Ocala courthouse: Three men and a teenager resolve their felony cases
Four people resolved their felony cases earlier this week – one with a trial and the others with plea bargains.
A six-member jury on Wednesday found 24-year-old Darryn Lake guilty of robbery with a firearm and burglary of a conveyance while armed. Sentencing for the Ocala man is scheduled for June.
Circuit Judge Peter Brigham presided over the one-day trial. Lake was represented by James Smith, and Assistant State Attorney Erik Rauba was the prosecutor.
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Ocala police said Lake robbed a man in December 2019. A wallet containing cash and a bag were taken from the victim, according to a police report.
Lake was taken into custody in January 2020 and booked in the Marion County Jail, his arrest record show. At the time of trial, Lake was out on bond. After the trial, he was handcuffed and taken to the jail, where he will remain until sentencing.
Officers said a second man, Kenvonte Daniel, 25, of Silver Springs Shores, was also involved in the holdup. He has been charged with principal to robbery with a firearm, burglary of a conveyance while armed and grand theft. His case is ongoing, according to court documents.
Teen sentenced
Circuit Judge Lisa Herndon sentenced a 17-year-old boy to 15 years in prison and 10 years of probation on Wednesday.
The teen, whose name is not being released by the Star-Banner because of his age, entered a no contest plea last month. He had several charges relating to threatening people and home invasion robbery, officials said.
As part of his plea, the juvenile must complete a mental health evaluation.
Cases against three other minors involved in the incidents are pending, prosecutors said.
Sheriff's deputies said in November 2020, they were called to a convenience store. When they arrived, they were told that four boys had beaten a man and ran away. Deputies said the boys went to a nearby home, where they barged in and one of them pointed a gun at a woman.
The boys stole a vehicle from the home and crashed it when they were pursued by deputies. All four juveniles were caught, deputies said.
Probation for elderly man
On Tuesday, Circuit Judge Anthony Tatti accepted a plea deal presented to him by prosecutors and the defense lawyer for Christopher Robin Carpenter, who was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Carpenter, 74, of Fort McCoy, had charges of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated battery with great bodily harm with weapon or firearm dropped.
In their explanation, State Attorney's Office officials said they were unable to maintain contact with the victim and they've had difficulty in the past of getting him to appear for appointments.
With those hurdles, prosecutors said the likelihood of getting a conviction was slight.
With the plea, Carpenter was sentenced to three years of probation and he pleaded no contest to the charge. The elderly man has three days of credit for time served at the county jail.
Sheriff's deputies said an argument over dogs in the neighborhood between Carpenter and the victim led Carpenter to shooting the man three times in early 2018.
Man sent to prison
On the same day, Tatti sentenced an Ocala resident as an accomplice to burglaries, court records indicate.
Entering a no contest plea, Joseph Michael Storey was sentenced to 42 months in prison. He has 460 days of credit for time served at the jail.
Ocala police and sheriff's deputies believe Storey and Le'shanti An'dre Martin committed several residential over the course of a year.
They were apprehended when law enforcement officials caught them breaking into a vehicle in 2020.
Martin has been convicted and was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year.
Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: One trial, three plea deals: Courts resolve cases in Ocala, Florida
