White Not Guilty in Fatal Stabbing

BARTOW | Arthur Lee White listened intently Monday as the jury's verdict was read aloud. He grabbed his lawyer's hand then took off his glasses and wiped away tears with a tissue.

Jurors spent about an hour Monday deliberating before finding White not guilty of fatally stabbing Gerald "Ricky" Franklin Jr. to death in 2005. Prosecutors had been seeking the death penalty in the case.

But White, 50, of Winter Haven, could still face time in prison.

White is charged with violating conditions of his probation for a previous robbery conviction. The multiple violations range from failing to pay costs of supervision, failing to report to the probation office, and visiting places where drugs are sold or used.

Although found not guilty by a jury, a judge could find that White violated his probation "by committing the criminal offense of First Degree Murder."

If White is found in violation of his probation, Chip Thullbery, a State Attorney's Office spokesman, said White could be sentenced as a habitual offender.

White could face up to 30 years in prison, but have credit for serving five years in prison on the robbery charge, Thullbery said.

While awaiting his murder trial, White was arrested in February and charged with hitting a detention deputy in the back of the head with his forearm. White had refused to return to his cell and the deputy sprayed him with a chemical agent, an arrest report said.

White's lawyer, Julia Williamson, said the jury's not-guilty verdict brought tears of relief to her client's eyes.

"He has always maintained that he is innocent," she said.

During Monday's closing arguments, Williamson argued there was no physical evidence linking her client to the murder.

Detectives and prosecutors relied on witnesses with extensive criminal records who claimed White made various statements to them about White being involved in Franklin's murder, she said.

"They arrested the wrong man because Art White did not do this," Williamson said.

Franklin, 44, was a homosexual who sometimes dressed in women's clothing, and prosecutors said a possible motive for the murder was that White was angry because Franklin made a sexual advance.

White took the witness stand last week to say he had nothing to do with Franklin's killing and he said Franklin never made any sexual advances.

White testified that he would help sell clothing that Franklin stole from stores and would use the proceeds to pay for drugs.

He said he visited Franklin hours before his death on March 25, 2005, but he only picked up some stolen women's clothing so he could sell the items.

White said he got the impression that someone was inside Franklin's bedroom, but didn't see or hear anyone while he was there.

Pickard told jurors that common sense would show Franklin's murder was premeditated. Franklin was stabbed 13 times, so the intention had to be to kill him, Pickard said.

The prosecutor theorized the attack began at the front of Franklin's home because there was a large pool of blood near the stoop leading into the home on West Seventh Street in Lakeland.

There was no sign of a forced entry into the home so either the door was open or Franklin met the attacker at the front door, he said.

Pickard told jurors that Franklin was caught unaware but fought for his life because there were signs of a struggle inside the home.

[ Jason Geary can be reached at jason.geary@theledger.com or 863-802-7536. ]