Sabrina O’Neil was only 15 years old when she was fatally shot in a drive-by shooting in Liberty City over a decade ago.
Five men were arrested by the police after the teenager’s murder and have since been convicted either as a shooter or accomplice.
Taji Pearson, who is now 39 years old, was convicted of first-degree murder last year. In January of this year, he received a life sentence for the death of O’neil and for his role in the attempted murder of three other individuals.
Pearson, who had been sentenced to life in prison, was granted a new lease on life after just seven months. Although he had driven the killers to the shooting site, he had not fired any shots himself. As a result, he was given the opportunity to start afresh outside of a prison cell.
Rebecca Dimeglio, an Assistant State Attorney, stated that the handover of the discovery to the defense could not be confirmed.
Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez inquired, “Has this issue arisen at any point during the 11-year duration of this case?”
The response given to the judge was straightforward and concise. “It hasn’t been turned over,” was the clear statement made.
During a court proceeding on Wednesday, Dimeglio acknowledged that her office had failed to submit all of the evidence, also known as discovery, in Pearson’s case. This led the state attorneys to request that Judge Mendez overturn the life sentence and instead propose a plea deal to Pearson, which included a 15-year sentence and four years of probation.
The charges against Pearson have been revised to second-degree murder, subject to the same sentence under the state guidelines as others facing similar charges. Those charged with second-degree murder, like Pearson, may face life imprisonment.
According to Michelle Borchew, who is representing Pearson, she conducted a public records request for emails and uncovered evidence that was not presented to the counsel during Taji’s trial. Borchew stated that although this evidence does not necessarily prove Pearson’s innocence, it is information that she was entitled to have in order to cross-examine witnesses during the trial.
According to Borchew, the evidence that was not handed over could have been extremely valuable in cross-examining the witnesses who gave testimony during her client’s trial last year.
After the previous prosecutor resigned, new prosecutors were appointed to the case by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, even though there was uncertainty about whether the evidence was deliberately concealed.
Back in March, Michael Von Zamft, a former top prosecutor, was removed from a death penalty case by Judge Andrea Ricker Wolfson due to his “winning at all costs” philosophy which led him to manipulate witness testimony and prosecute recklessly. As a result, he had to leave the office. Stephen Mitchell, another prosecutor, was also disqualified from the case. Despite this, NBC6 confirmed that Mitchell is still prosecuting cases in Miami-Dade.
Miami-Dade State Attorneys had to reassign the cases handled by Von Zamft, which also included Pearson’s, due to the disqualification.
On Wednesday, Dimeglio and Justin Funck, the recently appointed top prosecutors, suggested that the ideal solution would be to propose a plea deal of 15 years with credit for time served, in order to prevent a new trial.
According to Borchew, the recent order from the cases prosecuted by Michael Von Zamft has stirred up some dust. However, he believes that the dust has not settled yet.
According to state attorneys, the victim’s family expressed dissatisfaction with the revised sentence.
According to Pearson’s attorney, the judge approved his new sentence, which gives him credit for over 5,000 days and he is expected to be released within two years.