Plea spares a painful upheaval

The man accused of killing a woman's fiance pleads guilty.

By COLLEEN JENKINS, Times Staff Writer
Published August 14, 2007

TAMPA - Sarah Cobb sat in court in her purple suit, the joys of her newly minted doctorate in nursing replaced with the expectation of painful days ahead.

She had planned to marry her fiance, Ronald Stem, upon graduating from the University of South Florida. But after he left her residence hall on Feb. 9, 2006, three teens tried to rob him. When Stem, 57, said he didn't have any money, one teen shot him dead.

The shooter's trial was set for Monday. Rashad Jamel Taylor - 17 then, 19 now - spent the morning in hushed conversation with his mother and attorney. Cobb, 53, couldn't read any emotion on his face.

But relief overcame hers when the teen's attorney announced that Taylor wanted to plead guilty to first-degree murder and three other charges, trading the potential of two consecutive life sentences for a guaranteed life term.

A lucky break made it possible.

The crime scene gave USF police little to go on. They had a body, a bullet and shell casings.

Then, on March 2, 2006, Taylor put a 9mm handgun to the head of a U Name It store owner and, through a ski mask, demanded money.

The owner hit a silent alarm. Taylor took off but didn't get far. Authorities charged him with robbery with a firearm and aggravated assault. Ballistics tests showed that Taylor's gun matched the weapon used to kill Stem.

In addition to Taylor, police arrested Morgan Tyler Nelson and Najee Hunter on first-degree murder charges.

Nelson, then 16, and Hunter, then 17, agreed to testify against Taylor in exchange for lighter sentences. A fourth person was never charged.

Nelson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and attempted robbery in exchange for 15 years in prison and 10 years of probation. Hunter pleaded guilty to the same charges for five years in prison and 10 years of probation.

Their statements would have been "tremendously damaging," said Taylor's defense attorney, Rick Terrana.

A plea offer for life in prison wasn't much of a deal.

But prosecutors wouldn't budge. Terrana decided his client's chances would be better on appeal if he had one life sentence to fight, not two.

"In a sea of nothing, you look for anything," Terrana said. "And this was all we had."

[Last modified August 14, 2007, 00:15:00]