Mark Schwebes
Summary of Offense:
Kevin Foster was the leader of a group called the Lords of Chaos, of which Peter Magnotti, Christopher Black, Derek Shields, Christopher Burnett, Thomas Torrone, Bradley Young, and Russell Ballard were all members. The stated purpose of the group was to create disorder, through criminal acts, in the Fort Myers community.
On April 30, 1996, the members decided to vandalize Riverdale High School and set the auditorium on fire. While the others remained outside, Foster, Black, and Torrone entered the high school and stole staplers, canned goods, and a fire extinguisher to enable them to break into the auditorium. Around 9:30 p.m., Riverdale’s band teacher, Mark Schwebes, arrived at the auditorium and confronted the group. Schwebes seized the stolen items and told them that he would report the incident to the campus police the next day. Schwebes then left to have dinner with a friend, David Adkins. Black declared that Schwebes “has got to die,” to which Foster replied that if Black could not do it, he would. The group decided to go to Schwebes’ home and kill him there. Foster went home to get his shotgun, and the group obtained Schwebes’ address and telephone number through a telephone operator. After verifying the address by identifying Schwebes’ voice on the answering machine, the group obtained a map to confirm the address, gloves, ski masks, and a license plate that had been stolen earlier, so as to enable their escape. Black, Shields, Magnotti, and Foster agreed to participate in the murder, and at 11:30 p.m., the group drove to Schwebes’ house.
Foster and Shields walked to the door, and Foster hid as Shields knocked on the door. When Schwebes answered the door, Foster stepped between Schwebes and Shields and shot Schwebes in the face and then shot him again in the pelvis. Two of Schwebes’ neighbors testified to hearing a car with a loud muffler leave immediately after hearing the two shots fired and seeing the car drive away. Shields’ car had a bad muffler. Police found Foster’s shotgun, a ski mask, gloves, and a newspaper clipping of the murder in the trunk of Magnotti’s car. Foster’s fingerprints were found on the shotgun, the gloves, and the newspaper. Burnett and Magnotti’s fingerprints were also found on the newspaper. All of the group members who participated in the murder and conspiracy cooperated with the State and testified to the facts of the case. Schwebes’ friend, David Adkins, testified that he saw Schwebes’ vehicle parked at the spot where Schwebes had confronted the group.
Foster was sentenced to death in Lee County on May 17, 1998.
Co-defendant information:
Pursuant to plea agreements with the State, Black and Shields were sentenced to life imprisonment; Magnotti was sentenced to thirty-two years imprisonment; Burnett was sentenced to two years in county jail for non-homicidal offenses; Torrone was sentenced to one year in county jail, ten years probation, one hundred hours of community service, and restitution.
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