Declaring it a “complex situation,” Circuit Court Judge R. Lee Smith at the end of a three-hour hearing today said he needed time to think before issuing a decision on whether Vergilio Aguilar Mendez, the 18-year-old migrant controversially charged with manslaughter in the death of a St. Johns County deputy Michael Kunovich last May, is competent to stand trial. Kunovich died several minutes after Mendez was arrested for resisting arrest after a stop-and-frisk encounter in St. Augustine.
Circuit & County Court
Florida Court Rules Child Is Mature Enough to Be a Mother, But Not to Have an Abortion
A state appeals court Friday upheld a Calhoun County circuit judge’s ruling that blocked a minor from having an abortion without notification and consent of a parent or guardian. The decision’s implicit reasoning is that the child is nevertheless mature enough to carry the baby to term.
Jury Finds 47-Year-Old Palm Coast Man Guilty of Cyber-Stalking and Soliciting Girl, 14, for 18 Months
A jury found 47-year-old Jerome Byron Malerba guilty of cyber-stalking, soliciting a child for sex, and using a cell phone to criminal ends. He had been involved in what he termed a “mentoring friendship” with a girl when she was 14 and 15. He faces a maximum of 15 years in prison and will be designated a sex offender when he is sentenced early next year.
St. Johns County Judge Casey Woolsey Could Face Reprimand Over Inappropriate Fundraising
St. Johns County Judge Casey Woolsey “admitted that her conduct was inappropriate” and violated judicial canons, according to a document filed Monday at the Florida Supreme Court by an investigative panel of the state Judicial Qualifications Commission.
Facing Lawsuit from Ormond Beach, Flagler Defends Acquiring ‘Easement of Necessity’ That Crosses Volusia Border
Flagler County Attorney Al Hadeed explained why in his view Ormond Beach’s lawsuit against the county over an easement through conservation land in Hunter’s Ridge is off-base: Ormond Beach could itself settle the matter by acquiring conservation land on its side of the border, by setting aside unreasonable fears that Flagler will build a highway–and by upgrading Durrance Lane, the road that runs across the Hunter’s Ridge development.
Jury Sides with Physician and AdventHealth in Wrongful Death Lawsuit Involving 38-Year-Old Palm Coast Man
Ending a seven-day civil trial, a six-person jury on Tuesday found that Dr. Kizhake Kurian, a cardiologist who practices in Palm Coast with AdventHealth Medical Group, was not negligent in the death of Richard Starr, a 38-year-old Palm Coast resident who had been in relative good health until a series of heart-related medical episodes in the last days of March 2018.
Brennan Hill Sentencing Delayed as Defense Discovers He Does Not Necessarily Face Mandatory Life in Prison
Brenan Hill, the 34-year-old man a jury found guilty of murder in the shooting death of Savannah La-Rynn Gonzalez, 22, in March 2021 in Palm Coast, came to court today thinking, as did his own lawyer, that he was to be sentence to life in prison. In fact, he is eligible for 25 years to life, opening an opportunity for his lawyer to argue for the lesser sentence. The judge reset the sentencing hearing to next February to give Gerald Bettman, the lawyer, time to prepare.
Gabriella Alo Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison, Her Brother to 2 in Attacks in Flagler Beach
Gabriella Alo, the 19-year-old Palm Coast woman at the center of a pair of seemingly sadistic assaults in Flagler Beach last January was sentenced to 6 years in prison. Alo’s brother, Nicholas, 22, was sentenced to two years in prison, with credit for nearly a year he’s served, followed by three years on probation.
Willie Gardner Is Spared More Jail Time After All in Dog Abuse Case, But Is Barred from Contact With Animals
Willie Gardner was released from jail in late morning today, a few hours after a sentencing hearing before Circuit Judge Terence Perkins, who withheld a further jail sentence after all on animal abuse charges Gardner faced. Gardner had served 30 days since his arrest on a probation violation. Perkins earlier this month had wanted 90 days.
Ex-Bunnell Church Leader and Pastor Alfonso Joseph Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Sex with Minor
Alphonso Joseph, the 50-year-old Palm Coast resident and former pastor at several Bunnell churches, was sentenced this afternoon to five years in prison followed by 10 years on sex-offender probation after pleading guilty to having sex with an underage boy.