WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A 20-year-old man convicted Friday in the brutal gang rape attack on a woman and her young son in a South Florida housing project could face up to eight life sentences in prison.
A jury panel deliberated 5½ hours before convicting Tommy Poindexter of rape, kidnapping, assault and burglary. Another jury was still deliberating the fate of Nathan Walker, 18, who faces similar charges. The two were tried together but with separate juries.
A third defendant, Avion Lawson, 16, pleaded guilty and testified against Poindexter and Walker. A fourth defendant, now 17-year-old Jakaris Taylor, is set for trial next month.
The defendants made limited admissions to the attack, but also tried to deflect blame. Lawson claims he raped the woman once, then left soon after. Poindexter's attorney says her client raped the woman, but didn't participate in any other crimes. Walker's attorney hasn't acknowledged any guilt.
Authorities say fingerprints and DNA found on clothing and condoms inside the apartment identified the defendants. They are still seeking additional suspects.
Poindexter showed little emotion as the verdict was read, occasionally bowing his head and resting his chin on his clasped hands. Deputies say he asked to be handcuffed during the reading because he wasn't sure he could control himself.
He looked over his shoulder as he was led out of the courtroom and mouthed, "I love you," to family members in the gallery. They cried and quickly left the courtroom, shouting obscenities as they walked from the building.
His defense attorney declined to comment until after his sentencing on Oct. 13.
Poindexter was convicted on eight of 13 counts. The jury found him not guilty on several counts related to the suspects having forced the mother to perform oral sex on her son.
During the trial, prosecutors told jurors that it didn't matter how many of the crimes each defendant actually participated in — they were all equally responsible for the entire episode since they were present inside the apartment.
However, jurors seemed to have believed the defense's argument that Poindexter was only guilty of the crimes he either committed or was physically present for. He was convicted on all counts related to assaults that took place in the woman's bedroom, but not on charges for attacks that happened in the bathroom, such as forcing the mother and son into oral sex.
Earlier in the week, the female victim described for jurors the terrifying night of June 18, 2007, in her public housing complex apartment a few miles from downtown West Palm Beach.
She recounted how she prayed for her life and cried in pain as she was repeatedly raped and her son beaten by 10 masked, gun-toting teens. Then she testified about being forced to perform oral sex on her son. The victims were then doused with chemicals in an attempt to clean the crime scene.
Throughout the attack, the suspects demanded money, but she had none. The victims had fled even worse poverty in their native Haiti several years earlier, landing in the crime-plagued Dunbar Village housing complex where the attack occurred.
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