A habitual felony offender and prison releasee reoffender was convicted again in Central Florida.
After a two-day trial, a Volusia County jury found defendant Don Murphy III guilty as charged of Aggravated Battery and Robbery by Sudden Snatching.
On February 15, 2021, a woman was walking to her boyfriend’s house in Daytona Beach when she ran into Murphy and another woman on Dr Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard.
The victim told detectives that Murphy asked her for a lighter, which she declined. The defendant then tried to take her purse. Video surveillance shows he pinned the victim to the ground and punched her multiple times before leaving the scene with her purse.
The victim received life-threatening injuries including several internal bleeds, a collapsed lung and fractured ribs, but recovered at the hospital. Murphy was identified by the victim and was arrested.
Immediately following the verdict, the defendant was sentenced to 30 years in prison as a habitual felony offender and a prison releasee reoffender.
The case was investigated by the Daytona Beach Police Department. Assistant State Attorney Helen Schwartz successfully tried the case for the state. The Honorable Elizabeth Blackburn presided over the case and pronounced sentence.
