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Thread: Joshua Lee Altersberger - Florida

  1. #1
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    Joshua Lee Altersberger - Florida


    Sergeant Nicholas G. Sottile




    Summary of Offense:

    Convicted and sentenced to death in the shooting death of Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Nick Sottile on January 12, 2007. Altersberger was driving erratically when Sottile, 48, attempted to conduct a traffic stop on Altersberger near Lake Placid. Altersberger told his passenger that he was going to shoot the trooper. The passenger ran away, and Altersberger shot Sottile when he approached the driver's side window, according to prosecutors.

    Altersberger was sentenced to death in Highlands County on June 16, 2009.

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    June 15, 2009

    Altersberger gets death penalty

    In Bartow, Judge Michael Hunter sentenced Johsua Lee Altersberger to death Monday morning for the Jan. 12, 2007 slaying of Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Nicholas Sottile in Lake Placid.

    Hunter said "the court finds that either aggravating circumstance standing along would outway all the mitigating circumstances."

    The aggravating circumstances Hunter referenced are cold, calculated and premeditated murder and killing an on-duty law enforcment officer.

    Altersberger's legal team has already said it plans to appeal the sentence.

    (Source: The News-Sun)

    *************************

    Judge hands down death penalty in Trooper Sottile's death

    The 21-year-old convicted in the killing of Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Nicholas Sottile has been sentenced to die.

    Judge J. Michael Hunter issued the death penalty for Joshua Lee Altersberger Monday, in keeping with a recommendation of a Polk County jury April.

    Altersberger pleaded guilty in March to killing Sottile on Jan. 12, 2007, during a Highlands County traffic stop.

    On April 2, a Polk County jury made a 9-3 recommendation of death for the defendant. Monday, at the same court house, Hunter handed down his ruling.

    (Source: The Tampa Tribune)

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    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    Fla. Supreme Court upholds death sentence for man who shot a Florida Highway Patrol trooper

    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Supreme Court is rejecting an appeal from a man who shot and killed a highway patrol trooper more than five years ago.

    The high court Thursday unanimously upheld the conviction and death sentence of Joshua Lee Altersberger. He convicted of killing Sgt. Nick Sottile during a January 2007 traffic stop in Highlands County.

    Altersberger pleaded guilty to murder and a jury recommended by a 9 to 3 vote that he receive the death penalty. His attorneys, however, argued that Sottile's murder was not cold, calculated and premeditated and did not merit a death sentence.

    Justices disagreed and pointed out that Altersberger earlier in the day had threatened to shoot an officer. Altersberger also did not shoot Sottile until the trooper took his hand off his gun.

    http://www.therepublic.com/view/stor...Trooper-Killed

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    Witnesses say death penalty defendant was neglected, abused while growing up

    SEBRING — A man facing the death penalty for murdering a state trooper in 2007 asked on Thursday to be returned to prison rather than continuing to attend a hearing on whether he should be granted a new trial.

    Joshua Lee Altersberger, who was sentenced to death in 2009 for the January 2007 murder of Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Nick Sottile along U.S. 27 near Lake Placid, wanted to return to state prison because he was unhappy over his treatment at the Highlands County jail and staying in a cell that he said had ants.

    But Circuit Judge Angela Cowden decided that Altersberger should remain in court, saying he needs to hear the testimony and provide input to his attorneys.

    Attorneys tried to show through testimony that Altersberger’s original attorneys erred in advising him to plead guilty and only have the sentencing phase of the trial. The attorneys had witnesses who said that had Altersberger gone to trial, evidence could have been presented showing he was raised in an environment of neglect and abuse. The hearing was scheduled to conclude Friday with one witness testifying in the morning. Another hearing on the appeal to have his guilty plea withdrawn and be granted a full trial will be held in December. A decision isn’t expected until January.

    Altersberger said he was frustrated enough about his treatment at the Highlands County jail that he was concerned he might do something that would make the situation worse for him. But he sat quietly through the morning portion of the hearing.

    Highlands County Chief Deputy Mark Schrader said Altersberger isn’t being mistreated at the jail.

    “He’s receiving everything by law that he’s supposed to,” Schrader said. He added that the jail has pest control for ants, but that doesn’t eliminate the problem totally.

    “I had ants in my office and I have not been convicted of any crime,” he said.

    But it was the environment in which Altersberger grew up that was the focus of the court hearing.

    Tiffany Cunningham, who works with attorneys in capital penalty cases and examines mitigating factors for the defendant, said nobody in the courtroom “would want their children to spend five minutes in the environment” in which Altersberger grew up.

    She said at least 18 situations he faced while being a child put him at risk for becoming a criminal offender or having problems as an adult.

    “No wonder your house is going to crumble under the weight of these risk factors,” she said.

    Rosalie Altersberger, the mother of the defendant, testified about moving with her children several times because of being evicted, living in a neighborhood with a lot of drug dealers and having a boyfriend who sold drugs out of the home and wanted her to use cocaine so she could stay up with him at night.

    At times, she said, she didn’t have enough food to feed her family. She said she knew of one time her son declined to eat dinner and went to a friend’s house because he knew how little food was in the house.

    She said when they lived in South Carolina her son was the subject of prejudice because he’s biracial.

    The boyfriend who sold drugs wanted to train her son to be a drug dealer, she said.

    Cunningham said through her interviews that she learned that the mother spent little time with her children — a big reason for that was when she worked or when she gave most of her attention to boyfriends — and that at times “if they (the children) didn’t go out and get food for themselves they didn’t eat.”

    She suggested that the mother was excessive in punishing her son.

    Joshua Altersberger “basically had to socialize himself his entire life without one proper role model the entire way,” she said.

    Prosecutors showed through cross examination that much of that information was provided to the jury during the sentencing phase for Altersberger after he plead guilty. At the time that information didn’t sway the jury, which voted 9-3 to recommend the death penalty.

    http://highlandstoday.com/hi/local-n...g-up-20141121/

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    Court denies killer of state trooper a new trial

    By Jay Meisel
    Highlands Today

    SEBRING — If Joshua Altersberger had been sentenced by a jury for murdering a state trooper, jurors may have heard testimony that at a party Altersberger laughed at the way Florida Highway patrolman Nicholas Sottile died.

    By pleading guilty and being sentenced by a judge, it eliminated the possibility a jury would hear that evidence was a factor this week in Circuit Judge Angela Cowden rejecting Altersberger’s contention that attorneys provided him bad representation regarding decisions on whether to plead guilty or go to trial.

    The judge rejected contentions that Altersberger, who was sentenced to death for the murder of Sottile, received ineffective assistance of counsel.

    Assistant State Attorney Steve Houchin said the decision rejecting a new trial for Altersberger means that Altersberger’s next step in the appeals process will likely be to file an appeal with the Florida Supreme Court. He said Altersberger had already appealed unsuccessfully his conviction and sentence to the Florida Supreme Court.

    The current phase of appeals is the post-conviction appeals phase, Houchin said.

    As to where the appeals would go if the Florida Supreme Court upholds Cowden’s decision, Houchin said, he couldn’t speculate. But, he noted that the case hasn’t been considered by the federal courts.

    Altersberger is one of two defendants from Highlands County on death row. The second is William Kelley, who was convicted in 1982 for the 1966 murder of Charles von Maxcy, a citrus baron.

    Houchin said that the circuit judges covering Highlands County have recused themselves in that case. As a result, the case is now languishing in circuit court in Orange County. Recently, a new judge took it over because the previous judge handling it had retired.

    The case has been before the various courts several times, Houchin said.

    In the newer case where Altersberger was convicted of killing Sottile on Feb. 5, 2007, he contended in his latest appeal that his attorneys failed to provide him with the information on the difference on seeking to withdraw his guilty plea before he was sentenced, as opposed to afterwards.

    But Cowden concluded that the attorneys gave Altersberger “the information for him to make an informed decision.”

    She said part of the strategy of him pleading guilty was the perception that taking responsibility would help him when a judge considered his fate.

    Cowden also rejected the contention that Altersberger’s attorneys failed to present evidence that Altersberger was sexually abused as a child. She wrote that neither Altersberger nor his mother provided that information to the attorneys.

    http://highlandstoday.com/hi/local-n...rial-20150301/

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    JOSHUA LEE ALTERSBERGER v STATE OF FLORIDA

    Remanded for new penalty phase in line with Hurst v Florida.
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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    Court sets status hearing for Altersberger punishment

    By John Guerra
    The Highlands News-Sun

    The Supreme Court in 2017 vacated the death sentence of the man who shot and killed a local FHP officer in Lake Placid. The high court then ordered a new penalty phase for him.

    However, as Joshua Lee Altersberger awaited a new jury to give him life or death, the Florida Legislature changed the rules. Last spring, it removed the unanimous jury rule for recommendations of death and replaced it with a lower threshold of at least eight jurors.

    His lawyer, Assistant Public Defender Peter Mills, as well as Assistant State Attorneys Paul Wallace and Bonde Johnson, met in court Friday to discuss scheduling a motion by Mills to have his punishment phase held under the unanimity rule.

    Wallace and Johnson, on the other hand, will argue whether Altersberger’s punishment phase should be decided under the 8-4 rule.

    The motions mirror those being filed around the state with the state Supreme Court. Anyone with a death-penalty case is making the same argument.

    Mills mentioned the “ex post facto” argument in front of Circuit Court Judge Angela Cowden Friday. That means “after the fact.” Defense lawyers believe the 8-4 rule increases the punishment after the fact, which is unconstitutional – again mirroring defense arguments around the state.

    Wallace, who is also prosecuting Zephen Xaver for the 2019 SunTrust Bank murders of five women, argued to have Xaver’s punishment – who pleaded guilty to the slayings in March – decided under the 8-4 jury rule. Johnson plans to make the same argument for Joseph Ables, should he be found guilty for killing Highlands County Sheriff’s Deputy William Gentry Jr. in 2018.

    Cowden set the next status hearing for Altersberger for Dec. 15 at 8:30 a.m.

    According to prosecutors, Altersberger and a friend, a Georgia parolee named Quentin Kinder, were in a car on U.S. 27 when Altersberger began to drive erratically. When Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Nick Sottile turned on his lights to pull them over, Altersberger suddenly pulled across the right lane to the shoulder. He cut off a semi-driver, who also pulled over. Sottile pulled up behind Altersberger. Altersberger then told Kinder he was going to shoot Sottile.

    As the truck driver watched from his perch, the FHP officer, who is from Sebring, approached the car with his hand on his gun. Altersberger put his hands out the window, which caused Sottile to take his hands off his gun. Altersberger then fired one shot, hitting the road patrol sergeant once in the shoulder. Altersberger tried to shoot the patrolman in the head but the gun failed to fire several times.

    Sottile, Genrty, and other slain officers are remembered every Peace Officers Memorial Day, which is in May.

    https://www.midfloridanewspapers.com...705df0606.html

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