A woman convicted of shooting and injuring two people will spend the next 25 years in prison, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.
Alana Annette Savell, 37, who lived in the Hiland Park area where the shooting took place in 2016, was found guilty of two counts of Aggravated Battery Feb. 23 following a two-day trial.
Tuesday, Circuit Court Judge Shonna Young Gay sentenced the defendant to 25 years in prison on both charges, to be served concurrently, under Florida’s 10-20-Life statute. Under that law, the defendant will not receive any gain time and must serve the full sentence.
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Prosecutors Barbara Beasley and Jacob Cook presented witnesses and evidence at the trial showing that both victims were invited guests at the home the night of the shooting and were either in or near the doorway, or attempting to leave, at the time they were shot from behind by the defendant.
The male victim testified a group got up as if to go outside to smoke, but instead he was told they wanted him and his girlfriend to leave. He testified he was in or near the doorway trying to let his girlfriend know it was time to go when he was shot from behind in the calf by the defendant, who was inside the home. His injuries required three surgeries and two weeks in the hospital.
The female victim testified she was still inside the home when she heard shots, and her then-boyfriend yelling to her that he had been shot and they needed to leave. She said she was shot from behind in the left leg and right hell as she tried to leave.
“I didn’t hear any arguing before the first gunshot,” she testified. “I don’t know what went wrong, why it went wrong. Everything was going fine and then, ‘Pop, pop, pop, pop,’ and (the male victim) yelling, ‘Let’s go, I’ve been shot.’”
Basford thanked the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and Florida Department of Law Enforcement for their work in investigating the case and gathering key evidence, as well as prosecutors Beasley and Cook for their presentation of it to jurors.
For additional information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.