Page 4 of 4 FirstFirst ... 234
Results 31 to 37 of 37

Thread: Howell Emanuel Donaldson III Sentenced to LWOP in 2017 FL Multiple Murders

  1. #31
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Citing lack of cooperation, lawyers ask to bar Seminole Heights victim’s parents as witnesses

    The parents of murder victim Anthony Naiboa have avoided testifying in pretrial depositions in the case of Howell Donaldson, court documents state

    By Dan Sullivan
    Tampa Bay Times

    TAMPA — Defense attorneys for the man accused of four killings in Tampa’s southeast Seminole Heights neighborhood have asked a judge to bar the parents of one victim from being witnesses at trial, citing a lack of cooperation.

    Anthony Naiboa was the third person killed in a series of four apparently random shootings that occurred over several weeks in the fall of 2017. The state has accused Howell Donaldson III of the murders.

    As the case against Donaldson has moved toward trial, lawyers for the state and defense have sought to take pretrial deposition testimony from scores of witnesses. They include Naiboa’s father, Casimar Naiboa, and stepmother, Maria Rodriguez.

    But both parents have avoided testifying. It is not clear why.

    A recent court motion filed by the office of Hillsborough Public Defender Julianne Holt details the repeated efforts lawyers have made to have the couple testify. Both have failed to show up for scheduled depositions. After multiple subpoenas, Rodriguez finally did appear but refused to answer questions about her son.

    The defense motion asks that the couple be excluded as witnesses in both the guilt and penalty phases of Donaldson’s trial. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Donaldson’s next court hearing is set for later this month. No trial date has been set.

    A spokesperson for the office of Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren declined to comment about the issue. It is not clear if prosecutors will challenge the defense’s motion.

    With their motion, the defense attached several documents illustrating their attempts to get Naiboa’s parents to testify.

    The documents include email correspondence with Assistant State Attorney John Terry. In January 2020, Terry sent an email to one of Donaldson’s defense attorneys asking to reschedule the couple’s depositions, which were to occur late that month. He wrote that they had apparently told the state’s victim assistant that it was too difficult for them to attend.

    “I believe they are evading service right now,” Terry wrote. “We have tried to reach them and have left messages but they are not returning our calls at the moment.”

    The prosecutor wrote that he thought the pair would need some cajoling.

    “I have no doubt I will eventually get them to cooperate,” Terry wrote. “I just need a little more time.”

    The depositions were reset for April 2020, but they were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The pair were served with subpoenas to appear for a new date of May 14, 2020, but they did not show up.

    “Very surprised neither showed,” Terry wrote in an email that afternoon. He noted that someone from the State Attorney’s Office had spent time with Rodriguez, explaining the importance of the deposition and the potential consequences.

    "Frustrating,” Terry wrote.

    In a later message, he wrote that he felt the couple would continue to ignore subpoenas. But the lawyers tried again, setting a new date for June 10, 2020.

    That morning, Rodriguez showed up. As Public Defender Julianne Holt began to question her, Rodriguez gave her name and date of birth, but then refused to go any further. She said she only came so that she wouldn’t be arrested, according to a deposition transcript.

    “I showed up, and that’s all that I want to be reported, that I showed up,” she said. “But I do not want to answer no question that has to do with Anthony. I’m sorry."

    The defense attorneys left the room while Rodriguez spoke privately with the prosecutor. Returning minutes later, Holt noted that Rodriguez was crying and did not appear to be capable of continuing, according to the transcript. Rodriguez had explained that a lawyer friend told her if she simply showed up, she could avoid getting into trouble. She also mentioned that Anthony’s father works out of state and she did not know when he would return.

    Casimar Naiboa declined to comment when reached by phone Friday.

    When he spoke to the Tampa Bay Times in October 2020, he said his family had experienced fatigue at the case’s duration. He said that he and his wife had refused to testify in depositions because they believed the lawyers wanted to “dig up dirt” about his son.

    He said they felt re-victimized.

    Donaldson is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Naiboa, Benjamin Mitchell, Monica Hoffa, and Ronald Felton.

    Police determined the killings were are all committed with the same handgun, a .40 Glock. Donaldson was arrested in late November 2017. A manager at the Ybor City McDonald’s where he worked notified police after he gave her a bag that contained a .40 Glock handgun and told her to hold onto it while he ran an errand. Firearms tests linked the weapon to bullet shell casings found at the murder scenes, according to court records.

    In late 2020, a judge agreed with defense attorneys that the four homicides should be split into four trials, instead of one. Prosecutors asked that evidence of the other crimes be allowed into each trial, but a judge denied their request. The case is on hold while a state appeal of that issue is pending.

    https://www.tampabay.com/news/hillsb...-as-witnesses/


    "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

  2. #32
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Attorney for accused Seminole Heights serial killer wants the death penalty thrown out

    Howell Donaldson III faces 4 trials for killings that terrorized the community in 2017

    The attorney for the man arrested and accused of 4 killings that terrorized the Seminole Heights community in 2017 is now looking to have the death penalty taken off the table.

    A motion filed in Hillsborough County Court on Jan. 7 claims that if the death penalty is sought, Howell Donaldson III's Due Process would be denied and violations of the state and federal Constitutions would occur.

    So, what does that mean? Donaldson's attorney says it all comes down to the indictment against him.

    According to the motion filed, the defense finds that the state "failed" to "charge a capital crime" or to "allege the elements of a crime punishable by the death penalty" in the Grand Jury indictment.

    The documents go on to say that when the Grand Jury returned an indictment in the case, "aggravating factors" were not presented for their consideration.

    "The Indictment fails to allege the commission of a capital crime because it fails to expressly allege that sufficient aggravating factors exist as required to impose the death penalty," the motion reads.

    While Donaldson tries to save his own life at 29, criminal defense attorney Denis deVlaming recently reviewed the motion and says it will likely fail.

    "I think what the defense is trying to do admirably, but quite frankly, is to try to save his life. I don't think they're going to have success in winning the case. It's not an obligation of the grand jury to determine whether or not the death penalty is going to be imposed. That is specifically and solely the obligation of the prosecutor," deVlaming said.

    "I think by not telling them, the aggravating factors, and so forth, in order for them to make that decision, is just not going to fly."

    Donaldson will have a Zoom hearing related to the motion at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday.

    The accused Tampa Bay area serial killer is said to have murdered Benjamin Mitchell, Monica Hoffa, Anthony Naiboa and Ronald Felton in October and November of 2017. All 4 shootings happened within blocks of each other.

    The killings led to a massive manhunt that led to Donaldson's capture at the McDonald's where he worked.

    A series of court motions since his arrest have delayed Donaldson's trials. In July 2018, a judge found him competent to stand trial after a mental health evaluation. That trial was set to start in August 2020, but a judge instead granted a motion to try each murder case separately.

    Then, in 2021, a judge denied the state's request to introduce similar evidence across the four crimes into each separate trial.

    Prosecutors argued that evidence shows a "unique pattern of criminal activity" that would be relevant to the other cases, while the defense said each case was a "similar but separate episode that must be tried separately," according to court documents.

    "The Court does not find the details surrounding the four murders to be sufficiently similar to warrant admission in each individual trial," the judge wrote.

    Instead, jurors assigned to each of Donaldson's 4 separate trials will only focus on the one specific murder case in front of them.

    His trial dates have not been set.

    (source: WTSP news)
    "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

  3. #33
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    Tennessee
    Posts
    7,316
    Accused Seminole Heights serial killer wants death penalty tossed in case

    By Gloria Gomez | FOX 13 News

    TAMPA, Fla. - The accused Seminole Heights serial killer will be in a Tampa courtroom Thursday to fight for his life.

    Howell Trae Donaldson wants the death penalty tossed out from his case, calling it unconstitutional. He is accused of causing terror and panic in Seminole Heights in the fall of 2017.

    Prosecutors said he gunned down four people; Benjamin Mitchell, Monica Hoffa, Anthony Naiboa, and Ronald Felton; who happened to be walking alone. After Donaldson was arrested and indicted by a grand jury, prosecutors announced they would seek the death penalty.

    It will be up to a Tampa judge to decide whether capital punishment stays or goes from this case.

    Defense attorney Anthony Rickman, who is not connected to this case, believes the defense is laying the groundwork for future appeals.

    "Any motion not filed, anything not addressed at the trial level is waived, so what they are doing is filing this motion, putting it on the record, and it gives them one more avenue to appeal at the end of the day, if he is convicted and sentenced to death," explained Rickman.

    In this jailhouse visit with his parents, Donaldson said his spirit is broken but thankful to be alive. But more court filings show his defense team is mounting a legal battle to get other evidence thrown out or severely limit it.

    For instance, victim impact statements from the families of the victims. These statements would be heard in the penalty phase of the trial if Donaldson was convicted.

    The defense wants to limit the number to people who testify and only allow "immediate family" members. They said it could inflame the jury and that would be extremely dangerous.

    Prosecutors are fighting it, arguing the State Supreme court believes family impact testimony plays an important role in the legal process.

    Donaldson's hearing is set for Thursday afternoon.

    https://www.fox13news.com/news/accus...ed-in-case.amp
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

  4. #34
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Tampa judge keeps death penalty in accused Seminole Heights serial killer case

    By Gloria Gomez
    Fox 13 News

    TAMPA, Fla. - The accused Seminole Heights serial killer was back in court Thursday as his defense team argued to toss out the death penalty in the case.

    Howell Trae Donaldson's defense team argued the death penalty was unconstitutional. After a slough of arguments, the Tampa judge decided the death penalty will remain in the case.

    Donaldson's defense also wanted to keep out the testimony of Anthony Naiboa's parents, arguing Casimar Naiboa and Maria Rodriguez have been no-shows for scheduled depositions. The defense said they wanted the parents barred from testifying at trial.

    Prosecutors fought that, arguing Anthony's parents are still coping with enormous loss. In Thursday's court appearance, the judge ordered Rodriguez and her husband to show up for the next scheduled deposition.

    Donaldson is accused of causing terror and panic in Seminole Heights back in Fall 2017. Prosecutors said he gunned down four people who were walking alone. The four victims included Benjamin Mitchell, Monica Hoffa, Anthony Naiboa, and Ronald Felton.

    Prosecutors announced they would seek the death penalty after Donaldson was arrested and indicted by a grand jury.

    https://www.fox13news.com/news/tampa...al-killer-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

  5. #35
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Seminole Heights murder trials can include evidence from other killings, court rules

    In the case of Howell Donaldson, an appeals court Friday overturned a ruling that limited what evidence the state can use in each of four trials

    By Dan Sullivan
    Tampa Bay Times

    TAMPA — Prosecutors will be able to talk about evidence of other crimes — specifically that four separate Seminole Heights shootings were linked by the same gun — in the four murder trials of Howell Emanuel Donaldson III, an appeals court has ruled.

    A three-judge panel of the 2nd District Court of Appeal on Friday overturned an earlier trial court ruling that barred the state from using evidence of the other murders in each trial.

    The fact that the same gun was used in each homicide is relevant for the state to establish that Donaldson was the perpetrator, wrote appellate Judge J. Andrew Atkinson.

    Donaldson, 29, is accused in the slayings of Benjamin Mitchell, Monica Hoffa, Anthony Naiboa, and Ronald Felton. The four were each shot to death, apparently at random, over a 51-day period in the fall of 2017 in Tampa’s southeast Seminole Heights neighborhood. Police found spent .40-caliber bullet shell casings at the murder scenes.

    Donaldson was arrested in late November 2017 after his manager at an Ybor City McDonald’s restaurant notified police that he’d given her a food bag that held a .40-caliber Glock handgun. Police determined the weapon was the same one used in all four murders.

    Donaldson’s public defenders asked to split the case into four trials, arguing that doing so was necessary for a fair determination of his guilt or innocence in each case. Judge Samantha Ward agreed.

    The state then asked to use evidence of the other murders in the four trials. They argued that such evidence was necessary to establish that Donaldson committed each crime, and that the other murders were relevant to refute a potential defense that someone else may have had possession of the weapon.

    But the judge declined. She opined that the individual cases were not similar enough. The state appealed, prompting Friday’s ruling.

    “We agree with the court’s decision and we are continuing to prepare for trial, using all the available evidence to prove that he murdered four innocent people,” Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren said in a statement.

    A trial date has not yet been set.

    If Donaldson is found guilty, prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty.

    https://www.tampabay.com/news/hillsb...s-court-rules/
    "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

  6. #36
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Trial in Seminole Heights killings to begin in August, lasting 2 months

    A judge set a trial date Tuesday for Howell Donaldson III, who is charged with four Seminole Heights murders

    By Dan Sullivan

    Tampa Bay Times

    TAMPA — The trial of Howell Emanuel Donaldson III, the man accused of four killings in Tampa’s southeast Seminole Heights neighborhood, is set to begin at the end of next summer and could last as long as nine weeks.

    Hillsborough Circuit Judge Samantha Ward on Tuesday set Aug. 7 as the anticipated start date for the extraordinary case, with the trial scheduled to continue through September and early October.

    The schedule would make Donaldson’s case the longest Tampa Bay-area criminal trial in recent memory. Most similar cases typically take about three weeks.

    But Donaldson faces unusual circumstances — namely, four separate murder charges, intense public interest and media attention, and the prospect of a death sentence if he’s convicted.

    In recent discussions with the judge, attorneys estimated jury selection alone could take as long as two weeks.

    Each of the four killings could be the subject of a week of testimony. If Donaldson is found guilty, the case will move into a penalty phase, which the lawyers estimated could last two weeks.

    The slayings occurred in October and November 2017.

    That fall, Tampa police asked for the public’s help amid a string of shootings in southeast Seminole Heights, a nondescript neighborhood in central Tampa.

    Benjamin Mitchell, Monica Hoffa, Anthony Naiboa and Ronald Felton were each shot and killed apparently at random while out walking at night or in the early morning. Tampa police determined the same gun was used to commit all four slayings.

    The killings spurred international attention amid a manhunt for an unknown person who came to be described as a serial killer.

    Donaldson was arrested in late November that year when his manager at the Ybor City McDonald’s restaurant where he worked told a police officer after she said he handed her a bag that held a gun, according to court records.

    Investigators examined and tested the weapon, a .40-caliber Glock, which Donaldson had purchased in early October. Police said it was the same gun used in all four slayings.

    Donaldson, 29, has been jailed and awaiting trial for five years.

    https://www.tampabay.com/news/crime/...ell-donaldson/
    "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. #37
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    Tennessee
    Posts
    7,316
    Florida man guilty in 2017 serial killings of 4 people

    By The Associated Press and CURT ANDERSON

    (AP) - A Florida man pleaded guilty Monday to randomly shooting four people in a 2017 killing rampage that set a Tampa neighborhood on edge for weeks.

    Howell Donaldson III entered the guilty pleas to four counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences without parole, according to court records. The surprise plea deal means that Donaldson will avoid the death penalty, prosecutors said.

    “This coward committed unspeakable acts and wreaked havoc on our community for weeks on end,” said State Attorney Suzy Lopez in a news release. “He will now be locked away in a prison cell for the rest of his life where he will make no more headlines.”

    Donaldson, 30, admitted to the shooting deaths between Oct. 9 and Nov. 14, 2017, of Benjamin Mitchell, Monica Hoffa, Anthony Naiboa and Ronald Felton. They were each shot in the early morning hours in the Seminole Heights neighborhood with the same type of ammunition while doing everyday tasks such as waiting at a bus stop or crossing a city street.

    Police eventually concluded that the killings were linked.

    The case wasn’t solved until Donaldson asked the manager of a McDonald’s restaurant where he worked to hold a plastic bag with something heavy in it while he ran an errand. The manager instead showed the bag to a Tampa police officer who was eating in the restaurant and found it contained a .40-caliber Glock handgun.

    Donaldson was taken into custody and the handgun was matched to the slayings. Investigators also used cellphone records and the video to place Donaldson at the locations where the four victims were killed.

    The guilty plea Monday came during a hearing that had been set for defense motions seeking to toss out evidence obtained from the McDonald’s encounter, which Donaldson’s lawyer had contended was an illegal arrest. The trial was scheduled to begin in August.

    Family members and investigators attended the hearing. Kenny Hoffa, father of victim Monica Hoffa, said in the news release that it is “a small comfort” to know that Donaldson will spend his life behind bars. His daughter, a 32-year-old waitress, was killed while walking from her home to meet a friend.

    “My daughter Monica was like a ray of sunshine with a playful spirit that is deeply missed by all who knew and loved her,” Kenny Hoffa said. “We will continually reflect on Monica’s incredible zest for life as her memory lives on through the rest of us.”

    Lopez said the family members were in agreement with Donaldson’s guilty plea. Interim Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said the investigation was one of the most difficult in recent memory.

    “Countless hours and sleepless nights were dedicated to finding this killer and restoring peace to the Seminole Heights community he terrorized,” Bercaw said.

    https://www.newschannel10.com/2023/0...outputType=amp
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

Page 4 of 4 FirstFirst ... 234

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •