Will Kalisz again duck death penalty?

It was up to Capt. Chad Reed's widow. She chose life over death.

Robert L. "Skip" Jarvis Jr., the state attorney of the 3rd Judicial Circuit, had an important decision to make. He had to choose whether to pursue the death penalty for the man accused of gunning down and killing Reed during a Jan. 14, 2010 shootout with Dixie County sheriff's deputies in Cross City.

The suspect, John Kalisz, 57, was shot several times during the firefight, but doctors saved his life.

A bullet from Kalisz's 9mm Beretta killed Reed, who was among the deputies who followed Kalisz's van into a gas station parking lot. Kalisz later told investigators he had intended to open fire on law enforcement if they tried to arrest him.

After all the evidence was weighed and after consulting with Holly Reed, Jarvis made arrangements with Kalisz's defense attorney. The defendant would be allowed to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence.

Assistant State Attorney Pete Magrino, a homicide prosecutor for the 5th Judicial Circuit and a former police officer, has made a different choice.

Beginning today, he will try to convince 12 jurors to recommend a death sentence for Kalisz.

The same jurors deliberated for 90 minutes Monday and found Kalisz guilty on five charges, including two counts of first-degree murder.

More than an hour before Kalisz made the 96-mile drive to Cross City and fired at deputies, he shot and killed his sister, 61-year-old Kathryn Donovan, and her employee, 59-year-old Deborah Tillotson, outside Donovan's house at 15303 Wilhelm Road.

Also shot during the rampage were Donovan's daughter, Manessa, 21, and her other employee, Amy Green, 35. Both survived their injuries.

On Monday, Dixie County Sheriff Dewey H. Hatcher Sr. was seated in a Brooksville courtroom when jurors returned with their guilty verdicts. He sat beside Reed's parents, who have attended every day of the Hernando County trial since it began Jan. 17.

Reed's parents declined to speak to the media after the verdicts. Hatcher spoke briefly — and made it known he wants Kalisz to wind up on death row.

He isn't alone.

Maj. Scott Harden, a spokesman with the Dixie County Sheriff's Office, said the Hernando trial is necessary, if nothing else, to have other murder convictions backing up the first one. Anything can happen on appeal, he said.

"Bring it before the courts in order for it to be dealt with," said Harden.

He has an emotional connection to the case. Reed was his friend.

"Chad was a great dude," said Harden. "He worked hard for the community. It didn't matter what he was doing, he gave it his fullest. He accomplished a lot. There's no telling what else he could've gone on to accomplish."

Hernando jurors were not told about Reed's death during the evidentiary part of the trial. It is expected to be introduced during the penalty phase.