Thirteen-year prison term for man who ran deputy off the road
Here's a look at what happened in several prominent court cases Oct. 30-Nov. 3.
State v. Dustin Howard Bowen
Plea: Bowen entered a no contest plea on Oct. 30.
Charges: Aggravated battery on a law enforcement official, felony flee or attempt to elude police/disregard for safety, drug possession and grand theft.
Defense lawyer: Doyle Gary Lashley.
Judge: Circuit Judge Peter Brigham.
Sentence: Thirteen years in prison. The 25-year-old Dunnellon man has credit for 1,021 days already spent at the county jail.
Special condition: Must pay restitution to the victim or victims.
About the case: In 2021, deputies were looking for Bowen in connection with a burglary incident. They saw Bowen on Interstate 75 and pursued him. During the chase, Bowen managed to force a deputy off the roadway. He was eventually apprehended.
State v. Joshua Snavely
Judge: Circuit Judge Peter Brigham.
Charge: Attempted strong arm robbery.
Defense lawyer: Charles Kenneth Ruse III of the Public Defender's Office.
Plea: No contest.
Sentence: 928 days in jail, with credit for 928 days already served while awaiting resolution of this case. He was released on Oct. 30 at 4:29 p.m., according to records. His hearing was held on the same day.
Special condition: Must submit a DNA sample.
About the case: Ocala police officials arrested the 38-year-old Ocala man in 2021 and accused him of trying to rob a Bank of America branch located on East Silver Springs Boulevard.
State v. Colton Aaron Whitler
About the case: The 18-year-old was one of three people taken into custody by Ocala police officials for their reported participation in a drive-by shooting last year.
Those arrested were two sets of brothers. Of the four, one, Joshua Vining, has been charged with fatally shooting 16-year-old Christopher Leroy Broad, who was wearing a bulletproof vest.
A juvenile had previously pleaded no contest for his role in the drive-by shooting and was sentenced to 36 months of probation in late October 2022. He has 14 days of credit for jail time served.
Now 17, the Ocala teen must testify truthfully in all court proceedings, cannot have any contact with the co-defendants except his brother, and cannot have any illegal substances.
Judge: Circuit Judge Peter Brigham.
Charges: Discharging a firearm in public from a vehicle, shooting at or within or into a dwelling, possess firearm during commission of felony and carrying a concealed firearm.
Plea: No contest plea entered on Oct. 30.
Sentence: Eighteen months in prison for all the charges with 237 days of credit for time served.
State v. Juan Angel Corea-Diaz
Defense lawyer: Henry Ferro.
Charge: Burglary of a conveyance. Charges of carjacking and kidnapping were dropped by prosecutors on Oct. 31.
Plea: No contest.
Judge: Circuit Judge Anthony Tatti.
Sentence: The 35-year-old was sentenced to time already served at the county jail: 270 days. He's presently at the county jail on a border detention hold.
About the case: Sheriff's deputies arrested Corea-Diaz after they say he was involved in a crash and the vehicle he was in caught fire.
A law enforcement official pulled Corea-Diaz from the burning vehicle. Deputies were told he ran and entered another vehicle.
The driver of that vehicle claimed Corea-Diaz forced him to drive. Deputies were told that Corea-Diaz had been deported to Honduras in 2014.
State v. Jason Dale Volkman
Plea: Volkman pleaded no contest to sexual battery, video voyeurism, direct/promote sexual performance by child/contribute to delinquency of a minor cause to become delinquent, and delivery of hydrocodone charges.
Sentence: The 50-year-old Ocala man was sentenced to 30 years in prison followed by five years of probation.
About the case: Volkman is accused of sexually abusing a boy and giving the juvenile alcohol and Vicodin. Authorities were told about a hidden camera Volkman used to record the abuse. The Florida Bar has suspended Volkman's law license.
State v. Zachariah Terry Doster
Charges: Five counts of aggravated assault on a sport official and discharging firearm in public.
What happened? Prosecutors said in a court filing on Nov. 1 that, based on a review of the evidence and reports, they have no witnesses who can identify Doster as the shooter in this case. Lawyers said the likelihood of conviction is low, and the state therefore announced it is no longer pursing the case.
About the case: The 26-year-old Tampa man was picked up by law enforcement officials after he was accused of firing shots at referees and bystanders following a semiprofessional football game at an Ocala sportsplex in the summer of 2020.
State v. Jesse Holden Otero
Judge: Circuit Judge Robert Hodges.
Charges: Cruelty toward child without great bodily harm. Otero, 36, had faced charges of two counts of sexual battery on a child younger than 12 and three counts of lewd lascivious molestation on a child younger than 12. Those charges were not pursued by prosecutors. In a Nov. 2 court filing, they said that after reviewing the facts and circumstances of the case, the likelihood of conviction was slight.
Lawyer: Amanda Micallef for the defense.
Plea: No contest.
Sentence: In a plea deal, the Ocala man had his adjudication withheld on Nov. 2 and was sentenced to two years of probation.
Special conditions: Otero must undergo a mental health and psycho-sexual evaluation and cannot have any unsupervised contact with children younger than 18.
About the case: The Ocala man was arrested by sheriff's deputies in 2019 after a juvenile accused him of molesting her.
Contact Austin L. Miller at 867-4118, austin.miller@starbanner.com
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Prison for 13 years for man who ran deputy off the road during chase
