Florida Man Convicted in Attempt to Kill British Tourist at Rest Stop

MONTICELLO, Fla. — A jury deliberated less than 30 minutes Friday before convicting an 18-year-old man of trying to kill a British tourist who saw her boyfriend shot to death during a robbery attempt at a highway rest stop.

Aundra Akins, found guilty of attempted murder, was only 14 when Margaret Jagger and Gary Colley were shot early in the morning of Sept. 13, 1993. He already is serving a 27-year prison term after pleading guilty in 1995 to murdering Colley, 34.

The state is expected to ask for a 40-year term for shooting Jagger.

The couple were attacked as they napped in a rental car at a rest stop 35 miles east of Tallahassee.

The shooting, which marred Florida’s $30-billion-a-year tourism industry, prompted the state to post armed guards at all interstate rest stops.

Defense lawyer Dan Dearing said he would appeal. He claimed that the trial constituted double jeopardy and that prosecutors violated his client’s 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination by reading to the jury a confession Akins had made in 1995.

Akins, who did not testify, gave the statement in connection with a plea bargain. He received concurrent 27-year sentences after pleading guilty to second-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder in exchange for testifying against another defendant. He won an appeal of the attempted murder portion and was then indicted again on that charge.

John “Billy Joe” Crumitie, now 19, is serving a life sentence with a 25-year minimum in the case. Deron Spear, 21, was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit armed robbery and accessory after the fact.