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Your Family’s Favorite Newspaper For 44 Years February 21, 2007The NEWSThe NEWS
Azbill gets 12 years prison, never to drive
Shawn Burke, Devyn’s mother, (middle) leans on Chad Burroughs’ shoulder as Devyn’sboyfriend’s mother, Jackie Johnson, leans on Shawn’s shoulder Thursday during MicahAzbill’s sentencing.More photos by Keith Carson, page 20.
Micah Azbill reads a statement to the familyand friends of 16-year-old Devyn Burke, whohe killed in a hit-and-run crash on US 41 lastMarch.Azbill was sentenced Thursday to 12years in prison and three years probation.Staff photo by Keith Carson.
Lutz man retrieving golf ballsjabs 7-foot gator in the eyesBy David FishelSpecial to The News
LUTZ—A day at work retrieving ballsfrom ponds at a New Port Richey golfcourse turned into a close call for VernonMessier of Lutz.
Messier was hired Feb. 14 by theTimber Greens Country Club to retrieveballs from retention ponds on thecourse.A seven-foot alligator lurking in apond on the fifth hole thought Messierlooked like lunch.
Golfers playing the hole about 10:15
Lutz dancer Regan CasselsRegan Cassels, of Lutz, bebops with hergrandfather Tracy Johnson, of TempleTerrace Feb.11 during the Valentine’sFather Daughter Dance at the LightfootCenter. Staff photo by Keith Carson.
Victim Devyn Burke’s mom:‘I can sleep tonight’By Debbie CarsonStaff Writer
The family of 16-year-old Devyn MarieBurke can finally sleep soundly now that theman who left the Northdale girl to die onUS 41 is firmly behind bars for at least nineyears.
Micah Steven Azbill, now-31, was sen-tenced to spend the next 12 years in thestate penitentiary and will never again be al-lowed to have a Florida driver’s license.Hewill also serve three years under communitycontrol after his release and perform 200hours of community service.
He could have been sentenced to a maxi-mum of 15 years in prison or to a minimumof 22 months. Based on state law, Azbillwould be required to serve at least 85 per-cent of his 12-year sentence – about 10 years– and get credit for the 11 months he hasspent in the Hillsborough County jail – put-ting his prison time closer to nine years.Hecould be 40 when he’s out of prison. Hisdaughter,now 8,could be 17 by then.
“You struck a human being in a horriblecrash,” Judge Emmett Lamar Battles said
See AZBILL, page 20Woman killed when carexplodes in CarrollwoodCompiled by Debbie CarsonStaff Writer
A woman was killed Saturday nightwhen a van struck her car, causing it to ex-plode,authorities said.
The woman was driving north onHutchinson Road in Carrollwood nearPennington Road when she lost control ofher 1988 Ford Crown Victoria and wentinto oncoming traffic.
That’s when a Dodge van collided withthe car, causing the vehicle to erupt intoflames, according to the HillsboroughCounty Sheriff’s Office.
Neither driver was identified by presstime.Two passengers in the van were trans-ported to an area hospital for treatment.
2 nabbed, 1 wanted in Sam’sClub $263,000 diamond heistBy Debbie CarsonStaff Writer
Authorities are still searching for the$263,000 diamond necklace stolen from theNorthdale area Sam’s Club after arrestingtwo men and identifying a third suspect.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Officearrested Steven L.Lyles,20,of North Tampa,and 24-year-old Douglas Guzman Jr., ofMiami, on Feb. 16. Both men face onecharge each of first degree grand theft.
Authorities also issued a warrant for thearrest of a third suspect,20-year-old DerrickJames Denson. His address is unknown atthis time.
Authorities have not been able to findthe 82-carat diamond and platinum neck-lace,but are continuing the search.
The three men are suspected of enteringthe Sam’s Club on N. Dale Mabry Highwaythe evening of Jan.23.
Two of the men were caught on securitycameras smashing the glass case with ahammer and grabbing the necklace. The
Marvin Cirks Jr. wasalways willing to helpBy Debbie CarsonStaff Writer
A freak accident took the life of a 45-year-old man who never met a stranger.Thefather of three and a proud “Poppie,”MarvinCirks Jr.,was laid to rest on Feb.15.
“He was always willing to help,”MarvinSr., said of his son.“He didn’t have any ene-mies.”
Marvin Jr.died on Feb.10, after a tool hewas working with caught him in the neck.
He was using a disk grinder to removebolts on a truck he was working on, thePasco County Sheriff’s Office said.The diskon the grinder somehow shattered into sev-eral pieces.One struck his neck.
See SAM’S CLUB, page 34See GATOR GOLF, page 34 See CIRKS, page 34
North Tampa Leaguerettesget $10,000 from countyfor tractor lost to arsonBy Debbie CarsonStaff Writer
Members of the North TampaLeaguerettes received a welcome surpriseearlier this month when the Board ofCounty Commissioners approved nearly
$10,000 in aid forthe group.
At the promptingof CommissionerBrian Blair, an advo-cate for children andsports, the commis-sion approved
donating a badly needed tractor and about$500 worth of other equipment to help re-place items lost and damaged in an arsonthat occurred last year.
The only catch is that the Leaguerettesmust come up with insurance for theSandPro tractor,valued at more than $9,000.
“It’s awesome,”said Ronda Moon,a mem-ber of the league.“It’s all coming together.”
Blair told his fellow board members thatthe tractor is a safety necessity.
“We rake our fields before every game,”Blair said of the baseball team he manages.“It’s a safety issue because balls bounce upoff of rocks and hardened clay.And it’s very,
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Tom Watson wins in LutzDespite the cold weather, Tom Watson’sgolf game was hot at the OutbackSteakhouse 2007 Pro Am, held at the TPCTampa Bay in Lutz.More Tammy SueStruble photos, page 2.
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while handing down his sentence. “Youknew you had struck her.You were not onlyaware of this but made a conscious decisionto leave the scene.This court is convincedyou are a danger, sir.”
Why the Land O’Lakes floor installer lefta girl dead or dying on a Lutz highway wasnever completely answered by Azbill. Theman who authorities said should not havebeen driving had 21 citations since 1993.
“I’m legal. I had no reason to run,”Azbilltestified before his sentence.
* * *How did Devyn Burke and Micah Azbill
cross paths that night?While the question did not come up dur-
ing the sentencing hearing, legal documentsreleased last year indicate that Devyn hadleft her boyfriend’s home in Lutz on footshortly before 10 p.m.and began walking.
While no one can be certain of whereshe was headed, some have speculated thatDevyn was heading to a fishing hole on thefar side of US 41 where she used to go tothink. Others thought she had been tryingto catch up with her boyfriend RickyJohnson and his friend Wesley Morin afterthey left to go to the nearby Hess gas sta-tion.
Azbill told officers that he was on hisway home after dropping a friend off fromwork. He was driving with a restricted li-cense that allowed him to drive to and fromwork.
His night driving became the focus ofthe assistant state attorney during the sen-tencing hearing.
* * *His sentence ended six hours of lengthy
and tearful testimony from scientific andlaw enforcement experts and several family
members and friends.The sentence also ended a nearly year-
long chapter for the Burke and Azbillfamilies after Micah Azbill struck and killedDevyn Burke as she tried to cross US 41near Dennison Road on March 17,2006 – St.Patrick’s Day.
“I think I will sleep tonight,”said Devyn’sgrieving mother,Shawn Burke of Northdale,outside the courtroom after Judge Battlessentenced Azbill.
“It’s more than I thought he was going toget,”Burke said of his sentence.“I’m happy.”
Not long before the sentence camedown,Burke’s emotions were different.
* * *Shawn Burke was one of seven people
who took the stand and spoke on behalf ofDevyn, pleading with the judge for justicefor Devyn.
“I don’t want to become angry,” Burke
told the judge with a shaky voice, “but Ican’t help it.”
She showed Judge Battles a framed pic-ture of her with Devyn.
“This is one of my treasures,” she said,telling the judge that all she has now arephotos and memories.
Burke told the judge that she wears a vialfilled with Devyn’s ashes around her neckevery day as a way to remain close to hereldest daughter. She has a daughter KyndellLopez who was 6 when Devyn died.
She has also paid tribute to her daughterwith a new tattoo on her upper left shoul-der – two angels forming a heart. Inside theheart, the tattoo reads:“In loving memory –Devyn 6-13-89 to 3-17-06.”
Judge Battles sat on his bench looking atBurke and all the others who testified forDevyn with a face that was hard to read.He
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Emotions, dramafill courtroom atAzbill sentencingAbove: Micah Azbill tightly holds a speechhe had prepared before he read it toDevyn’s friends and family.
Right: Public defender James Siegfreid con-fers with Micah Azbill during redirect ofMichael Gamache, a forensic psychologist,by Kim Seace, assistant state attorney,during his sentencing.
Staff photos by Keith Carson
Christina Schweitzer of Lutz looks through a photo album of Devyn Thursday that wasbeing passed around Devyn’s friends and family during a 10-minute court recess. Tammy Jones, Azbill’s sister, expresses her condolences to Devyn’s friends and family.
Shawn Burke, Devyn’s mother, shows arecent tattoo on her back after MicahAzbill was sentenced outside Courtroom22 on Thursday.
Kim Seace, assistant state attorney, showsMicah Azbill photographs of the car hewas driving.Azbill chuckled after he wasshown a photograph of the windshield.
Circuit Judge Emmett Lamar Battles lis-tens to an eyewitness statement Thursdayduring the sentencing of Micah Azbill.Later, he called Azbill “a danger.”
Devyn’s mother Shawn Burke (right)hugs assistant state attorney Kim Seaceafter Azbill was sentenced to 12 years inprison and three years probation.
AZBILL, from page 1
See AZBILL, page 24
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turmoil”and that he could only guess at thepain of losing a child.
“I would never minimalize” the case,Azbill continued. He said that he shouldhave done what he was supposed to do –stay at the scene of the crash.
“I am truly sorry,” he finished. “I’m sosorry.”
Devyn’s side of the courtroom sniffledand hummed in anger – a low level growl al-most escaping their throats.Prosecutor KimSeace had warned the crowd earlier aboutmaintaining decorum.No outbursts.
The courtroom audience seemed to bedivided very much like the way guests areseated at a wedding.Azbill’s family and sup-porters sat nearest the Public Defender’sdesk, while Devyn’s supporters sat oppo-site,behind the prosecutor.
Azbill’s side of the courtroom wept as hevoiced the sorrow they, too, felt for Devyn’sfamily.
* * *Prosecutor Kim Seace peppered Azbill
with questions regarding why he was outon the road that night.
Azbill finished reading his statement andhad wiped his eyes.
“You knew you shouldn’t be driving,cor-rect?”she asked Azbill. She reminded him ofprevious statements when he had said hegot off work around 4:30 p.m.– more than5 hours before the crash.
“I didn’t want to drive drunk,”he replied,not answering her question.
Seace pointed out that he had a businesslicense – one that restricts him to drivefrom home to work and back again.
The license, she said, did not allow himthe privilege to drive someone home andstay at the person’s home to play cards anddrink beer.Azbill had testified to that duringdepositions.
Azbill said he thought that driving afriend home from work was business relat-ed and did not think it violated hisrestrictions.
“It was in my better judgment to not
drive drunk,” he said. He had two or threebeers at his friend’s house, stopping atabout 6 p.m. Azbill said he waited at hisfriend’s home until he sobered up beforeheading for his own home.
“You knew you hit a person, right?”Seace asked,putting the question a differentway.
After a long pause,Azbill said,“Yes. It was-n’t an animal or a car.”
Seace asked if he remembered hitting amale or female.He said he couldn’t recall.
“It happened so quick,”he said.Seace re-freshed his memory. She pointed to apassage in one of his recorded statementsthat he told officers that he saw pink cloth-ing.
Muffled sobs filled the silence in thecourtroom.
Seace asked Azbill what he did after thecollision — if he drove to the Hess gas sta-tion down the road.
Azbill said he did go to the gas stationand got out of the car and looked at thedamage.
Did you notice the windshield? Seaceasked, holding up a photograph of the se-verely damaged vehicle.
“Couldn’t help but notice the wind-shield,”was the reply.
She asked him about the view throughthe windshield, so woven with cracks that itwould be almost impossible to see throughfrom behind the steering wheel.
“Heh,heh,heh, I guess so,”came Azbill’schuckled answer.
Friends of Devyn bristled with angerafter hearing his near-laugh.Some mumbleddisbelief in his seeming casualness towardthe crash,minutes after what had appearedto be his heart-felt apology.
Seace then spent the next several min-utes grilling Azbill on why he never calledauthorities to report the crash.She pointedout numerous opportunities that he neveracted on.
“When I’m in shock,when someone diesin front of my eyes, it’s kind of tragic,”Azbill
AZBILL, from 24
See AZBILL, page 33
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said,his voice slightly raised in frustration.Seace asked if Azbill’s prior driving histo-
ry had played a role in his decision to leavethe scene.
Azbill has received at least 21 traffic-relat-ed citations and convictions since 1993,according to his record.
Seven of his citations were for drivingwith a canceled, suspended or revoked li-cense – two of which resulted in felonyconvictions.
He has also been cited for running fivestop signs or red lights, speeding five times,driving carelessly twice,and being involvedin two crashes – though the record did notshow if he had been the at-fault driver.
He said that his record didn’t enter hismind.
“I’m legal. I had no reason to run.”* * *
As with Devyn’s side,Azbill’s friends andfamily were given an opportunity to addressthe court.
Micah Azbill’s father,Paul,was the first toaddress Judge Battles.With an even tone,Paul Azbill told the court that he and hiswife would be willing to take Azbill in forcommunity control – probation.He also toldthe judge that he has been a pastor in theLand O’Lakes area since 1994 and has spent50 years in ministry.
Paul Azbill did not take the opportunityto speak on behalf of his son, as MicahAzbill’s sisters did.
* * *Azbill’s eldest sister, Paula Hout, apolo-
gized to the court and Devyn’s side for theactions of her “much younger”brother.
“I wanted to say I’m deeply sorry,”Houtsaid, her words choking in her throat.“Weare truly,deeply sorry.”
Hout also told the court that Azbill has an8-year-old daughter, who presumably liveswith her mother.
She said that she knew Azbill was on pre-scription medications – an antibiotic and apainkiller,which she thought was Vicodin.
Public Defender asked Hout if their fami-ly has ever suffered the loss of a familymember.
She said that one of their sisters diedfrom carbon monoxide poisoning.
“He was devastated,” Hout said of herbrother when their sister died.
* * *Charles Jones,Azbill’s brother-in-law,testi-
fied that Azbill is a hard worker and aperfectionist when it comes to installingfloors. However,Azbill is “a little forgetful,”Jones noted.
Jones also explained that it was he whohad shot Azbill in the head with the nail gun
all those years ago – when Azbill was about16 years old.Azbill’s attorney tried to usehead injuries and diminished mental capaci-ty to lighten his sentence.
* * *Tammy Jones, another sister and Jones’
wife, told Judge Battles that theirs is a verytight-knit family.Everyone comes over to thehouse on Sunday for a family dinner.
“I know my brother never would havedone anything on purpose,”she said, turningto look at Devyn’s side of the courtroom.Many of Devyn’s friends shook their headsin disagreement.
* * *Another family member, Robert, spoke
briefly on Azbill’s behalf.“He’s been very remorseful,”Robert said,
explaining that Azbill has shown emotionover the fatal crash throughout,even duringjail visits.
* * *Asking friends and family to testify on
Azbill’s behalf was just one part of the de-fense’s strategy to try to lessen the man’ssentence.
Public Defender James Siegfreid calledtwo scientific experts to tell the court aboutAzbill’s state of mind and mental capacity.
He started with Dr.Rossitza Chichkova,aneurologist at the University of SouthFlorida.
Dr. Chichkova examined Azbill in June,2006,and reviewed his medical history.Shetestified to the numerous head injuriesAzbill has sustained throughout his life.
The incidents include being shot in the
head with a nail gun,getting hit in the headwith a pipe during what was described as amugging,and falling out of a crib as a youngchild.He had also suffered other head-relat-ed injuries in various fights he has beeninvolved in, the doctor said.
Defender Siegfreid asked the doctor if abrain abnormality from the nail gun injurycould have caused any behavioral problems.
Dr. Chichkova explained that the injurycould have damaged a visual part of hisbrain, hurting his ability to see out of theouter half of his left eye.She also said that ifhe suffered such a condition, it could havealso impaired his balance.
The defender tried to make the argu-ment that perhaps Azbill’s brain injuries hadbeen the cause of the crash or his poor per-formance on field sobriety tests heunderwent. However, the judge did notseem to buy into it, based on the sentencehe gave Azbill.
Also,had Azbill suffered from limited vi-sion, he probably would not have beenissued a driver’s license to begin with.
* * *Prosecutor Kim Seace cross examined
Dr. Chichkova and asked the doctor aboutthe tests she had performed on Azbill to de-termine that he suffered from mentalabnormalities.
Dr.Chichkova said that Azbill performednormally in the coordination and sensoryskill portions of the exam.Even his balanc-ing ability portion went well, she said.
“He did fine,”the doctor said.
AZBILL, from page 31
See AZBILL, page 35
Azbill citationsAzbill had at least 21 traffic citations and
convictions since 1993, according to theState Attorney’s Office.—Crashes: 2—Careless Driving: 2—Running stop signs/red lights: 5—Speeding: 5—Driving with a canceled, suspended or re-voked license: 7, including 2 felony convictions.
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But that’s where his good performanceended.
Dr. Chichkova said that Azbill was notable to walk heel-to-toe,which is called tan-dem walking. It is part of field sobriety teststhat law enforcement uses to determine if aperson is driving under the influence ofdrugs or alcohol.
The doctor also said that Azbill had diffi-culty with vision and spatial tests,noting hedid well in copying the two dimensionalimage of a flower but had problems copy-ing the 3-D image of a cube.
He also had problems drawing the faceof a clock,Dr.Chichkova said.The face wasmore like an oval than a circle and numbersone through six were “scrunched”togetherwhile seven through 12 were spaced nor-mally.
Based on the tandem walking, the cubeand the clock, the doctor made the determi-nation that Azbill had suffered some form ofbrain damage.
When Seace pressed the doctor on theissue of the three seemingly harmless tests,the doctor responded in a defensive tone.
“This is a specific test,”she said,one thatall neurologists administer.
The doctor also told Seace and the courtthat Azbill could not interpret two proverbsshe had verbally given him:
—“The grass is greener on the otherside”;and
—“Too many cooks spoil the soup.”Azbill had told the doctor that he did not
understand the proverbs and could not giveher an interpretation.
Dr. Chichkova pointed out that theproverb test was another indicator thatAzbill’s mind was not quite right.
* * *Dr.Michael Gamache,a licensed psychol-
ogist, focuses on forensic psychology, hetold the court when defender Siegfreidcalled him to the stand.
Dr. Gamache interviewed Azbill twice,once in May and again in August.
“He was cooperative,” the doctor said.“He was polite.”
During the interviews with Azbill, theydiscussed the night of the crash and theevents surrounding it.
“He did indicate to me that he knew hehad hit someone,”Dr.Gamache said.“He hadno real clear explanation why he didn’t stayat the scene.”
The doctor said that Azbill told him thathe had “freaked out.”Azbill had difficulty ex-plaining to Dr.Gamache what he meant bythat.
Azbill told the doctor that he remem-bered pulling into the Hess gas station and“freaking out again.”
He reported to the doctor that he hadbeen trembling, had heart palpitations, felt
light headed.He was “shaking like a leaf,”feltanxious and panicked.
Dr. Gamache asked Azbill during theirsession if he could recall any specificthoughts he had after the crash.
“It’s my friend’s car,”Azbill had told thedoctor of his first coherent thought.“I haveto get it back to her.”
Other than that,Azbill said he could notremember any other thoughts he had.
Azbill told the doctor that he got backinto the car and turned around on US 41,heading north, to take the car back to hisfriend’s home in Land O’Lakes.
The car broke down at the intersectionof US 41 and Lake Patience Road, so Azbillwalked the mile or so to his friend’s house.
He told Dr.Gamache that when he got toher house,he told her that he had hit some-one and she had told him:“You need to getback there.”
So he left and returned to where he hadleft the car.
“He wasn’t thinking clearly,”Dr.Gamachetold the court.“He wasn’t thinking rational-ly.”
Siegfreid asked the doctor if Azbill hasany personality issues.
“Yes,” Dr. Gamache replied.After inter-viewing Azbill, his father and other familymembers, the doctor said that Azbill is “veryimpulsive”and “not good with decisions.”Healso said that Azbill “needed a lot of hand-holding.”
It seemed as though the Public Defenderwas trying to make a case for why Azbill hadleft the scene of the crash.
* * *Prosecutor Seace then cross-examined
Dr. Gamache and asked if he had takenAzbill’s toxicology report into considerationwhen rendering his opinion of Azbill.
The toxicology report came back withtrace amounts of a powerful painkiller, hy-drocodone, as well as cocaine andmarijuana,according to court records.
Dr.Gamache said that he was not awareof the drug test prior to his report andthought that that information might changehis opinion of Azbill’s state of mind thenight of the crash.
Seace asked the doctor if Azbill had toldhim about his cocaine usage. Dr. Gamachereplied that Azbill had indicated that he hadused cocaine sometime in the past butnever gave dates.
Azbill did tell the doctor, however, thatwhen he was married some years ago, heand his wife both actively used the narcotic.
About halfway through her cross-exami-nation,Seace said:“He knew at the time thatleaving was wrong and illegal.” She thenasked Dr.Gamache if that were a true state-ment.
He said it was a correct statement.Public Defender Siegfreid asked the doc-
tor a few more questions after Seace wasdone.
He brought up Azbill’s drug usage again,noting that cocaine metabolizes in the sys-tem rather quickly.
The comment raised a question that wasnever answered during the sentencing hear-ing: If cocaine metabolizes quickly, andAzbill said he had taken cocaine three orfour days before the crash, then why wasthe drug still found in his system? Could itbe that he had such a large amount that ithadn’t metabolized yet, or is three or fourdays not long enough to get it out of thebody’s system?
The lawyer asked Dr.Gamache if he andAzbill had spoken about the moments justprior to the crash.
“Did Micah say if he could avoid it?”Siegfreid asked of the crash.
Dr.Gamache said that Azbill told him hecould not avoid the crash because therewere cars all around him.
Azbill had told the doctor that he wasdriving in the middle of three lanes andlooked in the rearview mirror to see if hecould change lanes. By the time he lookedforward to the road, it was too late.
“She’s standing right in front of me,”Azbill had told the doctor.
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputieslater testified that Azbill had been driving inthe left lane,not the center lane.
* * *Siegfreid called Detective John Duran to
testify about the crash and Azbill’s de-meanor after the collision.
Det. Duran told the court that when hemet with Azbill in Land O’Lakes,Azbill waswilling to return to Hillsborough County toanswer questions about the crash – provid-ed he didn’t have to go to the scene.
“He didn’t feel comfortable being near”where the victim was, the detective said.
The detective recalled Azbill being rathercooperative after the crash – he went backto the area of the crash; he admitted todrinking a few beers earlier; and he per-formed both a breath test and field sobrietytests.
Though the detective could not be sureof Azbill’s remorse, he told the court thatAzbill did seem to be concerned for the vic-tim.
“Did she die quickly?”Det.Duran remem-bered Azbill asking him.Sobs escaped fromDevyn’s side of the courtroom.
Det.Duran said Azbill was responsive tothe detective’s questions,but was “not reallyforthcoming,”noting Azbill gave very shortanswers.
* * *Prosecutor Seace took the opportunity
to ask the detective a few questions aboutthe crash and Azbill’s involvement.
Det. Duran told her that, to his knowl-edge,Azbill never called 911 or authoritiesto report the crash, despite numerous op-portunities he had.
She asked about the clean breath testand the blood work that was drawn for fur-ther testing.
Then, seemingly addressing the audi-ence, Seace said that the toxicologist couldnot conclude beyond reasonable doubt thatAzbill was impaired by the drugs found inhis system.
Had the toxicologist been able to con-clude that he had been driving impaired, thestate would have charged Azbill with DUImanslaughter, she said.
* * *Defender Siegfreid called Det. Jason
Oliver to the stand, but he did not get achance to say anything other than his nameand affiliation.
The attorney asked Det.Oliver about hisinterview with Devyn’s boyfriend, Lee“Ricky”Johnson II.
Just as Siegfreid brought up the possibili-ty that Devyn had been taking drugs earlierthat day, Seace sprang up from her seat atthe counsel table and objected, citing rele-vancy.
Judge Battles called both attorneys up tohis bench and spent what seemed like min-utes quietly discussing the matter.
In the end, he sustained the objectionand dismissed Det.Oliver.
It seemed as though Siegfreid was tryingto make a case that Devyn was somehow atfault for being in the road at the time of thecrash.
* * *The six hours of testimony ended with a
10-minute break that dragged on for 15 min-utes as Judge Emmett Lamar Battlesdeliberated in his chambers.
For those 15 minutes, the weight of thejudge’s decision hung heavily on the audi-ence. Some in Devyn’s camp wondered iftheir own testimony was strong enough toconvince the judge to sentence Azbill to themaximum 15 years in the state prison.
Others wondered if the doctors’ testimo-ny was enough to cast a shadow of doubton Azbill’s mental acuity.
Friends and family passed around scrap-books and photos of Devyn.They spent thelast few minutes of the hearing hoping thatDevyn would finally get the justice they hadfought for.
* * *Twelve years in prison. Followed by
three years of probation and 200 hours ofcommunity service.Never to have a Floridadriver’s license again.
“I can deal with 12 years,”Shawn Burke,Devyn’s mother said,outside the courtroomafter the sentence was handed down.
“It makes a statement,” Devyn’s aunt,Heather DeCoeur said.
* * *This was a hit-and-run case that lacked all
the uproar of another Land O’Lakes-relatedhit-and-run,yet it had some of the same play-ers.
Judge Emmett Lamar Battles oversaw thesentencing of former dance teacher JenniferPorter, who pleaded guilty to leaving thescene of a crash involving the deaths of twochildren – Bryant Wilkins,13,and DurontaeCaldwell,3.
Porter was sentenced to three years pro-bation, two years of community control,and500 hours of community service.
The prosecutor in the case was KimSeace,who argued that Porter should haveserved jail time.She was fresh from anotherhigh profile hit-and-run: the death of TampaMayor Pam Iorio’s bodyguard. TheGibsonton driver convicted of DUImanslaughter faces 30 years in prison,withsentencing March 6.
* * *“All agree this is a tragedy for all in-
volved,”said Judge Battles.“I’ll never have her back,” said Devyn’s
mother,Shawn Burke.But she will have some peace of mind –
now that the man who killed her daughterwill never be allowed on the road again.
AZBILL, from page 33
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