Prison, probation and more: Felony cases addressed at Marion County Judicial Center
Here's a recap of hearings held at the Marion County Judicial Center the week of Oct. 16:
State v. William Rodriguez-Cordero
Plea: No contest.
Charges: One count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, sexual battery and armed kidnapping.
Sentence: 15 years in prison and 10 years of probation to run consecutively. He has 922 days of credit for time already served at the Marion County Jail.
Special conditions: He cannot have any contact with the victim or victims, must not return to Interfaith, must wear a GPS monitor while on probation, and will be listed as a sexual offender.
Judge: Circuit Judge Lisa Herndon.
Lawyers: Assistant State Attorney Marissa Meyer and Leonard Klatt for the defense.
About the case: Deputies arrested Rodriguez-Cordero in 2021 and accused him of holding a woman hostage for several days during which time he tortured, beat and stabbed her. While in the county jail, he attempted to hire an inmate to kill the woman, according to sheriff's officials.
State v. Derrell Dernell Redding
Charges: Two counts of sexual battery on a child younger than 12, three counts of sexual battery, three counts of lewd lascivious molestation of a child.
Hearing: At an arraignment hearing on Oct. 17 in Circuit Judge Lisa Herndon's courtroom, Assistant State Attorney Tucker O'Neil announced prosecutors have filed the charges against 54-year-old Derrell Dernell Redding.
Where's Redding now? He's presently at the county jail, held without bail. Court documents show his next court date is scheduled for 2024. Those same records indicate Redding is represented by local attorney Henry Ferro.
What happened? Redding was taken into custody by sheriff's deputies last month and accused of molesting two underage girls. At the time of his arrest, Redding was pastor at Progressive Union Missionary Baptist Church.
State v. Jonathan Nepal Mathura
Judge: Circuit Judge Robert Hodges.
Charges: 20 counts of possession of child porngraphy.
Lawyers: Assistant State Attorney Drew Brandies and Mathura's lawyer was Simon Wiseman.
Plea: No contest.
Dr. Harry Krop: A clinical psychologist, Krop testified for the defense at the man's Oct. 17 hearing. He said based on his evaluation, the risk of Mathura to re-offend is low. He said the defendant has accepted responsibility for what he did, received treatment for his sexual addictions, and has been doing well.
Mathura and family testify: Mathura's mother and wife told the court that he works, is a good man, supports his family, and is a loving person who's loyal. Both said he deserves a second chance and they were surprised he was downloading child porn.
Mathura told the court his treatment is helping him and he's sorry for offending his family and the children he has hurt by viewing pictures and videos of them. If given a chance, he said, he won't make those poor decisions again.
Arguments: The prosecutor asked the judge to sentence Mathura to 15 years in prison and five years of sexual-offender probation. Brandies said what Mathura did wasn't an isolated incident and he had access to more than 1,000 images of child porn.
Wiseman asked the judge to consider the doctor's testimony and note that his client has no criminal history and has learned his lesson.
Sentence: The judge sentenced Mathura to 15 years in prison and five years of probation for committing what he called a serious crime. Mathura has three days of credit for time already served.
State v. Juan Pagan Ayala
Judge: Circuit Judge Lisa Herndon.
Lawyers: Assistant State Attorney Marissa Meyer and defense lawyer A. Antonio Tomas.
Charges: Aggravated battery by a person in detention facility. A sexual battery charge was dropped.
Plea: No contest.
Sentence: The 32-year-old Ocala man was sentenced to eight years in prison on Oct. 19. Pagan-Ayala has 1,543 days of credit for time already served at the jail.
About the case: Law enforcement officials said an inmate at the county jail was assaulted by four men. The victim had broken ribs, a swollen eye and hand, and missing teeth, authorities said.
A lawsuit was filed several months ago against the sheriff in reference to this incident. Three other men involved in the attack, Charles Reynaldo Murillo, Steven Alexander Villafane and Cecil Eugene Wryals, have been convicted and are serving time in prison.
State v. Trevor David Henderson
Charges: Aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer with firearm and use of firearm while under the influence.
Judge: Circuit Judge Lisa Herndon.
Lawyers: Assistant State Attorney Marissa Meyer and defense lawyer Melanie Slaughter.
Plea: In August, Henderson, 35, of Ocala, pleaded guilty to the charges. His sentencing was delayed until October so a pre-sentence investigation could be completed.
About the case: Ocala police officials said Henderson pointed a gun in the face of an officer two years ago. The officer managed to wrestle the gun from Henderson, who was intoxicated, authorities said.
Officers were at Henderson's residence because they picked up him and his girlfriend from the downtown square after getting a call about two intoxicated individuals. At the residence, the officers heard a disturbance and during their investigation, the incident occurred.
Taking the witness stand: On Oct. 19, Henderson told the court he was sorry and doesn't remember much about what happened. He said he got the gun from his brother because his neighborhood has crime and is plagued with homeless people.
He said he wrote two letters to the officers expressing his feelings. He said that if he had known law enforcement officials were outside, he would not have pointed the gun.
Several people spoke on his behalf. One was his girlfriend of six years. She said he's honest, kind, and is remorseful about what occurred. His grandmother said it has been a hard three years for the family and he's a good person.
Meyer read aloud a letter from Officer Jordan Decker, the official who had the gun pointed in his face. He wrote that when the gun was pointed at him, he thought he was going to die, leaving his wife and daughter behind.
He wanted Henderson to be sentenced to five years in prison followed by five years of probation. Decker's wife also had a letter read aloud by Meyer. She asked the judge to send a message that this type of action should not go unpunished.
Lawyers' arguments: Slaughter said her client, because he was impaired at the time, wasn't aware of what he did.
The prosecutor said Henderson has not taken responsibility for what he did and was reckless with the firearm. She said it appears neither he nor his girlfriend minded walking to and from their residence to downtown, even though he said he lives in a bad community.
Sentenced: 15-year prison term for Ocala man who pleads guilty in child sex case
Sentence: Herndon said the officer could've been killed and while she doesn't think Henderson is a bad person, he must be punished. She sentenced him to three years in prison followed by 10 years of probation.
Once released, he must abide by several restrictions: He cannot drink any alcohol, cannot go to any bars or places that serve alcohol, and can have no access to guns or weapons.
Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com or @almillerosb.
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Here's a look at recent felony cases resolved at the Ocala courthouse
