Franklin Tyrone Tucker reached a plea deal and was released from the Florida Keys jail on Tuesday, November 26, seemingly bringing an end to a seven-year tale of criminal activity and courtroom intrigue.
According to court minutes, Tucker entered a guilty plea to the charge of robbery with a deadly weapon. The other charges, which included robbery while masked, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and tampering with evidence, were marked as not prosecuted.
Stay tuned to keysweekly.com for a more comprehensive view of the case’s conclusion, including the official plea deal, since some court documents from a hearing on November 26 were still listed as pending on the clerk of court’s website as of Wednesday afternoon, November 27.
Tucker was charged with participating in a robbery in November 2017 that resulted in Matthew Bonnett being fatally stabbed. Paula Belmonte, a female victim, was also hurt. Because of the outdoor setting on Stock Island where the murder took place, the case came to be known as the “treehouse murder.”
In the case that resulted in Bonnett’s death and Paula Belmonte’s injuries, Tucker was first charged with robbery, homicide, severe assault, and battery. However, during his trial in December 2022, Rory Detroit Wilson, another defendant in the crime, was found guilty of both homicide and robbery. Wilson is contesting his life sentence without the possibility of parole. Although other witnesses claimed Tucker was present and had started the heist at the treehouse, Wilson was linked to the murder by more evidence and witness accounts.
When Tucker was tried in January 2024 in Key West, he represented himself; nevertheless, the court had to declare a mistrial due to a deadlocked jury.Court TV provided gavel-to-gavel footage of the trial.
Tucker was freed from jail on bond in January to await the second trial after Monroe County prosecutors announced plans to try him again after the mistrial. However, according to this week’s court filings, Tucker was released after serving his sentence in accordance with the terms of the plea deal, a jail official said.
He was sentenced to 910 days in state prison for entering a guilty plea to the charge of robbery with a deadly weapon, according to court minutes. However, he was released after receiving credit for the 910 days of time served.
The defendant accused the judges, prosecutors, and investigators of corruption and conspiring against him, making Tucker’s legal tale a television drama. According to Court TV, he also charged that the entire robbery was planned by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
Tucker married a wealthy woman during his criminal processes, and she posted his bail of $2 million following his first arrest and then $3.1 million to allow him to be released from custody following his January mistrial while he awaited a possible second trial.
Tucker also became somewhat of a social media star, often sharing charges and case updates on his own Facebook and YouTube channels, which attracted thousands of online fans and a lot of attention.
Tucker’s personal life and court case were frequently covered by the New York Post’s famed gossip column, Page Six. In 2019, Tucker was released from the Stock Island county jail on a $2 million bond that he could afford after meeting a wealthy woman named Lauren Jenai while incarcerated pending trial.
Later, Tucker wed Jenai, a former high school buddy from their time together in Philadelphia, and the ex-wife of CrossFit founder Greg Glassman.
After a year of marriage, Tucker and Jenai were living apart, according to a July 2021 Page Six story. In February 2024, Tucker’s Facebook profile stated that his relationship status was “complicated.”
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