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(Marion County, FL) Today, jurors returned a guilty verdict in the trial of 42-year-old Jefferey Randolph Grubbs, who was charged with Trafficking Fentanyl and Possession of Paraphernalia. Grubbs was sentenced by Judge Timothy McCourt to 30 years in prison on his trafficking conviction plus a consecutive year in jail for the paraphernalia charge, as well as a $100,000 fine.

Back in September of 2022, Officer Matthews of the Ocala Police Department (OPD) observed a silver car with inoperable tag lights and conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle. The driver of the car was identified as Grubbs through his driver’s license.

During the traffic stop, OPD K9 Officer Prather deployed his K9 partner Graham to conduct an open-air sniff around the vehicle. When the K9 alerted to the front passenger side door of the vehicle, the defendant was asked to step out. As Grubbs was exiting the vehicle, officers observed a cigarette box the defendant had previously been fidgeting with between the seats.

The box was retrieved and inside, officials observed a bill folded that held a crystal-like substance. Grubbs was then placed in handcuffs and searched. In the defendant’s pocket, law enforcement located a clear plastic bag with gray residue inside. The residue tested positive for fentanyl. The defendant was arrested and transported to jail.

While booking the suspect into the detention facility, a glass pipe fell from the defendant’s person. The paraphernalia was collected and the defendant informed deputies that he had something else on him. A body scan of Grubbs revealed he was hiding another item, which was later retrieved and determined to be a trafficking amount of fentanyl.

This case was successfully prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Samuel Militello and William Hodges.

Published on 09/03/2025.

(Marion County, FL) Last week, in Judge Peter Brigham’s courtroom, jurors took twenty minutes to find 21-year-old Alexandra Dominguez guilty of Domestic Battery by Strangulation and an additional charge of Battery. Dominguez was ordered into custody while a pre-sentence investigation is completed prior to being sentenced.

On April 24, 2024, Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) deputies responded to a residence off SW 43^rd Terrace Road in Ocala in reference to a disturbance.  When law enforcement arrived, the first victim advised that the defendant, identified as Dominguez, had battered them and another victim.

While speaking to both victims, deputies learned that the defendant had followed the victims home from a park, in agreement to grab a gaming console. Dominguez was instructed to wait outside the home while the console was retrieved from inside. When the gaming system was handed to the defendant, she became irate regarding a missing box and game for the console.

A verbal disturbance quickly turned physical when the defendant followed the first victim into the home, where she pushed the victim down and choked the victim. When victim two witnessed this, they attempted to intervene. Dominguez proceeded to batter them as well. After observing injuries consistent with both victims’ statements, law enforcement attempted to make contact with the defendant via phone, which was met with negative results.

MCSO authorities obtained an arrest warrant for Dominguez, who was later apprehended.

The outcome of this case was a result of the diligent prosecution efforts of Assistant State Attorney Lillian Rozsa.

Published on 09/02/2025.

(Lake County, FL) Monday, August 25, 2025, 41-year-old Emmanuel Cazeau was sentenced to 15 years in the Florida Department of Corrections by Judge James R. Baxley. Cazeau was found guilty earlier this year on charges of Trafficking in Fentanyl, Trafficking in Heroin, and Possession of Methamphetamine.

Back in June of 2023, Cazeau was driving a silver Chevrolet SUV when he failed to come to a complete stop at an intersection. Sgt. Robertson, with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle.

The driver, later identified as the defendant through his driver’s license, was informed of the reason for the stop. As Sgt. Robertson began writing Cazeau for a traffic infraction warning, K9 Handler Semento and his K9 partner Jim conducted an open-air sniff of the exterior of the vehicle. K9 Jim alerted to the presence of narcotics.

Upon removing Cazeau and another passenger, deputies located a baggie of a purple substance on the floorboard of the driver’s side. The substance field tested positive for illicit drugs and weighed approximately 13 grams. Cazeau was subsequently arrested.

The evidence was collected and later submitted to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for further analysis. FDLE’s examination concluded that the substance was a mixture of methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl.

This case was successfully prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Dustan Geurin and Christopher Small.

Published on 08/28/2025.

(Citrus County, FL) Last week, 66-year-old Tyrone Leroy Washington was convicted of two counts of Trafficking in Fentanyl, Trafficking in Cocaine, and Possession with the Intent to Sell within 1000 feet of a School after pleading no contest. He was sentenced to 20 years in the Florida Department of Corrections by Judge Joel E. Fritton.

Washington’s charges stemmed from an investigation initiated in 2024 by the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO). The investigation revealed drug trafficking activities involving Washington. In September of 2024, members of the CCSO’s Tactical Impact Unit coordinated multiple controlled narcotics purchases from Washington.

At a residence in Dunnellon, Washington sold law enforcement a trafficking amount of Fentanyl. The evidence was field-tested and yielded positive results. A search warrant was subsequently obtained for the residence, and during the execution of the warrant, officials located a trafficking amount of a white powdery substance, later tested and identified as cocaine. Washington was arrested and charged accordingly.

Assistant State Attorney Tara Hartman prosecuted this case.

Published on 08/26/2025.

(Marion County, FL) Wednesday, during a jury trial representing himself, 57-year-old Richard Logsdon pleaded no contest to his charge of Soliciting a Child for Unlawful Sexual Conduct using a Computer. Judge Barbara Kissner-Kwatkosky sentenced Logsdon to five years in the Florida Department of Corrections and he is designated as a Sexual Offender.

Back in August of 2018, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), along with the assistance of several law enforcement agencies, including the Ocala Police Department (OPD) and Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, conducted an undercover online operation targeting individuals who solicit children online for sexual activity and who travel to meet these children with the intention of engaging in the sexual activity.

During the operation, the defendant engaged in sexually explicit conversations with an individual he believed to be a 13-year-old female child, but was in fact an undercover detective. While communicating with the decoy, Logsdon acknowledged the decoy’s young age but continued to talk to who he believed to be a minor, even providing his own cellphone number to message with the undercover detective.

Logsdon continued to have inappropriate conversations with the undercover detective posing as a 13-year-old, asking for nude photographs and initiating sexually explicit conversations. When detectives arrived at Logsdon’s residence to question his online conversation with the minor, the defendant denied ever speaking with underage girls. Law enforcement was able to subpoena information on both the email address and phone number used by Logsdon to positively identify him as the owner and user.

Assistant State Attorney Katrina Self prosecuted this case.

Published on 08/22/2025.

(Marion County, FL) On Tuesday, 33-year-old Rafael Then Jr. was found guilty by a jury of Trafficking in Methamphetamine. Judge Barbara Kissner-Kwatkosky ordered Then into custody to await his sentencing hearing.

Then was arrested on July 31, 2023, by agents of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and Ocala Police Department’s Unified Drug Enforcement Strike Team (UDEST) at the conclusion of an undercover narcotics investigation conducted by UDEST and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Law Enforcement officers, through confidential measures, were able to schedule an undercover buy. 

An undercover officer met Then at a business location in the Marion Oaks community. After arriving at the scheduled place, a purple in color Dodge Charger, being driven by Then arrived. Then exited the vehicle and entered the passenger side of the undercover officer’s vehicle.

During the controlled purchase, Then sold the undercover officer a large quantity of Methamphetamine. After completing the transaction, officials took possession of the purchased drugs and secured it into evidence. The evidence was later sent off to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Drug Enforcement Administration’s laboratory for chemical analysis and yielded a positive result for methamphetamine. Then was subsequently arrested and charged in this case.

The State Attorney’s Office appreciates the collaboration and dedication of the law enforcement officials involved in the investigation. 

The successful prosecution of this case was a result of the diligent efforts of Assistant State Attorney Samuel Armstrong.

Published on 08/21/2025.

(Marion County, FL) Monday, August 18, 2025, in the courtroom of the Honorable Judge Barbara Kissner-Kwatkosky, 36-year-old Keyobie Dawadrian Bullard pleaded and was convicted of Attempted Robbery with a Deadly Weapon and Aggravated Battery with a Deadly Weapon. Bullard was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison.

The attempted robbery occurred on May 6, 2022, at Beavers Discount Liquor Store, located off Jacksonville Road in Ocala. A witness reported to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) that while passing by the business, they observed a male wearing a blue hoodie inside, and it appeared the male was hitting the cashier over the head with what the witness believed to be a firearm.

While en route, authorities received an alert for the alarm at the business.  When deputies arrived, they made contact with the victim, who indicated a male matching the witness’s early description attempted to rob the store. The victim stated that when they were unable to open the cash register fast enough, the suspect hit them repeatedly with a stick, which was wrapped in tape and placed inside a black sock and Crown Royal bag. During this physical attack, the suspect then grabbed a firearm from under the counter and began striking the victim in the head. After hitting the victim with the firearm, the suspect fled on foot.

Law enforcement reviewed the store surveillance footage and observed the suspect enter the store where the events unfolded before fleeing the scene. Inside the store, officers located a sock left behind by the suspect, along with the stick used to strike the victim.

Both items were collected as evidence, along with several other items that the suspect was seen touching during the footage. These items were processed for fingerprints and DNA. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement conducted DNA testing on the items, which matched the profile of Bullard.

This case was successfully prosecuted by Assistant State Attorney Kyle Lambert.

Published on 08/20/2025.

(Citrus County, FL) On Friday, August 15, 2025, 79-year-old George Seely Crandall III was found guilty by a jury of Possession of Methamphetamine and Possession of Paraphernalia after just 20 minutes of deliberation. Considering the defendant’s felony criminal history, Judge Fritton sentenced Crandall to five years in prison.

Back in November of 2024, the Emergency Communications Center of the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office received various calls for service placed by Crandall. Deputies responded to the defendant’s home located in the Oakridge Mobile Home Park due to suspicious circumstances. 

Upon arrival at the residence, Crandall told deputies there were seven people in his home, along with two dogs and a cat that were not supposed to be inside the home. He stated that the people were taking his possessions against his will. While conducting a walk-through of the two-bedroom mobile home, officials did not locate any other person or animals inside. Deputies informed Crandall that no one else was found in the home and advised the defendant to secure all doors via locks. A little over an hour after their initial response, deputies were called back out to the home, resulting in the same outcome.

Another hour later, Crandall contacted law enforcement again and requested a supervisor to respond for a third visit to the home. Lieutenant Samuel Carey, now Captain, arrived at the house and spoke with Crandall, who reiterated the same information about people being inside his residence. While inside the home, Crandall told the Lt. that he grabbed one of the men by his shirt. When he showed Lt. Carey the shirt, it was merely a window curtain hanging up. He further told the Lt. that if he waited, he could arrest the people who were walking through the walls.

At this time, Lt. Carey began evaluating Crandall’s mental health for any signs of dementia. However, Crandall’s impairment was not consistent with someone experiencing dementia. His rapid speech and irrational demeanor were consistent with someone under the influence of illegal narcotics.

While continuing the walk-through of the home, Lt. Carey noticed a small red bag containing a white rock-like substance on the floor of the bedroom. At that time, Crandall attempted to pick up and conceal the bag but was given commands to hand over the item. Inside the room, two cut plastic straws with residue were also collected. An agency-issued presumptive field test was conducted and yielded positive results for the presence of methamphetamines.

This case was successfully prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Tara Hartman and Elizabeth Colombrito.

Published on 08/18/2025.

(Marion County, FL) Yesterday, in the courtroom of the Honorable Judge Barbara Kissner-Kwatkosky, jurors found 26-year-old Terry Eugene Hartsock III guilty of Lewd and Lascivious Battery.

Hartsock was arrested in October of 2022 following a Hernando County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) investigation into a missing juvenile.  

On October 22, 2022, HCSO deputies took a report of a missing 13-year-old female child. The mother of the juvenile reported to officials that her daughter was last seen on their home porch around 10 p.m. that night after coming back from a fall festival.

Law enforcement was able to collect details on what clothing the juvenile was wearing prior to going missing. Authorities issued a BOLO, and due to the child’s missing and endangered status, were able to conduct an emergency ping of the child’s cellphone, which was discovered to have last pinged in Ocala near I-75. 

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office was contacted in reference to the missing juvenile and informed of her last location. Officials were also able to obtain the juvenile’s last text messages which indicated she was possibly picked up by the defendant. An address was obtained for Hartsock where it was learned he resided in a camper trailer in an RV park off Silver Springs Blvd.

Both the HCSO and MCSO responded to the address and attempted contact with Hartsock, who initially didn’t open the door for law enforcement. Once contact was made, the juvenile was located inside the bedroom of the camper.

After being reunited with her parents, the juvenile disclosed sexual acts committed by Hartsock upon the juvenile while inside his home. A SANE examination was conducted, taking various swabs from the juvenile victim. The DNA collected from the swabs matched that of the defendant.

This case was successfully prosecuted by Assistant State Attorney Katrina Self.

Published on 08/15/2025.

(Marion County, FL) On July 30, 2025, 26-year-old Maria Guadalupe Bautista was found guilty after a jury trial on 13 counts of Fraudulent Use of Personal Information.  

Bautista was originally arrested in 2023 after investigators uncovered a petition fraud scheme in which she unlawfully used the personal information of multiple individuals, including one elected government official, to falsify petition signatures.

“Election integrity is a cornerstone of our democratic process,” said Bill Gladson, Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney. “We remain committed to holding individuals accountable for crimes that undermine public trust.”

Back in November of 2021, the Office of Wesley Wilcox, the Supervisor of Elections for Marion County, contacted the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office regarding a complaint of widespread fraud related to a Constitutional Amendment 21-16 petition for the Limited Authorization of Casino Gaming.

“This fraud is a way to run around the state’s legislative process and turn Florida’s Constitution into a playground for political gamesmanship, and it’s unacceptable,” said Attorney General James Uthmeier. “This guilty verdict is a victory for not only the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney but the entire state of Florida.”

Investigator Jeff Pfannerstill with the State Attorney’s Office met with the Supervisor of Elections, who informed the investigator that his staff is responsible for receiving all signed petitions collected and verifying the signatures. Upon doing so, his staff found two apparent fraudulent petitions that had the signature of a paid registered petition circulator by the name of Maria Bautista.

Staff of the elections office further reviewed petition forms submitted by the defendant and found numerous forms that did not match the signatures on the voter rolls submitted by Bautista. Additionally, of the fraudulent petition forms submitted by the defendant, two contained signatures of deceased registered voters.

Investigator Pfannerstill contacted the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) for further assistance in investigating the case. Inspector Adam Graff with the FDLE obtained an address for Bautista in Gainesville, where contact was made with the defendant. Upon questioning the defendant, she informed investigators that she did work for a political action committee after seeing an ad on Craigslist for a job.

While speaking with the defendant, she was shown one of the fraudulent cards and confirmed to officials that it was indeed her signature on the submitted petition forms. The petition form in question contained the voter information and a fraudulent signature for a Marion County elected official. When questioned as to the person who filled out the form, Bautista claimed she did not recall the individual who signed it.

Continuing their investigation, Inspector Graff reached out to the Department of Elections (DOE) and requested a search to be completed to determine the number of petitions submitted by the defendant. The DOE returned the results of the submitted petitions by Bautista, and probable cause was established for the defendant’s arrest.

Bautista’s sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later time, pending a presentencing investigation. The defendant faces a three-year minimum-mandatory prison sentence.

The State Attorney’s Office appreciates the efforts of FDLE Inspector Graff, SAO Investigator Pfannerstill, Assistant State Attorney Janine Nixon, Certified Legal Intern Sandy Edwards, the Department of Elections, the Florida Attorney General’s Office, and all who assisted in bringing this case to a successful conclusion.

Published on 08/04/2025.