Casseus / Drug Dealer sentenced to 9 years
9 years total; 9 years as to each of Counts 1 & 2; terms to run concurrently. Sentence is to run consecutively to the anticipated term of imprisonment imposed in Broward County Court Case No. 20-487-CF10A. Defendant is to receive credit for time served as of March 11, 2022.
For those that want to know a bit more about Casseus' background, his cousin wrote the court a letter, text here.
My name is Marie Anne Michel, I am Giovany Axel Casseus’ cousin, and I am writing to advocate on his behalf. Where will this lead? We do not know. Is there anything else that you would consider? We have no idea. But my family and I don’t want to just wait if by a miracle there’s still hope that he can be rescued. I know that the term being rescued when it comes to people going to prison may not always be used, or it may I’m not sure, but I wanted to talk to you a bit about Gio’s life before telling you why I believe you can be the one to rescue him. Gio grew up without a father, without his mom in his early adolescence, and in Haiti up until the age of nine. I say this because statistically when you look at black inmates and trace their history, a good amount of them show similar backgrounds and they have terrible male examples in their lives. He was not able to be rescued from becoming one of those statistics. No matter if he survived an earthquake, moved to America, learned a new language, got good grades, excelled in football, or had cousins who loved him. The evidence of these missing parts in his life is looking down on him every day as he sits in isolation or a jail cell praying that he would just be better. None of what we could have offered him was enough to fill that part of his heart. Once he started looking for acceptance, brotherhood, or whatever he thought was friendship, I believe it just led him down a road of bad decisions. He was separated from us, a group that was always together growing up, and so I believe that it influenced his longing for comradery. There were many times when he asked to switch schools, or leave and go live with his biological father, but he was unable to, and so he gave in to his environment, no matter how desperately he was trying to get away from it. No one in our family has ever suffered drug issues, gone to prison, or suffered from alcoholism, and yet, Giovany at the age of 22, was not able to be rescued from becoming a addicted to drugs. During the time I spent with Gio before his arrest, around Christmas and New Year's, he was homeless, living paycheck to paycheck and talking to our grandma about his suicidal thoughts. I have never been an addict, I have never been homeless on the streets, and I have never been suicidal. I could not begin to fathom what he must have been feeling. When I heard the news of his arrest my heart nearly stopped. And when I watched him on the news, I knew that he must have been scared, out of his element, and desperate to get out of his situation. I am begging you, Judge Bloom, I am desperately asking you to rescue Gio. I know that he will be different, and he will put in the effort required to turn his life around if he’s given the chance. He is loyal to a fault, not afraid to stand up for others, and always puts his family’s needs above his own. I know you get these all the time and they seem like they’re just words, but his life is on the line, and I know he can better. He’s suffering and he just needs someone who believes that and will help him break out of this cycle. You do not owe us anything. You don’t even need to read any of this, I completely understand. I am just thankful that I could share a part of Gio’s life and that it may mean something to you. I know this may be difficult, but I truly hope you see why he’s worth saving like we do
Does anyone know what punishment the cadets in this incident received?