In the Courts
The following felony cases have either been tried in a court of law or have been settled without trial and are considered closed.

• Michelle King was sentenced to two years probation after pleading no contest to possession of methamphetamine. King was arrested in April 2020 during a traffic stop performed by the Okeechobee Narcotics Task Force.

• James Cypress was sentenced to three years probation after pleading no contest to DUI and intentional child abuse. Cypress was arrested in August 2019 after trying to leave the scene of an accident with a child sitting on the front seat of the vehicle beside him. When he was stopped, he tried to fight the officers who stopped him. He was originally charged with assault on law enforcement officers, operating a motor vehicle without a license and obstruction without violence, but those charges were later dropped.

• Jonathan Garcia was sentenced to 18 month probation after pleading no contest to possession of cocaine. Adjudication was withheld. Garcia was arrested in May 2020 during a traffic stop performed by the Okeechobee Narcotics Task Force.

• James Griffin was sentenced to 23 years in state prison followed by two years probation after pleading no contest to 12 counts of possession of child pornography. Griffin was originally charged with 75 counts, but 63 of the counts were dropped. Griffin was arrested in February 2018.

• Sarah and Shelby Lester were each sentenced to one day in county jail after pleading no contest to possession of drug paraphernalia. Two charges of possession of a controlled substance without a prescription were dropped. The Lesters were arrested in March 2020 during a FHP traffic stop for an expired tag.

• Zavius Long was sentenced to one year probation after pleading no contest to criminal mischief under $200 and introducing contraband into a detention facility. Adjudication was withheld. Long was arrested in December 2020 when he broke a piece of plexiglass from his cell in the Okeechobee County Jail and stored it with his property. A deputy observed him break the plexiglass and reported it. Despite a witness and video confirmation of Long breaking the plexiglass, he initially denied it, claiming the piece just fell off.

• Wender Mendez Lopez was sentenced to three years probation after pleading no contest to intentional child abuse. Three charges of lewd and lascivious battery on a victim between 12 and 16 years of age were dropped. Lopez was arrested in October 2020.

• Deborah Gillis was sentenced to two years probation after pleading no contest to possession of cocaine and possession of amphetamine. Gillis was arrested in August 2020 during a traffic stop performed by the Okeechobee Narcotics Task Force. After giving the detectives permission to search the vehicle, Gillis told them she was an addict. She said the substance they found in the console was probably crack. She went on to tell them if they searched the other side of the vehicle, they would probably find more.

• Nicholas Delgado was sentenced to three years state prison followed by two years probation and two years community control after pleading no contest to trafficking in cocaine and possession with intent to sell. A charge of possession of marijuana was dropped. Delgado was arrested in January of 2019 during an undercover operation conducted by the Okeechobee Narcotics Task Force.

• Michael Graf was sentenced to eight months in county jail after pleading no contest to possession of a synthetic cannabinoid and possession of drug paraphernalia. Graf was arrested in December 2020 during a traffic stop conducted by the Okeechobee Narcotics Task Force. Arrested with him was Darrell David Nettles. Nettles was charged with possession of heroin and possession of drug paraphernalia. His case has not been resolved yet.

Withheld adjudication normally refers to a decision by a judge to put an individual on probation without an adjudication of guilt. It means a person is not found guilty legally by the court. If the person successfully completes the terms of probation and has no subsequent offenses, no further action will be taken on the case, and the offense for which adjudication was withheld is typically not considered a prior conviction for purposes of habitual offender sentencing.