A Central Florida judge has sentenced a man to death for the brutal 1991 Daytona Beach murder and robbery of a visiting businessman.
Defendant James Guzman was sentenced to death for his murder conviction by the Honorable Dawn Nichols.
In March following a week-long resentencing hearing, a Volusia County jury voted 12-0 to recommend death for Guzman for the brutal murder and robbery of a Virginia businessman he chauffeured.
Guzman has previously been found guilty three different times for using a sword to kill the victim in Daytona Beach on August 10, 1991. The defendant then stole money and a diamond ring from him, which he sold for crack cocaine and cash.
The first two convictions were overturned on appeal and were sent back for new trials. The most recent conviction of the defendant for the crime was in 2016. At that time, a jury voted in favor of the death penalty for Guzman in an 11-1 decision, but that sentence was nullified the following year after Florida courts began requiring unanimous jury recommendations in death penalty cases.
However, in April 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill authorizing a new non-unanimous sentencing standard of 8-4 in capital cases. This new law was utilized for March’s resentencing.
“33 years after the brutal and callous murder, the defendant is finally held accountable,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said about the case. “This case confirms that – in Florida – there is no time limit on making Justice a Reality. My only regret is that the family of our murder victim had to wait so long!”
The case was investigated by the Daytona Beach Police Department. Assistant State Attorney Andrew Urbanak successfully prosecuted the case for the state.
