Man takes 15 years, no trial for kidnapping

With his family watching, a defendant pleads guilty to kidnapping a Safety Harbor couple, avoiding a possible life sentence.

By WILLIAM R. LEVESQUE

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 22, 1999

LARGO -- Shawn Royster sat quietly with his parents Wednesday as his big brother stood before a circuit judge and pleaded guilty to participating in the kidnapping and robbery of a Safety Harbor couple.

Gregory Royster, 22, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the crime.

As camera crews from local television stations followed Royster's family outside the court, 11-year-old Shawn asked reporters in a soft, quivering voice, "Can I say something?"

He wanted to let the world know that his big brother acted tough on the outside but was really a good man on the inside.

"I'd just like to say that I'm very sorry for what my brother did," Shawn said. "I know inside my brother is a good person. I know how good he can be and how bad he can be. It's going to be hard for me to live without my brother. I won't have a brother to look up to anymore."

Tears streamed down a television reporter's face.

Gregory Royster pleaded guilty to helping kidnap and rob Carol Leary, 76, and her husband Gerald, 77, last October in an incident Judge Brandt Downey said could easily have led to the couple's death and murder charges against Royster. If he had decided to go to trial, he could have been sentenced to life in prison.

Royster and another suspect are accused of bursting into the Learys' home and ransacking it in search of valuables. The couple was then locked in the trunk of their Cadillac and driven north to Ocala.

The car with the Learys inside was abandoned in a secluded wooded area. For 13 hours, the couple was locked inside, swallowing drops of condensation from the inside of the trunk to keep hydrated.

A nearby homeowner noticed the car and called police. When an officer arrived to inspect the car, he heard Gerald Leary banging on the trunk with a golf ball and rescued the pair.

Royster admitted participating in the crime but asked the court for a sentence below state guidelines, from 91/2 years to life in prison. His attorney said Royster suffered from a borderline personality disorder and was not the mastermind of the crime.

Downey, noting that the Learys could easily have been killed, refused to depart from a guideline sentence.

Royster actually was sentenced to 30 years. But Downey suspended 15 years of the sentence and ordered the defendant to serve that suspended time as probation.

The Learys, who earlier in the week testified about their ordeal, did not attend Royster's guilty plea. Royster had been scheduled for trial next month.

Still awaiting trial for their alleged roles in the robbery and kidnapping are Marty Lee Lunsford, 19, of Tampa and Leslie Jeanne Hudgins, 42, of Clearwater.

After Royster pleaded guilty, Downey looked to Royster's parents, Helene and Gregory Royster Sr. and said, "You seem like fine folks, and I'm just sorry this had to happen to you. I feel the same way about the victims."

One by one, the judge allowed family members to hug the defendant goodbye.

Helene Royster took her son's head in her hands and said, "You take care, okay?"

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.