Jonathan Jeffery
Prosecutors could seek death for Theodore
By Carlos R. Munoz
The Sarasota Herald-Times
State prosecutors will seek the death penalty in the trial of Christian Theodore, who is charged with murder and armed robbery in connection with the home invasion death of Jonathan Jeffery on Dec. 14, 2014.
Theodore's trial for 1st-degree murder begins with jury selection Dec. 12, nearly 2 years to the day Jeffery, 25, was killed in front of his wife, Brandi Jeffery, with a single shot to the head.
The death penalty has been in limbo since January, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Florida's death penalty law, which required 7 jurors to approve death and left the final decision up to the judge, was unconstitutional.
In March, the Florida Legislature approved a measure that increased the number of jurors needed to approve death to 10, allowing juries the final decision to impose capital punishment.
Seven months later, the Florida Supreme Court once again nixed the death penalty law in a 5-2 vote because it did not require juries to come to a unanimous decision. The U.S. Supreme Court and state ruling overturned the new measure based on a case brought by convicted murderer, Timothy Lee Hurst.
Since the law was struck down Oct. 14, the Legislature has been in recess and unable to update language in the death penalty law to reflects the state court's ruling. Lawmakers are back in session on March 7.
"The death penalty is in a state of flux right now,' Assistant State Attorney Karen Fraivillig said. "Right now, the death penalty for all intents and purposes is on hold. It's still constitutional."
Speedy trial demand
Theodore, who has been jailed since Jan. 5, 2015, has demanded a speedy trial.
He is 1 of 5 people charged in the death of Jeffery, who was asleep in a bedroom with his wife, Brandi Jeffery, when 4 men crashed through a glass lanai at around 5:34 a.m. Dec. 14, 2014, and entered their apartment.
The men allegedly ordered the couple to lay on their stomachs and zip tied their hands behind their backs. The men then ransacked the house demanding to know "where it is...," according to Brandi Jeffery. Jonathan
Jeffery directed them to a closet where a backpack with drugs and money was hidden.
In addition to the backpack, the men took cell phones and an Xbox.
Brandi Jeffery later told deputies during an interview her husband had started dealing drugs because they were struggling financially.
The Jeffery's 17-month-old daughter was asleep in another bedroom and their niece and nephew - 12-year-old twins - were lying on a couch. None of them were harmed.
Brandi Jeffery said one of the men holding a gun to her husband's head fired a single shot that killed him. The men left through the broken lanai.
Shakoy Gale, 23, Aenri Ellis, 29, and Byron Jones, 27, have all been found guilty of murder and related charges. They were each sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
2 others, Azalea Mendoza, 21, and Vincent Gonzalez, 27, pleaded no contest to lesser charges and have agreed to testify against Theodore in the upcoming trial. Mendoza is the mother to Theodore's 2 children.
Mendoza was charged with accessory to murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, while Gonzalez was given 28 years for 2nd-degree murder.
Waiting on lawmakers
Fraivillig said Theodore could be charged on the "guilt phase," but if he is convicted the courts must wait for the Legislature to bring the current death penalty law up to date before they can sentence him.
"We would have to pick an all new jury who never heard the facts and re-educate them," Fraivillig said. "It leaves the state at a disadvantage."
For years, the Florida Legislature has been warned that the state's death penalty statue was unconstitutional, and now the courts have taken it out of lawmakers' hands, said Michael Barfield, a Sarasota paralegal and vice president of the Florida American Civil Liberties Union.
"We require a unanimous jury in every other situation short of death," Barfield said. "It is required now, but why we didn't require it for death penalty, which is the ultimate penalty, has always been a mystery to us."
Barfield called the state court's latest ruling on the death penalty almost a final blow to executions in Florida.
"It would seem to me that it would be unwise to proceed with a capital trial under the current framework the Supreme Court has ruled unconstitutional if the case isn't scheduled to conclude before the end of the legislative session.
"I do believe death penalty is broken. We should just end it once and for all and stop wasting our resources," he said.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20...h-for-theodore
Bookmarks