Life in prison for man convicted for shooting at deputy; defense wants new trial - Ocala
A judge has sentenced a man convicted at trial for shooting at a law enforcement official to life in prison followed by 30 years.
Malcolm Jamal Thomas was found guilty by a jury on Feb. 16. He was charged with attempted second-degree murder of a law enforcement and one count each of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of ammunition.
Thomas, who appeared by Zoom from the Marion County Jail on Friday, was told by Circuit Judge Anthony Tatti that he qualifies as a habitual violent offender because his last conviction was within five years of this latest offense. Thomas' family members were in court.
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The 32-year-old man was sentenced to 30 years for the possession charges, and he must serve a mandatory minimum of 10 years. For the life sentence, he must do at least the mandatory minimum of 20 years.
Thomas has 1,402 days of credit for time already served at the Marion County Jail.
Jurors believed Assistant State Attorney Sasha Kidney's argument that Thomas fired multiple shots at Deputy Alan Hewett in 2018.
Deputies said Thomas entered a crime scene area in the 7900 block of Northwest 39th Avenue Road, which is near the intersection of County Road 326 and Interstate 75. He refused to leave the area and, when pursued by Hewett, he fired shots at the deputy. The deputy was not hit or injured.
On Friday, Dunnellon defense lawyer Amanda Micallef filed a motion for a new trial, a renewed motion for a judgment of acquittal, and a motion for arrest of judgment.
Micallef said she did not receive all necessary information from the prosecution. She said one document was dated two days before Thomas' conviction, and it contained statements she didn't have time to research.
Secondly, the lawyer said Hewett's testimony at trial was different from what was written in his report.
Third, the lawyer mentioned that the firearm found at the scene was test fired the day before trial. She called it "a significant and material change" that was not in any law enforcement reports, and no report was given to the defense before trial.
Fourth, Micallef said that during jury selection, the judge made an error when stating "that there were things about Malcolm Thomas that they would not learn." The lawyer said there was a previous ruling limiting such statements. She said the state made reference to an earlier incident.
Dropped charges played a role in handling of this case
Thomas had been charged with the shooting death of 58-year-old Pearlie Mae Thomas. Deputies went to the area to investigate the death. State Attorney's Office officials did not pursue a charge of manslaughter, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of ammunition because they were unable to find an eyewitness to the incident.
Other people who were present at the shooting, including family members, said they never saw anything or were not involved.
With those dropped charges, jurors never heard the reason deputies went to the incident location in the first place. To mention that would have been prejudicial against Thomas.
The defense lawyer indicated that jurors were pressured into making a decision, even though they told the court that they were deadlocked.
No date has been set to hear her motions.
Contact Austin L. Miller at 867-4118, [email protected] or @almillerosb.
source: https://www.ocala.com/story/news/courts/2022/02/27/life-prison-florida-man-found-guilty-shooting-law-officer/6941004001/
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