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Thread: Justin Tyler Calhoun Sentenced to LWOP in 2017 FL Murder of 67-Year-Old Mark Brann

  1. #1
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    Justin Tyler Calhoun Sentenced to LWOP in 2017 FL Murder of 67-Year-Old Mark Brann






    A stripper said he was a ‘cannibal,’ then killed him with a pen and a dresser drawer, police say

    By Gwen Filosa
    Miami Herald

    A Key West, Florida, man died Tuesday, one day after he was attacked at his home, stabbed in both eyes and left with a piece of wood jammed down his throat, police said.

    Mark Brann, 67, suffered severe head injuries during what police called “a brutal domestic-related attack,” and was airlifted to a trauma center in Miami.

    Justin Tyler Calhoun, 24, listed in jail records as a female and homeless who works as a stripper in Tampa, Florida, was arrested for attempted second-degree murder after admitting to the attack, police spokeswoman Alyson Crean said.

    In the arrest affidavit, detectives refer to Calhoun with male pronouns.

    During her first appearance Tuesday in court, Calhoun rolled her eyes as the charges against her were being read aloud. She is being held without bond.

    Police and paramedics were called to Brann’s home at 3:25 a.m. Monday following “a violent domestic disturbance,” Crean said.

    They found Brann, who had been stabbed in the face and severely beaten on the head. Calhoun had fled the scene, police said, but was located nearby.

    Calhoun said she and Brann had a sexual relationship and she often stayed with him at his home.

    Early Monday, Calhoun said they got into an argument after Calhoun accused Brann of being a “cannibal,” which angered Brann, according to reports.

    Calhoun told police Brann grabbed a gun that was on the bed on which the two were lying. Calhoun grabbed Brann’s wrist and the gun went off during a struggle, according to the account Calhoun gave the detective. No one was shot, police said. Calhoun then racked the pistol planning to shoot Brann with it, but the firearm jammed.

    Calhoun retaliated by stabbing Brann in both eyes with a pen, according to reports.

    “Calhoun then inserted a piece of broken wood into Brann’s mouth, stood up, and then stomped on the piece of wood to lodge it further down into Brann’s throat,” according to the arrest affidavit, which quotes Calhoun as saying she wanted to silence Brann.

    The wood piece came from a dresser that was broken during the fight.

    But Calhoun didn’t stop there, police said. She grabbed a dresser drawer and beat Brann about the head and throat with it, detectives said.

    “Calhoun admitted he went beyond self-defense,” wrote Detective Jeffrey Dean.

    Calhoun said she grabbed her backpack, some money and a dress to wear and jumped out of the bedroom window while naked, police reported. She avoided police for a time by jumping fences and climbing on roof tops.

    Monday evening, a crime scene unit and three marked police cars remained at Brann’s home, where yellow crimes scene tape was tied around the corner property.

    Calhoun later Monday was arrested for possession of cocaine, theft of $10,000 to $50,000 from a person 65 years or older and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription.

    The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, which houses jail inmates, is keeping Calhoun in the male wing of the Detention Center on Stock Island, but in a private cell because Calhoun self-identified as a female when booked, said
    Deputy Becky Herrin, the Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman.

    Calhoun is only taken out of the cell when other inmates are back in theirs, Herrin said. She said the Sheriff’s Office is following accepted national policy for housing transgender jail inmates.

    Recent brush with cops


    On Aug. 4, Calhoun agreed to enter a drug diversion program at the Monroe County Courthouse before Judge Mark Jones, after an April 21 clash with Key West police officers in which she was charged with resisting arrest with violence and possession of marijuana.

    Calhoun had been found passed out in front of the community college on Stock Island and by the time police got there she had walked over to the hospital. Police found her outside the nearby rehabilitation center, where she cursed at officers.

    “Several ‘n’ bombs were said along with others,” wrote Officer Gustavo Medina.

    Calhoun later tried to spit on Officer Anna Anglin and kick Medina, according to the arrest report.

    Police found 1.8 grams of marijuana in Calhoun’s gold purse. Calhoun is listed as a male in the police report but in it Calhoun is referred to as “he/she” and “his/her.”

    http://www.miamiherald.com/news/loca...167582617.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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    Grand jury to hear stabbing case

    By Adam Linhardt
    Key West Citizen


    A grand jury this month will mull what murder charge, if any, should be sought against a 24-year-old transgendered woman accused of stabbing a Key West business man in the eyes and beating him to death in August.

    Justin Tyler Calhoun, formerly of Tampa, is currently charged with second-degree murder in the death of Mark Brann, 67, owner of A&M Rentals Key West, died Aug. 15, at Ryder Trauma Center in Miami.

    A charge of first-degree murder requires a grand jury’s indictment by law.

    The maximum penalty of second-degree murder is life in state prison, but life is not the mandatory sentence.

    Should the grand jury come back with a first-degree murder indictment, prosecutors will decide whether they will seek a death sentence at that time, said Chief Assistant State Attorney Mark Wilson.

    The decision to seek the death penalty is technically up to prosecutors. State Attorney Dennis Ward said he will seek the grand jury’s input in this case if should they recommend a first-degree murder charge.

    Such cases are rare in Monroe County. The last instance in which the state sought death was in the matter of Jonathan Leo LeBaron, who was sentenced to life in prison in 2013 in the 2009 stabbing death of part-time Stock Island live-aboard boater Richard Gardner.

    The trial jury recommended death, but circuit Judge Mark Jones spared his life at sentencing.

    Prior to LeBaron, prosecutors sought the death penalty in the 2006 case of Christopher Bennett, who was convicted of beating his 5-year-old son, Zachary, to death. Bennett was also sentenced to life in prison.

    The last defendant to actually be sentenced to death in Monroe County was Michael Tanzi, convicted in 2003 for the 2000 kidnapping, beating, robbery, rape and murder of Janet Acosta, a Miami Herald employee.

    Tanzi remains on death row at the Union Correctional Institution in Raiford.

    Capital murder cases in Florida are broken down into two proceedings if the defendant is found guilty.

    The first part is the guilt phase; the second part is the penalty phase, in which jurors determine the sentence: life in prison or death.

    Calhoun is accused of stabbing Brann in both eyes with a pen, jamming a piece of wood down his throat, and beating him before fleeing with more than $10,000 in cash, an ounce of cocaine and more than 100 painkillers prescribed to Brann.

    Calhoun, who is identified by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office as a transgender female who worked as a stripper in Tampa before living on the streets of Key West,was taken into custody after police found her hiding naked on a roof at 2919 Fogarty Ave.

    Calhoun told police shortly thereafter that she left 1206 12th St. with a backpack containing a dress and “some money,” reports say.

    https://keysnews.com/article/story/g...stabbing-case/
    "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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    UPDATE: Stripper could face death penalty in ‘most brutal’ Key West murder case

    By Chelsea Tordaro
    Palm Beach Post

    A grand jury charged Calhoun with first-degree murder on Tuesday in the slaying of a Key West business owner, according to the Miami Herald.

    State Attorney Dennis Ward said to the Herald on Wednesday that Calhoun could face the death penalty by lethal injection if convicted of the murder.

    The victim, 67-year-old Mark Brann, died from severe head injuries the day after Calhoun stabbed him in both eyes and shoved a piece of wood down his throat, police said.

    http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/cr...BC36SGyIwh3XI/
    "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

  4. #4
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    Edited:

    Death penalty sought in stabbing case


    By Adam Lindhardt
    KeyNews.com

    State prosecutors will seek the death penalty against a 24-year-old transgender woman accused of stabbing a Key West business man in the eyes and beating him to death in August. A grand jury indicted Justin Tyler Calhoun, formerly of Tampa, with first-degree murder last month.

    https://keysnews.com/article/story/d...stabbing-case/
    "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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    He was stabbed in the eyes and choked with broken wood. Self-defense, the killer says

    By Gwen Filosa
    Miami Herald

    A fight between a couple over cannibalism ended in deadly violence: stabbed eyes, a bludgeoned face, and a throat stuffed with broken wood.

    Now, defense attorneys want a Florida Keys judge to toss out the first-degree murder case against Justin Tyler Calhoun, arguing she is immune to prosecution under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.

    The fatal fight took place Aug. 14, 2017, at a Key West home on 12th Street in the New Town section of the island.

    And it started with Calhoun demanding to know if her boyfriend was a cannibal, police said.

    Calhoun, 26, admitted stabbing Mark Brann, 67, in the eyes with pens, then bludgeoning him in the face with a dresser drawer. Calhoun finally inserted a piece of broken wood into his mouth, stomping it down his throat.

    Prosecutors want the death penalty if Calhoun is convicted as charged.

    But the violence came out because Calhoun was in a life-or-death situation, public defenders said Tuesday at Monroe County Courthouse.

    “I don’t believe we have to wait until he is shot until he has the right to defend himself,” said defense attorney Jason Smith in reference to Calhoun, who identifies as a woman.

    The day after the fight in his bedroom, Brann, who owned a scooter rental company, died from his injuries, according to an autopsy report.

    The police body camera footage captured the sounds of him gasping for breath and gurgling.

    Meanwhile, Calhoun, a dancer, came out of the fight with only a small cut on a foot, police said.

    Calhoun could have left during the fight, said Assistant State Attorney Colleen Dunne.

    Calhoun “had no impediment to leaving, and yet he stayed” she said of Calhoun. Brann “was asking for help. He was incapacitated.”

    But during her police interview, Calhoun said she went “beyond” self-defense. Smith said police put words in her mouth.

    Calhoun identifies as a woman but her lawyers and Dunne referred to her with male pronouns and as “Mr. Calhoun” during Tuesday’s hearing.

    Public Defender Kevin McCarthy said the male pronouns were used for identification purposes.

    Brann and Calhoun had been in a romantic relationship for about four years when the killing happened.

    The fight started with an argument over Calhoun accusing Brann of being a cannibal, said Key West Sgt. Jeffrey Dean.

    Brann became enraged and grabbed a gun from his nightstand, Calhoun told police during a six-hour interview, and Calhoun struggled to disarm Brann.

    The gun was fired into the ceiling. Calhoun managed to take it from Brann. Calhoun said she racked the gun and fired, but the gun jammed.

    “Yes, there was a gunshot but that does not justify the acts Justin Calhoun perpetrated on Mr. Brann,” Dunne said. “There is no evidence Mr. Brann was engaged in any other struggle other than to potentially get away from Justin Calhoun.”

    Calhoun is the sole witness but police said all of the evidence supports her story.

    Chief Judge Mark Jones said he will review the evidence — depositions, a videotaped interview between a detective and Calhoun, and photos of the crime scene and Dean’s testimony Tuesday — and issue a written ruling at a later date.

    Jones did not give a specific date for when he will rule.

    If the case proceeds, trial is set to start Feb. 24 and is expected to last three weeks.

    https://www.miamiherald.com/news/loc...236775588.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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    A brutal Keys murder involving wood shoved down a man’s throat ends in a life sentence

    By Glen Filosa
    Miami Herald

    A 2017 Key
    West murder case ended Thursday in a plea deal that left the killer with a life sentence instead of the death penalty she was facing if convicted at trial.

    Justin Tyler Calhoun, 28, who identifies as a woman, pleaded no contest to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole by Monroe County Chief Judge Mark Jones. Her lawyers used “Kaydon” as part of her name in a court filing.

    On Aug. 14, 2017, Calhoun attacked Mark Brann, 67, in Brann’s home on 12th Street, stabbing him in both eyes with a pen, forcing a piece of wood down his throat and beating him with a dresser drawer, police said.

    Brann, who owned a scooter rental company, died the next day.

    Kaydon Calhoun made off with more than $10,000 in cash, more than 100 hydrocodone pills prescribed to Brann and almost one ounce of cocaine, said prosecutor Christine Poist, who handled the case.

    Calhoun, who said she and Brann had a sexual relationship, on Thursday also pleaded no contest to robbery and was sentenced to 15 years. She will serve the sentences concurrently.

    Lawyers for Calhoun in 2019 argued Calhoun’s use of deadly force was justified under Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” self-defense law. But Jones denied the motion, writing that Calhoun was in a “maniacal state, acting not out of fear but out of rage.”

    In a sentencing memorandum filed Wednesday, public defenders Kevin McCarthy and Jason Smith said the life-sentence plea was against their advice and Calhoun only considered it “due to the specter of the death penalty.”

    A grand jury indicted Calhoun on a first-degree murder charge, finding the murder took place during a robbery. But McCarthy and Smith wrote, “At most, it was a panicked taking after the fact.”

    They said the case involved “a terrified transgender woman defended herself against an abusive partner who threatened her with a gun during an argument.”

    Calhoun told police that she and Brann got into an argument after she asked him whether he was a cannibal, according to the arrest report.

    Brann then picked up a gun and she tried to take it away, she said. During the struggle, the gun went off but no one was shot.

    Calhoun said she took the gun and planned to shoot Brann, but the gun jammed, police reported. That’s when she used a pen to stab Brann’s eyes and placed a piece of wood, which was from a dresser that had been broken during the fight, into Brann’s mouth and stomped on it, police said.

    Jones said Calhoun was “no longer justified in using deadly force” once Brann was unarmed and blinded.

    “Yet the defendant did not stop but continued to brutally attack Mr. Brann,” Jones wrote.

    A no-contest plea isn’t an admission of guilt.

    “You admit that the state could prove the case against you,” said Val Winter, chief assistant state attorney. “You admit the elements of the crime but nothing more.”

    When jailed, Calhoun identified as female and was placed in a private cell in the male section of the county jail on Stock Island, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said at the time. Calhoun’s attorneys said their client was in the process of transitioning from male to female.

    Calhoun remains in a private cell, said sheriff’s office spokesman Adam Linhardt. In jail records listed Thursday, Calhoun is listed as a male.

    https://www.miamiherald.com/news/loc...251724753.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

  7. #7
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    Wow so that’s what it takes to avoid the death penalty nowadays. Just claim you identify as the opposite gender
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

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  8. #8
    Wilso
    Guest
    If it's any consolation, Justin Tyler Calhoun ditched the womanly look as he was sent off to an all-male prison. http://www.dc.state.fl.us/offenderSe...&TypeSearch=AI

    His crime is quite similar to Brittany Holberg. Both of them were strippers, both killed a much older man, and both shoved an object down their victim's throats.

    I can only recall one time where someone from my town received the death penalty, (and was executed), and that was Bobby Marion Francis.

    They mention above Christopher Bennett, a violent habitual offender whom was convicted of stomping his kid to death. He received a life sentence. Really surprised the jury didn't give him the death penalty...

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