BARTOW, Fla. (AP) - A Florida man has been sentenced to death for a drug-related shooting that left three people dead.
The Ledger reports that a Polk County judge sentenced 30-year-old Johnathan Alcegaire on Friday following a 12-member jury’s unanimous recommendation. Those jurors found Alcegaire guilty last fall of first-degree murder.
Authorities say Alcegaire, 28-year-old Jamaal Smith and another man broke into a Lakeland home in January 2016 and fatally shot 24-year-old David Washington, 31-year-old Stacy Branch and 23-year-old Angelica Castro. A fourth person was shot and survived.
Prosecutors say Washington had been buying drugs off the men in Miami. Investigators say the execution-style slayings were orchestrated by Alcegaire’s brother, 38-year-old Andrew Joseph.
Charges remain pending against Joseph and Smith. A fourth man had been arrested, but charges were dropped because of a lack of evidence.
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Information from: The Ledger (Lakeland, Fla.), http://www.theledger.com
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