TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Hernando Today

Much-Delayed Trial Approaches For Beating Suspects

ADVERTISEMENT

By KYLE MARTIN

Hernando Today

Published: November 26, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - The trials of two men accused of severely beating a man popularly known as the "The Walker" are set to begin next Wednesday.

Jamie Tyson, 18, and Michael Vann, 24, appeared before Circuit Judge Stephen Rushing Tuesday for their last hearing before the trial date.

Tyson and Vann are charged with attempted first-degree murder, robbery with a deadly weapon and tampering with evidence. Tyson faces an additional charge of conspiracy to commit robbery.

The charges are linked to an attack on John Kelly, a 49-year-old Weeki Wachee resident who has walked the roadways of Hernando County for 15 years. His familiar route along State Road 50 made him an easy mark for his alleged attackers, who pummeled him with a stick and metal rebar in a ditch near the Deltona Boulevard intersection, authorities say.

Kelly spent five weeks in the intensive care unit with most of the bones in his face shattered.

The suspects robbed him of $100 and escaped on bicycles, tossing the ski masks they wore in the robbery into a pond before returning home, according to a criminal affidavit.

The other suspect, Anthony Hawkins, 18, pleaded guilty last December to his alleged role as lookout. He will remain under the care of the Department of Juvenile Justice until his 21st birthday.

Tyson and Kelly were initially scheduled for trial in May, but their attorneys successfully argued for a three-month continuance. That was followed by an August motion to continue until October, at which time trial was pushed back to December, court records show.

Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT