The trial timeline
Circuit Judge Lisa Herndon consulted with Rodney s lawyer, Jacques Ward, and Assistant State Attorney Marissa Meyer about the questions. Everyone agreed that the panel would have to decide based on what happened at trial.
Jurors were brought into the courtroom at 12:21 p.m., given the answer, and sent back for continued discussions.
At 1:02 p.m., there was a knock on the door, indicating they had a decision. The clerk read the verdict aloud at 1:10 p.m. guilty of robbery with firearm while wearing a mask, and deliver/possess/sell/alter firearm.
Rodney bowed his head for a few minutes while the verdict was read aloud. The jury was polled and all six said they voted guilty for the two offenses.
The completion of the Southwest 49th Avenue extension – a 12.3-mile, four-lane connector that will link Ocala and Marion Oaks – is still at least three years from completion, according to Marion County officials and documents.
The road, which is being funded by mostly one-cent sales tax revenue, will help reduce State Road 200 corridor traffic. It will one day be a four-lane road from 42nd Street Flyover to the north to Marion Oaks Manor, south of CR 484, to the south.
There are still three main segments of the Southwest 49th Avenue project that have not launched. The total cost of the project is an estimated $70 million, most of which will come from the sales tax, which voters passed in 2016 and renewed in 2020. That tax, which increased the sales tax from 6% to 7%, is dedicated to public safety capital needs and road projects.
New 392-home community coming to State Road 200 corridor
A new single-family subdivision on 102 acres is being planned on the State Road 200 corridor along the southern border of the Market Street at Health Brook mall, west of Interstate 75 and behind Bojangles and RaceTrac.
On Jan. 14, a publicly traded community developer known as Forestar Group Inc. (FOR) purchased the property from Ocala Trophy LTD for $2.055 million to create a 392-home community.
Forestar Group, based in Arlington, Texas, has launched 51 communities in 21 states, with 12 locations in Florida. The Ocala community will be named The Ridge at Heath Brook. The vision for The Ridge at Heath Brook is a gated lifestyle community offering resort-style amenities with interconnected walkways to one of Ocala’s premier outdoor shopping destinations, the Market Street at Heath Brook, according to a prepared statement from Forestar West Florida Division President Tony Squitieri.