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Thread: Darren Decker Dies In Prison--Had Faced Death Penalty in 2016 FL Murder of Don “Terry” Plumeri and Tamara Bedenbaugh

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    Darren Decker Dies In Prison--Had Faced Death Penalty in 2016 FL Murder of Don “Terry” Plumeri and Tamara Bedenbaugh


    Tamara Bedenbaugh


    Decker is a suspect in the April 1, 2016 murder of well known composer Don “Terry” Plumeri.


    Jessica Baker and Darren Decker


    May 30, 2016

    Couple went from business to burglary


    By Nicki Gorny
    The Daily Commercial

    OCALA — Before being arrested for a Sumter County burglary last month, Darren Decker, a 41-year-old Ocalan who has called Florida home for the past eight years, wore a lot of hats.

    He's an entrepreneur who has operated a number of different businesses in New York and Ocala.

    He's a philanthropist who offered up his Ocala tavern for community fundraisers and hosted a Florida Bikers Helping Florida Bikers event.

    And, if allegations brought by local law enforcement prove true, he is a serial burglar and murderer.

    Decker and his longtime girlfriend, Jessica Baker, 44, were arrested last month in connection with what authorities describe as a four-month string of approximately 60 burglaries in Alachua, Citrus, Levy, Marion and Sumter counties. They also are persons of interest in the January death of Tamara Bedenbaugh in Marion County and suspects in the April killing of Don “Terry” Plumeri on the Citrus County side of Dunnellon.

    Neither Decker nor Baker has been charged in the deaths. Because the burglaries span more than one judicial circuit, Ric Ridgway, chief assistant state attorney for the 5th Judicial Circuit, said the Attorney General's Office of Statewide Prosecution will handle those cases.

    Decker and Baker moved from New York to Ocala in 2008 after his businesses there, including auto repair shops and even a deli, ran into debt and tax problems. Following an approximately two-year stint working at a Tuffy Auto Service Center in Ocala, Decker took the entrepreneurial route again, opening Double D's Automotive, on Northeast 14th Street, in the fall of 2011.

    He sold it and in 2014 began running Just One More The Beer Pub, a blue-collar tavern on Northeast 25th Avenue. He renamed it All About That Beer and began to take on a particularly public role. He positioned the joint as a venue for local fundraisers, a collaborator with the non-profit Florida Bikers Helping Florida Bikers, and a rallying point for last summer's Florida Southern Pride Ride.

    But the couple ran into tax problems again and the couple transferred the bar's lease to somebody else. Decker had run a pawn shop in New York, could quickly spot the value of items, and law enforcement authorities suggest the couple found a new revenue stream beginning in January: burglaries.

    Authorities say the burglary spree began in January, and charges filed so far in Alachua, Marion and Sumter counties offer a partial timeline from there: a stop in Lake Panasoffkee on Feb. 4, in Bushnell on Feb. 12, in Webster on March 8, in Gainesville on March 30, in High Springs on April 4, and so on.

    Each burglary fit a profile. Pry marks around doorways. Thefts of guns, jewelry and small electronics. And, tying the crimes together, each homeowner reported a missing pillowcase.

    That was the couple's signature, according to authorities: taking their loot in pillowcases they swiped from the houses. Hence their knickname in official circles: the “pillowcase burglars.”

    Baker typically played a minor role, according to one affidavit from Alachua County that references an interview Decker gave after his arrest.

    “Jessica Baker would at times drive him around not knowing what he was planning to do at residences,” the affidavit states. “The defendant (Decker) stated that Jessica was only present for a few, listing another burglary which occurred in Alachua County.”

    In response to the burglaries, the Citrus County Sheriff's Office undertook all-out effort.

    Then "a major break in the case came as a result of our suspect selling stolen property from a prior burglary," according to CCSO. "This information helped lead detectives to Decker and Baker, who were arrested in Marion
    County on Monday, April 18th, for a burglary that had occurred that day in Sumter County."

    That break was when a burglary victim spotted her stolen items on Craigslist and notified authorities. Marion detectives followed the couple who had posted the items and watched them enter the rear door of a home in
    Sumter County before arresting them later that day with a lot of allegedly stolen merchandise from a host of break-ins.

    The couple was booked into the Sumter County jail on April 21.

    The most serious accusations against Decker and Becker — the killings of Bedenbaugh and Plumeri — come from law enforcement rather than prosecutors.

    Officials then said they were confident of a connection to the Plumeri death. Plumeri, 71, a well-known composer, was found dead in his Dunnellon home on April 1 after a break-in.

    They identified them less certainly to the Marion County killing. Bedenbaugh, 57, was found dead in her County Road 225A home on Jan. 25 after a home invasion robbery.

    http://www.dailycommercial.com/news/...cd529af59.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    State will seek death penalty for 'pillowcase burglar'

    By Nicki Gorny
    The Ocala Star-Banner

    The state is pursuing the death penalty against an Ocala man accused accused in a string of burglaries and at least one murder.

    A grand jury indicted Darren Decker, 42, on 1 count of 1st-degree murder in late June. The charge stems from the death of Tamara Bedenbaugh, 57, who was found dead in her Northwest County Road 225-A home on Jan. 25.

    Bedenbaugh seemed to be the victim of a home invasion. The Marion County Sheriff's Office reported at the time that her front door showed signs of forcible entry. It reported that jewelry, cash and a wallet were missing.

    Assistant State Attorney Amy Berndt said the decision to pursue the death penalty reflects the violence of the crime.

    The Sheriff's Office has not yet released the cause of death, according to Lauren Letellier, assistant public information officer. Berndt said the circumstances of the murder made it fit several of the legally specified "aggravating factors" needed to justify a death sentence.

    Namely, Berndt said, the killing was "heinous, atrocious and cruel"; was committed for financial gain; and was committed during the commission of another felony - in this case, burglary.

    The arrest of Decker and his longtime girlfriend, Jessica Baker, 44, came in April as the result of a multi-agency investigation into a months-long string of burglaries. Decker and Baker are accused of targeting homes throughout Alachua, Citrus, Levy,

    Marion and Sumter counties. Authorities dubbed the duo the "pillowcase burglars" in reference to their alleged habit of hauling off guns, jewelry and small electronics in a pillowcase taken from the targeted homes.

    At least 1 arrest affidavit, filed in Alachua County, suggests Baker played a minor role in the scheme. She is not charged in Bedenbaugh's murder. Court records indicate she is not facing any burglary- and theft-related charges in Marion County.

    Decker, on the hand, faces at least 28 burglary- and theft-related charges in Marion County alone. This includes 2 in the indictment pertaining to Bedenbaugh's murder.

    Decker is not charged in a 2nd murder for which authorities named him a suspect at an April press conference. Don "Terry" Plumeri, 71, a well-known composer, was found dead in his home in Dunnellon on April 1.

    The Citrus County Sheriff's Office investigated that murder. Assistant State Attorney Peter Magrino said the State Attorney's Office continues to consider that case.

    http://www.ocala.com/news/20161014/s...owcase-burglar
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Suspected 'pillowcase burglars' face murder charge in Citrus

    By Katie Pohlmanâ
    OCALA.com

    The Ocala couple accused of murdering a Dunnellon man and committing a string of burglaries across four counties was arraigned in Citrus County court Tuesday.

    Darren Decker, 42, and Jessica Baker, 45, pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and armed burglary that were handed down in December 2016 by a grand jury. Both charges involve composer Don "Terry" Plumeri, who was found dead in his burglarized West Candier Court home April 1, 2016. The home is in the Dunnellon area of Citrus County. The Citrus County Sheriff's Office reported Plumeri had been bound and suffered blunt-force trauma and multiple stab wounds to his upper body.

    According to the Citrus County Jail log, Decker and Baker remained in custody there on Wednesday.

    Baker is set to be back in court in Citrus County on Feb. 7; Decker will return to court there April 4.

    Decker and Baker were arrested April 18, 2016, for a series of daytime burglaries in Marion, Alachua, Citrus and Sumter counties. They had become known as the "Pillowcase burglars" for their mode of operation.

    In June 2016, Decker was indicted by a grand jury in Marion County for the murder of Ocala woman Tamara Bedenbaugh, 57, and for armed burglary and grand theft. Baker was not indicted in the woman's death.

    The Marion County Clerk of Court website indicates Decker was set for jury selection on Monday but that has been rescheduled.

    http://www.ocala.com/news/20170125/s...citrus?start=2
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Former Kingston resident faces death penalty in two Florida murder cases

    By Diane Pineiro-Zucker
    Daily Freeman

    KINGSTON, N.Y. - A Florida prosecutor says he will seek the death penalty for a former Kingston resident charged with the murder of an “elderly gentleman” and life in prison for another former Kingston resident in the same case.

    The victim, Don “Terry” Plumeri, 71, of Dunnellon, Fla., a composer-musician, suffered “multiple blunt- and sharp-force” fatal injuries in the course of a home-invasion robbery on March 31, 2016, said Pete Magrino, the tri-county homicide prosecutor for Florida’s Fifth Circuit Court, which comprises Citrus, Hernando and Sumter counties in central Florida. Magrino, interviewed on Tuesday, would not say whether the victim was acquainted with his accused killers.

    On Dec. 20, Darren Decker, 42, of Ocala, Fla., was indicted by a Citrus County grand jury for first-degree murder and armed burglary, both felonies, in connection with Plumeri’s death, Magrino said. Decker also faces life in prison on the burglary charge and also is facing the death penalty in a Marion County, Fla., murder case.

    Decker’s partner, Jessica Baker, 45, also of Ocala, was indicted Dec. 20 for first-degree murder and armed robbery in the Plumeri case and is facing life in prison on both counts, Magrino said. She also faces life in prison for burglary in the Marion County case, he said.

    Last May, Lauren Lettelier of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office told the Freeman that Decker and Baker lived in “Ulster County — Kingston ... for an extended period of time” but had lived in Florida for the past eight years.

    Decker and Baker are being held without bail in the Citrus County Jail pending a hearing later this month, Magrino said.

    In a May 2016 Facebook post on the Citrus County sheriff’s page, Capt. Brad Smith wrote, “Mr. Plumeri suffered at the hands of Darren Decker. We know that Mr. Plumeri was inside his home when the suspect(s) broke in. We believe that Decker brutally murdered a very talented man who certainly didn’t deserve to die this way.”

    In May, Decker was indicted in Marion County for first-degree murder in the Jan. 25, 2016, death of Tamara Bedenbaugh, 57, of Ocala, Fla., who “was killed during the commission of a home-invasion robbery” during which jewelry and cash were stolen, according an April press release from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. Officials did not say how Bedenbaugh died.

    Baker was not named in the indictment for Bedenbaugh’s killing.

    Florida authorities last May also said Decker and Baker were suspects in as many as 60 burglaries in the state.

    They were arrested in Marion County in late April and charged with grand theft/burglary of a dwelling, a felony, the county Sheriff’s Office said at the time.

    The burglaries came to be known as the “pillowcase burglaries” because all the crimes involved placing stolen items in pillowcases. They began in January 2016 in the north-central Florida counties of Marion, Alachua, Sumter, Levy and Citrus, according to authorities.

    Decker has a lengthy rap sheet in Ulster County that includes numerous arrests for crimes ranging from passing bad checks to grand larceny, and he spent time in the Ulster County Jail as far back as 1991, Ulster County Sheriff Paul VanBlarcum said last year. The sheriff said he did not know if Decker was convicted in any of the cases.

    VanBlarcum said Baker has no arrest record in Ulster County and that neither suspect has outstanding arrest warrants in Ulster County.

    Decker and Baker were identified by Florida authorities after trying to sell some of the stolen items, authorities said. Surveillance teams then began tracking their movements, and they were arrested during a traffic stop following a burglary in Sumter County, according to a May press release from that county’s Sheriff’s Office.

    After executing search warrants at the couple’s home in Ocala, the vehicle they were using and a storage unit where they allegedly kept stolen items, detectives were able to link Decker and Baker to the multiple burglaries, authorities said.

    http://www.dailyfreeman.com/general-...a-murder-cases
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Darren Decker, suspected in two murders, dies in Citrus County

    By Austin L. Miller
    Gainsville Sun

    CITRUS COUNTY – A 42-year-old Ocala man accused of committing two murders, in Marion and Citrus counties, died Thursday in a Citrus County hospital after he was taken there from the Citrus County Corrections Facility.

    According to the Citrus County Sheriff's Office, Darren Decker died not long after he arrived at Seven Rivers Hospital.

    CCSO officials said their detectives went to the jail to investigate what was described as a suicide. A spokeswoman said the investigation is ongoing and that she could not release any information surrounding Decker's death.

    Decker was awaiting trial for the murders of Don "Terry" Plumeri, who lived on the Citrus County side of Dunnellon, and of Tamara Bedenbaugh, of Ocala.

    Plumeri, a composer, was found dead in his West Candier home on April 1, 2016. Officials said his residence had been burglarized. He was bound and had suffered blunt force trauma and had multiple stab wounds to his upper body.

    In the case of Bedenbaugh, Marion County Sheriff's Office detectives said the real estate agent died from blunt force trauma and stab wounds sometime between 8 a.m. and noon Jan. 25, 2016.

    Decker and Jessica Lynn Baker, 45, also of Ocala, were arrested April 18, 2016, in connection with a series of daytime burglaries in Marion, Alachua, Citrus and Sumter counties. The two were called the "Pillowcase burglars," based on their mode of operation.

    In December 2016, a grand jury in Citrus County indicted Decker and Baker for first-degree murder and burglary of a dwelling while armed in the death of Plumeri.

    In June 2016, Decker was indicted by a Marion County grand jury for Bedenbaugh's murder. He also was indicted for armed burglary and grand theft. Baker was not indicted for the woman's death.

    http://www.gainesville.com/news/2017...-citrus-county
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Ex-Kingston man who committed suicide in Florida jail died by hanging self

    By Diane Pineiro-Zucker
    The Daily Freeman

    A former Kingston resident who killed himself in a Florida jail while awaiting trial for murder died from hanging himself, the Citrus County Medical Examiner’s Office said Tuesday.

    Darren Decker, 42, of Ocala, Fla., committed suicide March 9 in a cell at the Citrus County Detention Center, a private jail in Lecanto, Fla., the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office said at the time. That he hanged himself was not revealed until Tuesday.

    The Ocala Star Banner newspaper reported on its website Tuesday that Decker hanged himself with a bed sheet and did not leave a suicide note.

    Decker was indicted on Dec. 20, 2016, by a Citrus County grand jury for first-degree murder and armed burglary, both felonies, in connection with the March 31, 2016, death of Don “Terry” Plumeri in Dunnellon, Fla. Decker faced the possibility of the death penalty in both that case and a Marion County, Fla., murder case.

    Pete Magrino, the tri-county homicide prosecutor for Florida’s Fifth Circuit Court, said previously that Plumeri, 71, a composer-musician, suffered “multiple blunt- and sharp-force” fatal injuries in the course of a home-invasion robbery.

    Decker’s partner, Jessica Baker, 45, also of Ocala and also a former Kingston resident, was indicted Dec. 20 for first-degree murder and armed robbery in the Plumeri case and is facing life in prison if convicted, Magrino said in February. Baker faces life in prison for burglary in the Marion County case.

    Magrino said Decker’s death would have no effect on Baker’s case.

    Florida authorities said last May said Decker and Baker were suspects in as many as 60 burglaries in the state. The burglaries came to be known as the “pillowcase burglaries” because all the crimes involved placing stolen items in pillowcases.

    Last May, Lauren Lettelier of the Marion County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office told the Freeman that Decker and Baker lived in “Ulster County — Kingston ... for an extended period of time” but had lived in Florida for the past eight years.

    Decker had a lengthy rap sheet in Ulster County that included numerous arrests for crimes ranging from passing bad checks to grand larceny, and he spent time in the Ulster County Jail as far back as 1991.

    http://www.dailyfreeman.com/general-...y-hanging-self

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    May 1, 2018

    ‘Pillowcase burglar’ sentenced to 50 years in prison

    By Katie Pohlman
    The Ocala Star-Banner

    An Ocala woman was sentenced to 50 years in prison Monday for charges of second-degree murder and armed burglary in Citrus County.

    Jessica Lynn Baker, 46, pleaded guilty in December 2017 in connection to the death of composer and Dunnellon resident Don “Terry” Plumeri in April 2016. He was found dead in his burglarized West Candier Court home. The Citrus County Sheriff’s Office reported Plumeri had been bound and suffered blunt-force trauma and multiple stab wounds to his upper body.

    Baker was originally charged with first-degree murder but pleaded guilty to second-degree murder as part of a plea deal. She was facing a sentence of up to life in prison for the armed burglary charge.

    Baker and former partner Darren Decker, 42, were accused of committing a string of burglaries across Marion, Alachua, Citrus and Sumter counties. Decker faced the same Citrus murder charge, as well as one in Marion County in which prosecutors decided to seek the death penalty. Decker killed himself in March 2017 while in custody at the Citrus County Jail.

    Baker was not indicted in the Marion County murder case of Tamara Bedenbaugh, 57.

    The two, known as the “pillowcase burglars,” began their burglary spree around January 2016. Authorities accused them of breaking into homes and stealing guns, jewelry and small electronics. They are said to have carried the loot away in pillowcases taken from the homes, earning them their nickname.

    Baker still has an open case against her in Alachua County, according to court records. She is charged with armed burglary of a dwelling and two counts of grand theft.

    http://www.ocala.com/news/20180501/p...ears-in-prison

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