Former Sarasota teacher, North Port man end criminal cases with no contest pleas
Two separate criminal cases have come to a conclusion after the defendants pleaded no contest to charges against them.
In one case, a former Sarasota Military Academy teacher was sentenced to 45 days of community control followed by two years of probation for child abuse, while a North Port man is facing nearly 20 years in prison in connection to a murder.
What's happening in Sarasota: Man dies while in Sarasota Police custody, prompting FDLE investigation
More court coverage: Bradenton man sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for 2021 vehicular homicide
Former teacher no longer able to work at a school, to relinquish license
A Sarasota Military Academy High School teacher who was arrested in April after she "made out" with a 17-year-old student pleaded no contest to child abuse on Nov. 8, according to court records.
Court records show Michele Little, 29, was sentenced to be placed on community control for 45 days, followed by 24 months of probation under the supervision of the Florida Department of Corrections. As part of her sentencing, Little must attend 16 individual counseling sessions, perform 50 hours of public service, cannot be employed in a school setting, have no contact with the victim or their family, relinquish her teaching license, and not apply for a new one.
Little initially entered a plea of no contest to indecent, lewd, or lascivious touching of certain minors on Oct. 16, and was sentenced to community control and probation, which did not include sexual offender probation, according to court documents.
When Little appeared at probation following her sentencing, she was told she had to comply and be subjected to sexual offender probation. Little then entered a motion to withdraw her plea as she didn't know what the consequences of the plea would include mandatory sexual offender probation, according to court records.
Sarasota detectives began investigating Little after school representatives informed them that rumors were spreading about her and the student, who said Little made sexual comments to him several times for several weeks, according to a police report.
"It started with small things when she would flirt with him by looking him up and down and making flirting remarks to him," detectives said in a report. "She would call him dangerous because he was only 17-year-old and 'hot.'"
'Take Care of Maya' trial recap: 3 things to know about the jury's verdict and what's next
In other court coverage: Tampa judge to decide if defamation case against Meghan Markle by half-sister will advance
North Port man sentenced for murder that was staged to look like suicide
A North Port man arrested in connection to a murder that was meant to look like a suicide has been sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison.
Clinton Pittman, 41, entered a plea of no contest on Oct. 9 for murder in the second degree, possession of a firearm, ammunition, or concealed weapon by a convicted felon, and altering, destroying or concealing evidence.
Pittman was sentenced to 19 years in prison with credit for time served, receiving 15 years each for second-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon to run concurrently, and four years for altering or destroying evidence to run consecutively.
North Port Police Department responded to the 2200 block of Yancy Street in March 2021 to a possible suicide attempt, according to previous Sarasota Herald-Tribune reporting. Detectives found a woman with a gunshot wound to her head and she was holding a rifle in her left hand. Relatives of the victim say she was right-handed.
The woman was hospitalized at Sarasota Memorial Hospital and died from her injuries.
Pittman was interviewed by detectives at the North Port Police Department where he told investigators the victim was snorting Xanax and another white substance in the days leading up to the shooting, according to an affidavit in the case. Pittman told detectives he stepped outside the home for a moment and ran back in after hearing a gunshot, promptly calling 911 soon after.
A search of the area near the home found security cameras which showed video of Pittman exiting the rear of the home with a handgun in his right hand which he tossed into the woods behind his home, the affidavit states. The gun was recovered by police.
Gabriela Szymanowska covers the legal system for the Herald-Tribune in partnership with Report for America. You can support her work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America. Contact Gabriela Szymanowska at gszymanowska@gannett.com, or on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Former school teacher, North Port man plead no contest in cases
