The former driver of an ice cream truck convicted in 2010 for murdering two people and seriously wounding four others was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday, more than twelve years after the shooting.
Michael Keetley, a British citizen from the UK, was found guilty in March on two counts of murder as well as four counts of attempted killing.
The Judge Christopher Sabella stated that the case had been very difficult and long. It shows the victims that justice may not be swift but it is always served.
Sabella sentenced Keetley to life imprisonment for each of six charges he faced.
In November 2010, Juan Guitron and Sergio Guitron were killed and four others severely injured on the porch of their home in Ruskin in Florida as they were celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday.
The prosecution argued that Keetley was the perpetrator of the murders in a mistaken identity case that culminated a deadly obsession for revenge. Keetley was robbed and shot a year prior to the murders. He became frustrated by the investigation into the robbery and took matters into his hands, according to prosecutors.
He was falsely convinced that “Creeper”, a man who was known as a thief, was responsible for the robbery, and that he was on his trail that November night. Prosecutors said that the people who were killed or injured in Keetley’s robbery had nothing to do. Police said that the man called Creeper was also not one of the six men who were shot in the Ruskin house.
The Defense argued that the victims of the shooting had identified the wrong person and Keetley wasn’t capable of carrying out the attack due to injuries he suffered when he was robbed and shot months earlier.
Michael Keetley did not commit the crime, so he is not guilty. Michael Keetley could not have done it. John Grant, the defense attorney, said that he was not medically qualified.
Richard Escobar (another member of the defence) argued that the law enforcement agencies made numerous mistakes following the 2010 attack. He said that “the investigation which followed was nothing less than a nightmare.”
A judge denied Friday motions for an acquittal and a new trial.
After the sentencing, attorneys for Keetley announced that they plan to appeal.
Paz Quezada addressed Keetley, the mother to Juan and Sergio Guitron directly, during the sentencing, telling him that “he took half of my lifetime” and “destroyed [her] heart.”
Quezada stated, “My sons are all I have.” “I loved them to the core of my being.”
Gonzalo Guievara, the survivor of the shooting, was wearing a T shirt with a picture of the Guitron Brothers as he spoke in court.
Guevara stated that “he’s caused such pain to everyone concerned.”
Keetley was told directly, “You have hurt so many people.” “We know what happened that night, and you also know what happened that night.”
Quezada said to NBC News before the sentencing, that Friday was her birthday and that her only wish has been the same since the night of her attack: That the man who tore apart her tight-knit families be locked away for the remainder of his life.
Quezada cried out, “It is the greatest gift God could ever give me.” She said that she prayed to God for the strength to survive to see her sons receive justice. “I fight for my sons. “I will never forget them.”
