The following felony cases have either been tried in a court of law or have been settled without trial and are considered closed.

• Jonathan Melton was sentenced in November to two years probation after pleading no contest to felony criminal mischief. Adjudication was withheld. Melton was arrested in April 2023 by Okeechobee County Deputy Quinton Speed after he and some other teens damaged the restroom at Lock 7. A sink was torn from the wall, and a divider between stalls was broken.
• Jessica Plascencia was sentenced to two years probation and one year community control after pleading no contest to felony battery. Adjudication was withheld. Plascencia was arrested in October 2022 by OCSO Deputy Dan Franklin after she struck her children’s grandmother with her car.
• James Perez-Velasquez was sentenced to one year probation after pleading no contest to felony battery in November. He was arrested in August 2023 after physically attacking a woman who was 9 months pregnant at the time. A 911 call was made by a 7-year-old child, and three other minors were present when the attack occurred.
• Gabriel Chapman was sentenced to two years in state prison in November after pleading no contest to discharging a firearm in public and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Chapman was arrested in August 2022 by OCSO Deputy Skylar Casian after firing a Ruger into the air during a fight at Good Spirits.
• Alan McCleese was sentenced to one year in county jail after pleading no contest to petit theft in November. McCleese was arrested in January 2023.
• Angelo Rosado was sentenced in November to four years and six months probation after pleading no contest to aggravated stalking, violation of pretrial release and tampering with a witness. He was arrested in Indian River County in August 2023. According to information released by the sheriff’s office, the stalking charge came about after he began “obsessively” driving back and forth in front of an ex-girlfriend’s home and calling her at all hours of the day and night. He was trespassed from the residence but stood in the roadway until the woman eventually moved to get away from him. In addition, he showed up at her place of employment several times. After the charges were filed, the report continues, Rosado sent numerous texts to the woman asking her to drop the charges and expressing his love for her. Adjudication was withheld.
• Brittany Cunnningham was sentenced in November to six months in county jail after pleading no contest to credit card fraud and petit theft. Cunningham was one of several who stole credit card information from a state prisoner and used it for financial gain.
• Bryan Adams was sentenced in December to nine months in county jail followed by two years probation after pleading no contest to violation of fish and game rules, unlawful sale or transportation of alligators and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Adams was arrested in July 2023 after using a Large Mouth Bass on a rope as bait to catch an alligator.
• Eric Collins was sentenced in December to two years probation after pleading no contest to kill/injure/possess gator or egg without authority, cruelty to animals and Level four violation kill or wound and endangered or threatened species. Collins was arrested in March.
• James Howling IV was sentenced in December to three years probation after pleading no contest to felony criminal mischief. Howling was arrested in June after an argument with his stepfather. Howling kicked in the family’s front door and using a pickle jar, caused damage to the stepfather’s vehicle. Damages were estimated at approximately $1,000.
• Zachary Smith was sentenced to three years probation after pleading no contest to eight counts of burglary and one county grand theft. Adjudication was withheld. Smith was arrested in March 2021.

A no contest plea does not mean the defendant admits guilt. It means he/she chooses not to fight the charges for one reason or another. The effect of the plea is virtually identical to that of a guilty plea.

Withheld adjudication generally refers to a decision by a judge to put a person on probation without an adjudication of guilt. It means an individual is not found guilty legally by the court. If the person successfully completes the terms of probation and has no subsequent offenses, no further action will be taken on the case, and the offense for which adjudication was withheld is typically not considered a prior conviction for purposes of habitual offender sentencing.