Jayjuane Leonard Hardy, 44, a transient from Ohio, was found guilty of one count of Aggravated Battery on a Person 65 or Older following a jury trial in Lee County today. The jury took only five minutes to deliberate before coming back with the guilty verdict.
Hardy was staying at a homeless shelter in Fort Myers when he started shouting demands at the victim, a 72 year old woman who was also at the shelter. She was praying in her native language of Creole and Hardy demanded she stop. The woman continued praying and the defendant began beating her with his fists.
She had fractures to her head and some of her teeth were knocked out. Her eyes were also swollen shut from the beating. She had to be hospitalized for more than two weeks due to the injuries.
Assistant State Attorney Heather Searcy of our Special Victims Unit was able to prosecute the case without the victim who had returned to her native Haiti. Medical records were introduced at
trial to detail the injuries.
Hardy faces up to 30 years in prison when he is sentenced on January 23, 2018.
Samantha Syoen
Communications Director
State Attorney’s Office
239-533-1125
ssyoen@sao20.org