Office of the State Attorney

PRESS RELEASE

August 24, 2023     

         

State of Florida v. Alonzo Deonta Harkness                                                                          

DOB: 02/07/1994

Case Number: 2019 101833 CFDL

 

Young Guns Defendant Convicted in DeLand Murder, Sentenced to Life Plus 15 Years

DELAND – After a three-day trial this afternoon, a Volusia County jury found defendant Alonzo Harkness guilty as charged of Second-Degree Murder with a Firearm. Immediately following the verdict, the defendant entered an open plea to an additional count of Possession of a Firearm by Convicted Felon charge. Harkness was then sentenced to life in prison for the Second-Degree Murder charge as a Prison Releasee Reoffender. He was also sentenced to 15 years in prison for the Possession of a Firearm by Convicted Felon charge consecutive to life in prison.

On July 13, 2019, Harkness, who was 25 years old at the time, shot a man multiple times while he was lying in bed inside a DeLand apartment unit. The victim died from his injuries at the scene. The defendant ran away from the scene, but a witness was able to identify him as the shooter. Harkness was arrested the next day in Daytona Beach.

“By the time the defendant turned 21, he had nine felony convictions and served two prison terms,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said about the defendant. “He was released from prison in June of 2018 and committed this murder in July of 2019. This is why we have our Young Guns initiative.”

The case was investigated by the DeLand Police Department with assistance from the Volusia Sheriff’s Office and Daytona Beach Police Department. Assistant State Attorney Heatha Trigones successfully tried the case for the state. The Honorable Randell Rowe III presided over the case and pronounced sentence.

 

For more information contact: 

Haley Harrison | Multimedia Specialist/PIO | Office of State Attorney R.J. Larizza, Florida's Seventh Judicial Circuit | SAOPIO@SAO7.org