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Law And Order: Highlands - Altersberger Depositions Taken All Over State; Pope's Killers To Be Sentenced

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By Gary Pinnell | Highlands Today

Published: May 8, 2008

SEBRING — With 13 murder cases on his hands, Assistant State Attorney Steve Houchin is just running from one thing to another – his words.

If it's not Joshua Altersberger, it's Leslie Lewis, Albert Stevens, Brandon Johns, Arthur Aul, Terrence Barnett, Leann Parker, Silvia Zanchez, Donald Henry, Edgar Otero, Joseph Graham, Gerald Sanders or Nicholas Mezie.

Altersberger
Joshua Altersberger, 19, accused of shooting to death Sgt. Nick Sottile when the Highway Patrol trooper stopped a car for a traffic violation 16 months ago, is consuming lots of time for the state attorney's office.

"His attorneys were down, and we did depositions two days last week," said Houchin, who manages the Highlands and Hardee County offices for 10th District State Attorney Jerry Hill.

"We've got a list of depositions," Houchin said, holding out an 8 by 11 inch sheet of paper with a schedule. In May alone, there are 19 testimonies with defense attorneys and witnesses. Some are as far away as Key Biscayne, and if Houchin doesn't attend each one personally, he sends another prosecutor.

"Some are police officers who investigated, some are civilians who came up on the scene, some are friends of the defendant who, allegedly, have some information," Houchin said.

Why Key Biscayne? "The witness has a right to have their deposition taken in the county where they live," Houchin said.

The depositions are taken at the request of the defense attorney, but the prosecution learns much about his case too.

"You're sitting there seeing your witness being grilled by the defense attorney," Houchin said. "Exactly what does your witness know, how do they handle the questions, how do they testify? It's a two-way street."

Don't expect a trial this year, he said.

Otero
Edgar Otero, 29, is accused of battering to death a 3-month old infant, Alexa Hall, the daughter of his girlfriend.

"I'll be in depositions all day tomorrow," Houchin said. Otero was indicted for first degree murder and pled not guilty.

"The defense attorney is out of Orlando. He has conducted quite a few depositions, and he's still got several more to go," Houchin said. "This was set for trial in June, but he's not going to be finished by then. So I expect a trial, maybe in the fall."

Graham, Sanders, Mezie
Joseph Graham, Gerald Sanders and Nicholas Mezie are accused of breaking into the home of Samuel Tiller and killing the 82-year-old Sebring man when they were discovered.

"We've got the final reports now," Houchin slapped a stack of paper four inches high. "This is not all of it, but it's the latest to come in. I have given all this to the defense."
This case also won't go to court his year.

Johns, Aul, Barnett, Parker
Brandon Johns, Arthur Aul III, Terrence Barnett and Leann Parker are accused of handcuffing Bryan Fanning and burning his house while he was inside, in August.

Houchin picked up a Foamcore board displaying color photos of a tattooed, deceased Fanning, which will be displayed in the future to jurors.

What was the motive for killing Fanning?

"It is alleged," Houchin said with a pause, "that this fella (Fanning) was heavily involved in the methamphetamine trade, as were some of these people. And there was a dispute about money, and product, and snitching, or not snitching, and there was an entrepreneurial dispute. It was alleged they had done business together, and that there was good product or bad product, and whether money was owed from one side to another."

Zanchez
A grand jury charged Silvia Zanchez, 24, Lake Placid, with first-degree murder after she delivered a live baby in her bedroom on the night of Nov. 22, 2007. She allegedly disposed of sheets and bedding that were collected by the garbage truck. Law enforcement officers spent days searching the landfill for the baby.

"She has a public defender out of Polk County, but he is also on some of these other cases," Houchin said.

Lewis, Stephens, Elma
Leslie Lewis, Albert Stevens and Edward Elma are accused of killing Quinton Pope in Lake Placid 18 months ago. Pope struggled with an armed robber who had stolen from a group of people he stood with in Highway Park, and a gunshot killed him.

"Albert Stevens, the trigger puller, was supposed to have pled last month, but he and his lawyer had a dispute at the last moment," Houchin said.

Stephens is going to face Judge Michael Hunter in Polk County on May 19
.
"I'm going there, and either he will enter his plea, and he'll get 30 years in the state prison that's been offered to him, or set it for trial," Houchin said.

"Lewis has entered a plea to robbery and manslaughter," Houchin said. "He didn't have a gun, but he was there getting some of the profit, he was sentenced to 10 years."

Elma, who drove the car, has plead guilty as an accessory to murder.

13 Murder Cases
Defendant Victim Date of Death
1 Leslie Lewis Quinton Pope 12/05/05
2 Albert Stevens Quinton Pope 12/05/05
3 Joshua Altersberger Nick Sottile 1/12/07
4 Brandon Johns Bryan Fanning 8/22/07
5 Arthur Aul III Bryan Fanning 8/22/07
6 Terrence Barnett Bryan Fanning 8/22/07
7 Leann Parker Bryan Fanning 8/22/07
8 Silvia Zanchez Infant 11/22/07
9 Donald Henry Hugh A. Marks 1/07/08
10 Edgar Otero Alexa Hall (infant) 11/11/07
11 Joseph Graham Samuel Tiller 11/24/07
12 Gerald Sanders Samuel Tiller 11/24/07
13 Nicholas Mezie Samuel Tiller 11/24/07

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