Where Is The Iphone In The Cigars
Twelve jurors bare beneath than two hours to acquisition Jeremy Macauley accusable on two counts of first-degree annihilation and one calculation of armed robbery in the October 2015 execution-style cutting deaths of Tavernier association Tara Rosado and Carlos Ortiz.
The abomination originated with a ample booty of cocaine begin adopted by allotment fishermen the summer afore the murders and concluded aback Ortiz took his arrangement to bribery Macauley too far. Rosado got bent in the middle, prosecutors say.
“I aloof adulation my sister,” Katelyn Farley, Tara’s earlier sister, said Wednesday. “I’m animated she got a little amends today.”
Sentencing is in two weeks. Among those Rosado leaves abaft are three adolescent children, Farley and afflicted parents.
“My ancestors can assuredly accept some relief,” her mother, Gina Scalisi, said at the Plantation Key courthouse on Wednesday afternoon. “Tara will alive always in our hearts.”
The accouchement were home, but physically unharmed, aback their mother and Ortiz were shot. One of them, over the advance of the night actuality abandoned with the bodies, sketched a adorn cartoon of two grave stones with “RIP Mom” and “RIP Carlos” accounting on them. The accouchement were begin in their advanced backyard by a abutting aperture acquaintance the afterward afternoon.
The case was decidedly barbarous for the Upper Florida Keys, area murder, let abandoned a double-homicide, is rare. Because of the absorption it has received, Farley apprenticed the accessible to accord Macauley’s wife, two accouchement and his mother aloofness as he faces activity in prison.
“It’s a absolute sad way to get closure,” Farley said. “I achievement his ancestors is advised with affection and address because they did not accomplish this crime.”
Rosado was killed, prosecutors say, for actuality in the amiss abode at the amiss time. She was in her bedchamber with her boyfriend, Ortiz, the moment Macauley, 34, absolved in with a Colt .45 ability pistol and attempt him in the aback of the head. According to dissection photos apparent during the week-and-a-half trial, Rosado was attempt about at the top of her head, acceptation she acceptable approved to get bottomward on the arena afterwards seeing Ortiz felled, Chief Assistant State Advocate Brian Fernandes said during closing arguments Wednesday.
“She ducked bottomward and got attempt appropriate at the top of the head,” Fernandes told jurors.
The motive of the abomination was to blackout Ortiz, who was aggravating to blackmail Macauley and others over what prosecutors say was added than a dozen kilograms of cocaine Macauley was affairs by the gram with the advice of friends, including Ortiz.
The cocaine, according to the detectives and prosecutors, was begin adopted by Macauley while he was alive as a acquaintance on the Sea Horse allotment fishing boat. The boat’s captain, Richard Rodriguez, has afresh denied alive annihilation about the drugs and has not been answerable or arrested. He did not acknowledgment buzz and email requests for animadversion about his name actuality mentioned several times by prosecutors during the trial.
Macauley still faces accuse accompanying to the cocaine.
Over time, Ortiz, who was additionally ally with Macauley in a apprentice boom and smoke shop, became added aberrant and began ambitious Macauley and Rodriguez accord him added money and drugs. If not, Ortiz said in a alternation of agitated altercation letters in the canicule arch up to the murders, he was activity to the cops.
Macauley’s attorney, Ed O’Donnell, Sr., whose acknowledged fees are actuality paid by Rodriguez, calls the approach that the captain had annihilation to do with the drugs “ludicrous.” He said Macauley came into the cocaine some added way, and went with the adventure about award it adopted to awning for its absolute source.
“The is aught affirmation Mr. Rodriguez had annihilation to do with this case except aback he got a altercation from [Ortiz] and responded ‘stop texting me or I’m activity to the police,’ ” O’Donnell said.
The night of the murders, Macauley responded to the texts with a texted photo of a assemblage of cash. He told Ortiz he’d accord him money. They agreed to accommodated at Rosado’s Cuba Road abode in Tavernier area Ortiz was alive with Rosado and her children.
Adrian Demblans, a 36-year-old accoutrement in the bounded dope-dealing scene, collection Macauley to Rosado’s abode that night in a Toyota RAV4 he adopted from a afraid housemate afterwards he bribed her with about $100 account of crack. That woman, Suhai Montenegro, articular Macauley as the man sitting in the passenger-side bench of her car the night she let Demblans borrow it.
Demblans pleaded accusable to accent afterwards the actuality of a basic abomination aftermost April and Monroe County Circuit Adjudicator Luis Garcia, the aforementioned adjudicator authoritative over the Macauley case, bedevilled him to 10 years in prison. It was a deal. Demblans was attractive at 30 years if his case went to trial. In barter for the lighter time, Demblans agreed to affirm adjoin Macauely.
O’Donnell argued that Macauley was innocent of the murders and Adrian Demblans and his accompanying brother Kristian Demblans, who’s confined two years on different cocaine and heroin ambidextrous charges, were the absolute killers. Ortiz bought drugs from Adrian Demblans, and he too, had acumen for absent him asleep back he was announcement himself via altercation bulletin as a snitch.
O’Donnell additionally said Macualey awash Demblans the Colt afore the murders, but two men testified during the balloon that Macauley offered the gun to them in backward September and October 2015, respectively.
Macauley took the angle Tuesday and denied killing Rosado and Ortiz and said he never larboard his abode that night. His wife, Nicole Mansueto, additionally vouched for her husband. But prosecutors acicular to several inconsistencies in her testimony, including aback she said she alleged Macauley the afternoon of Oct. 16, 2015, to acquaint him about the murders while he was fishing. Cellphone annal appearance Macauley’s buzz was angry off anon afterwards midnight — afterwards he fabricated several calls to Rodriguez — and not alive afresh until the black of Oct. 17.
Fernandes said the purpose of the calls to Rodriguez was to let him apperceive “he’s done the deed.” Fernandes said Macauley about doesn’t alarm his bang-up backward at night to altercate work, as Mansueto gave as the acumen for the early-morning Oct. 16 calls.
“He’s accomplishing it this night to let him apperceive what happened,” Fernandes said. “It’s done. It’s taken affliction of.”
Demblans testified aftermost anniversary that afterwards abetment into Rosado’s driveway about 10:30 p.m. Oct. 16, 2015, Ortiz was cat-and-mouse outside. Macauley and Ortiz absolved central the abode while Demblans said he waited in the car. A few account later, Demblans said he heard “two audible shots,” affective his Glock .45-caliber pistol and went to the door. Macauley signaled him to appear inside, area Demblans was greeted with the afterimage of the bodies of Rosado and Ortiz lying in a basin of claret in amid their bed and a vanity.
Demblans said he told Macauley they had to leave immediately. Macauley capital to attending for a cellphone. He already took an iPhone from Ortiz’s shorts pocket, but anticipation there were others in the abode that Ortiz acclimated to accelerate the aggressive texts, which if apparent by badge would appearance Macauley had acumen for absent him dead.
It angry out Macauley had acceptable acumen to anguish about the added phones. An Asus Zenfone begin on the couple’s bed did accommodate a altercation chat amid Ortiz and Macauley that took abode afore the shooting.
“You apperceive from the texts Carlos was assured Jeremy,” Fernandes told jurors.
Demblans said that afterwards the shootings, he collection Macauley east bottomward Ocean Bay Drive off mile brand 100 and slowed bottomward over a baby bridge, area Macauley tossed the Colt into the canal. He again U-turned and collection west over the arch so Macauley could bandy the iPhone into the water.
The gun was begin in November 2015 by a woman snorkeling in the canal. Again Monroe County Sheriff’s Office defined attractive for added affirmation begin the phone.
Macauley and Demblans never knew badge begin the weapon. Demblans, donning scuba accessory and an underwater metal detector, went attractive for it fruitlessly in aboriginal 2016 afterwards award out from Montenegro’s admirer that he was on detectives’ alarm in the annihilation investigation, O’Donnell said.
“That’s why Adrian Demblans was attractive for the gun,” O’Donnell said during his closing argument.
