Judge sentences Ocala man to 40-month prison term for witness tampering and battery

Circuit Judge Robert Hodges has sentenced an Ocala man to a 40-month prison term for witness tampering and battery by person in a detention facility.

Randall William Pfettscher II did not have a plea agreement in place. Sentencing was left solely in the judge's discretion.

Assistant State Attorney Katrina Self had asked the judge to impose a 10-year term because she said Randall William Pfettscher II posed a significant danger to the community. Prosecutor Barbara Harris assisted Self with the hearing.

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Pfettscher's lawyer, Zarina Hernandez, told the judge her client admitted what he did.

Hernandez said Pfettscher, who has been at the Marion County Jail since June 2020, wanted to apologize to the victim. She said Pfettscher wanted his son to respect law enforcement. The judge stopped her, telling her he doesn't believe people should use their children for mitigation.

The judge told Pfettscher that the tampering charge was a serious offense. Jail officials said an inmate told them Pfettscher paid him canteen items in exchange for making a three-way phone call to the victims in a battery case. The plan was for the inmate to bribe one of the victims not to show up for court.

As for the battery charge: Officials said Pfettscher accepted a $50 payment to attack a fellow inmate.

Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com or @almillerosb.

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Ocala, Florida judge sentences man to 40-month prison term