A former inmate was sentenced to 15 years in prison for violating his probation by trying to break back into the Brevard County jail.
Sylvester Jiles, 25, of Cocoa, originally was sentenced to eight years of probation under a plea deal on a manslaughter charge in the 2007 shooting death of 19-year-old Dustin Prouse. On Aug. 31 of last year, three days after his release, hereturned to the jail and begged deputies to take him back in custody, saying he feared retaliation from the victim's family. Jail officials said they couldn't take him in and told him to file a police report.
Authorities said Jiles then tried to climb a 12-foot fence at the detention center. He was caught and hospitalized with severe cuts from the barbed wire. He was convicted in January of trespassing on jail property and resisting an officer.
On Monday, Circuit Judge George Maxwell sentenced him to the maximum 15 years in prison for violating probation. Jiles broke into a profanity-laced tirade and was briefly led out of the courtroom.
Jiles apologized when he was returned to the courtroom.
"I just wanted to say I'm not saying I'm the shooter. I only pled guilty to it," he said, according to floridatoday.com. "I'm not going against your sentence, sir. You say 15 years. It is what it is."
