Eric M. Anderson, convicted of killing a Clearwater man during a 2002 home invasion robbery, will never be eligible for parole. His family says he is innocent.
By CHRIS TISCH
Published October 30, 2004
CLEARWATER - A man convicted of murdering a Clearwater man during a home invasion robbery two years ago was sentenced to life in prison Friday.
Eric M. Anderson, 29, will never be eligible for parole. His family members say he is innocent and that they plan to appeal.
Anderson was convicted last week of murdering Johnnie "Big Mike" Thomas on May 7, 2002. Prosecutors said Anderson was armed with a handgun when he confronted Thomas at his home that night. He forced Thomas inside, where the two began to struggle. Thomas was shot twice in the upper body.
Prosecutors sought the death penalty for Anderson because he has a long and violent criminal history. The fact that Thomas was killed during another violent crime - a home-invasion robbery - qualified the case as a death penalty case, prosecutors said.
But defense attorney Richard Watts said the case did not meet the threshold of a death penalty case. "This was a robbery gone bad, a sudden struggle," Watts said.
Judge Raymond Gross agreed and handed down the life sentence. Anderson said nothing during the sentencing hearing.
"You are a violent, dangerous individual," Gross told him.
Normally, a jury recommends a life or death sentence in a capital murder case, and the judge must give its recommendation great weight. But Anderson elected to waive that right and let Gross decide on his own.
Thomas' family members said they weren't pushing for the death penalty anyway.
"As long as he doesn't get out," said his mother, Sarah Thomas Hooks.
Thomas' wife, Brenda, hugged the investigating detective after the sentence was read. She left the courtroom with tears in her eyes.
"God's going to take care of us," she said. "Me wishing death on him was of no benefit to me. It's not going to bring my husband back. I prefer life over death."
Thomas was killed amid a wave of violent robberies and shootings in Clearwater in 2002. Police eventually developed Anderson as a suspect in a number of the crimes.
A witness' statement led them to arrest Anderson in Thomas' murder, and the case was later strengthened when a piece of tissue from under Thomas' fingernail was found to contain Anderson's DNA.
Anderson still faces charges in connection with another shooting in which a man was shot in the groin. He faces another potential life sentence if convicted of that crime. He also faces pending drug charges that carry a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, prosecutor Brian Daniels said.
A status conference on those charges will be held next month.
Several of Anderson's family members were in the courtroom Friday morning as he was sentenced. Some cried as he was led away.
His mother, Annie, said her son is innocent. She doesn't believe the DNA evidence and thinks witnesses and the police lied. She plans to find a lawyer and a DNA expert to help her son appeal.
"We're going to fight this," she said. "I'm going to see justice done."
