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CHRISTOPHER GOFFARDThe victim, a former lover, suffered lasting injuries when she was shot and left lying bleeding beside a road.
TAMPA - A judge imposed a 20-year sentence Monday on Patricia Banks, a 53-year-old Gibsonton woman who pleaded guilty to shooting her former lover.
Prosecutors said that in July 2001, Banks shot Olga J. Joanow, a lawyer for the University of South Florida, and left her bleeding at the side of Adamo Drive.
Earlier this month, days before her trial was to begin, Banks pleaded guilty to attempted murder and kidnapping with a firearm in exchange for the 20-year sentence. She would have faced 25 years to life in prison if convicted.
Monday, Joanow stood in Hillsborough Circuit Judge Barbara Fleischer's courtroom and described the suffering she endured after Banks attacked her. She has nerve damage and walks with a cane, and is unable to mow her lawn or climb a ladder to change a light bulb.
"I lived without stomach muscles for seven months," Joanow said. "By God's grace, I didn't die."
Before the shooting, Joanow said, she saw "murderous intent" in Banks' eyes even before she knew Banks was armed with a gun.
She said the image of Banks walking away as she lay bleeding "is a picture of pure evil."
"We both knew what was in your cold, black heart that night," Joanow said.
The judge sentenced Banks to life, suspending the sentence after 20 years, and ordered that there be no contact between Banks and Joanow when she gets out of prison.
Banks said she and Joanow had shared dogs, and she wanted to know how she could find out how the dogs were doing.
"I don't have an answer," the judge said, but suggested her attorney might contact the state, which in turn could make inquiries of Joanow.
Last year, Banks' defense attorney Lyann Goudie pushed unsuccessfully to remove Hillsborough State Attorney Mark Ober from the case.
Goudie suggested Banks' sexual orientation influenced Ober's refusal to give her a plea deal she found satisfactory, and that the state was acting under pressure from a former prosecutor close to the victim.
Ober denied the allegations, and a judge allowed his office to remain the prosecuting agency.
- Christopher Goffard can be reached at 813 226-3337 or goffard@sptimes.com