GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) – From June through November, TV20 was in the courtroom covering multiple cases. <\/p>\n
\u201cJoel Searby is the Jeffrey Epstein of Alachua County,\u201d shared a victim\u2019s father. <\/p>\n
First up, Newberry activist Joel Searby<\/a> was sentenced to ten years in prison, followed by ten years of sex offender probation for child sex crime charges. <\/p>\n \u201cBut justice was served today, and we\u2019re happy about that,\u201d shared a victim\u2019s family member. <\/p>\n In July, another sentencing, this time in Marion County, for three teens charged<\/a> with first-degree murder of three other teens. <\/p>\n 15-year-old Christopher Atkins is serving 40 years behind bars for the death of Camille Quarles. 19-year-old Robert Robinson and 19-year-old Tahj Brewton received life in prison for the murder of Quarles, as well as Layla Silvernail and Michael Hodo Jr. <\/p>\n All are eligible for review in 25 years. <\/p>\n \u201cShe can rest now, and I can try to move forward,\u201d said Mariah Smith\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n In Lake City, teenager Jayden Burch<\/a> was found guilty of second-degree murder for shooting and killing 12-year-old Mariah Smith in 2023. He received a sentence of life in prison, as well as Matthew Rice<\/a>, another defendant in this case. <\/p>\n Jatarious Fluellen is the last defendant, but his case has been delayed until early 2026. <\/p>\n \u201cI was scared. I still am scared to post where I\u2019m at, when I\u2019m there,\u201d said Miss United States Lindsey Langston.<\/p>\n Langston took U.S. Representative Cory Mills to court<\/a> after she said he threatened to release intimate videos and photos of her after she ended their romantic relationship. <\/p>\n In October, a Columbia County judge granted a dating violence injunction against him, meaning he can\u2019t contact Langston or reference her on social media through January 2026. <\/p>\n \u201cIn this case, you\u2019re going to be adjudicated guilty of murder in the first-degree and sentenced to life imprisonment,\u201d shared a Marion County judge. <\/p>\n Herbert Swilley was found guilty<\/a> of murdering his husband, Timothy Smith, in March 2023. Deputies say Swilley drugged Smith, strangled him, and fractured his neck. <\/p>\n Swilley and Smith frequently used their apartment to meet with other men outside of their marriage. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m teeter tottering on the fact of ok, I love them, oh, people are trying to kill me,\u201d said defendant Johnnie Brown. <\/p>\n