18 March 2019 :

Circuit Judge Jalal Harb sentenced Johnathan Alcegaire, 30, Black, to death. On September 28 a Polk County jury unanimously recommended death after finding Alcegaire guilty in the January 6, 2016 shooting deaths of David Washington, 24, Stacy Branch, 31, and Angelica Castro, 23. That was a drug-related shooting. Alcegaire is the first of three Miami men accused in the predawn home-invasion murders. During his trial, the lone survivor of the shooting, Felix Campos, told jurors he saw Alcegaire among the three assailants in Washington’s home that morning. They shot Campos, too, but he survived. Co-defendats are Jamaal Smith, 28, Alcegaire’s brother, 38-year-old Andrew Joseph, and Tavaris Mack. Prosecutors dropped the murder charges against Mack because Campos could not identify Mack as the third assailant. Without his testimony, prosecutors decided in December to dismiss the charges against Mack. According to prosecutors, the gunman was Smith. While authorities haven’t alleged that Joseph was at the murder scene, prosecutors maintain he orchestrated the execution-style slayings — which, under Florida’s felony murder law, would make him legally responsible for the killings if he’s convicted. He’s scheduled to stand trial Jan. 6. No trial date has been set in Smith’s case.