John Edward Pickett Jr., was adjudicated guilty and sentenced as a Habitual Felony Offender to 25 years in prison for Aggravated Battery with a Deadly Weapon. He was
found guilty in June following a trial in Collier County.
The crime happened on November 10, 2021, in Immokalee. The Collier County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call about a battery that had just occurred. A male victim was found at the scene, standing in the middle of S. 3rd Street, suffering from an open head wound. The victim had been walking when a man came up and hit him in the head with a cane. He was able to give a description of the attacker.
Multiple law enforcement units responded to the area and the defendant, who matched the description of the suspect, was located nearby. He was hiding a wooden cane that appeared to have blood on it and he also had blood on one hand. The defendant was then positively identified by the victim and arrested.
The defendant was also sentenced to 5 years in prison, to run consecutive to the first case, for a 2023 charge for Attempted Battery by a Detainee on a Detainee, for a fight with another inmate at the Naples Jail.
Assistant State Attorney Deborah Cunningham, Collier County Felony Chief, and Assistant State Attorney Lawrence Raab prosecuted the aggravated battery case. Assistant State Attorney Laura Mason prosecuted the second case.
Samantha Syoen – Communications Director, State Attorney’s Office