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Thread: Steven Robert Yinger Sentenced to Life In 2022 FL Murder Of Gay Rights Activist Jorge Diaz Johnston

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    Steven Robert Yinger Sentenced to Life In 2022 FL Murder Of Gay Rights Activist Jorge Diaz Johnston






    Grand jury indicts felon with long rap sheet in murder of Jorge Diaz Johnston

    JEFF BURLEW | TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT |

    A felon who allegedly wormed his way into the life of Jorge Diaz Johnston after getting out of prison was indicted by a Leon County grand jury in the murder of the gay rights activist.

    The grand jury returned an indictment Thursday against Steven Yinger on charges of first-degree murder, grand theft, grand theft of a motor vehicle, tampering with evidence and criminal use of a personal ID, said State Attorney Jack Campbell. He is being held without bail in the Leon County Detention Facility.

    Diaz-Johnston, 54, who was known for his role in the legal fight for marriage equality, was found dead on Jan. 8, several days after he was reported missing from his Tallahassee home. His body was discovered in a Jackson County landfill.

    According to the indictment, Yinger strangled Diaz Johnston to death sometime between Jan. 3 and Jan. 5, though it did not give a location or other details.

    Campbell, who said he wouldn't immediately release specifics from the grand jury investigation, called Diaz Johnston's murder "a tragedy."

    “I do appreciate the hard work of the grand jury," Campbell said, "and we’re going to work hard to get justice for him and his family.”

    Diaz Johnston's husband, Don Price Diaz Johnston, praised Tallahassee Police Department Detective Nick Roberts and his team and expressed full confidence in Assistant State Attorney John Fuchs, who is handling the case. He noted that at one point in the probe, police announced that no one had been ruled out as a suspect.

    "Right now, I'm relieved that the world knows the truth," he said. "It’s been very difficult to have this suspicion hanging over me for three months. But I’ve known the truth all along.”

    Public Defender Jessica Yeary, whose office is representing Yinger on at least some of his charges, declined to comment.

    Yinger, 36, whose lengthy criminal history includes convictions on burglary and drug charges, was released from prison in early October, according to court records. He moved in with Diaz Johnston, who was known to lend a helping hand to people in recovery, at his apartment on Alachua Avenue.

    Law enforcement had a number of run-ins with Yinger in the days immediately following his disappearance. He was cited by police for driving on a suspended or revoked license on both Jan. 8 and Jan. 9. The second time, he was found behind the wheel of Diaz Johnston’s blue BMW.

    On Jan. 11, police found him hiding in a stairwell outside a building on Tennessee Street not far from Jorge’s apartment. He tried to run away but was quickly apprehended.

    Yinger told officers he was trying to find a place to sleep on the street because they had been coming by the apartment and hounding him about Jorge’s disappearance. He also agreed to an interview at headquarters.

    He was arrested that night on trespassing and other charges and has been in jail since for violating his probation.

    The indictment said that between Jan. 3 and Jan. 8, Yinger "did unlawfully alter, destroy, conceal or remove the body of Jorge Diaz Johnston, (his) iPhone, iPhone accessories and/or computer tablet" to impair the investigation or trial. It also said he stole Diaz Johnston's BMW and other belongings over the same time frame.

    Diaz Johnston's brother, Manny Diaz, chairman of the Florida Democratic Party and former mayor of Miami, expressed gratitude to police, prosecutors and city officials.

    "I am profoundly appreciative of the outpouring of support shown to my family after the loss of my brother, Jorge Diaz-Johnston, earlier this year," Diaz said in an email. "We once again ask for privacy and continued prayers during this difficult time."

    Timeline of the Diaz Johnston case

    Jan. 3: Diaz Johnston was last seen alive in the 2800 block of Remington Green Circle, near a law firm where he worked as a paralegal.

    Jan. 7: Diaz Johnston’s husband, Don Diaz Johnston, reports him missing late that evening to the Tallahassee Police Department.

    Jan. 8: A body is found at a regional landfill in Jackson County. TPD announces that Diaz Johnston is missing and asks for the public’s help in locating him. Also that day, his roommate, Steven Yinger, was cited by police for driving with a revoked license.

    Jan. 9: Yinger is cited again for driving with a revoked license, this time after he is found in Diaz Johnston’s BMW.

    Jan. 11: TPD confirms the identity of the body found in the landfill as Diaz Johnston.

    Jan. 12: Tallahassee police announce that Diaz Johnston was found dead and that he was the victim of a homicide. Later that night, TPD arrests Yinger on trespassing and other charges. He is taken to the Leon County Detention Facility.

    Jan. 18: TPD says the investigation is moving “swiftly” and that police hope to make an arrest soon. The department does not mention Yinger’s arrest days earlier.

    Jan. 26: State Attorney Jack Campbell files an information against Yinger on the trespassing and related misdemeanor charges.

    Feb. 10: TPD announces that the Diaz Johnston homicide case will go to a Leon County grand jury for review. Police and prosecutors decline to say whether someone is in custody in connection with the case.

    April 14: A Leon County grand jury indicts Yinger on first-degree murder and several other charges.

    https://amp.tallahassee.com/amp/7133651001
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    Man sentenced to life in prison for 2022 murder of a Florida LGBTQ advocate and brother of a former Miami mayor

    By Jamiel Lynch
    CNN

    A Florida man was sentenced to life in prison Friday after a jury found him guilty in the 2022 murder of his roommate, an LGBTQ advocate and brother of a former Miami mayor.

    The Leon County jury found Steven R. Yinger guilty of first-degree murder, tampering with evidence, grand theft motor vehicle, grand theft and criminal use of a personal identification number, court records show.

    The judge assigned to the case sentenced him immediately to life in prison.

    CNN has reached out to Yinger’s attorney for comment on the verdict and sentencing.

    The body of Jorge Diaz-Johnston was discovered in January 2022 in a Jackson County landfill several days after he was last seen. Police believe Diaz-Johnston was strangled with a ligature and his body was wrapped in bed linens and dumped in the trash at his home, the probable cause section in search warrants in the case indicate.

    A grand jury indicted Yinger in April 2022, alleging he strangled Diaz-Johnston between January 3 and 5 of that year.

    Diaz-Johnston’s husband, Don Diaz-Johnston, reported him missing, according to search warrants. Don Diaz-Johnston told police Yinger was his husband’s roommate and his husband had been planning to ask Yinger to move out because they hadn’t been getting along.

    “I am so angry. After all those years of trying to get my husband back, to have him ripped from me for such an utterly senseless reason,” Don Diaz-Johnston said in an interview last year after the incident.

    He said his late husband knew Yinger from an alcohol recovery program and took him in while he and Jorge were separated.

    “Jorge didn’t charge him rent, never had expectations, until he could get a job and support himself, and that’s who Jorge was,” Don Diaz-Johnston told WPLG in 2022.

    In a statement after the verdict and sentencing, Don Diaz-Johnston extended his “heartfelt gratitude” to the Tallahassee Police Department detectives who worked on his husband’s case.

    “Their efforts truly exemplify world-class investigative work, and the Tallahassee community should take immense pride in their accomplishments,” his statement continued.

    Jorge and Don Dia- Johnston were one of six couples who filed a lawsuit in Miami-Dade County in 2014 challenging Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage. A Miami-Dade circuit judge ruled in the couples’ favor in 2015.

    In January, the victim’s brother, Manny Diaz – who served as mayor of Miami from 2001 to 2009 – released a statement saying his brother “was such a special gift to this world whose heart and legacy will continue to live on for generations to come.”

    https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/15/us/ma...ton/index.html
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