May 10, 2010 Brevard County Grand Jury Indicts Three in Two Separate Murder Cases

The Brevard County Grand Jury issued indictments against three people arrested for their roles in two separate murders which occurred in Palm Bay and Cocoa in April.

James Padgett, 28, Palm Bay, was charged with first-degree felony murder, aggravated child abuse, and child abuse. Padgett was the sole caregiver of Aaden Batista when the two-year-old sustained a fatal blow to the head on April 7. Padgett was the boyfriend of the child’s mother. The Grand Jury heard testimony from the Brevard County Medical Examiner and a Palm Bay Police Department detective before returning with the charges, said Assistant State Attorney Michael Hunt.

Padgett has been held at the Brevard County Jail since his arrest shortly after the child’s death.

In the second case, two people were each indicted with first-degree premeditated murder, armed burglary of a dwelling, robbery with a firearm, and three counts of aggravated assault for their roles in a home invasion in Cocoa during which Sammy Lee Lennear, 50, was killed on April 20. Desmond Kirkman, 26, and Sophia Lamb, 22, both of Cocoa, have been held at the Brevard County Jail since their arrests shortly after the slaying, said Hunt.

In that case, grand jurors heard testimony from two Brevard County Sheriff’s Office crime scene agents and three lay witnesses.

All three defendants are scheduled for a first appearance at the jail on the indicted charges on Wednesday.

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