THE DARK SIDE OF FLORIDA
Carlton Adderly
#091938
photo courtesy FDC
Full Name: Carlton Ellis Adderly
Date of birth: August 15, 1962
Conviction: 1st-degree murder
County: Broward
City: Hialeah
Current Location: Released
Partner(s): Freddie Jones
Date of Crime: October 7, 1981
Release date: July 24, 2015
Victim(s): Tom DeVilligas
Date of birth: August 15, 1962
Conviction: 1st-degree murder
County: Broward
City: Hialeah
Current Location: Released
Partner(s): Freddie Jones
Date of Crime: October 7, 1981
Release date: July 24, 2015
Victim(s): Tom DeVilligas
Tomas DeVillegas was killed on October 7, 1981 in Hialeah, FL, at approximately 9:45 a.m. The bullet removed from Tomas’ head was a .38-caliberbullet. Freddie Jones’ father bought a .38-caliber “gun” and he could not find that gun on October 16, 1981.
On October 7, Tomas drove a Blue Ribbon Meat truck out of the Blue Ribbon Meat Company lot in Hialeah at 9:00 a.m. Francisco and Ligia Diaz were stopped at the intersection at West 4th Avenue and 29th Street. The car in front of the Diaz’s was the car owned by Freddie’s father, Cecil Jones. Cecil testified that on that day, his car was at home. The truck in front of the car had a Blue Ribbon logo on it.
The Diaz’s saw two black men get out of the car and enter the truck. The Blue Ribbon truck had been washed earlier that morning, and Freddie’s fingerprint was found, sometime after 3:00 p.m., on the outside door of the driver’s side of the truck.
Robert Horton testified that he drove Freddie and Carlton Adderly to a red light where they exited his car and got into the truck that was stopped at the light in front of them. Robert followed the truck until it stopped near a row of trees. Robert heard shots and then saw Freddie get back in the truck with a gun in his hand.
During the penalty phase, Carlton testified that he and Freddie got into the truck. He first testified that neither him nor Freddie had a gun, then he later said that Freddie did have a gun. He said that Freddie hit the man in the meat truck and after hitting him, he saw Freddie pointing a gun around “and stuff, making him quiet.”
Carlton testified that Tomas was crying, “he was crying but I don’t think he know any English or nothing. He was like saying, ‘Please, please,’ that is what he was saying.” He said Freddie made the man get down on the floor and he got down. After the truck was stopped, Freddie opened the door at the passenger’s side and pulled Tomas out of the truck. He opened the trunk of the car and tried to tell Tomas to get into the trunk. Tomas started crying and going crazy. Freddie started going crazy too, saying, “I will kill you.” The gun was then fired, but Carlton couldn’t recall how far Freddie was when he fired the gun.
Blue Ribbon Meat Company was located at 2340 Webster Avenue. Miguel Mendez, the supervisor at Blue Ribbon, testified that approximately 9:00 a.m., Tomas drove a truck out of the company’s parking lot. The truck turned left to 23rd Street and then right onto West 4th Avenue, about six blocks from Blue Ribbon. According to Miguel, it would take less than five minutes for a truck to drive from the plant to the intersection.
Patrolman Victor Anchipolovsky found the body of the deceased about 65 yards east of the intersection of East 1st Avenue and 33rd Street. He was dispatched to the scene at 10:07 a.m. and arrived about 10:30 a.m. A fire rescue unit had already arrived. Officer Gary Williams estimated the time of death at 9:45 a.m. Dulce De Armus, a neighbor, heard two shots at approximately 10:00 a.m.
The hijacked meat truck was found by police at 47th Avenue and 183rd Street in Carol City. The truck was taken there by Robert, Carlton and Melvin Williams – all buddies that live in Carol City. Melvin drove the truck to Carol City and Carlton was with him in the truck. Robert followed in Melvin’s car.
According to Robert, when the hijacked truck was moved from East 1st and 33rd, it was taken to a warehouse in Opa-Locka. Carlton and Freddie were in the truck and Robert followed in the car. Robert said that Freddie talked to someone in the warehouse and then took it to a street on the side of a dump. At this point, Freddie abandoned the truck and drove Carlton and Robert to Carlton’s house.
Further inference from Robert’s testimony was that Freddie surrendered the keys to the meat truck to Carlton and Robert at that point. After reaching Carlton’s house, Robert called Melvin and Melvin went to Carlton’s. Robert, Carlton and Melvin ten drove in Melvin’ car to the abandoned truck. Melvin and Carlton got in the truck and drove it from the dump site to the apartments at NW 47th Avenue and 183rd in Carol City, followed by Robert in Melvin’s car.
Officer Steve Williams arrived at the meat truck’s location in Carol City at 1:53 p.m. Fifty-three latent fingerprints were lifted from the truck. One of those prints belonged to Freddie. Considering that Miguel washed the truck off before it went on the road, this means that 52 other fingers were placed on the outside of the truck between 9:00 a.m. and 1:53 p.m.
If Robert’s testimony is to be believed, Freddie, after speaking to one man in a warehouse in Opa-Locka, completely abandoned the entire enterprise and handed over the keys to the truck to Robert and Carlton, even though he had masterminded the hijacking and killed a man in order to obtain the contents of the truck.
Robert Horton’s testimony was inconsistent with the Diaz’s story, and inconsistent with logic and common sense, but without Robert’s testimony, the evidence was not sufficient enough to prove that Freddie committed the crime.
The one independent and disinterested witness who tied Freddie to the initial hijacking and established his position as the mastermind of the scheme was the warehouse man from Opa-Locka. If Freddie did in fact drive the truck to a warehouse in Opa-Locka and actually talked to the warehouseman there, then why didn’t the state present the warehouseman’s testimony? Was it because Freddie did not drive the truck to Opa-Locka and that no such warehouseman exists? Or could it be that this story only exists in Robert’s mind in order to deflect guilt from himself and point the blame at his co-defendants?
Among the photographs which the State submitted into evidence were the following: A photo of the victim’s body partially covered and its relationship to the street. A photo that depicts the victim from a closer angle, showing the crushed head (the sheet partially removed), and his arm outstretched with a watch on it. A photo of a closer view of the victim, showing the crushed head and arm outstretched (watch not visible). A photo of the victim’s upper torso, shirt removed to reveal tire tracks on the back, and crushing injuries to the head. And one more gruesome photo showed the victim’s body turned over on its back, graphically depicting the crushing injuries to the face and skull.
The results of the autopsy revealed that Tomas died of a gunshot wound to the head and was subsequently run over by his own truck, crushing his skull. There was no evidence that the victim was alive at the time the truck ran over his head, nor was there any evidence that Freddie intended in any manner to run over the body. It was revealed that the victim was hit by a rear tire of the truck during a turn.
In the end, Freddie was convicted of 1st-degree murder and is spending life in prison. Carlton was convicted of Manslaughter and was released in 2015. In exchange for his testimony, Robert did not receive a murder conviction.
On October 7, Tomas drove a Blue Ribbon Meat truck out of the Blue Ribbon Meat Company lot in Hialeah at 9:00 a.m. Francisco and Ligia Diaz were stopped at the intersection at West 4th Avenue and 29th Street. The car in front of the Diaz’s was the car owned by Freddie’s father, Cecil Jones. Cecil testified that on that day, his car was at home. The truck in front of the car had a Blue Ribbon logo on it.
The Diaz’s saw two black men get out of the car and enter the truck. The Blue Ribbon truck had been washed earlier that morning, and Freddie’s fingerprint was found, sometime after 3:00 p.m., on the outside door of the driver’s side of the truck.
Robert Horton testified that he drove Freddie and Carlton Adderly to a red light where they exited his car and got into the truck that was stopped at the light in front of them. Robert followed the truck until it stopped near a row of trees. Robert heard shots and then saw Freddie get back in the truck with a gun in his hand.
During the penalty phase, Carlton testified that he and Freddie got into the truck. He first testified that neither him nor Freddie had a gun, then he later said that Freddie did have a gun. He said that Freddie hit the man in the meat truck and after hitting him, he saw Freddie pointing a gun around “and stuff, making him quiet.”
Carlton testified that Tomas was crying, “he was crying but I don’t think he know any English or nothing. He was like saying, ‘Please, please,’ that is what he was saying.” He said Freddie made the man get down on the floor and he got down. After the truck was stopped, Freddie opened the door at the passenger’s side and pulled Tomas out of the truck. He opened the trunk of the car and tried to tell Tomas to get into the trunk. Tomas started crying and going crazy. Freddie started going crazy too, saying, “I will kill you.” The gun was then fired, but Carlton couldn’t recall how far Freddie was when he fired the gun.
Blue Ribbon Meat Company was located at 2340 Webster Avenue. Miguel Mendez, the supervisor at Blue Ribbon, testified that approximately 9:00 a.m., Tomas drove a truck out of the company’s parking lot. The truck turned left to 23rd Street and then right onto West 4th Avenue, about six blocks from Blue Ribbon. According to Miguel, it would take less than five minutes for a truck to drive from the plant to the intersection.
Patrolman Victor Anchipolovsky found the body of the deceased about 65 yards east of the intersection of East 1st Avenue and 33rd Street. He was dispatched to the scene at 10:07 a.m. and arrived about 10:30 a.m. A fire rescue unit had already arrived. Officer Gary Williams estimated the time of death at 9:45 a.m. Dulce De Armus, a neighbor, heard two shots at approximately 10:00 a.m.
The hijacked meat truck was found by police at 47th Avenue and 183rd Street in Carol City. The truck was taken there by Robert, Carlton and Melvin Williams – all buddies that live in Carol City. Melvin drove the truck to Carol City and Carlton was with him in the truck. Robert followed in Melvin’s car.
According to Robert, when the hijacked truck was moved from East 1st and 33rd, it was taken to a warehouse in Opa-Locka. Carlton and Freddie were in the truck and Robert followed in the car. Robert said that Freddie talked to someone in the warehouse and then took it to a street on the side of a dump. At this point, Freddie abandoned the truck and drove Carlton and Robert to Carlton’s house.
Further inference from Robert’s testimony was that Freddie surrendered the keys to the meat truck to Carlton and Robert at that point. After reaching Carlton’s house, Robert called Melvin and Melvin went to Carlton’s. Robert, Carlton and Melvin ten drove in Melvin’ car to the abandoned truck. Melvin and Carlton got in the truck and drove it from the dump site to the apartments at NW 47th Avenue and 183rd in Carol City, followed by Robert in Melvin’s car.
Officer Steve Williams arrived at the meat truck’s location in Carol City at 1:53 p.m. Fifty-three latent fingerprints were lifted from the truck. One of those prints belonged to Freddie. Considering that Miguel washed the truck off before it went on the road, this means that 52 other fingers were placed on the outside of the truck between 9:00 a.m. and 1:53 p.m.
If Robert’s testimony is to be believed, Freddie, after speaking to one man in a warehouse in Opa-Locka, completely abandoned the entire enterprise and handed over the keys to the truck to Robert and Carlton, even though he had masterminded the hijacking and killed a man in order to obtain the contents of the truck.
Robert Horton’s testimony was inconsistent with the Diaz’s story, and inconsistent with logic and common sense, but without Robert’s testimony, the evidence was not sufficient enough to prove that Freddie committed the crime.
The one independent and disinterested witness who tied Freddie to the initial hijacking and established his position as the mastermind of the scheme was the warehouse man from Opa-Locka. If Freddie did in fact drive the truck to a warehouse in Opa-Locka and actually talked to the warehouseman there, then why didn’t the state present the warehouseman’s testimony? Was it because Freddie did not drive the truck to Opa-Locka and that no such warehouseman exists? Or could it be that this story only exists in Robert’s mind in order to deflect guilt from himself and point the blame at his co-defendants?
Among the photographs which the State submitted into evidence were the following: A photo of the victim’s body partially covered and its relationship to the street. A photo that depicts the victim from a closer angle, showing the crushed head (the sheet partially removed), and his arm outstretched with a watch on it. A photo of a closer view of the victim, showing the crushed head and arm outstretched (watch not visible). A photo of the victim’s upper torso, shirt removed to reveal tire tracks on the back, and crushing injuries to the head. And one more gruesome photo showed the victim’s body turned over on its back, graphically depicting the crushing injuries to the face and skull.
The results of the autopsy revealed that Tomas died of a gunshot wound to the head and was subsequently run over by his own truck, crushing his skull. There was no evidence that the victim was alive at the time the truck ran over his head, nor was there any evidence that Freddie intended in any manner to run over the body. It was revealed that the victim was hit by a rear tire of the truck during a turn.
In the end, Freddie was convicted of 1st-degree murder and is spending life in prison. Carlton was convicted of Manslaughter and was released in 2015. In exchange for his testimony, Robert did not receive a murder conviction.
Source: Law FSU
