DC# 347463
DOB: 02/12/74

Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, Martin County, Case #97-1672
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Cynthia Angelos
Attorney, Trial: Robert Udell – Special Public Defender
Attorney, Direct Appeal: Robert Norgard – Special Public Defender
Attorney, Collateral Appeal: Bay Harrison III – Registry

Date of Offense:  11/14/97

Date of Sentence:  06/23/00

Circumstances of Offense:

Anthony Spann was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Kazue Perron.

On 11/13/97, Lenard Philmore and Sophia Hutchins robbed a pawnshop, stealing mostly jewelry and firearms.  Anthony Spann drove the getaway car.  Philmore and Spann spent that night at a motel with Keyontra Cooper and Toya Stevenson.  

On 11/14/97, Cooper received a phone call that the police were looking for Philmore.  Spann and Philmore decided that they needed to leave town.  The two men also decided to rob a bank because they needed money to leave town. 

Spann and Philmore believed that the police would be looking for Spann’s Subaru that they had used in the pawnshop robbery and planned to use in the bank robbery.  Spann and Philmore decided to carjack a woman and use her car to leave town.

Spann and Philmore looked for a victim at a shopping mall, but were unsuccessful.  They continued to look in a “nice neighborhood” until they saw a woman driving a Lexus, who they followed until she pulled into the driveway of a home. 

Philmore approached the woman, Kazue Perron, and asked to use her cell phone.  He then forced Perron back into the Lexus at gunpoint.  Philmore drove with the victim in her car, and Spann followed in his Subaru.  They drove to an isolated area where Philmore shot Perron in the head and dumped her body in the canal.

Philmore and Spann drove to the bank in Spann’s Subaru.  Once at the bank, Philmore went inside, snatched an estimated $1,000 from a customer at the bank counter and fled to the car.  The men left the bank in the Subaru, later abandoned it and picked up the Lexus.  Afterwards, Spann and Philmore picked up Cooper and Stevenson. 

An undercover officer observed Spann driving the Lexus and knew that he was wanted on an outstanding homicide warrant.  The officer radioed for back-up who began to follow Spann.  Spann attempted to outrun the police in the Lexus, reaching speeds in excess of 100 mph through a residential area.  Spann was able to elude the police when he reached the interstate. 

The Lexus was found off the road after blowing a tire.  A motorist contacted police when he saw the Lexus drive off the road and four people flee into an orange grove.  The owner of the orange grove also saw the four run into the grove and noticed they were armed.  The grove owner instructed the four people to hide in the brush near the creek.  He then called police and helped the police search.  Spann, Philmore, Cooper and Stevenson were found hiding in the orange grove.  Two guns and a beeper were found in the water near where the four had been hiding. 

The bullet removed from the victim and the shells recovered at the scene were positively identified as matching one of the firearms that was stolen from the pawnshop, which was recovered from the creek near where Spann, Philmore, and the two women had been hiding.

Additional Information

On 09/21/97, Spann and Reginald Lott engaged in an argument over money.  Lott left during the argument and then returned.  When Lott returned, Spann’s wife handed him a gun.  A witness reported seeing the victim on his knees pleading with Spann.  The witness also reported hearing several gun shots.  Spann fled the area.  A warrant was issued for Spann’s arrest, which was outstanding when Spann was arrested for the current offenses. 

Codefendant Status:

Lenard Philmore (Martin County Circuit Court #97-1672) 

Philmore was convicted of First-Degree Murder, Conspiracy to Commit Robbery with a Firearm, Carjacking with a Firearm, Kidnapping (during the commission of a felony or to facilitate a felony), Robbery with a Firearm, and Grand Theft (more than $300 and less than $5,000).  On 07/21/00, Philmore was sentenced to death, a fifteen-year sentence, three life sentences, and a five-year sentence, respectively.

Trial Summary:

11/17/97          Spann was arrested.

12/16/97          Spann was indicted on the following counts:

Count VII: First-Degree Murder (Kazue Perron)
Count VIII: Conspiracy to Commit Robbery with a Firearm
Count IX: Carjack with Firearm (Deadly Weapon)
Count X: Kidnapping (During the Commission or Facilitation of a Felony)
Count XI: Robbery with Firearm
Count XII: Grand Theft (more than $300, less than $5,000)

02/16/98          Spann entered a written plea of not guilty.

06/23/99          The judge ordered that the Spann case be severed from the Philmore case.

05/24/00          Spann was found guilty on all counts charged in the indictment.

05/25/00          Spann waived advisory sentencing by a jury.

06/23/00          Spann was sentenced as follows:

Count VII: First-Degree Murder (Kazue Perron) – Death
Count VIII: Conspiracy to Commit Robbery with a Firearm – 15 Years
Count IX: Carjack with Firearm (Deadly) – Life
Count X: Kidnapping (During the Commission or Facilitation of a Felony) – Life
Count XI: Robbery with Firearm – Life
Count XII: Grand Theft (more than $300, less than $5,000) – 5 Years

Case Information:

Spann filed his Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 07/14/00.  The issues addressed included whether the trial court erred in allowing expert handwriting testimony that Spann contended did not satisfy the Frye test and whether the trial court erred by granting Spann’s request to waive mitigation and the sentence recommendation by an advisory jury.  Spann also argued that the trial court improperly considered or applied the aggravating and mitigating factors. 

The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence on 04/03/03.  Rehearing was denied on 10/16/03.  A mandate was issued on 10/31/03.

On 08/04/04, Spann filed a 3.850 Motion.  The Motion was denied on 06/29/05.

Spann filed a 3.851 Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 07/28/05.  The appeal is currently pending.

Floridacapitalcases.state.fl.us