These columns list arrests and not convictions, unless otherwise stated. Anyone listed here who is later found not guilty or has had the charges against them dropped is welcome to inform this newspaper. The information will be confirmed and printed.
The following cases are now considered closed.
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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.
• Michael Stewart was sentenced to 18 months in state prison after pleading no contest to petit theft and burglary. Stewart was arrested in August 2020 and was initially charged with grand theft after he took security cameras from a woman’s house. In September, a charge of burglary was added.
• Jonathan Jenkins was sentenced to five years and six months in state prison after pleading no contest to two charges possession of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a park and two charges sale of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a park. Jenkins was arrested in September 2020 during an undercover narcotics task force operation. He was arrested again in April 2021 on identical charges.
• James Partridge was sentenced to state prison for 18 months for failure to register as a sex offender. Partridge was arrested in May 2021 after failing to reregister within six months of his birthday.
• Billie Thomas was sentenced to six months probation after pleading no contest to fraud on a vessel application. Adjudication was withheld. Charges of possession of a vessel with an altered hull number, sale of a counterfeit vessel title and unlawfully selling or transferring the title of a vessel were dropped. Thomas was arrested in May 2021 by the FWC.
• Charles Wilkes was sentenced to two years and six months in state prison after pleading no contest to grand theft auto and resisting arrest without violence. Wilkes was arrested in March by OCSO after he made a run for it during a traffic stop.
• Brittney Drawdy was sentenced to five years in state prison after pleading no contest to possession of a synthetic cannabinoid with intent to sell, trafficking in synthetic cannabinoid, possession of drug paraphernalia and introduction of contraband into a detention facility. Charges of sale of a controlled substance, possession of cocaine and possession of synthetic cannabinoid were dropped. Drawdy was arrested in March during an undercover operation.
• Jose Tagle was sentenced to 18 months in state prison after pleading no contest to possession with intent to sell and driving without a license. Tagle was arrested in January during Traffic stop.
• Brandon Bailey was sentenced to two years drug offender probation after pleading no contest to possession of cocaine and tampering with evidence. Adjudication was withheld. Bailey was arrested in June during a traffic stop.
• Serafin Martinez Sanchez was sentenced to two years drug offender probation after pleading no contest to possession of cocaine. Adjudication was withheld. He was arrested in January at Punto Caliente during a bar check. A police officer found several men huddled together, and one held several $20 bills in his hand. Martinez Sanchez dropped a baggy filled with white powder which later tested positive for cocaine onto the floor. At the time, he claimed someone else threw the baggy on the floor.
• Samuel Belcher, 18, was sentenced to one year probation after pleading no contest to carrying a concealed weapon and resisting arrest without violence. Adjudication was withheld. Belcher was arrested in May after he and three friends were target shooting with a pellet gun, and a neighbor complained they were shooting in the direction of her home. Three of the boys agreed to be patted down by the responding deputy, but Belcher did not and was arrested. During the arrest, a .40 caliber S&W handgun fell out of his waist band.
• Megan O’Grady was sentenced to two months in county jail after pleading no contest to possession of buprenorphine. She was arrested in August at the Big Lake Inn after a 911 call about a woman yelling and arguing. When officers arrived, O’Grady told them she was hearing voices and that her boyfriend was abducted and then returned as a different person. Dispatch advised she had a warrant out for her arrest in New York on drug charges.
• Javaris Johnson was sentenced to three years probation after pleading no contest to carrying a concealed firearm and driving without a license. Adjudication was withheld. A charge of possession of marijuana with intent to sell was dropped. Johnson was arrested in December 2019 during a traffic stop.
• David Powell was sentenced to four years probation after pleading no contest to giving false information to a scrap yard. Adjudication was withheld. Powell was arrested in April after a warrant was issued in February. Powell attempted to scrap a vehicle stolen out of Kissimmee at Atland Recycling.
• Marcus Rutherford was sentenced to four years probation after pleading no contest to felony battery causing great bodily harm. Rutherford was arrested in July after punching a woman multiple times in the face, grabbing her by the throat and throwing her into a wall with enough force to bust a hole in the drywall. He threatened to kill her if she called law enforcement.
• Xavier Simon, 17, was sentenced to one year and one day in state prison followed by 18 months probation after pleading no contest to two charges of felony criminal mischief. Simon was arrested in September, but the incidents occurred in January and August. He was accused of twice damaging property belonging to Everglades Youth Academy.
• Jose Urbina was sentenced to three months in county jail followed by one year probation after pleading no contest to possession of cocaine. Urbina was arrested in August after he was stopped while riding a bicycle without a light after dark.
• Elizabeth Turner was sentenced to 22 days in county jail followed by six years probation after pleading no contest to possession of methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon and possession of drug paraphernalia. Turner was arrested in December 2020 after a search warrant was executed on her home.
• Rupert Goolsby was found not guilty of DUI with priors by a jury of his peers. Goolsby was arrested in October 2019.
• Donald Bush was sentenced to eight months and 29 days in county jail followed by three years probation after pleading no contest to aggravated stalking, aggravated battery and violation of pretrial release. Bush was arrested in January after striking a man multiple times in the head. At the time of that arrest, Bush was out on bond on the stalking charge. In that case, he harassed an ex-girlfriend for months and threatened to kill her.
Withheld adjudication generally refers to a decision by a judge to put a person on probation without an adjudication of guilt. It means an individual 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.
