Pocopanni sentenced to life without parole

MILTON — Melissa Blair Pocopanni was found guilty of second degree murder and two counts of attempted second degree murder in November of 2018. On Jan. 29 2019, First Judicial Circuit judge David Rimmer sentenced the 21-year-old to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

According to Pocopanni’s arrest report, on the night of Feb. 4, 2017 at approximately 11 p.m. a drive-by shooting occurred at 6630 Applegate Street in Milton. Thomas Buckhalter was shot and killed in the incident. Ashley Johns and Jermun Narin were wounded. Investigations by the Milton Police Department and the Florida Department of Law enforcement determined Dedric Keandre Davis, Walter Ramone Ford, Kyhem Jalil Johnson and Pocopanni occupied the car.

On Sept. 14, Davis and Ford were convicted by a Santa Rosa County jury of second-degree murder with a firearm, two counts of attempted second-degree murder with a firearm, and shooting from a vehicle. Johnson was convicted by the same jury of principal to second-degree murder with a firearm and two counts of principal to attempted second-degree murder with a firearm. In Florida, a life sentence means the defendants will remain incarcerated for their natural life without the possibility of parole.

Davis was sentenced as a prison release re-offender. He had been released from state prison on June 1, 2016. Because these offenses occurred within three years of his release from prison, his life sentence was mandatory under Florida law.

Pocopanni was arrested almost three months after the crime and her accomplices. The NAACP held a press conference in April 2017 saying local authorities did not arrest Pocopanni because she was white and her accomplices were black. Pocopanni was arrested a short later and charged.

Pocopanni was tried separately, because she testified against Davis, Ford and Johnson.

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Pocopanni sentenced to life without parole