Jury: Man guilty of sexually assaulting woman at gunpoint – Larry Basford

A Bay County jury found a man guilty Tuesday on numerous counts related to sexually assaulting a woman while holding a gun to her head and robbing her and her boyfriend, District Attorney Larry Basford announced.

Markeal Donvelt Byrd, 40, a homeless man, was found guilty of sexual abuse with the use of a deadly weapon, car theft with a firearm, robbery with a firearm and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Prosecutor Zachary VanDyke and Co-Prosecutor Barbara Beasley called six witnesses, including the two victims: the woman who was sexually assaulted and her boyfriend, who was threatened and robbed at gunpoint on March 30, 2022.

“This is true justice for the victim,” VanDyke said. “The prompt response and actions of Bay County Sheriff’s Office officers and investigators, such as Inv. Jake McGowin and Inv. Madison Stocks, made this successful prosecution possible.”

The jury deliberated for less than 30 minutes. District Court Judge Shonna Young Gay scheduled the verdict for August 7.

VanDyke is calling for a harsher sentence, classifying the defendant as a notorious felon, a notorious violent offender, and a repeat offender. The defendant faces a life sentence in prison.

The testimony and evidence showed that the boyfriend was sitting in a car outside his girlfriend’s workplace when he met the defendant and the two were smoking marijuana. When the woman returned from work, the defendant said he could get her more marijuana if they gave him a ride from the beach to town.

After a failed attempt to find marijuana at a home in Callaway, the male victim testified that the defendant put him in a bear hold, pointed a gun at him and forced him back into the car. The defendant held both victims at gunpoint and forced them to drive to an ATM in the St. Andrews area.

Witness statements indicated that the defendant ordered the male victim to go to a nearby ATM to withdraw money while he remained in the car and sexually assaulted the woman at gunpoint.

The defendant then forced her to drive to the Thomas Drive area. He forced her to get out of the car and stole it.

The victims managed to find someone with a cell phone and call Bay County Sheriff’s deputies, who caught the defendant filling up the stolen vehicle at a convenience store.

Basford thanked the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, the victims for their testimony and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which provided DNA evidence that confirmed the victims’ statements.

For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at [email protected] or call 850-381-7454.