FL - Ryan Rogers, 14, fatally stabbed, Palm Beach Gardens, 16 Nov 2021 *Arrest*

[Seattle1]

2023 Court Docket:

eCaseView

365	01/11/2023	MOTION
​	​	366	01/17/2023	SET FOR STCK - STATUS CHECK 1/17/2023 8:30 AM WEISS, DALIAH H	STCK - STATUS CHECK 1/17/2023 8:30 AM WEISS, DALIAH H
​	​	367	01/17/2023	DEFENDANT NOT PRESENT IN CUSTODY	DEFENDANT NOT PRESENT IN CUSTODY
​	​	368	01/17/2023	COURT REPORTER C DORE PRESENT	COURT REPORTER C DORE PRESENT COURT REPORTER C DORE PRESENT
​	​	369	01/17/2023	Cancelled STCK - STATUS CHECK on 1/17/2023 8:30:00 AM due to
​	​	370	01/17/2023	CONTINUED TO 04/10/2023 8:30 AM STCK - STATUS CHECK	4/10/2023 8:30 AM STCK - STATUS CHECK WEISS, DALIAH H
​	​	371	01/17/2023	COURT DATE NOTICES SENT
​	​	372	01/17/2023	NOTICE OF HEARING	YES
​	​	373	01/17/2023	COURT EVENT FORM
​	​	374	01/19/2023	MOTION FOR CLARIFICATION OF THE COURT'S JANUARY 6, 2022, COURT ORDER RESTRICTING DISCLOSURE OF DISCOVERY MATERIALS	FOR CLARIFICATION OF THE COURT'S JANUARY 6, 2022, COURT ORDER RESTRICTING DISCLOSURE OF DISCOVERY MATERIALS
​	​	375	01/20/2023	ORDER GRANTING
​	​	376	01/25/2023	SET FOR MH - MOTION HEARING 1/26/2023 10:00 AM WEISS, DALIAH H	MH - MOTION HEARING 1/26/2023 10:00 AM WEISS, DALIAH H

377	01/25/2023	NOTICE OF HEARING
​	​	378	01/26/2023	Motion - Granted - FOR CLARIFICATION OF THE COURT'S JANUARY 6, 2022, COURT ORDER RESTRICTING DISCLOSURE OF DISCOVERY MATERIALS (DEFENSE)
​	​	379	01/26/2023	DEFENDANT NOT PRESENT IN CUSTODY	DEFENDANT NOT PRESENT IN CUSTODY
​	​	380	01/26/2023	STATE PRESENT VIA ZOOM	STATE PRESENT VIA ZOOM STATE PRESENT VIA ZOOM
​	​	381	01/26/2023	DEFENSE PRESENT VIA ZOOM	DEFENSE PRESENT VIA ZOOM DEFENSE PRESENT VIA ZOOM
​	​	382	01/26/2023	HEARING HELD VIA ZOOM	HEARING HELD VIA ZOOM
​	​	383	01/26/2023	BEFORE THE COURT FOR MOTION FOR CLARIFICATION OF THE COURT'S JANUARY 6, 2022, COURT ORDER RESTRICTING DISCLOSURE OF DISCOVERY MATERIALS	BEFORE THE COURT FOR MOTION FOR CLARIFICATION OF THE COURT'S JANUARY 6, 2022, COURT ORDER RESTRICTING DISCLOSURE OF DISCOVERY MATERIALS BEFORE THE COURT FOR MOTION FOR CLARIFICATION OF THE COURT'S JANUARY 6, 2022, COURT ORDER RESTRICTING DISCLOSURE OF DISCOVERY MATERIALS
​	​	384	01/26/2023	COURT REPORTER C. DORE PRESENT	COURT REPORTER C. DORE PRESENT COURT REPORTER C. DORE PRESENT
​	​	385	01/26/2023	WRITTEN ORDER TO FOLLOW RE: FOR CLARIFICATION OF THE COURT'S JANUARY 6, 2022, COURT ORDER RESTRICTING DISCLOSURE OF DISCOVERY MATERIALS	WRITTEN ORDER TO FOLLOW RE: FOR CLARIFICATION OF THE COURT'S JANUARY 6, 2022, COURT ORDER RESTRICTING DISCLOSURE OF DISCOVERY MATERIALS
​	​	386	01/26/2023	REMAINS AS PREVIOUSLY SET
​	​	387	01/26/2023	COURT DATE NOTICES SENT
​	​	388	01/26/2023	NOTICE OF HEARING	YES
​	​	389	01/26/2023	COURT EVENT FORM
​	​	390	01/30/2023	AGREED ORDER CLARIFYING COURT'S 1/6/22, 4/12/22 AND 1/20/23 ORDERS RESTRICTING DISCOSURE OF DISCOVERY MATERIALS	CLARIFYING COURT'S 1/6/22, 4/12/22 AND 1/20/23 ORDERS RESTRICTING DISCOSURE OF DISCOVERY MATERIALS
​	​	391	02/15/2023	SET FOR MH - MOTION HEARING 3/7/2023 1:15 PM WEISS, DALIAH H	MH - MOTION HEARING 3/7/2023 1:15 PM WEISS, DALIAH H
​	​	392	02/15/2023	NOTICE OF HEARING
​	​	395	03/03/2023	NOTICE OF CANCELLATION
​	​	393	03/05/2023	Cancelled MH - MOTION HEARING on 3/7/2023 1:15:00 PM due to NCAN
​	​	394	03/05/2023	SET FOR MH - MOTION HEARING 4/28/2023 1:30 PM WEISS, DALIAH H	MH - MOTION HEARING 4/28/2023 1:30 PM WEISS, DALIAH H

 

[ifindedout]

From Feb. 2024

Attorney for Semmie Williams Jr. asks judge to block state from pursuing death penalty

An attorney for the suspect accused of killing a 14-year-old Palm Beach Gardens boy while he was riding his bicycle in 2021 is asking a judge to block the state's attempt to seek the death penalty.

www.wptv.com

Assistant State Attorney Jo Wilensky filed a notice of the state's intent to seek the death penalty in January 2022.

But Pribble claims Williams is "intellectually disabled," thereby precluding the state from pursuing the death penalty under the law.

In his motion, Pribble claims Williams was evaluated by Dr. Joette James, a Washington-based psychologist, last December. He said James concluded that Williams meets the medical criteria for intellectual disability.

"Mr. Williams has significantly sub-average general intellectual functioning," Pribble wrote.

He went on to say that Williams has an IQ score of 56, which places him in the "extremely low/impaired" range of intellectual ability.

According to Pribble's motion, Williams also has "concurrent deficits in adaptive behavior," scoring in the "low" range of adaptive functioning.

 

[branmuffin]

Semmie Williams Jr.'s possible admission in the killing of Ryan Rogers

Dec 23, 2021

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. —

Details have been released in a possible admission from Semmie Williams Jr. in the killing of a Palm Beach Gardens teenager.

[..]

According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office incident report, Deputy Michael McCabe was fingerprinting Williams and asked him if he understood why he was being arrested.

McCabe said Williams responded, "Yeah, murder because of what they did to Black people about giving them syphilis."

The deputy said Williams then got louder stating "Yeah I killed that mother(expletive) and I'll kill you, too."

Williams then reportedly pulled away from him and tried to walk away. According to the report, a scuffle ensued.

McCabe wrote, "he attempted to take me down by holding my right arm and shifting his weight forward and to his right. I resisted this and quickly took him to the floor, face down."

After being handcuffed by two other officers, Williams allegedly told McCabe, he was in for a beating "if they didn't help." An official also stated that Williams called McCabe a "white devil."

[..]

Later that day, Williams denied confessing to killing Ryan Rogers, stating, "That's a lie. He lied. I would love to hear the audio."

In this day and age, any interaction between a suspect charged with a capital crime and LE should be recorded. Otherwise, it's hearsay.

 

[branmuffin]

Psychologists say Ryan Rogers murder suspect competent to stand trial

"Psychiatric treatment" means he was probably being given drugs to control his schizophrenia. While being administered the drug it's understandable that his assessment would show competency. The problem is that when out in the broader public space most sufferers of schizophrenia, especially the poor and homeless are not under a psychiatrist's care and their mental health deteriorates all over again.

I agree this man should spend the rest of his life in a psychiatric ward for the criminally insane but killing him for his illness is inhumane, imo. That's not the solution to the US's problem of the homeless, veterans as well, who through no fault of their own, are ignored and treated like vermin. Most homeless people suffer from a multitude of mental illnesses.

 

[Seattle1]

More than 15 months since I checked on this case so I'm updating from the 2024 Docket.

Since the defendant's arrest on Dec 1, 2021, four different psychologists hired by both the state and the defense have deemed SW competent to stand trial, yet Justice for Ryan Rogers has been delayed over and over --if not by similar Defense Motions, then by the defendant himself refusing transport to the hearings or being unavailable.

More recently, another Defense Motion was filed April 22, 2024, seeking to Preclude Application of Recent Amendments to F.S. 921.141
as Applying those Amendments to this Case would Violate F.S. 775.022.

In other words, the defense seeks to reject application of the bill which eliminated the unanimity requirement for a jury’s verdict of death in a capital trial. On May 28, 2024 (Docket #544), the Court Ordered the Prosecution to respond to the defense Motion above by July 27, 2024.

Relative to the defense Motion of February 21, 2024-- claiming the defendant "intellectually disabled," thereby precluding the state from pursuing the death penalty under the law, an Amended Scheduling Order for the August 9, 2024 Intellectual Disability Hearing was issued on May 16, 2024, for the following.

I hope and trust this will be the Final Amended Order on the subject, the parties comply, and the case finally proceeds to trial:

1. The State’s expert’s evaluation of the defendant must be completed by June 14, 2024;

2. The listing and disclosure of all discovery materials the parties intend to use at the hearing must be completed by July 1, 2024;

3. The written report by the State’s expert must be provided to the defense by July 1, 2024;
4. The depositions of the State’s expert and the defendant’s expert must be completed by July 31, 2024;

5. Any written response to the defendant’s motion the State chooses to file must be filed and provided to the defense and the Court by August 2, 2024.

CASE NUMBER: 50-2021-CF-009692-AXXX-MB​

CASE STYLE: WILLIAMS, SEMMIE LEE JR​

494	03/08/2024	MOTION TO SERT HERING AND TO ISSUE SCHEDULING ORDER (REGARDING THE DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR PRETRIAL ORDER PRECLUDING THE STATE FOR SEEKING THE DETH PE3NALTY DUE TO THE INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY OF THE DEFENDANT)	TO SERT HERING AND TO ISSUE SCHEDULING ORDER (REGARDING THE DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR PRETRIAL ORDER PRECLUDING THE STATE FOR SEEKING THE DETH PE3NALTY DUE TO THE INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY OF THE DEFENDANT)
​	​	499	03/11/2024	NOTICE OF HEARING
​	​	495	03/12/2024	SET FOR MH - MOTION HEARING 3/22/2024 8:30 AM ROWE, CYMONIE S	MH - MOTION HEARING 3/22/2024 8:30 AM ROWE, CYMONIE S
​	​	496	03/12/2024	Cancelled MH - MOTION HEARING on 3/22/2024 8:30:00 AM due to ERROR
​	​	497	03/12/2024	SET FOR MH - MOTION HEARING 3/22/2024 8:15 AM ROWE, CYMONIE S	MH - MOTION HEARING 3/22/2024 8:15 AM ROWE, CYMONIE S
​	​	498	03/12/2024	NOTICE OF HEARING
​	​	500	03/22/2024	Motion - Not Heard - TO SET HEARING AND TO ISSUE SCHEDULING ORDER (REGARDING THE DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR PRETRIAL ORDER PRECLUDING THE STATE FOR SEEKING THE DEATH PENALTY DUE TO THE INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY OF THE DEFENDANT)
​	​	501	03/22/2024	DEFENDANT NOT PRESENT IN CUSTODY - REFUSED	DEFENDANT NOT PRESENT IN CUSTODY - REFUSED

[..]

04/02/2024	SET FOR MH - MOTION HEARING 4/8/2024 8:30 AM ROWE, CYMONIE S	MH - MOTION HEARING 4/8/2024 8:30 AM ROWE, CYMONIE S
​	​	512	04/02/2024	Cancelled MH - MOTION HEARING on 4/8/2024 8:30:00 AM due to ERROR
​	​	513	04/02/2024	SET FOR MH - MOTION HEARING 4/8/2024 8:15 AM ROWE, CYMONIE S	MH - MOTION HEARING 4/8/2024 8:15 AM ROWE, CYMONIE S
​	​	514	04/02/2024	NOTICE OF CANCELLATION
​	​	515	04/08/2024	Motion to Compel - Not Heard
​	​	516	04/08/2024	MOTION TO CONTINUE - Granted
​	​	517	04/08/2024	DEFENDANT NOT PRESENT IN CUSTODY	DEFENDANT NOT PRESENT IN CUSTODY
​	​	518	04/08/2024	DEFT REFUSED TRANSPORT	DEFT REFUSED TRANSPORT DEFT REFUSED TRANSPORT
​	​	519	04/08/2024	C. HAUGHWOUT PRESENT VIA ZOOM	C. HAUGHWOUT PRESENT VIA ZOOM C. HAUGHWOUT PRESENT VIA ZOOM
​	​	520	04/08/2024	NO ACTION TAKEN ON MOTION TO COMPEL	NO ACTION TAKEN ON MOTION TO COMPEL NO ACTION TAKEN ON MOTION TO COMPEL
​	​	521	04/08/2024	HEARING HELD VIA ZOOM	HEARING HELD VIA ZOOM
​	​	522	04/08/2024	REMAINS AS PREVIOUSLY SET
​	​	523	04/08/2024	CONTINUED TO 04/15/2024 8:15 AM STCK - STATUS CHECK	4/15/2024 8:15 AM STCK - STATUS CHECK ROWE, CYMONIE S

527	04/15/2024	Cancelled STCK - STATUS CHECK on 4/15/2024 8:15:00 AM due to PER COURT
​	​	528	04/15/2024	SET FOR STCK - STATUS CHECK 4/15/2024 8:30 AM ROWE, CYMONIE S	STCK - STATUS CHECK 4/15/2024 8:30 AM ROWE, CYMONIE S
​	​	529	04/15/2024	COURT EVENT FORM
​	​	530	04/15/2024	DEFENDANT NOT PRESENT IN CUSTODY	DEFENDANT NOT PRESENT IN CUSTODY
​	​	531	04/15/2024	NO ACTION TAKEN TODAY	NO ACTION TAKEN TODAY NO ACTION TAKEN TODAY
​	​	532	04/15/2024	HEARING HELD VIA ZOOM	HEARING HELD VIA ZOOM - DEFENSE AND STATE PRESENT
​	​	533	04/15/2024	REMAINS AS PREVIOUSLY SET
​	​	534	04/15/2024	CONTINUED TO 08/09/2024 8:30 AM OH - OTHER HEARING	8/9/2024 8:30 AM OH - OTHER HEARING ROWE, CYMONIE S
​	​	535	04/15/2024	COURT DATE NOTICES SENT
​	​	536	04/15/2024	NOTICE OF HEARING	YES
​	​	537	04/15/2024	COURT EVENT FORM
​	​	538	04/22/2024	MOTION
​	​	539	04/22/2024	WITNESS LIST	DEFENDANT'S WITNESS/EXHIBIT LIST
​	​	542	05/14/2024	AGREED ORDER
​	​	540	05/15/2024	JUDICIAL NOTES
​	​	541	05/15/2024	Cancelled STCK - STATUS CHECK on 5/15/2024 8:15:00 AM due to PER JDN
​	​	543	05/16/2024	AMENDED ORDER
​	​	544	05/28/2024	ORDER REQUIRING THE STATE TO RESPOND TO DEFENDANT'S MOTION FILED ON APRIL 22, 2024	REQUIRING THE STATE TO RESPOND TO DEFENDANT'S MOTION FILED ON APRIL 22, 2024

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[cujenn81]

Testimony began in Semmie Williams’s trial yesterday.

Semmie Williams Jr. trial begins with emotional testimony from victim's mother

After four days of jury selection, opening statements are set to begin today for the Semmie Williams trial.

www.wptv.com

The defense then laid out their approach, as Assistant Public Defender Stephanie Gagerie argued that Williams ended up in Palm Beach Gardens because he was "targeted, tracked and tormented" by law enforcement and was trying to find an area of solitude after a lifetime of being "gang stalked" — the belief that an individual is being watched or targeted by an organization.

Williams started to document this on YouTube in an attempt to escape this organization, posting more than 300 videos.

She says Williams ended up in a wooded area, which he would typically look for to escape from his tormentors, when he noticed an unconscious person. Unable to assist the person, he left the area.

Oh, come on!

 

[cujenn81]

Jury deliberations have begun in this case.

Jury deliberation begins on day 5 of Semmie Williams trial

The trial for Semmie Williams Jr. is scheduled to continue today, after Williams took to the stand on Wednesday to provide his testimony.

www.wptv.com

On Thursday morning, the judge granted the state's order to examine Williams' competency. Williams also handed the judge a document stating he no longer wants his lawyer's services, and the judge left her chambers to review it.

After a short recess, the judge proceeded to ask Williams questions under oath about why he wanted to remove his attorneys from the trial. Williams stated that he feels he is not getting a fair trial because of the way evidence is being presented.

Williams went on to say he believes he was set up for the crime by the Masons based on numerology due to Ryan's birth date, age at which he was killed and how it occurred by I-95.

The defense asked Williams to describe how dark it was at the scene at night. Williams said he was sleeping in the bushes when a man approached him and told him where he could go to get help. Then, he heard someone screaming for help and saw someone attacking Ryan. He went to grab a flashlight out of his bag and that was when blood got inside his bag.

 

[cujenn81]

Semmie Williams testimony leaves jury baffled in Palm Beach Gardens murder trial

The homeless drifter accused of murdering a 14-year-old boy took the stand in Palm Beach County court, despite advice from his attorneys not to.

cbs12.com

Williams took the stand in front of the jury on Thursday morning, where he rambled about gang stalking, numerology, satanic organizations, and how he found Ryan, leaving the jury looking lost, not engaged, and uncomfortable.


Mike Magnoli CBS 12 News

@MikeMagsCBS12
·
Follow
The jury will certainly think about Semmies mental health based on his off the wall testimony but he is not pleading insanity anymore, so they cannot consider his competence. Just, did he do it.

On Thursday morning, the judge granted an emergency order to have Williams evaluated. He has already been found competent to stand trial, but on Wednesday, when he took the stand in his own defense, he rambled about government conspiracies, and then, outside the jury’s presence, had a series of outbursts about wanting to fire his lawyers.

 

[mickey2942]

Testimony began in Semmie Williams’s trial yesterday.

Semmie Williams Jr. trial begins with emotional testimony from victim's mother

After four days of jury selection, opening statements are set to begin today for the Semmie Williams trial.

www.wptv.com

The defense then laid out their approach, as Assistant Public Defender Stephanie Gagerie argued that Williams ended up in Palm Beach Gardens because he was "targeted, tracked and tormented" by law enforcement and was trying to find an area of solitude after a lifetime of being "gang stalked" — the belief that an individual is being watched or targeted by an organization.

Williams started to document this on YouTube in an attempt to escape this organization, posting more than 300 videos.

She says Williams ended up in a wooded area, which he would typically look for to escape from his tormentors, when he noticed an unconscious person. Unable to assist the person, he left the area.

Oh, come on!

Best defense story since Jeffrey MacDonald got a few scratches fighting off multiple attackers when his family was overkilled.

 

[Seattle1]

Semmie Williams testimony leaves jury baffled in Palm Beach Gardens murder trial

The homeless drifter accused of murdering a 14-year-old boy took the stand in Palm Beach County court, despite advice from his attorneys not to.

cbs12.com

Williams took the stand in front of the jury on Thursday morning, where he rambled about gang stalking, numerology, satanic organizations, and how he found Ryan, leaving the jury looking lost, not engaged, and uncomfortable.

Mike Magnoli CBS 12 News
@MikeMagsCBS12
·
Follow
The jury will certainly think about Semmies mental health based on his off the wall testimony but he is not pleading insanity anymore, so they cannot consider his competence. Just, did he do it.

On Thursday morning, the judge granted an emergency order to have Williams evaluated. He has already been found competent to stand trial, but on Wednesday, when he took the stand in his own defense, he rambled about government conspiracies, and then, outside the jury’s presence, had a series of outbursts about wanting to fire his lawyers.

Ryan Rogers family has been waiting on justice since Nov 2021! I'm sick that they finally have a trial date, and this is how it's proceeding...

 

[Seattle1]

https://www.palmbeachpost.com/live-story/news/crime/2026/01/13/semmie-williams-ryan-rogers-murder-trial-live-blog-updates-coverage-opening-statements-testimony/88148932007/

1/14/26

Prosecutors hope to prove beyond a doubt that Williams, a 43-year-old man living in Miami, stabbed 14-year-old Ryan Rogers to death during a chance encounter in 2021 in Palm Beach Gardens. Williams' strategy is less clear.

Equipped with the findings of the psychologist Gretchen Moy, his attorneys were poised to say Williams was insane at the time of the stabbing and did not know right from wrong.

However, he withdrew the insanity defense on the eve of trial, swapping his "not guilty by reason of insanity" plea for the simpler "not guilty."

Court records don't suggest a reason for the change, though his lawyers did express an early reluctance to the insanity defense in prior hearings. They argued that if Williams tells jurors he was not guilty by reason of insanity, he essentially admits his guilt.

Williams, for his part, has maintained from the start he did not attack Rogers, both in interviews with police and later with Moy. If jurors believe otherwise, he faces a mandatory life sentence.