Man Accepts Plea Deal on Charges

BARTOW | A 50-year-old Winter Haven man recently acquitted of murder accepted a plea deal Wednesday on charges of battery on a detention deputy and violation of probation.

A jury found Arthur Lee White not guilty July 14 of first-degree murder. He was accused of fatally stabbing Gerald "Ricky" Franklin Jr. in 2005. Although he was acquitted of murder, White still faced prison time for some pending charges.

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

While awaiting his murder trial, White was arrested in February and charged with hitting a detention deputy in the back of the head after White refused to return to his cell, arrest reports state.

White admitted to violating conditions of his probation, and Circuit Judge Mark Carpanini sentenced him to 10 years in prison. White also pleaded no contest to battery on a law enforcement officer. He was sentenced to about six years in prison, to be served concurrently to the prison sentence in the probation violation case.

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