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Thread: Richard Todd Robards - Florida

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    Richard Todd Robards - Florida


    Frank and Linda Deluca with their personal trainer Richard Robards, right




    May 23, 2010

    Jury finds man guilty of murdering Clearwater couple

    LARGO — Richard T. Robards, standing in a dark suit with a ponytail resting on his back, didn't show a hint of emotion as a jury found him guilty of murdering a Clearwater couple in 2006.

    In the hallway outside of the courtroom, friends and family members of Frank and Linda Deluca erupted into a cheer and thanked prosecutors Fred Schaub and Christie Ellis.

    "You saw justice done today," said Joseph John Deluca, brother of Frank.

    "I told you, eventually justice is going to come through," Schaub said to more than a dozen family members in the hallway.

    The same jury that convicted Robards on Friday will meet Tuesday to recommend whether Robards should receive the death penalty. If not, the only other possible sentence is life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    Robards, 42, is a former title-winning bodybuilder who once worked as a personal trainer for the Delucas. Testimony indicated Robards killed them because he wanted to steal their safe, which contained $80,000. He never got the safe opened.

    After stabbing the Delucas, Robards set their Murray Avenue house on fire in an attempt to burn evidence, Schaub said. But he wasn't smart enough to open windows, which would have provided enough oxygen to keep the fire going. The house was damaged, but not destroyed.

    And in that house, police found a newspaper with Robards' fingerprint. They also found DNA evidence linking Robards to the crime. And in Robards' storage unit, they found a rifle that belonged to Frank Deluca, Schaub said.

    "He's not the brightest bulb in the house," Schaub said of Robards, calling him "the world's dumbest criminal."

    Defense attorney Larry C. Hoffman said the state's case was circumstantial, and that the murder weapon had never been found.

    Hoffman on Friday urged jurors to carefully review the evidence and pay attention to anything that gave them a "reasonable doubt" about whether Robards was the murderer.

    "You're going to make a life-and-death decision if you find Mr. Robards guilty," he said.

    http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/...couple/1096631

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    May 25, 2010

    Jury recommends death for killer of Clearwater couple

    In Largo, a jury has recommended the death penalty for Richard T. Robards, convicted last week of murdering a Clearwater couple, Frank and Linda Deluca, in 2006.

    The jury on Tuesday voted 7-5 in favor of the death penalty. Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Joseph A. Bulone will take the jury's recommendation into account when he issues an official sentence later. Bulone can sentence Robards to death, or to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    A hearing has been set for July 13 for defense attorneys to present more evidence of "mitigating factors" designed to show the death penalty is not the right sentence for Robards.

    Robards, 42, is a former bodybuilder who worked as a personal trainer for the Delucas. Robards killed them because he wanted to steal their safe, which contained $80,000. But he never got the safe opened.

    (Source: The St. Petersburg Times)

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    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Personal trainer gets death penalty in murders of Clearwater couple

    For brutally killing a Clearwater couple in a botched attempt to steal money from a safe, former personal trainer Richard T. Robards was sentenced to death Friday.

    Robards was convicted earlier this year of murdering Frank and Linda Deluca in their Clearwater home. On Friday, Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Joseph A. Bulone said Robards "has forfeited his right to live."

    Robards once worked as a personal trainer for the Delucas, and had learned they stored thousands of dollars in their safe. He stabbed the Delucas repeatedly, apparently with a knife, but never managed to open the safe that contained more than $80,000.

    "In an act of incomprehensible demented savagery, they were terrorized and slaughtered by a person to whom they had shown nothing but kindness and regard," said family spokesman William Whitman, who is married to Linda Deluca's sister.

    Assistant State Attorney Fred Schaub warned family members that a long series of appeals is likely to follow, as in every death penalty case.

    "I will be there to watch his death," vowed Debbie Deluca, the couple's daughter.

    But she and some other family members said they mostly appreciated knowing Robards had been convicted and sentenced.

    "Our goal was to get this guy out of our lives," Whitman said.

    http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/...couple/1131080

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    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    On March 3, 2011, Robards filed his direct appeal in the Florida Supreme Court.

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    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    Oral arguments were held on the 8th of November.

    http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/p...es/index.shtml

    Briefs are here: http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/p...425/index.html

    Interesting focus on an ineffective defence motion on direct appeal. After reading the briefs and considering the Simmons decision the other day, a reversal of sentence is not the question, just when.

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    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    Out of curiosity, JLR, do you work as an attorney or a judge?

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    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    JLR never answered. JLR is a full-time student.
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

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

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    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    RICHARD TODD ROBARDS v THE STATE OF FLORIDA

    In today's opinions, the Florida Supreme Court AFFIRMED Robards' convictions and sentences of death on direct appeal.
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

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

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    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Heidi View Post
    JLR never answered. JLR is a full-time student.
    Thanks, Heidi. I was curious since he often makes pronouncements and predictions with a remarkably high degree of self-confidence about how courts are going to rule on various cases (e.g. "a reversal of the sentence is not the question, just when").

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    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    In this case it just looks likely. Reading the briefs of both parties, the attorneys made some major faults in the trial in terms of mitigation and with the 7-5 verdict my guess is that it will be overturned on appeal. I can't remember what case it was but florida recently reversed a death sentence in a horrific rape/murder case with a unanimous jury verdict so if that case warrants a reversal, then this one will as well when it comes to the post-conviction hearing. In this ruling, the court declined to address the merits of Robards IAC claim and ruled that a decision on that should be made later on. Everything I say is just a guess, but by making predictions and seeing if they are right or not as well as the reasons why, you learn a lot more about the system and the precedent each court makes which I find particularly interesting.

    Best
    JLR

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