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Jacksonville man charged in rare 'drug induced homicide' case receives drug probation

Oscar Novo faced life in prison for selling fentanyl to a man who later overdosed. The original judge was removed for refusing to accept plea deals in opioid cases.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A man who was facing life in prison will instead receive supervised drug probation after his case was transferred to a different judge, according to court documents.

In Feb. 18, Oscar Novo was charged in a rare “drug induced murder” case after he sold fentanyl to 27-year-old Parker Clarkson. Clarkson later died of fentanyl toxicity.

RELATED: Jacksonville man charged with murder after 27-year-old dies from fentanyl overdose

The original judge in the case, Circuit Judge Howard Maltz, was removed from the case after he issued a memorandum in 2017 stating he would no longer accept plea deals in opioid cases. Maltz called the opioid crisis a “public health emergency” and the “scourge of our time.” 

Novo’s attorney asked the judge to relinquish the case, saying he could not be neutral. Maltz refused to step down from the case, but was forced to after the First District Court of Appeals ruled he must recuse himself from both Novo’s case and a separate opioid case.

RELATED: Defendant in opioid murder case wants judge disqualified for 'bias and prejudice'

Novo’s case was reassigned to Circuit Judge R. Lee Smith who accepted a negotiated plea. Based on the original first-degree murder charge, Novo would have faced a mandatory sentence of life in prison if convicted by a jury. 

RELATED: Man charged with drug-induced murder in St. Johns County will face new judge Thursday morning

According to court documents, Judge Smith accepted a deal in which Novo pleaded guilty to manslaughter, and received 7.5 years supervised drug probation. He was also given credit for the 484 days he spent in the St. Johns County Jail awaiting trial.

Novo’s is not the only case in which Judge Maltz faced pushback for his public stance on opioid cases. In October, the 5th District Court of Appeal struck down the sentence he imposed a drug case, saying he was neither neutral nor objective. 

The court found Maltz committed a “fundamental error” when he sentenced Maurice Martinez Smith, 51, of Hastings, to six years. That case has also been assigned to Judge Smith for resentencing.

 

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