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Thread: Richard Andres and Jonathan Gordon Sentenced to LWOP in 2015 FL Slaying of Ivan Brandt

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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Richard Andres and Jonathan Gordon Sentenced to LWOP in 2015 FL Slaying of Ivan Brandt


    Richard Andres (left) and Jonathan Gordon




    Feb. 9, 2015

    Richard Andres, Jonathan Gordon arrested in Tamarac fatal shooting

    Detectives say victim's ex-girlfriend told suspect about safes full of cash in home

    Local 10 News

    TAMARAC, Fla. – Two men have been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a man inside his Tamarac home.

    Richard Andres, 35, of Hollywood, and Jonathan Gordon, 31, of Fort Lauderdale, were arrested on charges of first-degree murder in the death of Ivan Brandt.

    Broward Sheriff's Office deputies said they found Brandt's body inside his home last Thursday after a neighbor called 911 and reported hearing gunshots.

    Detectives said they discovered a key piece of evidence while searching the home for clues -- surveillance video that captured the entire incident.

    BSO spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright said the video shows Brandt talking on his cellphone when he appears to hear a knock on the front door. When he opens the door, two men later identified as Andres and Gordon force their way inside and attempt to restrain Brandt, who resists and stabs both of them during the struggle.

    Coleman-Wright said Brandt was shot in the head multiple times. She said exterior surveillance video shows Andres and Gordon driving away in Gordon's car after the shooting.

    Investigators said they also found a recently printed January 2012 newspaper article about Andres, who had been accused of killing a kitten and beating his wife.

    A BSO homicide detective spoke with the woman who was on the phone with Brandt just before he was killed. She said Brandt had tracked his ex-girlfriend to a Hollywood hotel, which led detectives there.

    When detectives spoke with the manager, he said Brandt had come to the hotel looking for his ex-girlfriend, telling the clerk that she was being held against her will by Andres, who was "pimping her out."

    Detectives said Brandt's ex-girlfriend was with Andres when he was arrested Saturday at a bus stop near Hollywood Boulevard and State Road 7. When detectives questioned her, they said she admitted to "repeatedly" telling
    Andres that Brandt "had safes in his home containing large amounts of cash," even giving him Brandt's home address.

    Gordon was arrested Sunday in Fort Lauderdale. He and Andres are being held without bond.

    https://www.local10.com/news/2015/02...atal-shooting/
    "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."
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    - 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.”
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    Five Broward death penalty cases this summer include Parkland shooter, YNW Melly and three other accused killers

    By Rafael Olmeda
    Sun Sentinel

    TAMARAC — The summer of 2022 will be capital punishment season at the Broward courthouse, with prosecutors attempting to send five men to Florida’s death row.

    The large number reminds veteran lawyers of a long-ago era when such cases were more common and convicted killers faced the electric chair rather than lethal injection.

    “At one point in the 80s it seemed like every murder-one case was a death penalty case,” said defense lawyer Hilliard Moldof. “I was doing one or two a year. But back then you tried a death penalty case a year from arrest.”

    Defendants include rapper YNW Melly (whose real name is Jamell Demons), accused of gunning down two fellow musicians in Miramar and attempting to cover-up the crime as a drive-by shooting. Another prominent case is that of Parkland school killer Nikolas Cruz.

    Other defendants include Richard Andres and Jonathan Gordon, accused of shooting a Tamarac man in his home, in an attack partly captured on videotape.

    Finally there’s the case of Peter Avsenew, who prosecutors say shot two Wilton Manors men to death and stole their car, credit cards and other belongings, apparently after responding their sexually suggestive ad on Craigslist.

    [ RELATED: Accused killers of Ivan Brandt prepare for trial. ]

    Multiple factors prolong the pre-trial period of newer death penalty cases, including the sophistication of forensic evidence and mountains of case law outlining mistakes to avoid for lawyers and judges. Another factor is the pandemic that brought normal life to a halt for more than a year.

    “I think a lot of the reason you’re seeing all these cases at once is because of COVID,” said defense lawyer Fred Haddad. “That backlog prevented all those cases from going forward, and the Florida Supreme Court wants them done. They’ve got to get those cases tried.”

    Andres and Gordon, accused of killing the Tamarac man, were ready to go to trial when the pandemic hit. Instead of starting in the spring of 2020, jury selection in the case just got underway this week. The defendants are accused of the 2015 murder of Ivan Brandt, in a crime that was caught on surveillance video.

    According to the investigation, the defendants struggled with the victim, who defended himself with a knife. Police said Andres named Gordon as an accomplice and admitted they went to Brandt’s home to rob him. The suspects’ attorneys deny those allegations and indicated a possible variation of a self-defense strategy in a 2020 interview.

    Jury selection also began Monday for the retrial of Peter Avsenew who was already on death row in January when the Florida Supreme Court overturned his conviction and sent the case back to Broward.

    Avsenew killed a Wilton Manors couple, Kevin Powell, 52, and Stephen Adams, 47, and stole their car in late 2010, according to prosecutors. His mother, who was instrumental in his capture, testified against him at his first trial but died before the start of retrial.

    Attorneys are expecting jury selection in both cases to take about a month. Each case will involve a guilt phase, in which the jury determines whether the defendants committed the crimes, and a penalty phase if the defendants are convicted. In the penalty phase, all 12 jurors must recommend death in order for the defendants to be sent to death row.

    The five defendants facing death at the same time in Broward would have been six if not for last week’s decision to waive the death penalty in the case of Davonte Resiles, who was convicted in March of the 2014 stabbing death of Jill Halliburton Su of Davie.

    In the YNW Melly case, jury selection was scheduled to start last month, but now it’s put off until July 6.

    None of the other cases has attracted nearly as much attention as the Marjory Stoneman Douglas trial. The jury that will decide Cruz’s fate is still being picked, but selection was halted earlier this week when, it appears, three of the lawyers on the case fell ill at the same time.

    The Parkland case is more complex than the others and will take longer at each stage. Jury selection started in April and is expected to go through May and possibly into June because the case is so notorious. And because it involves 17 murdered victims, the judge is telling potential jurors that testimony will last through September.

    There hasn’t been an execution in Florida since 2019, before the pandemic. Since 2000, the busiest year for executions was 2014, with eight. That beat the previous 21st century record, seven in 2013. The last Broward inmate to be executed was Robert Henry in 2014. The next Florida inmate to be executed will be the 100th since the death penalty was found constitutional again in 1972.

    https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/b...66i-story.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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    Paywall

    Defendant facing the death penalty takes the stand, trying to persuade jury he acted in self-defense.

    Jonathan Gordon, one of two men on trial for the 2015 murder of Tamarac resident Ivan Brandt, took the stand Thursday in a bid to convince a jury that he acted in self-defense and doesn’t deserve to be sent to prison, or worse, death row.

    https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/cr...5ee-story.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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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    2 men found guilty in 2015 Tamarac murder could face death penalty

    Prosecutors show surveillance video that shows encounter inside home

    By Roy Ramos
    Local 10 News

    FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – It took a day and a half of deliberations for a jury to find both Richard Andres and Jonathan Gordon guilty of first-degree murder and guilty of burglary following the fatal shooting of 51-year-old Ivan Brandt.

    Closing arguments began earlier this week after 7 years since the defendants were arrested on murder charges.

    State prosecutors showed home surveillance video from February of 2015 when they said the men went to Brandt’s home intending to rob him armed with a knife, gun, and zip ties because they believed he was wealthy. The jury came back on Thursday and asked to view that video again.

    Gordon argued robbery was not the motive and claimed that Brandt’s ex-girlfriend told them that her dog and a bag with personal belongings were inside the home and that is what they arrived to retrieve.

    What they didn’t expect was for the victim to fight back.

    Police said that’s when Gordon’s gun had fallen to the floor, and during a struggle with Brandt, it was Andres who is seen picking it up and shooting Brandt twice.

    The verdict is closure for a family who has been seeking justice for their loved one whose life they say was stripped away.

    “He had a son. He had so much he wanted to do,” said Sandra Brandt, mother of the victim. “These two fellas came in in broad daylight . . .. they took a great guy who paid it forward every single day. For what? They got nothing.”

    Next is the sentencing phase which is scheduled for Sept. 13.

    In Florida, both men could face the death penalty.

    https://www.local10.com/news/local/2...illance-video/
    "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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    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    Richard Andres was sentenced to LWOP on 1/26/2023

    http://www.dc.state.fl.us/offenderSe...&TypeSearch=AI
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  6. #6
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    So correct me if I'm wrong, Gordon can go to DR now with only 8 jurors or more voting for it?
    "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
    Senior Member CnCP Legend
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    Jonathan Gordon was sentenced to LWOP:

    http://www.dc.state.fl.us/offenderSe...&TypeSearch=AI

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