Florida
If Wade Wilson gets death sentence he’ll join 8 from Lee, Collier on Florida death row
Wade Wilson’s first appearance on first-degree murder charges
Wade Wilson has his first appearance in court via video chat from the Lee County Jail on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019, in Fort Myers.
Amanda Inscore, AINSCORE@NEWS-PRESS.COM
A Fort Myers man convicted of two Lee County murders could join eight other men from Lee and Collier counties on Florida’s death row.
On June 12, 2024, Wade Wilson was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder in the 2019 deaths of Kristine Melton and Diane Ruiz.
Wilson is scheduled to be back in court on Thursday, June 20 for the trial’s penalty phase. Each first-degree murder conviction makes him eligible for a death sentence.
Eight inmates currently sitting on Florida’s death row were convicted in Lee or Collier County.
Here’s what we know about Wade Wilson’s sentencing, Southwest Florida inmates under death sentences:
Wade Wilson sentencing
The penalty phase of Wade Wilson’s trial is set to begin Thursday, June 20 and the jury will decide his fate.
The jury will hear evidence to establish aggravating factors and mitigating circumstances and recommend life imprisonment or death based on those considerations.
The trial judge decides whether the sentence is imposed.
Florida juries were required to vote unanimously for a death sentence recommendation until April 2023 when Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill allowing the jury to recommend death with as few as 8 votes.
Here are the eight men from Southwest Florida Wilson could join on death row if he is sentenced to death:
Lee County
Harold Lucas
Harold Lucas has been on death row since 1977. He was convicted in the 1976 murder of 16-year-old Anthia Jill Piper in her Bonita Springs home. Piper was shot seven times.
Anton Krawczuk
Anton Krawczuk was sentenced to death in the 1990 murder of David Staker in his North Fort Myers home.
Krawczuk choked Staker for about 10 minutes and then poured drain cleaner and water down his throat. Krawczuk’s co-defendant, William Poirier, then put a washcloth in Staker’s mouth and taped it in.
The pair dumped the body in Charlotte County.
Joshua Nelson
Joshua Nelson was convicted of killing Cape Coral teen Tommy Owens in 1996.
According to reports, Nelson and his co-defendant Keith Brennan planned to kill the 18-year-old and steal his car. They lured Owens to a remote street in Cape Coral and hit him multiple times with a baseball bat before using a box cutter to slit his throat.
Owens was still conscious and begged to be knocked out. Nelson hit him again and the pair dragged his body to nearby bushes where Owens later died.
Kevin Foster
Kevin Foster, the ringleader of the “Lords of Chaos,” a self-proclaimed militia group that terrorized Lee County in the 1990s, was convicted in 1998 of killing Mark Schwebes, a Riverdale High School music teacher in April of 1996.
Schwebes reportedly caught Foster and his group vandalizing the east Fort Myers high school’s auditorium and said he would turn them in the next day. Foster and three other teens went to Schwebes’ Pine Manor home where Foster fatally shot him.
Mark Sievers
Mark Sievers is on death row for the murder-for-hire death of his wife Teresa Sievers, a 46-year-old Southwest Florida doctor.
Teresa Sievers left a family vacation and returned alone to her Bonita Springs home on June 28, 2015.
After she walked into the house, Curtis Wayne Wright and Jimmy Ray Rodgers used hammers to bludgeon her to death.
Joseph Zieler
Joseph Zieler, of North Fort Myers, was sentenced to death in the brutal 1990 rape and murder of 11-year-old Robin Cornell and her babysitter, Lisa Story, 32, in Cape Coral.
Collier County
Brandy Jennings
Brandy Jennings received the death penalty for the infamous “Cracker Barrel Killings” in Collier County in November of 1995.
Jennings and his co-defendant Charles Graves killed 18-year-old Jason Wiggins, 27-year-old Vicki Smith and 38-year-old Dorothy Siddle during a robbery at the restaurant which was located off Collier Boulevard where both were previously employed.
The victims had their hands bound, throats slit and were left in a restaurant freezer.
Mesac Damas
Mesac Damas is on death row for the murders of his wife and five children.
Damas killed Guerline Dieu Damas, and their five children – Michzach, 9; Marven, 6; Maven, 5; Megan, 3; and Morgan, 1 – by slicing their throats with a filet knife in their North Naples townhouse between Sept. 17 and 18, 2009.
Damas fled to Haiti, where he was born and raised, but was soon located and returned to Florida.
Methods of execution in Florida
In 1923, the Florida Legislature passed a law replacing hanging with the electric chair. An oak chair was built by prison inmates in that year.
Florida’s current three-legged electric chair, nicknamed “Old Sparky,” was built of oak by Florida Department of Corrections staff and installed at Florida State Prison in Raiford in 1999.
Legislation passed in 2000 allows for lethal injection as an alternative to the electric chair.
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Florida
South Florida faith leaders call for Miami mental health center to finally open
Florida
SNAP benefits will be changing in Florida starting Monday
TAMPA, Fla – New SNAP restrictions will start Monday in Florida.
What we know:
These changes will ban the purchase of many sugary sodas, energy drinks, candy and ultra-processed, shelf-stable prepared desserts.
Hunger Free America, an advocacy group, is against these restrictions.
Joel Berg, the CEO, said some regulation is a good thing, but he wants to see it support access to healthy foods as a choice.
“We do support mandates to mandate that healthier food is available in stores that do accept SNAP,” Berg said. “So, it makes a lot more sense to make it easier to get healthier food.”
Berg said these restrictions are unnecessary in achieving a healthier America.
“We should make America healthier again by making healthy food more affordable, convenient and physically available,” Berg said. “We shouldn’t micromanage the eating patterns of adults to try to achieve that goal.”
The other side:
This is part of the Make America Healthy Again initiative.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said, “Under the MAHA initiative, we are taking bold, historic steps to reverse the chronic disease epidemic that has taken root in this country for far too long.”
What they’re saying:
Berg said that these changes, on top of cuts to the program nationwide, will increase hunger.
“It’s not that low-income Americans don’t want healthier food; it’s that they can’t afford healthier food,” Berg said.
This coincides with the announcement that there will be cuts to WIC, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, which supplies food to mothers and young children.
“President Trump’s budget just announced that he’s proposing taking away fruits and vegetables from the WIC program for pregnant women and children under five,” Berg said. “So, they’re taking away healthier food.”
The WIC cuts would take away $1.4 billion in fruit and vegetable benefits from 5.4 million people.
Big picture view:
The SNAP changes come as part of the MAHA movement and include more than 20 other states that will implement changes over the next two years.
The Source: Information in this story comes from WIC, SNAP and interviews done by Fox 13’s Danielle Zulkosky.
Florida
GALLERY: Barrett-Jackson ‘Super Saturday’ takes over South Florida Fairgrounds
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — The engines are revving for one final day of high-stakes bidding and family fun at the South Florida Fairgrounds.
Barrett-Jackson’s Palm Beach auction reaches its grand finale today with an action-packed “Super Saturday” lineup, promising to close out the weekend with a full slate of collector car sales, live entertainment, and fan attractions.
“Super Saturday,” presented by Seminole Casino Coconut Creek, officially kicks off at 8 a.m. when gates, food courts, and the exhibitor marketplace open to the public.
What to expect
- 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.: The Fantasy Bid presented by Dodge begins early, running in tandem with the automobilia auction in the arena.
- 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.: Thrill-seekers can catch Dodge thrill rides on the Barrett-Jackson Performance Track.
- 10:00 a.m.: New amenities open to the public, including the Stella Artois, Staging Lanes, and Food Court patios, which offer shaded seating and auction views.
- 10:45 a.m.: The national anthem will be performed in the auction arena, signaling the start of the main collector car auction at 11 a.m.
- Afternoon Entertainment: DJ sets run from noon to 5 p.m. across the various patios, and a detailing clinic by Adam’s Polishes is scheduled for 2 p.m. near the South Showcase.
For those unable to attend, the whole event will be livestreamed throughout the day on the Barrett-Jackson website and the HISTORY channel from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Today’s finale comes on the heels of a high-energy Friday that saw significant sales and notable celebrity interest.
Star power was evident throughout the day, particularly with vehicles tied to the Busch family. A 1957 Ford Thunderbird Convertible owned by Samantha Busch and a 1969 Oldsmobile 442 Custom Coupe were among the day’s heavy hitters, each fetching $159,500. Kyle Busch’s 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Custom Coupe also drew a strong bid, selling for $143,000.
Other Friday highlights included:
- 1968 Ford Mustang Eleanor Replica: $137,500
- 2004 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Mamba Edition: $132,000
- 1972 Chevrolet K5 Blazer Custom SUV: $126,500
- 1957 Ford Thunderbird Custom Convertible: $121,000
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
With a festival-style atmosphere and high-profile sales driving momentum, organizers expect a busy crowd for the final push at the auction block today.
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