A jury deliberated for less than an hour Friday before recommending Robert Bailey be put to death for the 2005 murder of Panama City Beach Police Sgt. Kevin Kight, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.
The 9-3 vote for the death penalty came after 5 days of testimony and evidence. Bailey was found guilty of First-Degree Murder in 2007. That jury recommended death by an 11-1 vote. The case was sent back for a new penalty phase following a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that affected death penalty cases across the state that did not have a unanimous vote. Florida law now requires at least an 8-4 vote.
Basford and Bay County Chief Prosecutor Mark Graham presented more than 2 dozen witnesses this week to convince jurors that Bailey deserved the death penalty for killing Kight during a 2005 traffic stop. Kight was shot twice in the chest by Bailey, who had violated his parole and told a passenger in his vehicle he was going to “pop a cop” rather than go back to prison.
Basford said he was pleased with the jury’s verdict and grateful they were willing to sacrifice two weeks of their time – 1 week for jury selection and 1 week for the trial.
“The family is obviously happy with this verdict,” Basford said as Kight’s widow, Christina, stood nearby. “They waited a long time, 7,152 days since this crime occurred. We believe the verdict reflects that our residents respect and appreciate that our law enforcement officers put their lives on the line each day to keep our communities safe.”
The 12-person jury was seated not to determine Bailey’s guilt – that was established at his 2007 trial. Instead, its job was to make a recommendation on whether Bailey should remain in prison without the possibility of parole or be put to death.
Since these were not the original jurors from the 2007 case, much of the evidence they heard had to be presented again – 17 years later. Some of that evidence included witnesses who have since passed away. Their testimony from the first trial was read to jurors.
“The age of the case worked against us at times, some of the witnesses are no longer alive for instance,” Graham said. “But Sgt. Kight was one of our own, the evidence from the original case and Panama City Beach Police Department investigation was strong, and everyone pulled together to make this possible.”
Testimony showed the defendant had fled Wisconsin 5 months after his release from prison when he violated his parole. He was headed to Panama City Beach with friends for a “last hurrah.”
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After he was stopped for a traffic violation by Kight, the defendant told a passenger he was not going back to prison. He retrieved his pistol from under his seat and put it under his leg, saying he was going to “pop a cop.” He also had time during the 10-minute traffic stop to call his girlfriend and tell her to get down here because he was going to need a ride.
When Kight approached the vehicle, pulling his handcuffs from his belt, the defendant fired 3 times with 2 bullets hitting Kight in the chest. Both shots were fatal, Medical Examiner Dr. Jay Radtke testified.
The defendant sped off, abandoned his vehicle a short distance away and found his friends in a bar where he participated in Karaoke with them before leaving. He was arrested the next morning.
Basford argued to jurors that the defendant knew exactly what he was doing that night. And it was not the result of mental issues caused by a bad childhood or chronic alcohol and marijuana abuse, Basford said. It was the result of Bailey’s decision that “his freedom was more important to him than Sgt. Kight’s life.”
Circuit Court Judge Shannon Gay set a hearing date for Nov. 12, and at that time a sentencing date will be set.
Basford thanked all the agencies and citizens involved in preparing a 19-year-old case.
“We have law abiding citizens in this community and they respect their law enforcement officers because they keep us all safe,” he said. “If you do not have respect for the life of a law enforcement officer, then who do you have respect for?
“The death penalty for someone killing a law enforcement officer is appropriate for this man.”
For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.