Damas quiet when given chance to plead guilty to killing his family in N. Naples

Given the opportunity Friday morning to plead guilty to killing his wife and five children in September 2009, Mesac Damas refused to speak.

Instead, he sat with his head down and ignored his lawyers and court staff.

“He refuses to talk to us, judge,” a clearly frustrated James Ermacora, one of Damas’ two court-appointed attorneys, told Collier Circuit Judge Fred Hardt after a break in Friday’s pretrial conference to discuss a plea change.

“When staff tried to get him to talk to us, to even listen to what we had to say, he just refused.”

“OK, we’ll have a trial,” Hardt replied.

More: Damas wants to plead guilty to killing family, but will Collier judge let him?

More: Judge questions Damas in family-killing case, orders another mental exam 

For years, Damas, 41, has said he wanted to plead guilty to killing his wife, Guerline Dieu-Damas, and five kids in their North Naples home and be put to death. But he balked Friday. Instead, his trial is slated to begin Sept. 5, nearly eight years after he was first accused of the crime.

Friday’s hearing started with Hardt announcing that two doctors who had examined Damas since his last court appearance in July both found him competent to proceed in court.

When asked, then, whether Damas was going to change his plea from not guilty to guilty, Kevin Shirley, Damas’ other attorney, asked for an opportunity to speak with his client. Shirley told the judge that when he and Ermacora last attempted to meet with Damas, “he respectively declined to spend time with us.”

Damas previously asked Hardt for permission to dismiss his lawyers and represent himself in court. However, Hardt denied the request last month, ruling Damas failed to demonstrate sufficient understanding of the legal process.

Even though Damas didn’t plead guilty Friday to six counts of first-degree premeditated murder, Shirley said, “there’s still time before the trial (to change his plea), if he’s going to do that.”

Most of Friday’s court events were procedural steps to prepare for trial. The biggest hurdle was a motion by Damas’ lawyers to delay the trial until the Florida Supreme Court has approved jury instructions for death penalty cases.

Earlier this year, state lawmakers changed the law to require a jury to unanimously agree on the death penalty. Last year the Florida Supreme Court declared the previous law was unconstitutional because it required only 10 of 12 jurors to agree on the death penalty.

The Supreme Court has not yet approved updated jury instructions since the law was changed.

“It’s the defense’s position that to continue with this trial at the present time without final jury instructions … would not be prudent,” Ermacora said.

Prosecutors objected to further delaying the case, saying it is unnecessary and calling the defense’s concerns “speculative.” The earliest the Florida Supreme Court could hear oral arguments over updated jury instructions would be October, said Assistant State Attorney Rich Montecalvo.

“What are we talking about here?” Montecalvo said. “We’re talking about waiting until possibly October at the earliest for the court to hear arguments, and then we wait months and months for a decision, which takes us into 2018, which is going on, I don’t even know now, nine years.”

“It’s time to take this case to trial,” he added.

Ultimately, Hardt agreed, ruling against further delaying the case, which has been marked by repeated setbacks over the years, including the death penalty challenges, a trip to a state mental hospital and a rotating door of public defenders.

“The court’s of the opinion that this case has gone on too long and needs to be resolved,” Hardt said.

Damas kept his head on the table and his eyes shut during most of the hour-and-a-half-long hearing. He raised his head only once to ask for a drink of water. He did not speak.

The two sides will meet again next Friday to come to an agreement on jury instructions and a jury questionnaire. The trial is expected to last four weeks after a jury is selected.

Hardt said Friday that Damas will be allowed to wear civilian clothes during the trial, and his legs will not be shackled.