Citizens Academy hears MCSO cold case stories in Dunnellon

Jim Phillips speaks during a meeting of the Cold Case Volunteer Services at the Marion County Sheriff’s Office in Ocala, Fla. on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.

Sometimes, all it takes to solve a confounding criminal case is something as simple as a cigarette butt. Or a Walmart receipt. In the right hands, these seemingly obscure items become pieces of the larger puzzle that, when solved, can lead to an arrest and justice for victims.

That was a key message shared Monday through anecdotes related by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office’s Cold Case Unit to members of the MCSO Citizens Academy and Partnership (CAP) program, who met to hear presentations of the various volunteer programs grouped under the Citizens Academy umbrella.

Jim Phillips, a retired Marion County prosecutor and now chairman of the Cold Case Unit, explained how new technology has been instrumental in solving old cases.

The increased knowledge of DNA in recent years has helped the unit solve six murders, he said. Before the intricacies of DNA began to be tapped to solve crimes, many murders were unsolved for lack of concrete evidence to link a criminal to the crime or crime scene. Today, he said, DNA evidence has proved to be the “missing link” in solving crimes, even many years after the event.

MCSO Sgt. Clint Smith cautioned that even DNA has its limits. DNA samples taken from a crime scene can deteriorate over time. For example, if a victim’s remains are found after having been under water for a long time, or various chemicals and normal environmental factors were involved, the DNA evidence might not be able to be directly linked to a crime. However, he said, even if there is not a “positive hit,” DNA can sometimes still produce a lead.

Phillips talked of “The Devil’s Harvest,’’ a book written by Jessica Garrison that tells the true story of Jose Martinez, a hitman for drug cartels who committed some 30 murders in California’s Central Valley over three decades. Martinez was finally convicted in 2019 in Marion County of killing two Volusia County men whose bodies were found in the Ocala National Forest. Prosecutors used evidence including “old” DNA: a cigarette butt found inside of a beverage can in a vehicle. Martinez is serving a life sentence with no parole.

Phillips detailed another old murder case that was solved with the help of a Walmart receipt. The scrap of paper and the store’s video camera put the suspect at the location at a specific date and time. The information led to the suspect’s girlfriend, who then agreed to implicate the man, who had moved to another state. When he was located by authorities, he confessed.

Serial killer Samuel Little (alias Samuel McDowell) killed 98 women in a nationwide crime spree that included stops in Ocala and Gainesville all the way to California. Although he had been tried for murder in several states, he was always released for lack of evidence. Phillips said that after comparing much evidence with other murders Little had committed, deputies from Florida confronted Little in California, while he was incarcerated, and he confessed to a murder in Florida, even drawing a picture of the victim.  Little told investigators he felt “God had told him to do what he did.”  He showed no remorse. 

Another case Phillips shared involved a 17-year-old male who raped and murdered a woman in her home.  Fingerprints and other evidence were taken at the scene. DNA testing was not available at the time, but when it became available, the suspect was located, He denied knowing the victim, but he gave police a DNA sample. It was a perfect match to other investigative evidence.

Phillips spoke of the many facets of working on a cold case, saying it is gratifying and important to be able to inform a family when a case is solved so they can have closure in a very difficult fact of the life and death of a loved one.

“We want to be the voice of the victims,” he said.

Monday’s session was held at the St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Dunnellon.  The academy gathers once a month at various venues throughout the county. Included in the list of volunteer programs are Chaplains, Citizens On Patrol (C.O.P.S.), the Cold Case Unit, Community Patrols, Funeral Escorts, Lake Watch, Mounted Unit and River Watch.

Other presenters at the meeting showcased how much volunteerism is actively working with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, not only to solve crilmes, but to be helpful to the residents in many ways.  Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer can visit the Marion County Sheriff’s Office website at https://marionso.com/volunteer-services for an application and more information.