MAN CONVICTED OF FRAUDULENT SIMULATION OF LEGAL PROCESS INVOLVING ELECTED OFFICIALS
(Marion County, FL) Last week, jurors found 58-year-old Manes Pierre guilty of Fraudulent Simulation of a Legal Process and False Statement to the Department of State. Pierre was taken into custody on no bond following his conviction to await sentencing. Pierre was originally arrested in 2021 after investigators uncovered a fraudulent lien unlawfully filed with […]
MARION OAKS TEEN FOUND GUILTY OF MURDER IN 2023 CASE
(Marion County, FL) Today, the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office announces the guilty verdict of 16-year-old Kydris Jackson for the 2023 murder of 19-year-old Griffin Smith. Jackson was found guilty of Second-degree Murder with a Firearm. The investigation began on December 2, 2023, when the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) received a call around […]
JONES FOUND GUILTY OF DOUBLE MURDER AND SEXUAL BATTERY
(Lake County, FL) Last week, 44-year-old Justin Lamar Jones was found guilty in the double murder case of 17-year-old Tyviontae Finister and 38-year-old Sandra Gaudino. Jurors deliberated briefly before finding Jones guilty of Premeditated Murder in the First-degree, Second-degree Murder, three counts of Sexual Battery, and one count of False Imprisonment. After an extensive sentencing […]
JOHNSON SENTENCED TO LIFE FOR MULTIPLE SEX CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN
(Hernando County, FL) Today, the Office of State Attorney Bill Gladson of the Fifth Judicial Circuit announces the Life sentence of 45-year-old Andrew Paul Johnson. Back in February of this year, Johnson was found guilty of Lewd or Lascivious Molestation of a Victim less than 12 years of age, Lewd or Lascivious Molestation of a […]
DEFENDANT SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR BURGLARY AND BATTERY CASE
(Citrus County, FL) This morning, 28-year-old Sarah Jeanne Gatke was sentenced to 24 months in the Florida Department of Corrections, followed by 6 years of probation for her 2025 arrest, which resulted in the charges of Burglary of Conveyance with Battery, Felony Battery, and Resist Law Enforcement Officer without Violence. Gatke originally pleaded no contest […]
ROSS SENTENCED TO LIFE FOR SECOND-DEGREE MURDER
(Citrus County, FL) Today, 37-year-old Dwann Demetrius Ross Jr. was sentenced to Life in prison. Ross was found guilty last month of Second-Degree Murder with a Firearm for the death of 33-year-old Traske C. Johnson, who was gunned down outside his business. “Today’s life sentence ensures this defendant will never again have the opportunity to […]
HILL FOUND GUILTY OF MURDER AND SENTENCED TO LIFE
(Lake County, FL) Today, the Office of State Attorney Bill Gladson for the Fifth Judicial Circuit announces the sentencing of 29-year-old Austin Hill. Hill was found guilty by a jury last week of Premeditated First-Degree Murder with a Firearm for the 2023 murder of 39-year-old Wseni Laguerre. Following the defendant’s conviction, Judge Cary F. Rada […]
JOHNSON FOUND GUILTY OF MULTIPLE SEX CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN
(Hernando County, FL) Today, the Office of State Attorney Bill Gladson of the Fifth Judicial Circuit announces the conviction of 45-year-old Andrew Paul Johnson on charges related to his 2025 arrest. In the courtroom of Judge Stephen E. Toner, Johnson was found guilty of Lewd or Lascivious Molestation of a Victim less than 12 years […]
GUILTY VERDICT FOR BUSHNELL MAN IN CHILD SEXUAL BATTERY CASE
(Sumter County, FL) In the courtroom of Judge Mary P. Hatcher, jurors found 48-year-old Brian Keith Winton, of Bushnell, guilty on all counts. Winton was taken into custody to await his sentencing pending a presentence investigation. Winton was charged and convicted of three counts of Sexual Battery upon a Child under 12 years of age […]
MCMASTERS SENTENCED TO TWENTY LIFE SENTENCES IN CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CASE
(Marion County, FL) On Wednesday morning, February 4, 2026, Judge Peter M. Brigham sentenced 45-year-old Michael Alton McMasters to twenty Life sentences in the Florida Department of Corrections. Back in December of 2025, a jury found McMasters guilty of twenty felony counts of Possession of Child Pornography. The case against McMasters developed in January of […]