Kocaker v. State

This case is before the Court on appeal from a judgment of conviction of first-degree murder and a sentence of death. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the conviction and sentence.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Guilt Phase

On November 17, 2004, Genghis Kocaker was indicted for the first-degree murder of Eric Stanton. On the night of August 31, 2004, Stanton, a cab driver, was hailed by Kocaker about one-third of a mile from an Eckerd Drug Store in Clearwater, Florida. Stanton’s cab went out of service twenty-eight minutes after…