Date of Offense: 04/25/96

Date of Sentence: 06/07/99

Circumstances of Offense:

On 04/26/96, Steven Evans, Edward Francis, Gervalow Ward, and Kenneth Lewis drove to Sanford, Florida, to commit a home invasion robbery of a drug dealer.  The robbery was called off when Lewis abandoned the others in the getaway car, which belonged to Evans’ girlfriend’s brother. 

Evans, Francis, and Ward then went to Mark Quinn’s house and called Evans’ girlfriend, telling her to call the police and report the car stolen. 

Evans, Francis, Ward, Quinn, and Blaine Stafford then went to Evans’ apartment to wait for Lewis.  When Lewis arrived, the five men jumped Lewis, beat him up, and bound and gagged him. 

Evans then constructed a homemade silencer with a shampoo bottle. Evans, Francis, and Ward took Lewis out of the apartment and down to a culvert, where they pushed him down. 

Evans  told Lewis that they were the last three people he (Lewis) would leave behind and the last three people he would see.  Evans then placed the gun to Lewis’ head and shot six times, hitting Lewis in the head with five of the shots. 

Codefendant Information:

Edward Francis was convicted of First-Degree Murder and Kidnapping and sentenced to life imprisonment and 11 years, 11 months, and 23 days, respectively.  Gervalow Ward was convicted of Kidnapping and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.

Additional Information:

In March of 1998, prior to trial, court-appointed experts conducted a competency and sanity evaluation of Evans.  Evans was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and determined to be incompetent to stand trial. Evans was ordered to undergo further evaluation, and he was ordered to be involuntarily committed on 10/14/98.  Later, after hearing testimony from mental health experts, the court determined that Evans was competent to stand trial.   

After the filing of the 3.850 Motion, Evans’ competency again became an issue.  On 02/14/03, a competency and discovery hearing was held.  A Durocher hearing was held on 10/13/03 to determine Evans’ competency to waive postconviction appeals.  On 10/23/03, Evans was determined competent by the court. 

Prior Incarceration History in the State of Florida:

Prior to the murder, Evans had a 1994 Robbery conviction for which he was sentenced to five years, six months in prison. 

Trial Summary:

05/10/96          Indicted as follows:

Count I            First-Degree Murder

Count II           Kidnapping

04/09/99          Jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment

04/15/99             Jury recommended a death sentence by a vote of 11-1

06/07/99            Sentenced as follows:

Count I            First-Degree Murder – Death

Count II           Kidnapping – 10 years, 1 month, 8 days

Case Information:

Evans filed a Direct Appeal with the Florida Supreme Court on 07/12/99, citing the following errors:  finding Evans competent to stand trial; denying Evans’ motion for mistrial after a witness referred to Evans’ prior criminal record; allowing the introduction of irrelevant and prejudicial evidence; improperly finding aggravating circumstances (cold, calculated, and premeditated murder and heinous, atrocious, or cruel murder); improperly balancing aggravating factors against mitigating factors; disproportionate use of the death penalty due to the facts of the case; and the death sentence is based on a split jury vote (11-1) and is unconstitutional under the U.S. Constitution. 

The FSC affirmed the convictions and sentences on 10/11/01.

Evans filed a 3.851 Motion with the Circuit Court on 10/16/02 and amended the Motion on 12/18/03.  The Circuit Court denied the 3.851 Motion on 11/08/04.

Evans filed a 3.851 Motion Appeal with the Florida Supreme Court on 01/27/05 that is pending.

Evans filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus with the Florida Supreme Court on 08/26/05 that is pending.