Fort Myers Police officer murder trial: Get to know who's who

Almost five years after the 2018 killing of Fort Myers Police Officer Adam Jobbers-Miller while he was on duty, a Lee County jury will hear the case against Wisner Desmaret, 34, of Fort Myers, beginning Monday.

Desmaret, after claiming his right to represent himself, faces several charges including first-degree murder, attempted murder of a second Fort Myers police officer, resisting an officer with violence, robbery, depriving an officer of his means of protection, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, burglary of a conveyance and grand theft. The murder charge is a capital offense.

More: What we know about the man accused of killing Fort Myers Police Officer Adam Jobbers-Miller

The trial faced delays and, now that jury selection is complete, opening arguments are in Judge Robert J. Branning's courtroom in downtown Fort Myers. Court officials blocked off an entire month for the trial.

Here's a look at some people you're going to hear a lot about in the coming days:

The victim - Adam Jobbers-Miller

Jobbers-Miller, 29, was a officer with the Fort Myers Police Department for just under three years. He had responded to a 911 call July 21, 2018, about a stolen cellphone. Jobbers-Miller confronted Desmaret, witnesses say. It turned into a struggle where Desmaret took Jobbers-Miller's gun and shot him. Desmaret also was shot. Both were taken to Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers, where Jobbers-Miller died July 28, 2018, after a week on life support.

Officials estimated more than 5,000 attended his memorial service at what is now Hertz Arena, including officers from all over the United States, local communities and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Jobbers-Miller became the third Fort Myers police officer killed in the line of duty since 2003.

The son of a 30-year fire chief, Jobbers-Miller had volunteered as a firefighter in Wayne, New Jersey, before moving to Lee County. Friends said he loved Superman, which likely inspired his career choice. He was engaged at the time of his death.

More: Gone but not forgotten: SWFL rallies behind, support fallen police officer one year later

More: Being a first responder comes naturally to wounded Fort Myers police Officer Jobbers-Miller

The defendant - Wisner Desmaret

Desmaret faces the death penalty if he's convicted of the most serious charge against him: first-degree murder. What makes this case unusual, is that, with such a looming possible penalty, he has chosen to represent himself, despite discouragement from the judge. He's had two court-appointed attorneys dismissed and the judge has appointed a lawyer to advise Desmaret along the way.

Desmaret has said "only God can judge me" and he doesn't trust the jurors, the previous lawyers, police officers or the legal system.

More: From boxer to alleged cop shooter, Wisner Desmaret's life marked by arrests, mental illness

A native of Haiti, Desmaret, 34, lived in Fort Myers at least from age 9, according to a 2008 News-Press profile. A standout with the Police Athletic League Boxing Academy, he won a state title. Dubbed "The Haitian Sensation," he won his first championship belt at a tournament in Tampa in 2008, News-Press files indicate. He turned professional for a brief stint in 2015, but let his license expire almost immediately. He faced a troubled youth and beyond, racking up convictions in at least three Florida counties, including burglary and drug possession.

After a previous arrest, he was released from a Sarasota jail while awaiting trial just two days before Desmaret clashed with Jobbers-Miller in Fort Myers.

In the ensuing years, Desmaret has had at least two competency exams, including one that determined he understood the ramifications of representing himself at the current trial.

The trial judge - Robert J. Branning

Presiding over the trial, Lee Circuit Judge Robert J. Branning was appointed to the 20th Judicial Circuit Court in 2014, beginning his legal career as an assistant state attorney for the court in 1999. He also has practiced with Rahak & Branning, having entered private practice in 2002.

He received his bachelor’s degree from Florida State University and his law degree from the Mississippi College School of Law. Branning has served as an adjunct professor at Southwest Florida College since 2012.

He's served over several major homicide convictions in the past few years, including:

∎ Lois Reiss, a Minnesota woman who pleaded guilty to shooting and killing Pamela Hutchinson, 59, on Fort Myers Beach in April, 2018 before fleeing to Texas and gambling along the way.

∎ Courtney Danielle Gainey sentenced to 30 years in prison, in the hit-and-run death of 14-year-old Allana Staiano, the girl Gainey hit and killed along McDaniel Drive on Jan. 11, 2020.

∎Mariya Lynn Kelly, a Cape Coral woman who fatally stabbed her mother while they were putting away dishes on June 17, 2020, sentenced to prison for 15 years.

The prosecuting attorney - Amira Fox

Fox, an elected official, has lead the State Attorney's Office, 20th Judicial Circuit, since 2019. The circuit represents Lee, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Charlotte counties with more than 300 employees, including 120 lawyers.

Fox, the first female to lead the 20th Judicial Circuit, was assigned to the Jobbers-Miller case when she was an assistant prosecutor.

Her high-profile cases have included prosecuting Mesac Damas of Naples in Collier County. Damas received six death sentences for the 2017 murders of his wife and five young children. She also lead prosecution in the 2015 Zombicon shooting and slaying. Gunman Jose Bonilla, of Immokalee, killed one and injured five during the popular downtown Fort Myers festival. He's serving a 25-year-sentence.

More: Amira Fox sworn in as first female State Attorney in the 20th judicial circuit

Second prosecutor - Andreas Gardiner

A Michigan native, Andreas Gardiner is an assistant prosecuting attorney with the State Attorney's Office, 20th Judicial Circuit. He's worked with the office since 2001, mainly in the homicide unit, his LinkedIn biography states. He's successfully argued before Branning against a change of venue in the trial and will serve as Fox's second chair during the trial.

Recently, Gardiner served as prosecutor in the murder case against then-19-year-old Syncere Trice, a one-time football standout accused of killing two people in 2022. One of the dead was a South Fort Myers High School student De-mari Jackson, 16, who attempted to protect a friend after shots were fired after fight.

Helping the defendant - Lee Hollander

Lee Hollander is a seasoned lawyer that Branning appointed to observe and assist Desmaret after Desmaret insisted on representing himself. Hollander worked as an assistant prosecutor for the State Attorney's Office from 1981 through 1996 before joining a private practice. He works for Hollander & Hakuna, with offices in Fort Myers and Naples.

More: Cape Coral mother sentenced to life in prison for starvation of her toddler

In a recent high-profile case, he represented Cape Coral mom Sheila O'Leary, who was convicted of starving her toddler to death in 2019, saying she only fed him breastmilk and a vegan-inspired diet.

Hollander also is defending Joseph Zieler, charged in the murder of a woman and a girl she was babysitting in Cape Coral three decades ago. Zieler, 58, of North Fort Myers, was charged in the May 1990 slayings of Robin Cornell, 11, and  Lisa Story, 32, after a grand jury returned an indictment in November 2016. That case is slated for a May trial.

Sitting in judgement - the jurors

The jurors, as a body of Desmaret's peers, are selected from voter registration rolls in Lee County. Desmaret has suggested he can't get a fair trial because it is such a high-profile case, but Branning has said the trial will remain in Lee County until it's proven he can't seat an impartial jury. Court officials seated the jury Thursday after interviewing about 160 people.

They had narrowed the pool to 60 possible jurors, choosing the 12 jurors and 4 alternates. Their identities are protected.

The gallery - who's watching

This is a major case. In addition to news media from Southwest Florida, reports have included that Desmaret's brother and Jobbers-Miller's father are in the courtroom as the jury selection continues. At least one representative of Jobbers-Miller's family has attended most hearings over the past five years leading to the trial. Several Fort Myers Police Officers in uniform have watched the proceedings.

Who's notably not there - Chief Diggs

Fort Myers Police Chief Derrick Diggs died in February. Diggs was a couple of years into the job when Jobbers-Miller died. He oversaw the case against Desmaret and led the community in mourning the officer.

Stacey Henson is the breaking news/visuals editor for The News-Press and Naples Daily News. You may reach her at shenson@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Fort Myers Police officer murder trial: Get to know who's who