Escambia County has seven capital murder trials on court docket
Three jury trials in Escambia County (Ala.) Circuit Court ended with three convictions last week with juries returning guilty verdicts from sodomy to promoting prison contraband.
Geovanni Xavier Ginett, 24, 7305 North Century Boulevard, Century, was found guilty of sodomy I and sexual abuse II. He was charged with rape I, sodomy I and assault III. On the rape charge, the jury found him guilty of the lesser offense of sexual abuse II, which is a misdemeanor. The jury also found him not guilty of assault III.
Ginett was prosecuted by assistant district attorneys Todd Stearns and Kim Pettis. Sodomy I is a Class A felony that carries a sentence of 10 years to life in prison.
A Pensacola man was found guilty of theft of lost property for taking a cell phone from Windcreek Casino.
Francis A. Weatherspoon, 54, was convicted of the Class D felony in a case prosecuted by assistant district attorneys Joe Whitt and Melissa Grosso.
Weatherspoon was accused of picking up a cell phone that was left at one of the gambling machines inside the casino and taking it to his vehicle. Surveillance tape showed Weatherspoon take the phone, walk to his vehicle and then return to the casino.
An Atmore man was found guilty on two counts of promoting prison contraband II, one count of promoting prison contraband III, two counts of attempting to distribute a controlled substance, unlawful possession of a controlled substance (spice) and unlawful possession of marijuana.
Jerby Eugene East, 21, 1407 Freemanville Drive, was found not guilty of two counts of unlawful possession of marijuana I, unlawful possession of a controlled substance (spice) and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. A charge of possession of a forged instrument was dismissed by the judge.
The charges resulted from bringing contraband into the Escambia County Detention Center and a traffic stop in Flomaton.
Capital cases
The recent conviction of Brett Richard Yeiter for capital murder still leaves seven capital murder cases on the Escambia County court docket.
Yeiter was convicted of the shotgun slaying of his father-in-law Paul Phillips. Following the verdict, Yeiter was sentence to death.
District Attorney Steve Billy said court dates have not been set on the upcoming cases.
The capital cases are against Jonathan Taylor and Nadiya Walker who are accused of capital murder in the death of Corey Moncrief in East Brewton on March 31, 2015.
Collis McCaster is accused of capital murder in the June 8, 2013 death of Mildred Morris in Atmore.
Darrell Brown faces two counts of capital murder for the April 26, 2017 death of Donta Russell and the Aug. 17, 2017 death of Robert Kennedy in Atmore. Deon Boothe also faces capital murder charges in the Aug. 7, 2017 death of Kennedy and Yeldon Rostchild also faces capital murder charges in the April 26, 2017 death of Russell.
Cleve Cunningham III faces capital murder charges for the Sept. 1, 2016 death of Kenneth Bettis inside Holman Prison.
