hank Stephen B. Russell, State Attorney THE RUSSELL REPORT Page 1 Assistant State Attorney Dan Feinberg of our Homicide Unit and Assistant State Attorney Cynthia Rebholz-Rubin handled the case. Pilar Rodriguez In This Edition: Page 1,2,3 Cases Page 4 Guilty Verdicts Page 5 Anniversaries http://www.sao.cjis20.org/ Life in Prison for the Murder of Pilar Rodriguez Keith Allen Wilson, 46, will spend the rest of his life in prison for the February 1999 murder of 4 year old Pilar Rodriguez. Wilson was sentenced this month following his October conviction for Second Degree Murder. Pilar disappeared while on a trip to Punta Gorda with her babysitter Melissa Cooper (now Harding-Jones) to visit her boyfriend Wilson. Pilar s disappearance was a cold case until 2009 when new information came to light which lead to the case being solved. Harding-Jones is a co-defendant in the case. She has a plea agreement for one count of Accessory after the Fact which included a condition that she testify truthfully in Wilson s trial. She faces up to 30 years in prison when she is sentenced on January 18th. The new information discovered in 2009 involved one of Wilson s relatives coming forward to law enforcement with information about the case. He testified at trial that he saw the foot of a small child sticking out from within the trunk of the defendant s car. Pilar s body has never been found. Keith Allen Wilson Sexual Battery Conviction Malcolm Lamar Porter, 29, was convicted of Battery and Sexual Battery with Threat of Force following a two day trial in Lee County. He will be sentenced to 30 years in prison on February 12 th. The incident happened in Lehigh Acres in March when Porter told the victim there was a snake loose in the house. She called 911. Porter then came up behind the victim, pushed her to the ground and choked her. He then battered her sexually. When the defendant went into another room the victim ran to the front door trying to escape but he was able to stop her. He then choked her again and threatened to kill her. Lee County Sheriff deputies pulled up soon after and she was able to run outside to safety. Assistant State Attorney Heather Searcy of our Special Victims Unit and Assistant State Attorney Stephanie Russell prosecuted the case.
T ASo Stephen B. Russell, State Attorney THE RUSSELL REPORT Page 2 Grand Theft Conviction and Sentence Robert John Anderson, 51, was convicted of Grand Theft by a jury in Lee County following a three day trial. He was adjudicated guilty and immediately sentenced to 60 days in jail followed by two years of probation. The crime happened in May 2016 after six lawn mowers were donated to a non-profit organization in North Fort Myers by the Lehigh Acres Board of Fire Commissioners. After the donation was made Anderson contacted the organization and said he had spoken with the fire chief and the mowers were donated in error, which was false. He then fraudulently picked up 5 of the mowers (one had already been sold) under the guise that the mowers were to be refurbished and donated to needy families in the community which resulted in a loss of over $1000 to the organization. Assistant State Attorneys Joshua Fredrickson and Tyler Lovejoy prosecuted the case. ss Robert John Anderson Donation to Help Children In mid-december staff from the State Attorney s Office delivered more than 200 teddy bears to the children of Valerie s House as part of a special toy drive done over the course of three weeks within the office. Valerie s House, located in Fort Myers, provides open-ended peer support groups and activities to children who have suffered through a significant loss in their life. Children ages 4-19 and their families are able to work together to deal with the death of someone they love. Valerie s House is also now a resource for the State Attorney s Office when helping to assist children impacted by the death of loved ones through crime.
Stephen B. Russell, State Attorney THE RUSSELL REPORT Page 3 Sexual Offender Sentencing Daniel Alac Kunrod, 38, was sentenced to 10 years in prison after entering a plea of guilty to charges of Promoting a Sexual Performance by a Child and Computer Pornography- Solicitation of a Child. His prison time will be followed by 5 years of sex offender probation. Kunrod was sending sexually explicit images and messages from Fort Myers to a teenager in Tennessee through an instant messaging mobile app. An investigation revealed that he also had dozens of photos of child pornography on his phone. Kunrod had no previous criminal history but is now a registered sex offender. Burglary and Theft Sentencing Diego Renya, 63, was sentenced to 15 years in prison following his conviction for Burglary of a Structure and First Degree Petit Theft. Our office also sought a Violent Career Criminal enhancement which increased the penalty from 5 to 15 years based on his previous criminal history. Reyna was found guilty by a Collier County jury following a trial in November. In March 2016, Renya entered a produce store in Immokalee during the early morning hours when the business was closed. He then stole tools from a locked storage shed which was caught on surveillance video. Assistant State Attorney Kiely Keesler prosecuted the case. Assistant State Attorney Michael Colombo Jr. handled the case. Diego Reyna Daniel Alac Kunrod
o Stephen B. Russell, State Attorney Page 4 THE RUSSELL REPORT GUILTY VERDICTS ASA s Heather Searcy and Stephanie Russell: Battery, Sexual Battery with Threat of Force ASA Scott Patterson: Conspiracy to Traffic Cocaine (150 Kilograms or more), Attempted Trafficking in Cocaine (150 Kilograms or more) ASA Andrea Ciervo-Canizares: No Valid Driver s License ASA Hanna Renna: Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Resisting or Obstructing an Officer without Violence ASA Jennifer Toussaint: Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon ASA Robert Rodriguez: Petit Theft ASA Heather Searcy: Aggravated Battery on a Person 65 or Older ASA s John Grochowski and Garrick Soja: Robbery by Sudden Snatching, Battery (2 nd or more) ASA Paul Thomas: Possession of Heroin, Resisting or Obstructing an Officer without Violence ASA s Joshua Fredrickson and Tyler Lovejoy: Grand Theft ASA Alyssa Wolf: Felony Battery ASA Heather Searcy: Assault, Battery (2 nd or more)
Stephen B. Russell, State Attorney Serving Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee Counties THE RUSSELL REPORT Page 5 DECEMBER ANNIVERSARIES: In recognition of service to the citizens of Southwest Florida, and dedication to their jobs with the State Attorney s Office, a heartfelt thank you goes to the following people on their December employment anniversary dates: Courtney Berke 06 Francine Donnorummo 98 Jennifer Navarro 10 Richard Bowers III 16 Malcam Godwin 14 David Ness 15 Martin Bowman 97 Ingrid Gomez 15 Lisa Nodarse 06 Clifton Bush 15 Stephen Iorio 09 Elizabeth Percival 14 Stacey Carlton 95 Chelsie Jones 05 Abigail Reeves 15 Kelsey Chaney 11 Rebecca Jones 10 Sonia Rodriguez-Gomez 11 Catherine Cothran 15 Jennifer Justham 11 Barbara Rogers 03 Nancy Cruz 95 Janet Lee 11 Amanda Zych 09 Eva De Lemos-Sanchez 16 Amy Martin 16 Ronald Dente Jr. 14 Michelle Mathis 12 Holiday Closing The State Attorney s Office 20 th Judicial Circuit will be closed Monday, January 1 st. This includes our offices in Lee, Collier, Hendry, Glades and Charlotte Counties. Have a safe holiday!