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V O L U M E

SPECIAL
POINTS OF
INTEREST:
A message
from the
State Attorney
Recent SAO
trial victories
Featured
SAO employee
Safety tips
for hurricane
season

2 ,

I S S U E

J U L Y

2 0 1 4

A Message From the State Attorney

Thecaseswhichinvolvechild
vic msaresomeofthetoughest
weprosecuteattheStateA or
neysOce.Recently,theSAO
handledseveralhighprofilecas
esinvolvingchildrenLogan
Gust,athreeyearoldwhodied
ofadrugoverdose.Teriyah
Williams,anotherthreeyear
old,hitandkilledbyahitand
rundriver.AndJanyaSolomon,
atwoyearoldplayingnearher
homewhenshewasrunoverby
twostrangerswhothenfledthe

scene.
Janyasstoryisourfeaturein
thePulledFromTheHeadlines
sec onofthisnewsle er.Jan
yasmomisalsosharingher
storyofrebuildingherlifea er
herdaughtersdeathintheVic
msVoicesec on,locatedon
pagethree.
Myprayeris,allofourvic
msfamiliescanfindpeaceand
closureinthelossoftheirloved
one.GodBless.
~Angela

Pulled From The Headlines

ItwasSunday,June30,
around5:15inthea er
noonwhentwoyearold
JanyaSolomonwasoutside
playinginfrontofher
homeattheHaroldHouse
apartmentcomplex.Jayna
decidedtoruna erher
siblingsandsecondslater
shewashitbyasportu li
tyvehicle(SUV)andkilled.
ThedriverwasSerdarus
MiguelSco ,35,ahabitual
tracoender.Sco s
girlfriend,ArielSiplin,29,
wasinthepassengerseat
atthe me.
A erSco hitJayna,he
droveapproximately30
50feetbeforehestopped
andjumpedoutofthe

SUV.HethentoldSiplinto
getinthedriversseat.
Siplinturnedthecararound
andfledtheapartment
complexparkinglot,while
witnessestriedtogetherto
stopthevehicle.
Sco thenfledonfoot
andcaughtupwithhisgirl
frienddowntheroadfrom
thecomplex.Thetwothen
wentintohiding,un lthe
JacksonvilleSherisOce

capturedthem.
Sco andSiplinpleaded
guiltylastmonthandwere
recentlysentencedon
chargesinvolvingJaynas
death.Sco wassentenced
to15yearsinprison,fol
lowedbyfiveyearsofpro
ba on,onchargesofLeav
ingtheSceneofanAcci
dentResul nginDeath
andDrivingWhileLicense
SuspendedorRevoked.
Siplinreceivedoneyearin
jailforAccessoryA erthe
FactandTamperingwith
Evidence.
WiththehelpofAssis
tantStateA orneyLee
Smith,Jaynasfamilyre
ceivedjus ceinthiscase.

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 9

PAGE 2

Justice Promised, Justice Delivered

Justen D. Alexander
was convicted of Sexual
Battery. ~ASA Donna
Thurson

Michael T. Walker was

found guilty of PFCF.
~ASAs Erin Perry and Justin Dixon

Edwin G. Schonfeld
was sentenced to life in
prison for two counts of
Sexual Battery and two
counts of Lewd or Lascivious Molestation. ~ASAs
Anna Hixon and Leah
Daza

John E. Harrison was

convicted of Sale or Deliv-

for Attempted Murder in

the Second Degree.
~ASAs Brittany Mauerberger and Janeen Kirch

ery of Cocaine. ~ASAs

Coreylyn Crawford and
Tonya Barge

Jerry J. Holmes was

found guilty of Agg. Battery
with a Deadly Weapon and
Poss. Of Less than 20
grams Cannabis. ~ASA Anna Crutcher and John Kalinowski

Kevin A. Wilcoxen was

convicted of Agg. Battery
and Shooting or Throwing
Deadly Missiles. ~ASAs Peter Overstreet and Brittany
Maureberger

Jamichea Ziegler was

sentenced to life in prison

Raymond W. Breeden
was convicted of Murder
in the First Degree and
Armed Burglary with Assault or Battery. ~ASA Jeff
Moody

Damanecia N. Robertson was found guilty of

three counts of Attempted Manslaughter and one
count of Discharging a
Firearm from Vehicle.
~ASAs Brian Brady and
Justin Dixon

Hearings and Cheerings

Recently, the SAO hosted its 2nd Annual SAO Kids Summer Camp!
This group of eager young boys and girls, ages 11 to 17, spent the day learning and experiencing first-hand what its like to work at the State Attorneys Office. The kids heard
from SAO Victim Advocates, Investigators, and visited with K-9 officers and their dogs.
They also worked alongside prosecutors and SAO interns to prepare for the State of
Florida v. Goldilocks mock-trial. During the mock-trial, the kids played the role of either a
prosecutor or juror and took turns
questioning witnesses, presenting evidence, and making their case to the
jury.
At the end of the day, the kids
shared their favorite moments of the
camp and discussed what they had
learned.

PAGE 3

Special Acknowledgement Opportunity

BrandyStronkohasbeen
partoftheSAOsinceAugust
2009.
Sincethen,Brandyhas
workedasaVictimAdvocate
intheSpecialAssaultDivision

BrandyStronko

Every day
just hug
your kids
and let them
know you
love them
because you
never know
whats going
to happen.

(SAD).Brandyworksclosely
withvictimsandtheirfamilies
byassistingthemthroughout
thetrialprocess.
BrandywastheVictimAdvo
cateforthefamilyof2yearold

JanyaSolomon.Youcanread
moreabouthowBrandy
helpedthisfamilyintheVic
timsVoicesectionbelow.

Victims Voice
The 2013 death of twoyear-old Janya Solomon is
something that Janyas
mother, Natalie Parker,
says has deeply impacted
her entire family. For the
last year, Natalie has
served as the support system for her family, while
also struggling to cope
with the loss of her child.
As mentioned earlier in
this newsletter, Janya was
the victim of a hit-and-run
accident involving Serdarus Miguel Scott and his
girlfriend, Ariel Siplin. After
hitting and killing two-yearold Janya, the couple fled
the scene, but were later
arrested. The codefendants eventually
pled guilty and have been
sentenced on charges related to the childs death.
Even though there is
some closure knowing that
justice has been served in

her daughters case, Natalie says that each day is

still just as difficult as the
last. Its still very hard for
me because that was my
baby. Nevertheless, she
says that she takes each
day one at a time and has
tried to stay strong for her
other children.
Natalie also expressed
how grateful she was to
have the help and support
from Victim Advocate,
Brandy Stronko. She
helped me through everything, Natalie said. She
kept my head up! She
said that Brandy was like
her support system
throughout the entire process by always keeping
her informed of what was
happening in the case.
Natalie also shared her
appreciation for ASA Lee
Smith and all the work he
did in obtaining justice for

her, Janya, and the rest of

their family.
After this experience,
Natalie says shes realized
the importance of letting
your kids know just how
much you care about them.
Every day just hug your
kids and let them know you
love them because you
never know whats going to
happen.

TwoyearoldJanya
Solomon

Off The Record

Recently, a group of
young girls from the
Teen Leaders of America summer program
took part in a Girls
Leadership Class here
at the SAO.
This group of young

ladies spent the afternoon

with members of our staff
learning about the judicial
system. They also discussed the importance of
making good decisions
and how those decisions
can impact ones future.

The focus of this program is to empower

youth by providing students with the life and
leadership skills necessary to get into college,
graduate, and select a
rewarding career.

PAGE 4

SafetyZone
Safety psforhurricaneseason

Createahurricaneevacua onplanwithmembersofyourhousehold.Planningandprac cingyour

evacua onplancanhelpminimizeconfusionorfearinthecaseofanevent.

Checkyourdisastersuppliesandreplaceorrestockasneeded.Itsalsoagoodideatomakesure
yourcarsgastankisfilledincaseofevacua on.

Bringitemsinsidethatcouldbepickedupbythewind,suchaslawnfurniture,po edplants,and
bicycles.

Prepara onisthebestprotec onagainstthedangersofahurricane.Knowthedierencebe

tweenthethreatlevelsandplanaccordingly.

Findoutyourcommunityshurricaneresponseplan.Planroutestolocalsheltersandregisterfamily
memberswithspecialmedicalneeds.Ifyouhaveapet,besuretomakeplansforthemaswell.

Obeyevacua onorders.Besuretoavoidfloodedroadsandwashedoutbridges.

Behind The Scenes

The SAO4 is proud to be a pioneer in the state with its participation in Floridas Restitution Enforcement Program, also known
as REP.
At last report, the
SAO4 is the only SAO in the
state that takes part in the program.
With REP, the SAO collected
and returned more than $5 million stolen from public agencies
in the Fourth Judicial Circuit
since 2009. REP is a diversionary program the SAO utilizes in
cases of public assistance fraud.
The crimes can range from food
stamp, housing, and unemployment fraud to a business collecting sales tax from its customers
but not paying sales tax to the
state.
Individuals who have commit-

ted the crime can avoid a criminal record with REP by signing
an agreement to pay back the
restitution to the State of Florida.
Once an agreement is
signed, a monthly payment plan
is set up for the defendant. The
SAO then collects the restitution
from the defendant and returns
it to the specific state agency,
which is the victim of the crime.
Most of the cases sent to REP
are felonies. If a defendant
should not comply with their restitution agreement, the case is
rejected and is then reviewed
for prosecution.
The SAO through its connection with REP also allows the
SAO to assist those who are
disabled in Florida. In cases
where restitution is paid to the

www.sao4th.com

Department of Revenue (DOR) such as a business collecting

but not paying sales tax - half of
the restitution payment is sent to
the state. The other half goes to
a trust fund account called the
Able Trust to help individuals
with disabilities. The fund assists
disabled individuals in getting to
and from work daily. It also
helps them to be more independent. Since 2009, the Duval
office has collected $2 million in
DOR restitution - $ 1 million
went to DOR, and the other $1
million went to the Able Trust.
The SAO4 was awarded the
Public Organization of the Year
Award in 2012 for its work in the
Able Trust/REP program.