The Commission on Capital Cases updates this informationregularly. This information, however, is subject to change and may not reflectthe latest status of an inmate’s case and should not be relied upon forstatistical or legal purposes.

POWER, Robert Beeler (W/M)

DC# 072550

DOB:  07/23/60

Ninth Judicial Circuit, Orange County Case# CR89-1798

Twentieth Judicial Circuit, Lee County Case# 90-1075-CF(after change of venue)

Sentencing Judge:  The Honorable Gary L. Formet

Attorneys, Trial:  F. Wesley Blanker & Jorge Jaeger– Private

Attorney, Direct Appeal:  Christopher S. Quarles –Assistant Public Defender

Attorney, Collateral Appeals:  Neil Dupree & RachelDay – CCRC-S

Date of Offense: 10/06/87

Date of Sentence: 11/08/90

Circumstances of the Offense:

Frank Miller drove to the Bare family’s house on 10/06/87.Mr. Miller routinely picked up Angeli Bare, who was 12-years-old, and took herto school with his daughter. He arrived at the house and honked the horn twice.A man standing in the doorway of the house with his back to the street motionedfor Mr. Miller to wait. Mr. Miller assumed the man was Mr. Bare. The door tothe house closed. At approximately 8:55 a.m., Angeli approached the car. Shestood approximately three feet from the car on the passenger side, which wasthe side of the car closest to the house. Angeli appeared nervous and statedthat there was a man in the house who wanted to rob her. Mr. Miller tried topersuade Angeli to get into the car, but Angeli stated that the man said thathe would kill all three of them. Mr. Miller told Angeli that he would get help.

Mr. Miller drove four blocks to his house, where he calledboth 911 and the Bares at work. Mr. Miller then drove back to the Bare’s house,only this time he parked his car four to five houses away. Deputy Richard Weltywas dispatched to the Bare home. Mr. Miller flagged him down and related whathe had seen. Mr. Miller described a white man with reddish hair. The Bares hadarrived at the scene and Mrs. Bare told Deputy Welty that Angeli’s biologicalfather had red hair, but he lived in California.

Deputy Welty searched the Bare’s home and found no one. Hebegan to search the field behind the house. He had his service revolver in onehand and his radio in the other. When his footing became unstable, Deputy Weltyholstered his service revolver. He then noticed a white male with sandy blondhair casually walking through the field. The man was heading toward aconstruction site that was near the field and was holding a sandwich in hisright hand. Deputy Welty requested a better description of the man Mr. Millerhad seen via his radio. He looked down to attain better footing and, when helooked up, the man who had been walking through the field was pointing a gun athim. Deputy Welty later identified the man as Robert Power.

Power requested that Deputy Welty hand over his servicerevolver. He then asked Deputy Welty to put his hands in the air, and Powerproceeded to get the gun himself. Power then asked Deputy Welty, “How manyothers are there?” Deputy Welty responded that there were six other deputies onthe scene. Power then took Deputy Welty’s radio and told him to run toward theconstruction site. Power told Deputy Welty “if you turn around I will killyou.” Deputy Welty ran about 30 feet, stopped and looked back. He saw Powerrunning toward the freeway. Deputy Welty informed the deputies at the housethat Power had his radio and service revolver. Power was not apprehended.

Angeli’s body was found in the field in the general vicinitythat Power had fled. She was lying on her side and was hogtied by the wristsand the ankles. She was nude from the waist down. The autopsy revealed ablackened left eye and a superficial contusion on the neck. There were injuriesto the vaginal and anal area due to the insertion of an oversized foreignobject. There was no semen found on the victim’s underwear, and no sperm werefound on the body. The approximate time of death was within 30 minutes of 9:15a.m. Angeli’s death was due to shock because of the severance of the rightcarotid artery.

The bloodstains on the victim’s underwear matched thevictim’s blood type. There were no signs of a struggle at the Bare home.Angeli’s bank had been pried open with a screwdriver that was found in the sink.Deputy Welty’s gun was recovered. The prints on Deputy Welty’s revolver did notmatch Power’s fingerprints. There were no prints found on the victim’s body.Hairs found on the bed sheets from the victim’s bed and on the victim’s pubicarea were the same as Power’s pubic hairs. There were also a number of hairsfound on the bed sheets from an unknown origin that remained unidentified atthe trial.

Deputy Welty was able to identify Power from a photograph. On 10/16/87, a search warrant was issued and the home in which Powerresided was searched. Power was found hiding in the attic and was arrested. Theofficer found a maroon duffle bag in the attic which contained a pistol,ammunition, a folding knife and documents with Power’s name on them. A box inone of the bedrooms was found to contain various parts of mechanical items. Oneof the parts had a serial number that matched the serial number on DeputyWelty’s radio. A couple of hooded sweatshirts were seized from the residence.Hairs found on the sweatshirts matched the victim’s head hair.

Additional Information:

In June of 1979, Power was arrested in South Carolina afterstealing a U-Haul truck.  He was given five years suspended sentence andtwo years probation.  In September of 1979, Power was arrested for ArmedRobbery in Port St. Lucy, Florida.  He pled no contest and served twoyears in prison.  Power was on parole in Florida when he was arrested forforging checks in July of 1982 in California.  He was given a three-yearprison sentence, during which time he escaped from a hospital where he wasbeing treated for depression. In September of 1972, Power was arrested forstealing a car.  Power was sentenced to prison and was released in 1985for a work release program.  Power then left California while still onparole and moved to Florida.

Prior Incarceration History in the State of Florida:

CC# 87-1096

While living in Florida, in early September of 1987, Power sexuallyassaulted two sisters, one was 12-years-old and the other was 16-years-old, intheir Kissimmee home.  Power remained at large for approximately one monthand committed two additional sexual assaults, one in Longwood Florida and thecapital offense.  He was sentenced to three life sentences and one 30-yearsentence for the crime in Kissimmee, Florida on 06/23/89 for these offenses.

CC# 87-2396

Prior to the instant offense in late September of 1987, Powerbroke into an apartment in Longwood, Florida and sexually assaulted a femalearmed with a knife.  Power stole the victim’s car and drove back toKissimmee, Florida.  Subsequent to the capital offense, Power was arrestedin Kissimmee on 10/15/87 for CC# 87-1096.  On 05/24/89, Power wassentenced to one life sentence, two 125-year sentences, one 30-year sentence,and two five-year sentences for the sexual assault in Longwood, Florida.

Trial Summary:

02/14/89          Indicted as follows:

                                    Count I:           First-DegreeMurder

                                    Count II:         SexualBattery

                                    Count III:        Kidnappinga Child under the Age of 13

                                    Count IV:        ArmedBurglary of a Dwelling

                                    Count V:         ArmedRobbery

03/22/89          Defendant entered a written plea of notguilty.

09/13/89          A motion for change of venue was filed.

05/21/90          Changeof venue was granted and the trial was moved from Orange County to Lee County.

06/02/90          Jury returned guilty verdicts on allcounts of the indictment.

11/07/90          Jury recommended death by a vote of 12-0.

11/08/90          Sentenced as follows:

                                    Count I:           First-DegreeMurder – Death

                                    Count II:         SexualBattery – Life

                                    Count III:        Kidnappinga Child under the Age of 13 – Life

                                    Count IV:        ArmedBurglary of a Dwelling – Life

                                   CountV:         Armed Robbery – Life

Appeal Summary:

Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal

FSC# 77,157

605 So. 2d 856

12/31/90          Appeal filed

08/27/92          FSC affirmed the conviction and sentence

10/27/92          Rehearing denied

11/30/92          Mandate issued

United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Certiorari

USSC# 92-7678

507 U.S. 1037

01/25/93          Petition filed

04/19/93          Petition denied

State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion

CC# CR89-1798

07/06/94          Motion filed

01/29/02          Motion denied

Florida Supreme Court – 3.850 Appeal

FSC# 02-874

886 So.2d 952

04/16/02          Appeal filed

05/06/04          Affirmed denial of 3.850 Motion

07/08/04          Rehearing denied

Florida Supreme Court – Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus

FSC# 03-28

886 So.2d 952

01/08/03          Petition filed

05/06/04          Petition denied

07/08/04          Rehearing denied

United States District Court, Middle District –Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus

USDC# 06-423

(Pending)

07/06/05          Petition filed

11/29/05          Amended petition filed

08/31/06          Second amended petition filed

04/27/09          Supplement to amended petition filed

State Circuit Court – 3.850 Motion

CC# CR89-1798

12/01/06          Motion filed

05/07/07          Motion denied

Florida State Supreme Court – 3.850 Appeal

FSC# 07-1139

992 So.2d 218

06/20/07          Appeal filed

09/25/08          Disposition affirmed

10/16/08          Mandate entered

Factors Contributing to the Delay in theImposition of the Sentence:

The main delay was that the 3.850 Motion was pending in theCircuit Court for eight years.

Case Information:

Power filed a Direct Appeal to the Florida Supreme Court on12/31/90.  Power raised several issues in regard to his conviction. Powerargued that the evidence was not sufficient to sustain a conviction; the trialcourt erred in allowing Deputy Welty to testify as to hearsay statements madeby Mr. Miller, Power also claimed he was denied a fair trial because a deputyprepared to “draw down on him” in front of the jury.  In an attempt toraise doubt that Deputy Welty correctly identified Power.  The defenseattorney had Power stand up and open his shirt; at this time, a bailiff walkeddirectly across the courtroom to stand in front of Power and placed his hand onthe butt of his gun.  The Court did not find these issues as error. In regard to the penalty phase, the issues raised by Power surrounded theaggravating factors.  The Court found no abuse of discretion by the trialcourt.  The Florida Supreme Court affirmed Power’s sentence and convictionon 08/27/92.  The rehearing was denied on 10/27/92 and the mandate wasissued on 11/30/92.

Power filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the UnitedStates Supreme Court on 01/25/93.  The petition was denied on 04/19/93.

Power filed a 3.850 Motion to the Circuit Court on 07/06/94. Due to public record requests in addition to an interlocutory appealfiled by Power to the Florida Supreme Court, which resulted in a three-monthstay in 1998, the motion’s disposition was not rendered until 01/29/02 when itwas denied.

Power filed an appeal of the trial court’s denial of the3.850 Motion to the Florida Supreme Court on 04/16/02. The Court affirmed thelower court’s decision.  The rehearing was denied on 07/08/04.

Power filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus to theFlorida Supreme Court on 01/08/03, which was denied on 05/06/04.  Therehearing was denied on 07/08/04.

Power filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus to theUnited States District Court, Middle District on 07/06/05.  The petitionwas amended on 11/29/05.  On 08/31/06, Power filed a second amendedpetition, which was amended on 04/27/09.  This case is currently pending.

On 12/01/06, Power filed a 3.850 Motion to the CircuitCourt, which was denied on 05/07/07.

On 06/20/07, Power filed a 3.850 Appeal to the FloridaSupreme Court.  On 09/25/08, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the CircuitCourt’s disposition and denied Power’s 3.850 Appeal.  The mandate was entered10/16/08.

On 12/03/10, Power died in prison and was removed from theDeath Row Roster.

Institutional Adjustment:

Report Date:   05/13/02          NMP

Approved:       05/20/02          WS

Updated:         12/03/10          CAR