Florida Senate on Brink of New Rules for Drug Offenses, Lowering Sentences and Restoring Judges’ Discretion
Under the new guidelines, judges would be allowed to consider shorter sentences and lower fines for drug-trafficking defendants who meet certain criteria. But the bill’s fate in the House is uncertain.
For Seven Days, Flagler Sees Florida’s Broken Death Penalty Machinery in Action
Though David Snelgrove was finally sentenced to life in prison rather than death this week, his trial shows how the 20-year ordeal in court could have been avoided with the same result two decades ago, had capital punishment not been on the table.
Death Row’s Cornelius Baker a No-Show at His Own Pre-Trial Ahead of Potential Reprieve
Lawyers and the judge in the re-sentencing case of convicted murderer Cornelius Baker focused on a lengthy questionnaire about the death penalty the defense planned to submit to potential jurors. The judge ordered the questionnaire significantly shortened.
Life in Prison Without Parole, Not Death, For David Snelgrove as 20-Year Ordeal Over Fowler Murders Ends
The seven-day re-trial over the penalty for the 2000 murders in Palm Coast’s B-Section was necessary because two previous verdicts were ruled unconstitutional. Today’s verdict means that years, maybe decades, of further proceedings will not be necessary.
Victor Williams, 43, Sentenced to 10 Years for Sex With 16-Year-Old Boy, and Hears Furious Earful From His Victim
Victor Williams was defiant to the end at his sentencing, while the victim’s 50-minute testimony described Williams as a “monster” who caused the victim’s life to spiral into depression, drugs, suicidal thoughts and self-loathing.
Grim Day for Snelgrove’s Defense as Prosecution Makes Largely Unanswered Case for Death
A jury tasked with deciding whether to recommend death for David Snelgrove saw a psychologist for the defense unable to convincingly show that Snelgrove is a simple-minded individual who could not weigh the severity of the double-murder of an elderly couple he committed in Palm Coast 20 years ago.
Video and Pictures Revive Vivid Reactions to Double-Murder in Snelgrove’s Death-Penalty Trial
To reservations from the defense, the jury watched video and saw pictures of the crime scene following the murders of Glyn and Vivian Fowler in Palm Coast 20 years ago, part of a penalty phase–the third in 18 years–requiring the jury to decide whether to recommend death for Snelgrove or life in prison.
For Jury in Double-Murderer Case, Snelgrove’s Mental Disability Is a Gray Matter of Life and Death
David Snelgrove’s double-murder of an elderly couple in palm Coast 20 years ago is not in dispute, but whether he should be put to death for it is. A jury will have to contend with the brutality of the murders as opposed to the mitigating factor of his mental disability.
20 Years After Double Murder in Palm Coast, David Snelgrove Faces Death Penalty Trial for 3rd Time
David Snelgrove murdered Glyn and Vivian Fowler in Palm Coast in 2000, but is in yet another penalty phase of his trial this week because two previous recommendations for death were not unanimous.
Michael Cummings Sentenced to Life In Prison for Jealousy-Induced Murder of Ex-Wife
Circuit Judge Terence Perkins sentenced Michael Cummings, 48, to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the brutal killing of his ex-wife Faith Cummings in their Point Pleasant home in Palm Coast two years ago.
Why Dorothy Singer, Convicted of Murdering Her Husband, Was Back In Court Today, Set for Re-Trial
Dorothy Singer was convicted in a trial last year of murdering her husband Charles at their West Flagler home, but an appeals court granted her a new trial because of an error trial judge Dennis Craig committed.
A Convicted Attempted Murderer Freed 13 Years Ago Will Go Back to Prison on Sex Charges Involving 15-Year-Old Cousin
A jury took just 20 minutes to find Elijah Jackson, 51, guilty of sending a lewd picture of himself to his 15-year-old cousin and luring her for sex while he lived with his adult girlfriend of 12 years.
Prosecution Seeks To Take Picture of Defendant’s Erect Penis. Judge Says No. Twice.
51-year-old Elijah Jackson’s trial began in Bunnell this morning. He faces accusations of transmitting an image of his penis to his 15-year-old cousin. The prosecution on two occasions sought to have Jackson’s penis photographed while erect, for comparative purposes.
Calling It Terrorism, Judge Finds FPC Girl Guilty of Threatening to Kill Teacher; She’s Appealing
Circuit Court Judge Chris France, applying an extremely broad definition of terrorism, today found a 17-year-old former Flagler Palm Coast High School student guilty of threatening to kill her teacher through written messages to a fellow-student a year ago.
Johnnie Thomas Jr. Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for ‘Cold-Blooded’ Killing of Robert Emmanuel
Johnnie Spydale Thomas Jr., a 26-year-old Bunnell resident with a long record of crime and incarceration, was sentenced to 25 years in prison this morning for bludgeoning 60-year-old Robert Emmanuel during a crack deal outside Emmanuel’s Bunnell home two years ago.
Amicus Curiae: The 16-Year-Old FPC Girl Was Racist. She Was Stupid. She Was Not Criminal.
In the case of an FPC girl who wrote bigoted threats about her teacher last December, the prosecution is making outlandish claims that it was act of terrorism, stretching the meaning of a 2018 law passed after the Parkland massacre. The law does not apply, as even the prosecution acknowledged the case’s weaknesses.
Girl Who Made Bigoted Death Threats About English Teacher at FPC Is Tried, But Judge To Rule Later
A circuit judge this afternoon tried a white, 17-year-old former Flagler Palm Coast High School student accused of making death threats laced in bigoted language against her black English teacher a year ago.
Association Opposing 240-Boat Storage Facility in the Hammock Takes Its Case to Circuit Court
The Hammock Community Association is challenging the Flagler County Commission’s decision to allow the Hammock Harbour project to go forward, claiming A1A zoning rules don’t allow for a warehousing-type facility. The county does not consider the planned development to be a warehouse.
Judiciary Lets Down Its Robes as It Celebrates Flagler County Judge Totten’s Investiture
Flagler County Judge Andrea Totten’s investiture at Channel Side in Palm Coast drew more than a dozen judges and nearly as many ceremonial presentations and speeches advising the judge on her new course.
Michael Cummings Pleads to Murdering Ex-Wife at Palm Coast Home and Faces 30 Years to Life in Prison
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.
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.
Gov. DeSantis Appoints Prosecutor and Local Resident Andrea Totten Flagler County Judge
Gov. Ron DeSantis today appointed Andrea Totten, a 40-year-old Palm Coast resident and an assistant attorney general, Flagler County judge, filling a seat newly created by the Legislature to relieve the overburdened docket of County Judge Melissa Distler.
Johnnie Thomas Jr. Pleads Guilty to Killing Robert Emanuel, 60, in 2017; Faces Up to 25 Years in Prison
Johnnie Spydale Thomas Jr., 26, of Bunnell, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the 2017 killing of Robert Emanuel during a drug transaction in Bunnell. He faces between 15 and 25 years in prison.
On and Off Death Row for 17 Years, Palm Coast Double-Murderer David Snelgrove Loses One More Motion
David Snelgrove, who murdered two elderly people who’d cared for him in Palm Coast in 2000, argued through his lawyers that he was mentally disabled and so not eligible for the death penalty. A judge disagreed.
Daughter Gives Her Murdered Mother A Voice Moments Before Killer Is Sentenced To Life in Prison
Teisha Silva Rosado, eldest daughter of Zuheily Rosado, who was murdered six and a half years ago, took the stand just before the sentencing of Joseph Bova today, describing her mother to a courtroom that until then had only known Rosado as a name.
In 39 Minutes, Jury Rejects Insanity, Finding Bova Guilty of Murdering Zuheily Rosado; He Faces Life in Prison
A jury of six women and six men found Joseph Bova II, 31, guilty of murdering Zuheily Roman Rosado at a Palm Coast convenience store in 2013. Bova’s insanity defense proved unconvincing.
Joseph Bova’s Insanity Defense Unravels: ‘I Had To Kill Her To Save All the People of Flagler County’
In testimony today, Joseph Bova explained how voices told him to kill Zuheily Rosado, 32, at a Mobil convenience store in 2013, but he also conceded that he’d fought the voices for months, casting doubt about his claim that he was insane at the time.
Prosecution Rests, and Rests Easy, in Bova Murder Trial as Even Defense Witnesses Fall Short of Pointing to Insanity
Joseph Bova II is claiming he was insane when he shot Zuheili Rosado dead at the Mobil mart in Palm Coast in 2013, but even the defense’s witnesses so far are not making the case, proving more helpful to the state’s argument of pre-meditated first-degree murder.
How Joseph Bova Ended Zuheili Rosado’s’s Life in 13 Seconds: Prosecution Memorializes a Murder in Dramatic Trial Opening
The prosecution today showed images and video of Zuheili Roman Rosado’s murder at the hands of Joseph Bova, portraying a premeditated act carefully planned and executed down to the three shots that killed the single mother of six at a Palm Coast convenience store in 2013.
Bova Tries To Fire His Attorneys and Represent Himself Moments Before His Murder Trial. Judge Says No.
Before starting with jury selection this morning in Joseph Bova;s trial for the murder of store clerk Zuheili Rosado, Bova tried delaying the trial by seeking to represent himself on his insanity defense.
An Erratic Joseph Bova Goes On Trial Today for 2013 Murder of Zuheili Rosado, Arguing Insanity
Joseph Bova II’s trial begins Monday for the murder of Zuheily Roman Rosado at a Palm Coast gas station in 2013, after six years of see-sawing between Flagler’s jail and a psychiatric hospital. He is arguing insanity.
James Taylor Found Guilty, Again, of Molesting His Step-Daughter, 11, and Faces Life in Prison
It was the third trial on the same charge for ex-Palm Coast resident James Taylor, 41, after a mistrial and a remand for a new trial on appeal. He faces an almost certain sentence of life in prison because of his past as a felon and sex offender.
Same Molestation Charge, Third Trial for James Taylor After Mistrial and Appeals Court Reversal
James Taylor, 41, is accused of molesting his step-daughter, 11 at the time, by brushing her chest area over her clothes “for a couple of seconds” in 2013 in Palm Coast. A conviction could send him to prison for life.
Obscenities Aside, Kimberle Weeks Appeal May Come Down to Judge’s Baffling Decree on ‘Public Meetings’ Definition
Circuit Judge Margaret Hudson refused to allow a definition of “public meetings” during ex-Elections Supervisor Kim Weeks’s trial last year even though both defense and prosecution wanted a definition, which went to the heart of the case. That’s now a central plank in Weeks’s appeal.