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SPECIAL
POINTS OF
INTEREST:
A message
from the
State Attorney
Second Response to
questions
regarding
the Zimmerman case

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I S S U E

O C T O B E R

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A Message From the State Attorney

Our mission at the State
Attorneys Office is simple
work side by side with
Law Enforcement to keep
the citizens of the Fourth
Judicial Circuit safe.
I am pleased to tell you
that in the last two weeks,
our team of prosecutors
and support staff worked
hard to put four killers behind bars.

Here at the SAO, we

build upon the excellent
work of Law Enforcement
Officers in taking cases
from probable cause to
proof beyond a reasonable
doubt.
This emphasis on working with Law Enforcement
allows us to put violent and
repeat offenders away.
~ God Bless. Angela.

Recent SAO

The Rebuttal

trial victories
Victim
shares his
experience
Featured
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Identity
Theft tips

The second in a series of responses to quesons about the Zimmerman case

In our last issue, we addressed why the SAO did
not use a Grand Jury in the
George Zimmerman case.
In this issue, we will tackle
the allegation that the SAO
overcharged in this case.
What many may not realize is that an
overcharge in Florida is
virtually impossible. In
fact, the State of Florida
has a series of checks and
balances in place to protect against it.

If an attorney felt the Second Degree Murder charge

the SAO filed was not warranted on Mr. Zimmerman, a
Motion to Dismiss could have
been filed. It never was!
In fact, two judges reviewed
and approved the Probable
Cause basis for Second Degree Murder.
Then, the presiding trial
judge denied two Judgment of
Acquittals, which would have
cleared Zimmerman, and instead sent the case to a jury.

A Second Degree Murder charge is based on the

killer acting with a
depraved mind. We
believed the words and
actions of the defendant
that night fit a charge of
Second Degree Murder.
The decision is ultimately left up to a jury. In this
case, a jury of six women
decided it was not Second
Degree Murder.

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2

PAGE 2

Justice Promised, Justice Delivered

James Baker, III was convicted of

Sale, Manufacture, Delivery of a

Controlled Substance and Sale of
Counterfeit Drugs. ~ASAs Brittany
ONeil and Joel Cooper

John F. Hagans was sentenced to

life in prison without parole for
Sexual Battery on a child. ~ASAs
Alan Mizrahi and Theresa Simak

ten years and two months in prison

followed by four and a half years of
probation and 300 community service hours with MADD for DUI Manslaughter. ~ASA Lee Smith

James L. Collins, Jr. was found

guilty of Grand Theft. ~ASAs Mike
Kirkland and Pam Hazel

Feliciano Montijo was convicted

of Lewd or Lascivious Molestation.
~ASAs Catherine Licandro and Joel
Cooper

Dan W. Fudge was convicted of

Armed Robbery, Kidnapping with a
Firearm and Sexual Battery. ~ASAs
Anna Hixon and Sandra Rosendale

A jury found Andrew W. King

Derrell P. Emery was sentenced to

Montre D. Richardson was con-

William E. Mango III was found

guilty of Manslaughter. ~ASAs Alexis
Sykes and Garrett Hill

guilty of First Degree Murder, Killing

an Unborn Child and Burglary with
Assault or Battery. ~ASAs Bernie de
la Rionda and Janeen Mira
life in prison for First Degree Murder, 25 years for Second Degree
Felony Murder and 20 years for Burglary of an Occupied Dwelling. ~ASA
Steve Nelson

Joseph M. Shelton was convicted

of Armed Burglary. ~ASAs Jessica
Narducci and Joel Cooper

David Gallagher was sentenced to

Robert R. Miller II was convicted of

Kidnapping with a Firearm, Aggravated Battery and PFCF. ~ASAs Bradley
Bodiford and Peter Overstreet
Jonathan K. Medford was found
guilty of Aggravated Fleeing/Att. Elude
an Officer, No Valid License and no
Motorcycle Endorsement. ~ASA Ernie
Dukes

victed of Murder in the Second Degree. ~ASAs Alan Mizrahi and

Brooke Padgett

Maria E. Bratton was sentenced

to life in prison for Second Degree
Murder. ~ASAs Alexis Sykes and John
Kalinowski

Hearings and Cheerings

Mr. T. Edward Ed Austin was an outstanding public servant who left a lasting impression on the Jacksonville community. In May, the legal community honored Austin and his family by dedicating a courtroom inside the Duval County
Courthouse to the former State Attorney, who also served as the Public Defender and Mayor of Jacksonville.
His strong faith and dedication to making our community a better place inspired those around him. Mr. Austin will
forever be remembered and respected for his achievements throughout his lifetime.
Austin served as the State Attorney of Floridas Fourth Judicial Circuit for nearly 20
years. Afterward, he continued to contribute to the Jacksonville community by serving
as General Counsel for the City under Mayor Hans Tanzler. Mr. Austin also served one
term as Mayor of Jacksonville and was a member of many boards and commissions.
On April 23, 2011, Mr. T. Edward Austin died peacefully in his home at the age of 85.
We are dedicated to continuing his legacy here at the SAO.

StateAttorneyAngelaCorey
attheEdAustinCeremony

PAGE 3

Special Acknowledgement Opportunity

Bri any R. Mauerberger
has been part of the SAO
team since 2008.
In 2006, she earned her
B.A. degree in Poli cal Science from the University of
South Carolina. Bri any
then went on to study at
the Florida Coastal School
of Law, gradua ng in 2008.

AssistantState
AttorneyBrittany
Mauerberger

Mr. Lomax soon

discovered that
he was one of
more than thirty
victims that were
being scammed
by this couple.

In May 2008, Bri any

joined the SAO as an intern. In March 2009, she
was hired as a Cer fied
A orney Trainee assigned
to County Court. A month
later, Bri any was sworn
in as an Assistant State
A orney for the 4th Judi-

cial Circuit. In April 2010,

she was promoted to Circuit Court, Division CR-A
before later transferring
to Repeat Oender Court
(ROC). Bri any was promoted to the Homicide/
Major Crimes Division in
March 2013.

Victims Voice
In 2012, homeowner Arthur
Lomax entered into contract
with Manns Roofing Company a er his home had
suered from windstorm
damage. Travis and Amanda
Mann, owners of Manns
Roofing, seemed to be running a professional company
and impressed Mr. Lomax
when they came out to make
their ini al es mate. Lomax
agreed to pay them in advance and the crew soon began to work on his home.
About a month later, Mr.
Lomax was no fied that a lien
had been placed on his home
by the roofing supply company for failure to pay for mate-

rials. Concerned, Mr. Lomax

contacted Travis Mann who
said he was aware of the
situa on and that he was
fixing it. Unfortunately, the
problem wasnt fixed and Mr.
Lomax soon discovered that
he was one of more than
thirty vic ms that were being
scammed by this couple.
Travis Mann had been cashing each individuals check to
keep for himself, rather than
deposi ng them into the
companys account.
Mr. Lomax and the others
believed that there was no
hope in clearing the liens and
gaining back the money they
had lost. However, a er in-

ves ga ng, the State A orneys Oce was able to press

charges against the Manns.
In May 2013, Travis Mann
pled guilty and was sentenced
to five years of proba on. He,
along with his wife, were also
ordered to pay res tu on to
the vic ms.
Mr. Lomax says that he is
extremely grateful for our
oces eorts throughout this
case and glad that we fought
hard to seek jus ce for him
and the other vic ms.

Off The Record

AssistantStateAttorney
CollinsCooper

On September 12th,
ASA Collins Cooper
went behind bars for
the Muscular Dystrophy Associa ons
Downtown Execu ve
Lock-Up fundraiser.
Once a warrant was

issued for Coopers

arrest, he began raising money for his
bail.
Cooper raised $1,565
which helped fund local families. Each donaon made during the

Lock-Up event went to

benefit the MDA,
which provides services to individuals
and families aected
by neuromuscular diseases.

PAGE 4

SafetyZone
SafetyTipsFromYourSAOInves gators

Monitoryourcreditclosely.Your credit report contains informa on about your credit accounts

and bill paying history, so you can be pped o if there is any irregular ac vity. Watch for suspicious signs like accounts you did not open. For extra security, you can also consider iden ty protec on services, which range from credit monitoring to database scanning.
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ac vity or changes you did not make.
Installsecurityso ware(firewall, an -virus, an -spyware) as a safety measure against online
intrusions. It is also important to update this so ware on a regular basis.
Bewaryofemaila achmentsandlinksyoureceive. Use cau on even when the message appears to come from a safe sender, as these can easily be spoofed.
Storesensi vedatasecurely.Just as you keep sensi ve paper documents under lock and key,
secure sensi ve online informa on. This can be done through file encryp on so ware.
Shreddocuments(both paper and electronic) that contain personal or financial informa on before discarding them. This prevents dumpster divers or computer hackers
from accessing your informa on that has not permanently been deleted.
www.sao4th.com

Setting the Record Straight

The topic of Civil Cita ons has
recently become a hot bu on issue. The truth is that there is
nothing civil about the facts which
form the basis for a cita on. Citaons are used in criminal ma ers
involving juveniles and are given
to those who have commi ed a
misdemeanor, such as Pe t The
or Trespass.
The cita on is used in place of
an arrest. Juveniles do not go to
jail, but instead, are sent to teen
court or another diversion program.
Ms. Corey has supported the
use of Civil Cita ons since she
took oce in 2009. While Civil
Cita ons are used in Duval County

schools and by local law enforcement for certain appropriate

crimes, State A orney Corey has
noted she does not support the
cita ons being issued for misdemeanors like Ba ery, where there
is a vic m.
In Florida, vic ms have cons tuonal rights. A vic m has the right
to consult with the SAO to decide
whether to file or divert charges
against the suspect, receive res tuon, or seek any other proper remedy (such as no contact with the
vic m).
Ms. Corey says crimes involving
vic ms should always be reviewed
by prosecutors before being automa cally diverted with a civil cita-

on. A recent bea ng in a Baldwin

Middle-High School classroom is
one example of why cases need to
be reviewed.
The State A orneys Oce was
unaware of the incident un l a story aired on TV. The SAO talked with
the vic ms mother, and then an
arrest warrant was issued for the
defendant who beat the classmate.
You can learn more informa on
about Civil Cita ons on our website
under Latest SAO News at
www.sao4th.com.