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The Ledger
February 2, 2014
Samuel Sweet Jr. closed his eyes and pursed his lips as Circuit Court Judge Donald Jacobsen read a verdict of guilty in his first-degree murder trial Thursday.
In all, a jury found Sweet guilty of six counts related to the September 2011 killing of Orlando musician Ralph Ameduri Jr.
It took about an hour and a half for the jury of eight men and four women to convict Sweet, 19, after closing arguments expected for today were moved to Thursday afternoon.
Sweet’s defense took less than an hour. He took the stand in his own defense, telling the jury he was home the night Ameduri was killed.
His testimony capped testimony from some of his relatives. They claimed Sweet, who was 17 at the time, was home with them when Ameduri was shot to death behind Jessie’s Lounge in downtown Winter Haven while on a break between music sets.
His mother, Lakesha Covington, testified she was home with Sweet all night.
But when Covington’s daughter and Sweet’s sister, Rian Covington, and Sweet’s cousin, Moninika Patterson, testified, they said Lakesha Covington was at work that night.
An admittedly nervous Rian Covington, who was 13 at the time of the shooting, could not say whether the shooting occurred on a Friday night or a Saturday night.
Hope Pattey, lead prosecutor and director of homicide for the State Attorney’s Office in Bartow, told jurors in her closing arguments the three could not be believed.
“I submit to you that Ms. (Lakesha) Covington’s testimony is not credible,” Pattey said.
“She has no idea where her son was that night … Rian and Moninika are confused about the day.”
Ameduri was at the Winter Haven bar playing bass for the band Thomas Wynn and the Believers on Friday, Sept. 9, 2011, and early Saturday. He took a break from playing and was in the alley behind the bar just after 1 a.m. Saturday when he was struck in the head by a single bullet during a botched robbery attempt.
Prosecutors said the gun discharged when Sweet was approached by a bar patron who slapped the gun away as Sweet pointed it at him.
The slap led to the gun discharging while the muzzle was touching Ameduri’s head, Polk County Medical Examiner Dr. Stephen Nelson testified Wednesday.
Sweet was dropped off near the bar by three teens, those teens testified. One of the main questions jurors faced was whether they believed the three teens and a man with Ameduri that night who identified Sweet in court or believed Sweet and the three family members who testified he was home with them.
The gun used in the shooting was never recovered by police, and prosecutors didn’t offer fingerprint or DNA evidence.
Sweet’s lawyer, Lee Cohen, suggested in his closing argument that one of the three teens committed the crime.
“This case is a case where a young man is accused of first-degree murder. He is telling you he was not there. His witnesses are telling you he was not there,” Cohen told jurors. “The state’s witnesses aren’t credible.”
Friends and family of Ameduri who were in the courtroom when the verdict was read said they were thankful justice was done.
“I feel for (Sweet’s) family. They didn’t pull the trigger,” Ameduri’s sister, Chris Minotti, said.
“I lost a son, but so did (Sweet’s mother),” Ameduri’s father, Ralph Ameduri Sr., added.
Friends and family of Sweet’s were distraught over the verdict. Rian Covington screamed and cried outside the courtroom.
“This is a dream,” she said, embraced by her father. “This can’t be real.”
A sentencing hearing has not been scheduled. Cohen said he expects it to occur within two months.
Sweet could face life imprisonment but will not automatically face that sentence because he was 17 at the time of the crime. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty.
Jurors also found Sweet guilty of four counts of attempted armed robbery and one count of tampering with evidence.
