A Palm Bay man has been convicted of murder and sentenced to prison for shooting into a car and killing its driver outside a busy 2021 Halloween party at the Hive Lounge. LATRAWN S. SERVANT, 33, pled no-contest to second-degree murder and other charges and was sentenced to 25 years in prison followed by lifetime probation for the death of Frank Glover, 19, of Rockledge. Servant could be sent back to prison for life if he ever violates that probation. Servant claimed self-defense but lost a Stand Your Ground hearing on Oct. 19. Brevard County prosecutors Samantha Barrett and Rachel Kleinpeter presented security video to the court that showed Servant standing and waiting in the roadway for Glover to approach in his silver Chevrolet Camaro, refusing to retreat, then firing four times through the drivers-side window. The Camaro subsequently crashed into a tree; Glover died from gunshot wounds at Holmes Regional Medical Center. On Oct. 20, Servant entered a plea agreement with the State Attorney’s Office to avoid trial and resolve his case. “He did the right thing,” Barrett said. “He accepted responsibility and avoided a possible life sentence.” Circuit Judge Steve Henderson also adjudicated Servant guilty of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, shooting into a vehicle, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He sentenced Servant to 24.5 years for each of those counts, to be served concurrently with the murder sentence. Servant received credit for 4.4 years he was held without bond in the Brevard County Jail while awaiting trial. #Brevardcounty #Palmbay #murder #crime

Anyone searching online for health insurance, especially Medicare or Marketplace plans, should beware scammers who are running sponsored ads to lure shoppers into rip-offs and marketing abuses. That’s the subject of an alert just published to our newsletter, The Monthly Brief, which you can securely view, download and share from the State Attorney’s site here: bit.ly/3VBbmQF How it works: Cybercriminals buy fraudulent search engine advertisements that mimic official government portals. When you search online for “Medicare” or “health insurance,” these spoofed ads often appear at the very top of your results. Clicking them leads to convincing websites designed to steal your identity. Fraudsters on these sites may trick you into paying for fake, non-existent insurance plans. They may ask you to input your phone number – then instantly broadcast or sell your number to predatory callers. Or they may use high-pressure tactics to harvest your Social Security or Medicare numbers under the guise of “updating your file.” How to protect yourself: Take your time. Look for small “Ad” or “Sponsored” labels next to search results to identify paid ads. Scroll past paid ads and be sure to look for the .gov ending. Navigate directly to official sites. Avoid searching for generic health insurance terms on Google or Bing. Instead, type the exact web address directly into your browser bar: Medicare.gov or HealthCare.gov. Again, Government websites always end in .gov. Never share your numbers on unsolicited calls. Government representatives will never call you out of the blue to demand your Medicare number, ask for credit card info, or threaten to cancel your coverage unless you pay a fee. Verify through trusted local resources. If you are unsure about a plan, consult Florida’s SHINE program at 1-800-963-5337 for free, unbiased, and safe counseling. Consider it a red flag if an ad, website or phone representative: - Says you must enroll immediately to avoid losing coverage. Urgency is one of a scammer’s favorite manipulation tactics. - Asks for sensitive information unexpectedly. Don't provide your Social Security number, Medicare number or bank information simply because someone contacted you. - Promises unusually large savings or benefits. Be careful when an offer focuses on a giveaway or dramatic discount rather than explaining coverage. #brevardcounty #seminolecounty #scam #ScamAlerts #stateattorney

Our team today mourns the loss of Brevard County Sheriff's Office Homicide Agent Kevin Morris, who was killed while on duty in a traffic crash overnight while responding to a call. For years, Agent Morris worked hand-in-hand with our prosecutors at the State Attorney's Office to pursue justice for crime victims and their survivors. State Attorney William Scheiner said of Agent Morris: “He was an amazing agent and even better man. He was a dedicated public servant who was committed to the oath he took and to the people he served. My heart is broken for his family and the law enforcement community today. All will be in my prayers.” We at the State Attorney’s Office extend our deepest condolences to the family of Agent Morris, his friends, and our brothers and sisters at the Brevard County Sheriff's Office. We also extend our sympathy to the family of the other driver lost in the crash. Thank you, Agent Morris, for your dedicated service and sacrifice. Gone but never forgotten. @BrevardSheriff #brevardcounty #lawenforcement #justice

Happy 30th anniversary to a force for justice for abused kids, the Children’s Advocacy Center of Brevard. The nonprofit center’s team and partners have provided more than 24,000 young victims of abuse and neglect with a safe, child-friendly facility where they receive therapy and medical services and share their stories with law enforcement through the expert Child Protection Team. “This partnership is something I’m deeply grateful for,” State Attorney William Scheiner said. “I’ve stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the courtroom with these kids, their advocates, and sheriff’s agents. Without them, we wouldn’t have the forensic interviews we need to put offenders away.” Mr. Scheiner celebrated the center’s milestone in Rockledge today with partners including Sheriff Wayne Ivey, U.S. Rep. Mike Haridopolos, State Rep. Tyler Sirois, the Space Coast Health Foundation, and other supporters. You can learn more and support the center at Cacbrevard.org/ #Brevardcounty #childabuse #justice

A man who sexually battered a co-worker in Rockledge while he was on work release from prison was sentenced today to 30 years for the attack. A Brevard County jury found AREE L. SPIVEY, 52, guilty of sexual battery in September based evidence and victim testimony presented by Assistant State Attorneys Samantha Barrett and Andrew Joy. “I want to stress how brave the victim was,” Barrett said. “She had the courage to come forward and tell her story, which is not easy to do in a courtroom full of strangers.” At trial, prosecutors also convinced the jury that Spivey should be sentenced as a Habitual Felony Offender and Prison Releasee Reoffender. At Spivey’s Oct. 6 sentencing hearing, those classifications empowered Circuit Judge Steve Henderson to double the maximum sentence of 15 years for a second-degree felony conviction. The sexual assault happened in broad daylight on September 21, 2021, at a business off Murrell Road. The victim was waiting for a ride home on an outdoor porch after clocking out at 2 p.m. when Spivey sat beside her, grabbed her, then dragged her across the patio. The victim fought and tried to get away, but Spivey pulled her pants off and sexually battered her. When questioned by Rockledge Police investigators, Spivey claimed the contact was consensual. At the time, Spivey was on supervised work release after serving prison time for perjury in a homicide case. Police later obtained a search warrant for DNA samples from Spivey. His DNA matched semen samples recovered from the victim’s clothing. #Brevardcounty #Rockledge #crime #court

One of five defendants charged in a botched home invasion that left a man and his dog dead on Merritt Island has accepted responsibility and a prison sentence for his role. ANTHONY J. DAVILA pled guilty Oct. 5 to felony charges of manslaughter and burglary of a dwelling. He was sentenced to 10 years in state prison, making him the third burglar convicted and incarcerated for the deadly incident. Davila, 28, was one of five men who wore tactical gear and masks to disguise themselves as federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents during the March 2021 break-in at a house on East Hall Road. The group arrived in a rented U-Haul van and smashed through a glass door with plans to rob a rival drug dealer who lived there. During the “raid,” one of the five men unintentionally shot the dealer’s roommate, 25-year-old Matthew Nicol, while trying to zip-tie his hands. Another of the five intentionally shot and killed Nicol’s loyal German shepherd, Mako. The burglars fled without stealing drugs or money. Nicol bled to death. “Matt and Mako didn’t deserve to die the way they did,” Nicol’s mother, Kelly Nicol, said in a victim impact statement before Davila’s sentencing. Evidence prepared by prosecutor Bernadette Serafinowicz included store records showing Davila bought the hammer that was used to smash into the home and was left behind. “I’m glad Anthony Davila pled guilty – I accept this because I have to,” Kelly Nicol said. “I hope lessons were learned and people will move on in a positive way.” The State Attorney’s Office tried Davila twice on charges of first-degree felony murder, armed burglary of a dwelling causing death, and animal cruelty. Both trials ended in hung juries, most recently in August. Davila’s plea agreement with the State Attorney’s Office resolved his case with a homicide conviction and prison sentence for which there would be no guarantee at a third trial. Meanwhile, two of Davila’s co-defendants previously were convicted of murder and sentenced to prison in plea agreements: • David Foreman-Taylor pled guilty in 2022 to second-degree murder, armed burglary and animal cruelty and received a 15-year prison sentence in exchange for serving as a prosecution witness at trial. • Brian V. Vogel pled guilty in 2025 to second-degree murder, armed burglary, and animal cruelty, resulting in a 30-year prison sentence. Vogel shot Nicol’s dog to help the crew gain entry. Two remaining co-defendants, Chase Harrison and Cory Cabaniss, continue to face charges of first-degree felony murder, armed burglary and animal cruelty. Witnesses said Cabaniss was the burglar who shot Nicol. Because all five defendants participated in the underlying felony (armed burglary) that resulted in the two deaths, prosecutors held all equally responsible under Florida's felony murder law. As part of his sentence, Judge Kathryn Speicher gave Davila credit for 5.35 years he spent in jail awaiting trial. #brevardcounty #merrittisland #Crime #court

A so-called “sovereign citizen” has been sentenced to more than 70 years in prison for targeting two Orange County Circuit Court judges with a fraudulent claim of a $50 million lien against their property. JARECA T. SUMTER, 38, also has been barred from filing any “instrument” in any official record without prior review and approval by a judge. A jury convicted Sumter in September of two counts of fraudulent use of personal identification information with fraud in excess of $100,000 and two counts of unlawful filing of false documents against real or personal property. Seminole County prosecutors Stacey Salmons, Domenick Leo and Jennie Hayes were specially assigned to try the case in Orange County to avoid any conflicts of interest, as was the Polk County circuit judge who presided. Before her Oct. 2 sentencing, Sumter repeatedly stated that her conviction was unconstitutional and that she would not accept or comply with any sentence imposed by the court. Citing her likelihood to reoffend if released on probation, prosecutors argued for consecutive prison sentences for the four criminal counts. Circuit Judge Catherine Combee agreed, sentencing Sumter to 71.5 years including: · Two consecutive 30-year sentences for the two counts of fraudulent use of personal identification information, a first-degree felony. · Two 11.5-year sentences for the two counts of unlawful filing of false documents against real or personal property, a second-degree felony. These sentences were ordered to run consecutive to the fraud counts but concurrent with each other. Combee also issued orders that enjoined Sumter from filing any future documents without judicial review and approval and declared Sumter’s lien-related filings against the judges null and void. The judge gave Sumter credit for 295 days spent in custody as she awaited trial. Sumter was arrested in August 2025 after she admitted to Orange County Sheriff’s Agent Aaron Blankenship that she filed the lien claim online through a state website and paid the filing fee with her credit card. A lien acts as a legal claim against someone’s property, forcing the owner to settle their debt to the filer ($50 million, according to Sumter’s claim) before the alleged debtor can sell or refinance it. When the investigator asked her name, the South Caroline native identified herself as an “authorized representative of the entity Jareca Sumter.” She said she filed the lien after one of the judges banned her from making further motions while representing herself in another Orange County court case. Sumter said “the courthouse is a bank” with money that should be given to her due to the judge’s ruling. Investigators recognized Sumter’s statements as characteristic of sovereign-citizen ideology. Adherents of the sovereign citizen movement believe the U.S. government and legal system were secretly replaced by an illegitimate, corporate-run government. To them, all public laws, criminal statutes and court jurisdictions are merely corporate contracts governed by the Uniform Commercial Code. They believe they can exploit legal loopholes in commercial law to erase personal debts or to extort public officials for money. According to the FBI, they often continue that activity from prison if convicted. @OrangeCoSheriff #Orangecounty #Seminolecounty #crime #fraud #sovereigncitizen

JULIA G. EGLER, 18, was convicted and sentenced today to 50 years in state prison for murdering her mother and mother’s boyfriend inside their Palm Bay home in 2024. At a Sept. 25 hearing in Viera, Egler pled guilty to two counts of second-degree murder for the violent deaths of Kelley McCollom, 38, and Matthew Szejnrok, 22. The plea and sentence were part of a negotiated agreement with the State Attorney’s Office that was approved by survivors. “This gives resolution and finality to the family that it’s done today,” Assistant State Attorney Kerri Fowler said. In a victim impact statement, Szenrok’s brother Dustin told the court that his family still lives next door to the home where Egler killed the couple (Matthew had lived with them). Seeing it reminds him every day of their lost lives. “Her actions didn’t just take my brother, they ruined our home,” he said. “There isn’t a sentence that will bring my brother back.” On July 7, 2024, Palm Bay Police officers responded to a frantic 911 call from Egler, then 16. She claimed an unknown intruder had broken into the family home on Benchor Road SE and that she was hiding in a bedroom. Upon arrival, officers discovered McCollom dead from gunshot wounds in the living room. They found Szejnrok in a bathroom, where he had been shot and stabbed repeatedly while struggling for his life. Evidence in the case included five spent .38 caliber shell casings found near his body and a kitchen knife found on the bathroom counter. “I heard the shots – I thought they were fireworks,” Dustin Szenrok said. “I was 75 feet away from my brother and had no idea he was fighting for his life.” Detectives noted that the physical evidence inside the home, including the lack of forced entry and the positioning of the evidence, contradicted Egler’s account of an intruder. During subsequent police interviews, Egler broke down and confessed to staging the break-in. The Brevard County Grand Jury indicted Egler on two counts of first-degree premeditated murder in August 2024. The State Attorney’s Office prosecuted her as an adult. Egler completed high school while in pretrial detention in Polk County. After pleading guilty, Egler apologized and asked Circuit Judge Michelle Naberhaus for mercy: “I’m sorry. I’m haunted by grief every day. I have shown that I can be rehabilitated. Please give me a chance to reintegrate back into society.” Egler’s 50-year prison sentence requires her to serve a mandatory minimum 25 years, after which she is eligible under state law for a sentence review due to her youth at the time of the crime. After prison, Egler must undergo a mental health evaluation and serve 20 years supervised probation. #Brevardcounty #Palmbay #crime #court #justice

The Brevard County Grand Jury today indicted CHRISTOPHER J. HRICISO, 18, and CALEB C. DAVIS, 17, with one count each of first-degree felony murder and armed robbery with a firearm. The indictments stem from a fatal shooting in Palm Bay on Aug. 26, 2026, at Patrick Woodard Memorial Park. Palm Bay Police Department officers responded to reports of gunfire there and discovered the victim, a 22-year-old man, dead inside his Ford F-450 pickup truck from a close-range gunshot wound. Palm Bay detectives established that the incident was tied to an illicit drug transaction. Investigators recovered text messages exchanged between Davis’s phone and the victim’s shortly before the murder took place. They also obtained a Snapchat video from a suspect's account that depicts two masked men, a handgun, and marijuana packaged in a way that matched marijuana packages later found at the victim's residence. In the video, both suspects happily rapped lyrics and made gestures" toward the marijuana, the arrest report says. Police arrested Hriciso and Davis, both of Titusville, on Sept. 3. Both are held without bond at the Brevard County Jail. The State Attorney’s Office will prosecute Davis as an adult. #brevardcounty #palmbay #titusville #Crime #murder

State Attorney William Scheiner and his team join the community today in solemn remembrance of the lives lost on September 11, 2001. We express our deepest gratitude to the brave service members, first responders, and intelligence professionals who stepped forward to fight the war on terror. We pledge our unwavering commitment to protect the community, uphold justice, and defend the freedoms that define us. #NeverForget #September11 #HonorAndRemember #PublicSafety #Justice #BrevardCounty #SeminoleCounty

An aggressive con has targeted residents across the state and cost them their savings: the missed-jury duty scam. It's the subject of an alert just published in our newsletter, The Monthly Brief, which you can securely view, download and share from the State Attorney's site here: bit.ly/3Vokt6T HOW IT WORKS Fraudsters posing as sheriff’s deputies, federal marshals, or court officials call residents and claim that warrants have been issued for their arrest because they failed to report for jury duty. To make the threat look real, scammers often spoof official law enforcement phone numbers on your caller ID and mention names of real local judges. They pump up the urgency, claiming you face immediate jail time unless you pay an administrative “fine” or “bail fee” right away, often by untraceable means such as prepaid Visa gift cards that you buy at stores. The pressure causes panic, leading victims to drain their savings accounts to resolve non-existent crises. THREE BIG RED FLAGS 1. A phone call: If you do miss jury duty, the county clerk of court will contact you via U.S. mail to reschedule or require you to explain your absence. It won’t call. 2. Threats of immediate arrest: Real police departments and sheriff’s offices never call to warn anyone of imminent arrests (or they’d never catch anyone). Nor do they take bail money over the phone. Nor would they urge you to stay on the line and not speak to anyone while you drive to the bank to withdraw cash for them. 3. Demand for untraceable payment: No court or law enforcement agency demands payment by gift cards, prepaid debit cards, wire transfers, or cash deposits into Bitcoin machines. PROTECT YOURSELF If you receive a suspicious or threatening call about missing jury duty, hang up and do not engage. Do not confirm any personal or financial information the caller mentions. If you want peace of mind, look up the official phone number for your county’s clerk of courts or sheriff's office and call them directly to verify your status. Never use the phone number provided by the suspicious caller. If you’re targeted or scammed, report the incident to your police or sheriff’s office. #SeminoleCounty #brevardcounty #scams #ScamAlerts

A so-called “sovereign citizen” has been convicted of harassing two Orange County judges by filing a fraudulent claim of a $50 million lien against their property. JARECA T. SUMTER, 38, is now in jail and facing decades in state prison. A jury found SUMTER guilty on Sept. 3 of two counts of fraudulent use of personal identification information with fraud in excess of $100,000 and two counts of unlawful filing of false documents against real or personal property. Seminole County prosecutors Stacey Salmons, Domenick Leo and Jennie Hayes were specially assigned to try the case in Orange County to avoid any conflicts of interest, as was the Polk County circuit judge who presided. Sumter was arrested in August 2025 after she admitted to Orange County Sheriff's Office Agent Aaron Blankenship that she filed the lien claim online through a state website and paid the filing fee with her credit card. A lien acts as a legal claim against someone’s property, forcing the owner to settle their debt ($50 million, according to Sumter’s claim) before they can sell or refinance it. When the investigator asked her name, the South Caroline native identified herself as an “authorized representative of the entity Jareca Sumter.” She said she filed the lien after one of the judges banned her from making further motions while representing herself in another Orange County court case. She said “the courthouse is a bank” with money that should be given to her due to the judge’s ruling. Investigators recognized Sumter’s statements as characteristic of sovereign-citizen ideology, which argues that the legal system was secretly replaced by an illegitimate, corporate-run government. To break free from it, they rely on pseudo-legal theories and specific phrasing that – they believe – allow them to ignore driver's licenses, court orders, and financial debts. Meanwhile, it is a first-degree felony in Florida to fraudulently use a person's personal identification information, including a victim's name, if the value of the intended fraud exceeds $50,000. If the fraud amounts to more than $100,000 – as prosecutors proved in Sumter’s case – the mandatory minimum sentence is 10 years in state prison. All told, Sumter faces up to 90 years in prison including two mandatory minimum 10-year sentences. To convict Sumter, prosecutors had to prove to the jury that she intended to harass or harm the judges by filing the lien claim. “The defendant’s filings, her interview with law enforcement, and her conduct in court all demonstrated her complete contempt for the judicial system,” ASA Salmons said. “That was evidence of her motive to perpetrate a fraud and harass the judges.” Circuit Judge Catherine Combee scheduled sentencing for Oct. 2. She ordered Sumter to be held without bond in the Orange County Jail pending her sentencing. @OrangeCoSheriff #Seminolecounty #Orangecounty #Crime #Scam #court

A 21-year-old man who attacked and stabbed the estranged husband of his girlfriend and grocery-store coworker in Altamonte Springs has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. A Seminole County jury convicted BRYSON J. NACCI, 21, in May of attempted second-degree murder based on evidence and victim testimony presented by Assistant State Attorneys Jacob Polk, Tyrone Polk and Niko Smith. At a sentencing hearing Aug. 31, Circuit Judge Melanie Chase sided with prosecutors and denied Nacci’s request to be sentenced to 6-8 years as a youthful offender, who was 19 at the time of the stabbing. Nacci, of Longwood, was arrested by the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office in the early morning hours of Oct. 25, 2024, while still at the crime scene. He told deputies he had arrived with his girlfriend, 53, to her former family home where she planned to retrieve some belongings before they went to work. Nacci claimed the estranged husband, 56, threatened and shoved him in the driveway, so he stabbed the man in self-defense with a large folding pocketknife Nacci had brought. The victim lost significant blood and was hospitalized with life-threatening wounds to the neck, shoulder, arm and hand. “The husband likely would have died if not for the quick response and life saving measures taken by law enforcement that day,” ASA Smith said. Under questioning, Nacci conceded to deputies that he had gone to that house in the middle of the night and left a taunting note on the older man’s car – just hours before returning with the estranged wife. Prosecutors presented the note as evidence that Nacci intended to provoke a confrontation. Nacci also claimed that the husband had come to the Publix store where Nacci and the estranged wife worked to stalk and threaten him. But detectives who later reviewed store security video found no evidence of that. The jury found Nacci guilty as charged on May 13. The judge gave Nacci credit for 113 days already served in the Seminole County Jail while awaiting trial. @SeminoleSO #Seminolecounty #Altamontesprings #Longwood #crime #court #justice

After studying scripture in jail, DOMENICO C. GIGANTE conceded the state’s case against him and pleaded guilty Aug. 27 to murdering four people including his daughter in 2023. State Attorney William Scheiner said the state will continue to seek the death sentence for Gigante due to aggravating factors in his burglary and rampage shootings in Canaveral Groves. Because Gigante, 40, waived his right to a trial and a penalty hearing before a jury, Brevard County Circuit Judge Laura Moody alone will decide his sentence at a hearing in late October or early November. “My end goal today is to take full accountability,” Gigante, a former emergency medical technician, said at a plea hearing in Viera. “I know what I did was evil and wrong. I’m here to get on my knees … and for justice to be served for those affected by what I’ve done.” In the early morning hours of March 1, 2023, Gigante left his Rockledge home and drove to a house on Alan Shepard Avenue northwest of Cocoa. Angered by a strained relationship with his 15-year-old biological daughter, Gigante broke into the house where she and Gigante’s ex-partner lived with their new blended family while they slept. Once inside, Gigante fatally shot the daughter, her mother, her grandmother, and the mother’s new roommate. Two younger children, ages 6 and 9, survived unharmed and called a relative for help after Gigante fled, shortly before 2 a.m. Investigators from the Brevard County Sheriff's Office quickly identified Gigante as the suspect and arrested him in Rockledge later that day. The Brevard County Grand Jury indicted Gigante on four counts of first-degree premeditated murder with a firearm and one count of armed burglary with a firearm. In its notice of intent to seek the death penalty, the State Attorney’s Office cited multiple aggravating factors outlined in Florida statutes including that Gigante: · Committed multiple murders · Killed his own daughter, a person under his familial authority · Committed the crimes in a “cold, calculated and premeditated manner” · Did so while committing burglary, a first-degree felony punishable by life in prison. In July, Gigante chose to drop his public defender and represent himself. After changing his plea Aug. 27, Gigante told Judge Moody, “The state doesn’t need to prove anything beyond a reasonable doubt. I’m guilty, and I meet the aggravating factors. I have no interest in appealing.” @BrevardSheriff #BrevardCounty #CanaveralGroves #Cocoa #crime