Zota murder suspect could be released pretrial

The now-incapacitated suspect in the Longboat Key double homicide last year at the Zota Beach Resort could soon be released from jail, pending trial.

Darryl Hanna Jr., who police say shot and killed Zota security guard Kevin Carter and night manager Timothy Hurley on the morning of Aug. 4, 2017, has been in a vegetative state since Sept. 9, when he collapsed while in custody. The suspect spent more than a month at South Bay Hospital in Sun City Center before being returned to the Manatee County Jail for containment and treatment.

He has been there ever since.

The 12th Judicial Circuit Court and Hanna’s attorney, Jordan Redavid, agreed last week to release Hanna, an order Redavid said is being drafted.

Attorneys are coordinating with a nursing facility in Ocala for Hanna’s recovery, according to court records.

“[Hanna’s] situation is grave and his needs (if he is to ever make a meaningful recovery) require a stable, well-equipped, non-incarcerative medical environment,” Redavid wrote in an email.

This comes after a motion was filed Feb. 12 for Hanna’s release on grounds that he poses no threat to society in his vegetative state. It further accuses the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office of neglecting Hanna’s health when problems became apparent.

“Hanging in the balance of the scales held by this court, much like the allegorical figure Lady Justice, is Darryl Hanna’s life — or what’s left of it,” the motion said.

Prosecutor Suzanne O’Donnell did not return messages seeking comment. Sheriff’s Office spokesman Dave Bristow declined to comment on allegations set forth in the motion.

‘A scary proposition’

When he was taken to the Manatee County jail Aug. 9, Hanna seemed to be a healthy 28-year-old, according to a motion. All seemed well until two weeks later, when Hanna had been playing basketball with some fellow inmates.

That’s when Hanna collapsed.

“Confidence in Hanna’s good health changed in an instant — well, actually, 41 seconds,” according to the motion.

A video camera had captured Hanna on the ground for 41 seconds, after which he was cleared by a prison nurse for safe return to his cell.

The motion alleges prison medical examiners did not perform “formal diagnostic or medical testing” and declined to review video footage for further analysis and diagnosis.

Then it happened again.

A correctional officer found Hanna on Sept. 8 on the floor of his cell. Asked if he was OK, Hanna stood up, said he was lightheaded, then fainted, according to the motion.

Nurses took him, handcuffed, to a medical pod for diagnosis. After examination, he was “inexplicably permitted to return to his” cell, according to the motion.

Not more than 12 hours later, officers found Hanna again lying face up on the floor, breathing but unresponsive, according to the motion.

“Sadly, nobody can with any degree of certainty how long Hanna lied in his cell, unconscious and desperate for help,” defense attorneys said in the motion.

The officer who found him, attorneys allege, didn’t call EMS until Hanna stopped breathing. EMS was called, but it took 42 minutes for them to arrive and another 18 for them to get him out of the jail, the motion reads.

Hanna spent a month in the ICU and was sent back to the jail, where he has remained in a vegetative and incapacitated state, according to the motion.

An email obtained by the attorneys sent Oct. 9 from Sgt. Andrew Gardieff reads: “Medical advised [Hanna] needed additional care due to his current condition and they did not have the resources on hand that the hospital would have access to.”

Yet Hanna has remained in Manatee Sheriff’s Office custody. The county contracts flat-cost medical services for its jail with Armor Correctional Health Services, which the Sheriff’s Office estimates has paid $370,000 since Sept. 8 for Hanna’s medical care.

Grounds for release

Defense attorneys allege in their filing that, “There is no reasonable basis to contend that Hanna poses any threat of physical harm to the community.”

“The community of Manatee County gains no additional security by having Hanna in jail; if anything, it takes on the financial burden of paying for his 24/7 medical care,” according to the motion.

The motion also claims neither Hanna nor his mother, Patricia Hanna, should be held accountable for a bond because it would be “purely punitive in nature.” Attorneys also guarantee Hanna will appear at any court hearing if one is to be held.

Hanna’s condition also stipulates an “exceptional circumstance,” permitted for pretrial release for murder cases in Florida. Defense attorneys also claim that prolonged detention could lead to Hanna’s death.

Attorneys for the defendant and the state agreed Feb. 20 to draft an order for Hanna’s supervised release. 

Hanna’s lawyer offered the state and county “unfettered access” to his client’s medical records and a formal obligation for regular reporting on his client’s condition.