Wade Wilson prosecutors react to jury verdict and death penalty vote
Prosecutors cited the pandemic and the change of lawyers. One of Wade Wilson’s former lawyers has died.
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Two prosecutors are scoring a victory as they ponder the complexities of the capital case against a Fort Myers man in the brutal deaths of two Cape Coral women.
A jury’s decision to impose the death penalty in the 2019 murder case of Wade Wilson, 30, of Fort Myers, was five years in the making and was influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in the defense.
It was “very frustrating,” they say.
Assistant District Attorneys Sara Miller and Andreas Gardiner prosecuted Wilson for the murders of Kristine Melton, 35, and Diane Ruiz, 43.
Miller, who has worked for the 20th Judicial District Attorney’s Office for nearly 17 years, and Gardiner, who has worked for the Homicide Division for 23 years. Gardiner worked on the Wilson case from the beginning, while Miller joined the District Attorney’s Office shortly afterward.
Short break while judge decides on sentence for Wade Wilson
Lee Circuit Court Judge Nicholas Thompson set Wilson’s sentencing date for July 23, about a month after his conviction.
A jury on Tuesday recommended that Wilson be sentenced to death on each count by votes of 9 to 3 and 10 to 2.
The lawyers praised the patience of the women’s families.
“The families have been great,” Miller said. “I think the biggest frustration is that the case is being handled by multiple attorneys because COVID has shut down the court system.”
With courts closed during the pandemic, Miller said each new attorney must re-familiarize themselves with disclosure of evidence and take witness statements that will be used in trials when witnesses answer attorneys’ questions.
Prosecutors do not comment on pending cases and declined to discuss further details of the Wilson case, which is moving into its final stages. However, attorneys spoke to the media in a brief press conference immediately after the verdict.
Prepared the case against Wade Wilson for five years
Gardiner said the process was exhaustive.
“Five years is a long time before they can actually have hope and finally get the degree they deserve,” Gardiner said.
In addition to the pandemic, Wilson’s former defense attorney Young Tindall died on November 12, 2022, and delays continued until the sentencing recommendations phase, when alternate defense attorney Lee Hollander fell ill and delayed testimony.
The issue also placed a strain on everyone involved.
Miller told jurors that Wilson singled out, isolated, tortured and strangled Melton and Ruiz. She described the October 7, 2019, killings as heinous, cruel and gruesome.
“The least we can do for (the families) is to look at how best we can work with them to make sure they are not only informed but kept up to date on the current status of the case,” Gardiner said.
Miller said the Meltons faced additional challenges because most of them lived out of state.
“There was always someone on site who was in contact with us, and they did most of the communication with some family members outside the area,” Miller said, later adding, “I know we had to travel a lot, and then the adjournment and the penalty phase were postponed … that made it even more difficult.”
Sara Miller and Andreas Gardiner build a convincing portfolio
There are six men on death row in Lee County; Wilson would be the ninth.
Gardiner also prosecuted one of the men, Wisner Desmaret – his second case in which the death penalty was imposed.
A jury found Desmaret guilty of shooting Fort Myers police officer Adam Jobbers-Miller in 2018 while he was responding to a 911 call in Fort Myers. Desmaret has appealed the verdict.
The murder of Wade Wilson is the first case in which Sara Miller has imposed the death penalty, and another is still pending.
The prosecutor duo has worked together on several high-profile cases in the district, which spans five counties, including Collier, Lee and Hendry, including:
∎ Eliceo Hernandez, then 20, of LaBelle, shot and killed 30-year-old Florida Wildlife Commission Officer Julian Keen Jr. in Hendry County in 2020. He was found guilty last year and received a life sentence.
∎ Brett Pleasant, then 52, was charged in 2021 with the murder of a 77-year-old Bible teacher in North Fort Myers. He, too, was sentenced to life in prison.
Two cases are still pending against Wade Wilson
In the meantime, the duo still has a score to settle with Wilson.
Miller said prosecutors have yet to discuss the fate of two pending cases against Wilson.
Wilson has faced additional charges at least twice since his initial incarceration in Lee County Jail for the murders in 2019. In April 2023, he was indicted on a drug conspiracy charge.
In October 2020, Wilson’s escape attempt from the Lee County Jail was thwarted, along with a man charged in a domestic violence case.
The sheriff’s office report states that Wilson was the main planner and instigator of the attempt.
According to a separate arrest report from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, on April 20, 2023, at approximately 6:00 a.m., a detection dog conducted an open-air sniff outside the Lee County Main Jail, 2115 Martin Luther King J. Blvd., and reported the presence of drugs.
An anonymous inmate stated that the drugs were brought by 35-year-old inmate Bobby Hitchman, the report said.
According to the police report, Hitchman delivered the drugs to another inmate, 38-year-old Daniel Mulcahey, who then distributed them to Wilson and a second inmate.
Two more death penalty cases pending
Just last week, a grand jury indicted two Fort Myers men on capital crimes.
Michael Maree, 66, has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the illegal distribution of fentanyl that caused the death of 36-year-old Nick Adams on Jan. 1. Adams died in Maree’s Fort Myers home after taking fentanyl.
Courtney Parchman, 31, was arrested June 5 and charged with first-degree murder for his alleged role in a fatal armed robbery June 1 at Royal Jacks Arcade in North Fort Myers.
Other prosecutors will take on those cases: Hamid Hunter will prosecute Parchman, and John Dommerich Jr., head of the special prosecutor’s office, will prosecute Maree.
Tomas Rodriguez is a breaking/live news reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. Reach Tomas at [email protected] or 772-333-5501. Reach him on threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.
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