Hollywood man gets 28 years for Key West murder
Posted on Friday, 02.07.14
BY DAVID GOODHUE
KeysInfoNet
A Broward County man convicted in September of the stabbing murder of Marquese Butler, a popular former Key West High School athlete, was sentenced to 28 years in prison on Friday.
Circuit Court Judge Luis Garcia handed down the sentence one day after denying Nicholas Ferro's motion for a new trial. Assistant State Attorney Breezye Telfair, from Miami-Dade County, told Garcia before sentencing that Ferro should go to prison "for the rest of his natural life."
One of Ferro's attorneys, Carlos Gonzalez, said he and his colleagues will appeal the sentence.
Friday's hearing contained hours of emotional testimony from friends and family of both Ferro and Butler. Each side of the aisle inside the Plantation Key Courthouse was filled with supporters of the two young men.
It was clear from the proceedings that both men had more in common than they probably thought in the short moment in time they knew each other, even though they came from vastly different backgrounds — Ferro's family is wealthy and owns the popular Hollywood eatery Nick's Bar and Grill. Butler grew up poor in Key West.
But testimony given on Friday showed that both men grew up surrounded by close families and a large group of friends. They were both charismatic, and their respective peers wanted to be around them. Now, each family is devastated —one can never see their son and brother again; the other can, but only in the visitation wing of a yet-to-be-named state prison.
"This tragedy has broken both of our families apart," Gina Ferro, Nicholas Ferro's older sister, said from the witness stand Friday.
Garcia said both men's lives are ruined because "a chance meeting on a corner in Key West turned into a street brawl."
"There are two words that describe this case," Garcia said. "Unfixable damage."
Michael Hall, Butler's brother, said after the hearing that the sentence is "fair and just," but during testimony, he addressed Ferro directly saying: "I can't speak for the rest of my family, but I forgive you."
Fleasher Hall, Butler's mother, said after the hearing that she is "at a loss for words. With God's help, some kind of closure will come."
Ferro's family declined to comment on the sentence, but Nicholas Ferro addressed the Butler family before sentencing, asking them for forgiveness.
"Not a day goes by that I don't think about Marquese," Ferro said. "I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."
Ferro, now 27, killed Butler, 23, in the early morning hours of Oct. 31, 2009, during a clash on the corner of Duval and Caroline Streets between the Broward group and the Key West crew. Sometime in the course of the fight, Ferro pulled out a 2 1/2-inch pocket knife and plunged it six inches into Butler's abdomen.
Ferro said he acted in self-defense while trying to save his friend Jorge Averoff from a group-beating delivered at the hands of Butler's friends. But prosecutors successfully argued that it was Ferro and his friends who were looking for a fight, and that Ferro intentionally stabbed Butler.
The six jurors took less than two hours to find Ferro guilty of second-degree murder on Sept. 27. It was his second trial; the first one ended in a hung jury.
Garcia Friday saved his harshest words for the "drunken mob mentality" of Butler's and Ferro's friends that led to the fight, and ultimately, Butler's death.
"You should hang your head in shame," he said.
He said the fight started because two people from the respective groups "bumped shoulders." Without the influence of their friends, Garcia said he doubts Ferro and Butler would have fought that day.
"If Marquese Butler and Nicholas Ferro had been alone that night, they probably would have walked past each other and we wouldn't be here today," Garcia said.
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Posted on Fri, Sep. 27, 2013
Hollywood man found guilty in Key West Fantasy Fest stabbing case
BY DAVID GOODHUE
KeysNet.com
A Florida Keys jury deliberated just under two hours Friday before finding a Hollywood man guilty of second-degree murder in a 2009 Fantasy Fest stabbing case.
Nicholas Ferro, 26, was tried for the second time after a Key West trial last March ended in a hung jury.
He was accused of murdering Marquese Butler during the early morning hours of Halloween 2009, following a tense confrontation on the street.
Ferro pleaded not guilty and says he stabbed Butler on Oct. 31, 2009, in self-defense while trying to save his friend from a group beating at the hands of Butler and Butler’s Key West friends.
Deliberations began around 2:30 p.m. Friday afternoon, and the jury came back an hour and 25 minutes later. Sentencing in front of Circuit Court Judge Luis Garcia is Dec. 2 at 9 a.m.
Ferro faces up to life in prison.
During closing arguments Friday, defense attorneys Edward O’Donnell and Edward O’Donnell IV told jurors that Ferro made a “split-second decision” to jump in the middle of a “savage, angry, nasty mob” to save the life of his friend, Jorge Averoff.
Ferro, Averoff and several friends were partying in Key West for the annual Fantasy Fest celebration.
Averoff was getting pummeled so badly on Caroline Street at around 4 a.m. that day, O’Donnell said, that Averoff’s other friends — Seth Denny and Rolando Reyes — thought about helping him but felt they had no choice but to run to Duval Street to get help from Key West police officers. Averoff and Reyes testified Thursday that they feared for their lives.
The beating only stopped when Ferro attempted to pull Averoff out of the maelstrom, according to the defense. But when he did, O’Donnell IV said, Butler punched him in the back of the head, knocking him to his knees.
That is when Ferro unfolded his pocket knife, with a 2 1/2-inch blade, and stabbed Butler. Defense attorneys say Ferro saved Averoff’s life.
The senior O’Donnell said the Key West group repeatedly yelled “kill him, kill him, kill him” as they kicked and punched Averoff. If the group had a cheer, O’Donnell said, it would be “10, 15, 20-to-one, that’s what we call Key West fun.”
But prosecutors say Ferro had no reason to stab Butler, and that Averoff was only fighting one man, James “J.C.” Edwards. Assistant State Attorney Breezye Telfair said Butler was trying to calm down Ferro, who was acting erratically as they both watched the fight between Averoff and Edwards.
Ferro, Telfair said, then walked by Butler, and as he did, he quickly jabbed him in abdomen with his knife and moved on. Butler died later that morning during emergency surgery in the Lower Keys Medical Center.
“[Butler said] ‘Hey man, chill out,’ and the next thing you have someone stab you in the stomach and you look down and fat is hanging out, and you don’t know why,” Telfair told jurors.
Butler had internal wounds to his stomach and pancreas, surgeon Rhoda Smith testified earlier this week. According to Telfair, after stabbing Butler, Ferro yelled to his friends, “Watch the guy in the yellow shirt [Butler]. He’s going to fall. He’s going to fall hard.”
That account was from the testimony of John Jackson, a witness who lives in Key West and knows some of Butler’s friends, but says he is not close to them and was not with them that day.
But O’Donnell said Jackson is not a reliable witness. Jackson also testified that he has some medical training, but did not attempt to render aid to Butler when he saw him lying on the street because he was afraid he “might get hit in the back of the head” by Butler’s friends. This, O’Donnell said, shows Jackson saw Butler hit Ferro and feared the same would happen to him.
“No one else heard that,” O’Donnell said. “That’s said by the same person who said ‘I didn’t want to get hit in the back of the head.’”
Posted on Friday, 02.07.14
BY DAVID GOODHUE
KeysInfoNet
A Broward County man convicted in September of the stabbing murder of Marquese Butler, a popular former Key West High School athlete, was sentenced to 28 years in prison on Friday.
Circuit Court Judge Luis Garcia handed down the sentence one day after denying Nicholas Ferro's motion for a new trial. Assistant State Attorney Breezye Telfair, from Miami-Dade County, told Garcia before sentencing that Ferro should go to prison "for the rest of his natural life."
One of Ferro's attorneys, Carlos Gonzalez, said he and his colleagues will appeal the sentence.
Friday's hearing contained hours of emotional testimony from friends and family of both Ferro and Butler. Each side of the aisle inside the Plantation Key Courthouse was filled with supporters of the two young men.
It was clear from the proceedings that both men had more in common than they probably thought in the short moment in time they knew each other, even though they came from vastly different backgrounds — Ferro's family is wealthy and owns the popular Hollywood eatery Nick's Bar and Grill. Butler grew up poor in Key West.
But testimony given on Friday showed that both men grew up surrounded by close families and a large group of friends. They were both charismatic, and their respective peers wanted to be around them. Now, each family is devastated —one can never see their son and brother again; the other can, but only in the visitation wing of a yet-to-be-named state prison.
"This tragedy has broken both of our families apart," Gina Ferro, Nicholas Ferro's older sister, said from the witness stand Friday.
Garcia said both men's lives are ruined because "a chance meeting on a corner in Key West turned into a street brawl."
"There are two words that describe this case," Garcia said. "Unfixable damage."
Michael Hall, Butler's brother, said after the hearing that the sentence is "fair and just," but during testimony, he addressed Ferro directly saying: "I can't speak for the rest of my family, but I forgive you."
Fleasher Hall, Butler's mother, said after the hearing that she is "at a loss for words. With God's help, some kind of closure will come."
Ferro's family declined to comment on the sentence, but Nicholas Ferro addressed the Butler family before sentencing, asking them for forgiveness.
"Not a day goes by that I don't think about Marquese," Ferro said. "I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."
Ferro, now 27, killed Butler, 23, in the early morning hours of Oct. 31, 2009, during a clash on the corner of Duval and Caroline Streets between the Broward group and the Key West crew. Sometime in the course of the fight, Ferro pulled out a 2 1/2-inch pocket knife and plunged it six inches into Butler's abdomen.
Ferro said he acted in self-defense while trying to save his friend Jorge Averoff from a group-beating delivered at the hands of Butler's friends. But prosecutors successfully argued that it was Ferro and his friends who were looking for a fight, and that Ferro intentionally stabbed Butler.
The six jurors took less than two hours to find Ferro guilty of second-degree murder on Sept. 27. It was his second trial; the first one ended in a hung jury.
Garcia Friday saved his harshest words for the "drunken mob mentality" of Butler's and Ferro's friends that led to the fight, and ultimately, Butler's death.
"You should hang your head in shame," he said.
He said the fight started because two people from the respective groups "bumped shoulders." Without the influence of their friends, Garcia said he doubts Ferro and Butler would have fought that day.
"If Marquese Butler and Nicholas Ferro had been alone that night, they probably would have walked past each other and we wouldn't be here today," Garcia said.
____________________________________________________
Posted on Fri, Sep. 27, 2013
Hollywood man found guilty in Key West Fantasy Fest stabbing case
BY DAVID GOODHUE
KeysNet.com
A Florida Keys jury deliberated just under two hours Friday before finding a Hollywood man guilty of second-degree murder in a 2009 Fantasy Fest stabbing case.
Nicholas Ferro, 26, was tried for the second time after a Key West trial last March ended in a hung jury.
He was accused of murdering Marquese Butler during the early morning hours of Halloween 2009, following a tense confrontation on the street.
Ferro pleaded not guilty and says he stabbed Butler on Oct. 31, 2009, in self-defense while trying to save his friend from a group beating at the hands of Butler and Butler’s Key West friends.
Deliberations began around 2:30 p.m. Friday afternoon, and the jury came back an hour and 25 minutes later. Sentencing in front of Circuit Court Judge Luis Garcia is Dec. 2 at 9 a.m.
Ferro faces up to life in prison.
During closing arguments Friday, defense attorneys Edward O’Donnell and Edward O’Donnell IV told jurors that Ferro made a “split-second decision” to jump in the middle of a “savage, angry, nasty mob” to save the life of his friend, Jorge Averoff.
Ferro, Averoff and several friends were partying in Key West for the annual Fantasy Fest celebration.
Averoff was getting pummeled so badly on Caroline Street at around 4 a.m. that day, O’Donnell said, that Averoff’s other friends — Seth Denny and Rolando Reyes — thought about helping him but felt they had no choice but to run to Duval Street to get help from Key West police officers. Averoff and Reyes testified Thursday that they feared for their lives.
The beating only stopped when Ferro attempted to pull Averoff out of the maelstrom, according to the defense. But when he did, O’Donnell IV said, Butler punched him in the back of the head, knocking him to his knees.
That is when Ferro unfolded his pocket knife, with a 2 1/2-inch blade, and stabbed Butler. Defense attorneys say Ferro saved Averoff’s life.
The senior O’Donnell said the Key West group repeatedly yelled “kill him, kill him, kill him” as they kicked and punched Averoff. If the group had a cheer, O’Donnell said, it would be “10, 15, 20-to-one, that’s what we call Key West fun.”
But prosecutors say Ferro had no reason to stab Butler, and that Averoff was only fighting one man, James “J.C.” Edwards. Assistant State Attorney Breezye Telfair said Butler was trying to calm down Ferro, who was acting erratically as they both watched the fight between Averoff and Edwards.
Ferro, Telfair said, then walked by Butler, and as he did, he quickly jabbed him in abdomen with his knife and moved on. Butler died later that morning during emergency surgery in the Lower Keys Medical Center.
“[Butler said] ‘Hey man, chill out,’ and the next thing you have someone stab you in the stomach and you look down and fat is hanging out, and you don’t know why,” Telfair told jurors.
Butler had internal wounds to his stomach and pancreas, surgeon Rhoda Smith testified earlier this week. According to Telfair, after stabbing Butler, Ferro yelled to his friends, “Watch the guy in the yellow shirt [Butler]. He’s going to fall. He’s going to fall hard.”
That account was from the testimony of John Jackson, a witness who lives in Key West and knows some of Butler’s friends, but says he is not close to them and was not with them that day.
But O’Donnell said Jackson is not a reliable witness. Jackson also testified that he has some medical training, but did not attempt to render aid to Butler when he saw him lying on the street because he was afraid he “might get hit in the back of the head” by Butler’s friends. This, O’Donnell said, shows Jackson saw Butler hit Ferro and feared the same would happen to him.
“No one else heard that,” O’Donnell said. “That’s said by the same person who said ‘I didn’t want to get hit in the back of the head.’”
