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Friends Of Wildlife Refuges
Thank Outgoing Board Member (Video)
LEISURE PAGE

Legendary refuge manager
honored with national recognition

NWRA Board Member Paul Tritaik presents the wooden plaque for the 2025 Paul Kroegel Award - Refuge Manager of the Year to Andrew Gude on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 21) in Fowler’s Bluff, next to the Suwannee River.

Story, Photos and Video By Jeff M. Hardison © Feb. 22, 2026 at 3:30 p.m.
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     FOWLER’S BLUFF – First scheduled for an October event, the recognition of Andrew Gude, who merited the 2025 Paul Kroegel Award - Refuge Manager of the Year, happened Saturday (Feb. 21) at the River Retreat of Fowler’s Bluff.

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     The National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA) presents awards in four categories. Last year, 2025, the NWRA marked its 50th anniversary – having been formed in 1975.
     In 1975, the national wildlife refuge system was 50 million acres. As of Feb. 21, it is 850 million acres, with 100 million acres of that being land and 750 million acres of the system being marine.
     The NWRA is seen by many as the most important organization for wildlife conservation in the world. The national wildlife refuges are the only public lands and waters dedicated to the preservation of wildlife exclusively.
     Since 1994, the NWRA has presented annual Wildlife Refuge Awards to honor a refuge manager and a volunteer. The following year, the NWRA added an employee of the year, and then a friends group of the year. These awards recognize leadership in conservation of wildlife.
     The Paul Kroegel Award, presented by the NWRA, recognizes outstanding service by the best of the 500 national wildlife refuge managers. Named after the first refuge manager, it honors individuals who demonstrate exceptional dedication to protecting wildlife, mirroring Kroegel’s 1903 efforts to protect Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, located near Sebastian (Indian River County), from plume (pelican feather) hunters.


Andrew Gude shares his thoughts as the recipient of the 2025 Paul Kroegel Award - Refuge Manager of the Year -- to Andrew Gude for his service at the Lower Suwannee and Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge. Click on the PHOTO to see and hear the video.
Video By Jeff M. Hardison - All Rights Reserved


NWRA President and Chief Executive Officer Desirée Sorenson-Groves is seen at the lectern, where she speaks about the NWRA, and about her colleague Andrew Gude.


United States Fish and Wildlife’s Refuge System Chief Cynthia Martinez is seen at the lectern where she shared her thoughts.


United States Fish and Wildlife’s Refuge System Chief Cynthia Martinez and Andrew Gude hug after she tells listeners about his passion to preserve habitat for wildlife, and his love for people.


United States Fish and Wildlife’s Refuge System Southeast Regional Chief Holly Gaboriault speaks about Andrew Gude, and how across-the-board, people say the legendary refuge manager ‘grows on you.’


NWRA Board Member Paul Tritaik shares insight and jokes with listeners.


The 2025 NWRA Paul Kroegel Award – Refuge Manager of the Year, for Andrew Gude of Lower Suwannee and Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge.

 
One of the many boaters enjoying the Suwannee River is seen Saturday (Feb. 21).

     The program Saturday brought NWRA President and Chief Executive Officer Desirée Sorenson-Groves; United States Fish and Wildlife’s Refuge System Chief Cynthia Martinez; United States Fish and Wildlife’s Refuge System Southeast Regional Chief Holly Gaboriault; and NWRA Board Member Paul Tritaik to speak about Gude.
     Joining in the national and regional representatives to tell the world about retired Refuge Manager Gude, were Friends of the Lower Suwannee & Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuges Immediate Past President Ron Kamzelski and acting Refuge Manager John Stark.
     They all spoke about the NWRA and about Gude’s earning this recognition.
     Sorenson-Groves said the decline of staff locally – from 15 to three – did not happen in one year. She said the erosion of funding and support from the federal government has been happening since 2010.
     Despite what the government leaders do, the people can stand up for what they think is important, she said.
     Wildlife conservation and the refuges in which they live are important.
     “Refuges are not red,” Sorenson-Groves said. “They are not blue. They are red, white and blue. And that’s what matters. That’s what matters these days.”
     Before going only into the recognition of Gude for being the top national refuge manager in the nation for 2025, Sorenson-Groves spoke about two other NWRA winners on the grounds.
     First, she noted that barbecue chef-of-the day Kenny McCain earned the 2014 NWRA Employee of the Year title. Dartha Campbell, also present, is the 2025 NWRA Employee of the Year. Campbell is at the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, which is the source of the headwaters of the Suwannee and St. Marys rivers.


Kenny McCain, the 2014 Refuge Employee of the Year of the National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA), delivers one of the main entrées for lunch. This lunch metaphorically heralds the dessert of the local Friends group’s annual meeting, and it served as the hors d’oeuvre for the NWRA event to honor Andrew Gude, who merited the 2025 Paul Kroegel Award - Refuge Manager of the Year – a national award.

     The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is primarily located in Charlton, Ware, and Clinch counties in Georgia, with a small portion extending into Baker County in Florida.
     NWRA President Sorenson-Groves said the nominees for these awards every year are amazing.
     She said that for the awards presented to friends and volunteers of the year, these honors harken back to what President John F. Kennedy (May 29, 1917-Nov. 22, 1963), said, “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country” in his inaugural speech in 1961.
     Sorenson-Groves said that for the refuge managers and employees who earn these honors, it reflects the thought “Good enough for government work.”
     She clarified any misconception about that phrase’s etymology.
     That phrase, Sorenson-Groves said, is that “government work is the gold standard.”
     The men and women who work for the wildlife refuge system embody the “best of the best” definition.
     She said Gude is “the best of the best – no doubt about it.”
     Sorenson-Groves met Gude when they were both in Washington, D.C. 
     President George W. Bush (2001–2009) established the largest marine habitat for wildlife, creating the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument in June 2006 (later renamed Papahānaumokuākea).
     Gude has always been passionate about marine wildlife, she said.
     “He helped create those marine national monuments under the Bush Administration,” Sorenson-Groves said.


Andrew Gude is seen in his boat Miss Madelaine (named after his daughter) as it is docked in Fowler’s Bluff for the ceremony. He takes this vessel 35 to 40 mile offshore into the Gulf of Mexico where he goes spearfishing.

     Every speaker who talked about Gude had a lot to say.
     United States Fish and Wildlife’s Refuge System Chief Cynthia Martinez is the first female to hold this position.
     Martinez said she is honored to be part of the recognition of Gude as the recipient of the Paul Kroegel Award - Refuge Manager of the Year.
     She said there is a responsibility that rests with every person.
     “We continue to care for wildlife, for people, and special places of this (wildlife refuge) system,” Chief Martinez said.
     On this day when Gude is being honored, Martinez took the opportunity to recognize the value of the refuge system and its employees.
     Gude, she said, represents what is best about this workforce – people.
     “Our employees are professionals,” Martinez said. “They’re carrying knowledge from wildlife biology to tractor repair, environmental education, fire… law enforcement… and accounting. And dozens more of professional areas.”
     These employees work quietly, she continued, but always passionately. Refuge managers are asked to be conservation leaders, community partners, fiscal stewards, emergency responders, communicators and team builders, Martinez said.
     They balance the immediate needs of habitat conservation with long-term conservation and planning, she said, adding “And they lead staff through times of uncertainty and change.”
     In 2025, she noted, “… there was plenty of uncertainty and change to lead (staff members) through.”
     Martinez continued by saying wildlife refuge managers must make difficult decisions, and they must carry the weight of those decisions with integrity.
     “Andrew exemplifies that calling.” Martinez said. “Those who know Andrew describe him not by his position but by his character. They talk about his work ethic, his accessibility, his willingness to listen.”
     She went on to note Gude’s “habit of showing up consistently, and genuinely.”
     The wildlife refuge system depends on the trust from communities; trust from partners; trust from Congress; trust from friends; and trust from the American public, Martinez said.
     Gude built that trust during the course of his career, she said, by demonstrating what it means to be a public servant. He listens first, and he understands that leadership is not about control, but instead is about connections.
     Gude knows and has shown that conservation is strongest when people feel that they are heard and are vested in it, Martinez said.
     This award reflects, too, that Gude demonstrates competence, compassion, and humility to the degree that he was the best national wildlife refuge manager in 2025, she said.
     “The national wildlife refuge system,” Martinez said, “only succeeds when every refuge is strong. And every refuge is only strong because of the people who serve there. Refuge managers rely on their team.”
     There are national promises – a promise that wildlife will have habitat; a promise that waters will remain healthy for marine life; and that future generations will inherit something intact, Martinez said.
     Those promises are kept by people who adapt to change and continue to show up day after day, she said. 
     “Andrew,” she said, “your career represents the very best of those values.”
     United States Fish and Wildlife’s Refuge System Southeast Regional Chief Holly Gaboriault said she is happy to celebrate Gude’s being presented with this highest honor.
     Gaboriault knows Gude and sees him as the only refuge manager who has tailored uniforms.
     His polish on the outside, Gaboriault said, matches his substance on the inside.
     Gaboriault told Gude that he has made this region better, the entire United States Fish and Wildlife Service better, as well as being stronger and more connected that before.
     In 2011, Gaboriault said, when Gude accepted the duties as manager of the 53,000-acre Lower Suwannee and Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge, he chose to be the steward, too, of 250 miles of coastline, a 240-mile-long unimpeded river, a one-million acre seagrass preserve, and nearly two million acres of undeveloped coastal habitat under mixed ownership.
     She appreciates his ability to approach challenges from angles that would surprise some people. 
     His steady presence and smiles open doors before a conversation begins, Gaboriault said. Staff members and other partners embraced his creative and unconventional ways, she added. He clearly cares about people as well as the missions of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Gaboriault said.
     She thanked Gude for his leadership, his integrity and his humor.
     “We are all better for having worked with you, and for knowing you,” Gaboriault said. “We celebrate you today, and thank you for being an incredible conservation leader, person and friend. Congratulations.”
     Friends President Kamzelski said he has known Gude for 15 years. 
     “He’s the man,” Kamzelski said of Gude.
     The Friends’ role is to support and to advocate for the refuge, Kamzelski said. Through Gude’s leadership, encouragement and style, he made the Friends what this group is now.
     Acting Refuge Manager Stark said the three traits that stand out to make Gude unique from his perspective are courage, engagement and partnership.
     Before NWRA Board of Directors member Tritaik presented Gude with the engraved wooden award, he shared comments about the award-winning national wildlife refuge manager that were sent by another NWRA director who was unable to attend.

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     Tritaik, speaking for himself, said he considers Gude as a friend.
     Tritaik presented the award, and then Gude spoke.
     Gude said this award is not about him. Instead, he said, this award is about every person who supports the national wildlife refuge system.
     Everything a refuge manager does, Gude said, comes from the support of the community, from the Friends, from the volunteers and from the staff members and the others who support the missions of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
     “Our success is because we stand on the shoulders of your support,” Gude said. “Secondly, there are thousands of civil servants out there who do equal or greater work than what I have done.”
     The national award-winning wildlife refuge manager, who has now retired, said he is grateful and honored to have been a civil servant.
     The ethical standards of civil servants, he said, are a core part of what made America great.
     Gude said he wants to recognize the volunteers, the University of Florida, the private parties and organizations who are among the many entities and partners who support the wildlife conservation efforts.
     “Nothing happens without that support,” he said.
     Since retiring, the single thing he misses the most is his daily interaction with the people who collaborated with him and the many visitors to the wildlife refuge that he met.
     The colleagues he worked with -- from the Florida Keys, to Washington, D.C, and since 2011 in the Lower Suwannee and Cedar Keys -- were all the best.
     Gude said that when he was eight or nine years old as a child in Pennsylvania, where there were working farms and forests, he saw development overtake fields, forests and farms with houses and urbanization. Then, he realized his life’s goal would be land and water conservation.
     And so, he brought his dream life to fruition. 
     His parents shaped Gude’s values as well, he said. He remembers his father doing “Earth Day cleanups” before the first official Earth Day came to be in 1970.
     That day, he said, Earth Day would be every day.
     Gude said he has lived with that as a mission for the greatest part of his life. Supporting rural communities, the lifestyles of the people and the cultural heritage of the area remain important to him.
     The natural resource-based economies are something that he feels should be sustained. 
     He spoke about his work with President George Bush to establish 300,000 acres of marine national monuments in 2006. 
     Gude built relationships with people in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Home, the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Army of Engineers, who had interests in marine environments.
     Among his many legendary adventures here, though, was noting the fabled skunk ape of the Lower Suwannee was not to be taken from this wildlife refuge.
     The legend of the swamp ape appears to be a byproduct after Larry Woodward was drafted away from the refuge.
      After Gude spoke with a man who was convinced that he saw the swamp ape, Gude inserted a line in the hunt brochure for the refuge. “There is no taking of swamp apes or skunk apes,” Gude said.
     A Freedom of Information request, about a month before Gude retired, called for all data on big foot, swamp apes, skunk apes.
     He imagines other refuge managers noting “Nothing to report.”
     Gude, however, “Went to town” on this “wonderful writing exercise.”
     He noted as many conversations as he could remember, and cited the official hunt brochure, where he noted there would be no taking of swamp apes or skunk apes from this wildlife refuge.
     Protecting these mythical animals was truly a highlight of his career, Gude said. 
     Another joke he shared with the audience was his “Three rules of government service.”
     They are “Be prepared to blame the innocent and shoot the messenger,” and “You must give and take credit, where credit is not due,” and “Always volunteer others for what you can’t or won’t do yourself.”
     In closing, Gude thanked everyone for attending the event, and for bestowing this honor on him, and for the shared laughter.

Murder suspect still hospitalized
Next hearing set for April 8

The Honorable Eighth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Robert K. Groeb prepares to begin felony circuit court action in Levy County on Wednesday morning (Feb. 18).

Story, Photos and Video By Jeff M. Hardison © Feb. 18, 2026 at 3 p.m.
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     BRONSON – A 48-year-old woman accused of shooting to death a retired Levy County Extension 4-H educator, who was also an accomplished horsewoman, and a pony breeder remains at a hospital for the criminally insane.
     Kimberly Dawn Barba, 48, was arrested March 14, 2024, as the suspected murderer of Brenda Sue Heberling (July 19, 1956-March 14, 2024), who was 67 when she was killed at her horse ranch in Levy County.
     Records at the Levy County Sheriff’s Office show Barba was released from the custody of the Levy County Jail (aka Levy County Detention Facility) on Dec. 18, 2025, when the State of Florida took custody of Barba and placed her in Florida State Hospital -- a hospital and psychiatric hospital in Chattahoochee (Gadsen County).
     On Wednesday morning (Feb. 18), the Honorable Eighth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Rober K. Groeb ordered a hearing to be conducted in Levy County on April 8.
     Barba appeared via Zoom from a room at Florida State Hospital, where she is a patient-inmate. She was represented that morning by attorney William John Grant of Grant Law Partners of Inverness (Citrus County), who appeared via Zoom from his office. Also on the Zoom meeting were Barba’s mother and father, who were in a conference room at Grant’s office – about 15 feet from where he was broadcasting.


In this video, attorney William Grant speaks with the Honorable Circuit Court Judge John Groeb about Kimberly Dawn Barba, Grant’s client who is accused of first-degree premediated murder with use of a firearm in the shooting death of Brenda Heberling in Levy County in 2024. Barba and Grant appear via Zoom from a psychiatric hospital and a law office respectively on Feb. 18. This hearing was continued until April 8 due to parties being uncertain when Barba was put into state custody at the hospital in Gadsen County. To see and hear the video, click on the PHOTO.
Video By Jeff M. Hardison – All Rights Reserved


Assistant Eighth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Daniel Rex Owen looks at his computer screen during the hearing regarding the suspected murderer.


Kimberly Barba looks at the camera on Wednesday morning (Feb. 18) from a room at Florida State Hospital -- a psychiatric hospital in Chattahoochee.

     This review hearing to determine competency of defendant Barba to see if she can stand trial as the defendant in the murder of Heberling resulted in another hearing set for April 8 at 9 a.m.
     When Judge Groeb asked attorney Grant where this case stood as of that morning, Grant said he was unable to ascertain as of that morning the exact date when Barba was placed into the custody of staff members at the hospital in Chattahoochee.
     Grant said that as of that moment he could not say whether Barba had been under review for 60 days, as they judge had ordered on Sept. 17, 2025, at the most recent hearing prior to the February hearing.
     The judge told the defense attorney that he had not seen any documentation regarding competency since he had sought it some months ago.
     Assistant Eighth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Daniel Rex Owen, who is the lead prosecutor in this case, said he will work on providing attorney Grant with documentation showing the delivery date of Barba to the hospital in Chattahoochee.
     With that, the prosecution, the defense and the judge in this case agreed to have another hearing on April 8 at 9 a.m.
     In addition to the arraignment, which was before the Honorable Eighth Judicial Circuit Court Judge William E. Davis, Barba had four motion hearings and eight case management conferences where Judge Davis presided over this case.
     Judge Davis became the chief circuit court judge for the Eighth Judicial Circuit, which includes Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy and Union counties. 
     That is when Circuit Court Judge Groeb returned to Levy County. This Feb. 18 review hearing is the third for Barba with Judge Groeb presiding.
     In murder cases, there is a potential for several court actions before the defendant goes to trial or enters a plea-negotiated agreement.
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     In the many actions on Wednesday morning by the Honorable Circuit Court Judge Groeb, he let a defendant know that while she, and the state prosecution as well as her defense attorney all agreed to her enter a plea-negotiated agreement, where she would serve six months in the county jail, he could not accept that.
     Judge Groeb reminded the defendant that she was a convicted felon and if she was willing to enter a plea of “guilty,” then he would accept an 18-month sentence in the Florida Department of Corrections as a reasonable sentence for that crime. Rather than her making that choice of accepting an 18-month sentence then, this case was moved forward to a March 18 hearing to allow the defendant time to consider whether she wanted to go to trial or accept the plea-negotiated agreement.
     In another case, the judge granted a private attorney’s request to withdraw as counsel for a defendant. The defendant told the judge that he understood the request to withdraw and he agreed. The defendant then said he was too poor to afford an attorney. After a brief interview, the judge allowed that defendant to be referred to the office of Eighth Judicial Circuit Public Defender Stacy Scott to be assigned counsel.


Eighth Judicial Circuit Assistant Public Defender Joy Leigh Lane Danne shows Levy County Sheriff Deputy Rex Shevitski where a case is listed on the docket for the morning on Feb. 18. Shevitski is among the LCSO deputies serving as courthouse security that morning.


Eighth Judicial Circuit Assistant Public Defender Emily A. Llerena reads names aloud to people in the gallery so that she can assure certain defendants in criminal cases listed on the day’s docket have appeared on Feb. 18.

Gilchrist County voters may see chance
to impose 1 percent added sales tax
By Jeff M. Hardison © Feb. 17, 2026 at 3 p.m.
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     TRENTON – Gilchrist County voters in November may be seeing an opportunity to impose an additional 1 percent sales tax, to be added to the current 7 percent sales tax, in Gilchrist County, as a result of a 5-0 vote that has started the ball rolling on a possible referendum item for those voters to decide.
     If this goes on the ballot, and if the voters in Gilchrist County approve it, this means – for instance – a $2,000 lawnmower bought in Gilchrist County would cost $2,160 in Gilchrist County but it would cost $2,140 in Levy County. 
     If the voters choose to add that sale tax in Gilchrist County, then that $20 extra in this instance would be designated to help pay for fire-rescue services in the county, and if the cities of Trenton and Fanning Springs agreed to participate in this 1-cent added sales tax, then the revenue to help fund those cities’ fire services would receive a pro-rata share as well.
     All items that include sales tax – not just lawnmowers – would have the added 1-cent per $1 sales tax added to the other seven cents-per-dollar sales tax, if it goes on the ballot.
     To take effect, the approval of the ordinance requires the voters to approve it by a 60 percent majority – rather than a simple majority vote.
     According to information shared at the Gilchrist County Commission meeting on Presidents Day 2026, which is when the regular second of two County Commission meetings are held in Trenton – on the third Monday of the month – the Town of Jasper chose against participating in the program for shared revenue when Hamilton County voters approved this 1-cent added sales tax.
     That did not free Jasper customers from paying the added sales tax. It just means the city leaders in Jasper saw more benefit from not reducing their property taxes or relevant special fire assessment by whatever revenue would be derived from the Hamilton County sale tax.
     Fanning Springs Mayor Trip Lancaster was present at the County Commission meeting. When he was at the lectern to address the County Commission, he said the City Council will consider this question of participation if the voters countywide choose to add the 1 percent sales tax.
    Gilchrist County Clerk and Comptroller Todd Newton started the conversation on this agenda item listed as “Fire Surtax Ordinance.”
     He told the County Commission that voters could initiate the 1 percent sales tax “that would in essence replace current property taxes.”
     The conversation about this shows that whatever revenue is derived from the added sales tax can replace money that is currently collected by ad valorem property taxes and special assessments for fire service, Newton explained.’
     So, this is not added revenue. It is just money coming from a different source. Therefore, people who own property may see some relief on those tax bills by everyone who buys anything with a sales tax on it in Gilchrist County paying one more penny for every dollar of those items they buy.
     Of course, property owners pay sales taxes, too. However, this will bring in money from people who do not pay property taxes in Gilchrist County but who purchase items that have a sales tax on them.
     Now that the County Commission has voted 5-0 to move in this direction, the approved ordinance shall be known and may be cited as the “Gilchrist County Emergency Fire Rescue and Facilities One Cent Surtax Ordinance” according to records.
     If the voters approve it in November, then there shall be levied and imposed throughout the incorporated and unincorporated areas of Gilchrist County, commencing on Jan. 1, 2027, and continuing until Dec. 31, 2038, or such time sooner as may be terminated by the Gilchrist County Commission, a discretionary one-cent sales surtax for emergency fire rescue services and facilities.

Gerhardt is guilty
Gets life in prison

This picture on a screen in the courtroom, provided by the prosecution, shows Demiah Appling when she was alive.

Story and Photos By Jeff M. Hardison © Feb. 13, 2026 at 9 p.m.
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     CROSS CITY – A 12-member jury this afternoon (Friday, Feb. 13) ruled that Waymore Nelson Gerhardt, 23, is guilty of first-degree premeditated murder by use of firearm, and of tampering with evidence.
     The Honorable Third Judicial Circuit Court Judge Mark Feagle adjudicated Gerhardt guilty and sentenced him to spend the rest of his life in prison for murdering Demiah Appling, who died at the tender age of 14 years. The judge ruled, too, that Gerhardt would spend five years in prison at the same time as his life sentence for tampering with evidence.
      The weeklong trial started slowly with it taking two days to seat the 15 jurors. As Judge Feagle dismissed the three alternate jurors – who were not named until after the trial was over, to assure everyone paid close attention from start to finish – he said he appreciated the work by those three.
     After the verdicts were rendered, he likewise told the people who performed their civic duty that he is thankful for their service as the deciders of fact. Judge Feagle completed his duty by imposing sentence on the killer.
     As the two teams wrapped up the seven days of jurisprudence in Dixie County, both the prosecution and the defense not only took the opportunity to recite provable truths, but to state their feelings and opinions on this case.


Waymore Gerhardt (right) is seen with attorney John Lyon Broling of the Florida Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel.


Third Judicial Circuit Assistant State Attorney Jarrett Thomas holds the .22 caliber rifle believed to be the murder weapon as he gives closing arguments on Friday.


DCSO Det. Sgt. Terry Barcia shows the location of one of the residences relevant in the case.


Assistant State Attorney Jarrett Thomas tells the jury what they heard, again. Closing arguments are not evidence; however, he restated what witnesses and hard evidence were brought to bear -- forming a whole narrative related to the murder and attempted cover-up.


Defense attorney Robert Davis Baker III, of the Florida Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel tells jurors why they can see reasons to doubt the state proved his client murdered Demiah Appling.

     Appling died instantly from a .22 caliber slug entering her skull from the side rear, according to testimony.
     Jurors decided the state had proved Gerhardt shot her with a .22 caliber bolt-action rifle.
     Appling had been tricked into going to a place where Gerhardt waited for her, according to what is the accepted truth. Appling, who wanted to see Keith Anderson, then also 14, had a “prank” played on her by Anderson, whose texts showed he was in Lake City with his girlfriend at the time.
     Appling did not know Anderson was in Lake City and was pulling a mean trick on her.
     Meanwhile in the Old Town area of Dixie County, Appling went to a place where she was told “Uncle Wayne” -- Anderson’s uncle was Gerhardt. He went by the nickname of “Wayne” as well as other aliases on social media platforms.
     At one point Appling was tricked into believing Gerhardt would take her to see Anderson.
     Text messages and phone calls between several participants in the sordid story proved to jurors that Gerhardt took Appling somewhere in Dixie County, shot her in the back of the head, and then transported the body to Gilchrist County.
     He buried her naked body in a two-foot deep quickly dug grave, with a shovel he borrowed that night – Oct. 16, 2022 – and he returned the shovel in the wee hours of the next morning.
     Investigators with the Dixie County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Gilchrist County Sheriff's Office followed evidence to find the grave, in part by questioning some of the people in Gerhardt’s and Appling’s lives.
     Before the start of the final day of trial on Friday, lead defense attorney Robert Davis Baker III, of the Florida Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel – sought to have the judge order a Judgment of Acquittal (JOA) of the murder charge, although the defendant conceded to the charge of tampering with evidence.
     Attorney John Lyon Broling, attorney Samantha Maybury and attorney Kayla E. Kafka, also of the Florida Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel, were on the defense team as well.
     Despite Baker’s verbal argument for a JOA, Judge Feagle denied Baker’s request. The judge had seen and heard the same evidence presented at the trial. This type of move by a defense lawyer in a criminal case is relatively common.
     The final day of the actual trial action opened with the prosecutorial team -- Third Judicial Circuit Court State Attorney John Durrett and Assistant State Attorney Jarrett Thomas, with support by Assistant State Attorney Caleb Currie -- calling one last witness – DCSO Inv. Sgt. Terry Barcia.
     This key investigator who helped solve the case showed jurors on a map that was on a TV screen the locations where Brenda Cox (Gerhardt’s mother) lives.
     Detective Sgt. Barcia also showed on the map where, at the time of the murder, Keith Anderson was staying in a camper on that same property.
     Barcia also showed where Amy “Puddin” Valentine lives on the map. This helped jurors understand some of the final places Appling traveled on her last night of life in Dixie County.
     On the night when Appling disappeared, she had first been tricked by Anderson to see Gerhardt rather than Anderson at that location. Then Anderson told her via text to return there so that Gerhardt could take her to meet him.
     She got into a Chevy Blazer with Gerhardt, according to prosecutors.
     This prank by Anderson, who had noted he would “get the last laugh” in a text to her, turned to Gerhardt’s advantage, because according to what was said in court, he had lusted for her, even though she had not desire to be with him.
     Gerhardt gave various versions of reality when investigated. First, he did not see her. Then, he saw her but dropped her off at her boyfriend’s. Then, he paid her $60 for “a hand job” (masturbation of him).
     Prosecutors proved that his cell phone, which included evidence used to convict him by showing his location at certain dates and times, was never lost or destroyed as he had claimed to investigator.
     An FDLE investigator tracked the phone and an FDLE dog trained to find electronic gear sniffed it out as a search warrant was served.
     Assistant State Attorney Thomas in his closing argument reminded jurors of every bit of testimony to prove beyond and to the exclusion of reasonable doubt to prove Gerhardt shot and killed Appling.
     Thomas reminded jurors that people on the witness stand told what happened.
     Appling wanted to see Anderson. Anderson was in Lake City with his girlfriend. He played a trick on her, which put her in the clutches of one of Andrson’s uncles – Gerhardt.
     Gerhardt drove to a secluded area in Dixie County. For some reason, he shot her in the back of the head with a .22 caliber single-shot, bolt-action rifle.
     Gerhardt borrowed a shovel late that Oct. 16, 2022 night. He dug a two-foot-deep grave at a place in Gilchrist County that is near to a spring in the Bell area.
     He asked people whom he had texted incriminating verbiage to, to delete those messages and to tell no one.
     Within hours of burying the girl’s body, he called a friend that lived near that spot. Gerhardt texted him to see if that friend had noticed law enforcement on that dirt road.
     Despite his attempts to hide Appling’s blood in the vehicle, and to have other evidence destroyed or deleted, investigators had enough probable cause to arrest him for first-degree, premeditated murder with a firearm after a grand jury indicted Gerhardt for that and for tampering with evidence.
     The defense presented no witnesses at trial. Gerhardt chose against taking the witness stand himself in his own defense.
     When Baker presented his closing argument, he told the jury there had been a long string of failures before Appling went missing on Oct. 16, 2022.
     She went down a path that led her into unexpected dangers, Baker said. 
     He told jurors that the evidence in this case proved that somebody had killed the 14-year-old girl. Baker told the jurors that they must ask the question – as the deciders of fact in this case – Did the state prove beyond and to the exclusion of reasonable doubt that Gerhardt was the killer?
     Baker spoke about the witnesses. He said there are many people who were witnesses who testified in this case who he does not think anyone would want to leave their 14-year-old with.
     “Amy Valentine is one,” Baker said. “She was the first person to testify in this trial.”
     Baker went through the same review of Appling leaving Valentine’s house, alone, after 8:30 p.m. on that dark October night. Anderson had lured her there through texts he sent from Lake City, Baker said.
     Baker said Gerhardt was not mentioned in the texts, until Anderson noted for Appling that she should have stayed at Valentine’s so that Gerhardt could take Appling to seek Anderson.
     No witness at any time spoke about the rifle being in the Blazer, Baker said as he tried to show reasonable doubt.
     The defense attorney said the parade of prosecution witnesses were all people “who all knew they had done the wrong thing by Demiah.”     Baker said they were “pot heads who couldn’t keep their stories straight.” Only Gerhardt’s boss at the time, Nancy Meyer – who said Gerhardt failed to show up for work that night – was a witness who could be trusted as having told the truth, Baker intimated.
     Baker said Assistant State Attorney Thomas’ demonstration on how long it took to pull the bolt back on the rifle and then to shoot it was reason for the FDLE to have swabbed that one part of the rifle for DNA, although that bolt was not swabbed.
     The trigger guard and the trigger were checked for DNA, Baker reminded the jurors. The DNA of Gerhardt and his roommate Max Lyons were found on the gun, Baker said, which was expected because Lyons owned the gun and Gerhardt lived with him. One person’s DNA other than theirs was found on the gun, Baker said, but it was to an unidentified person.
     “Mr. Thomas’s argument was emblematic of the failure of this investigation,” Baker asserted to the jury.
     He said investigators “had their man” but at some point, law enforcement gave up on that suspect – other than Gerhardt.
     The lead defense attorney went through every key point where he thought there could be some reasonable doubt attached.
     While Baker conceded that Gerhardt clearly was guilty of tampering with evidence, that defense attorney felt that the state had not proved his client was guilty of murder.
Durrett Brings It Home
     In his redirect response to Baker’s closing arguments, State Attorney Durrett let jurors know, again, why they must vote “Guilty” on the charge of first-degree premeditated murder with a firearm.
     “The world failed her,” Durrett said as he quoted Baker from the defense attorney’s opening statement a couple of days earlier in the trial.
     The state attorney said the girl may have fared better if she had a mother and father active in her life. Durrett said that is beside the point of what is vital in this trial.
     “You don’t pass judgment on her for that,” he said. 
     The prosecutor noted she made stupid choices. Nevertheless, he noted the toxicology report from the autopsy showed results of zero alcohol or drug use from the remains recovered after being in the ground a couple of months.
     The attorney told the jurors, as they would hear and read at least a few times – the definition of “reasonable doubt.”
     In Florida criminal cases, reasonable doubt is defined as a doubt that is not a mere possible, speculative, imaginary, or forced doubt, but one based on reason and common sense arising from evidence, a conflict in evidence, or lack of evidence. It is a doubt that would cause a reasonable person to hesitate before acting. 
     If after weighing all evidence, the jury does not have an “abiding conviction” of guilt, or if that conviction wavers or vacillates, then jurors must see there is a reasonable doubt -- and they must acquit.
     State Attorney Durrett said Assistant State Attorney Thomas clearly drew all logical, common-sense truth from the evidence presented from the witness stand.
     “Nobody’s out there with that defendant and that little girl in the woods,” Durrett said.
     However, through the research of FDLE, the cell phone carried by Gerhardt shows where he was at different points in time on certain dates. Through obtaining texts and social media messages, as well as by questioning parties involved, the scenario presented by Thomas cannot be seen as leaving any reasonable doubt to what that assistant state attorney asserted for the jury to remember, Durrett intimated.
     Durrett noted that Gerhardt’s nephew Anderson is the only one of the many people who that defendant asked to delete messages, who did as his uncle asked and deleted messages.
     As Gerhardt attempted to hide his path, which included getting a shovel, cleaning blood from a vehicle and asking if police were looking specifically where he had buried the body – just hours after he had done so, other friends of Gerhardt did not delete messages that he asked them to erase.
     All of the messages corroborate exactly and match the data points showing where Gerhardt was when he made the statements that were used to clearly show what happened, Durrett said.
     Durrett addressed Baker’s assertion about the rifle not being seen or proved to have been in the vehicle.
     “Well, a dead body in the back seat and the blood dripping between the crevices, and the shell casing that matches that rifle right down there next to it (the blood),” Durrett said, “sure seem to indicate that rifle might have been in that vehicle.
     “Not to mention a little girl’s blood with a bullet hole in the back of her head,” Durrett continued, “buried in a 25-inch (deep) grave.”
     Durrett said the motive for the murder was exactly as Thomas said.
     Gerhardt wanted to have sex with Appling. 
    The state attorney said back in 2022, Gerhardt was “an 18-year-old, lonely, video game-playing guy – who likes to smoke pot with his friends,” who was frustrated at not being able to have the little 14-year-old girl.
     “She wasn’t going to give him what he wanted,” Durrett said, “and he knew that.”
     Gerhardt used his 14-year-old nephew to lure the girl into the vehicle with him, Durrett said. 
     Durrett explained that prosecutors had to use witnesses who were Gerhardt’s friends and were present during these events. The state does not get to pick just anyone to be a witness. With the scientific data from tracking cell phones and the messages that were not erased, those witnesses’ testimony shows what happened.
     The girl was tricked to be in Gerhardt’s grasp. He killed her. He tried to hide the body, and then to hide the other evidence as well.
     Law enforcement searched for a missing girl. They found her body, and they found evidence to prove beyond reasonable doubt who killed her, with premeditation and with a firearm.
     The fact that she was shot in the back of the head, Durrett said, is proof of premeditation. To accomplish that act takes time and purposeful effort – beforehand.
     Law enforcement brought the evidence to the State Attorney’s Office and the path to trial resulted in the outcome – determined by 12 jurors who unanimously voted “Guilty” on Friday (Feb. 13) in the afternoon, in Cross City. Then, Circuit Court Judge Feagle imposed sentence, as he is required to do as part of the duties in his elected position.

196^th Performance

Key West Kevin performs the HardisonInk.com jingle at the Driftwood Bar & Grill on Jan. 24. The bar and grill was a cornerstone for the 2026 Tour of the Towns, which was organized by the Withlacoochee Gulf Area Chamber of Commerce to help business interests in Inglis and Yankeetown. This was filmed on Saturday (Jan. 24, 2026). Jeff M. Hardison asks people to sing the jingle, and some of them agree to sing it. (Thanks people!) CLICK ON THE PICTURE ABOVE TO SEE AND HEAR THE VIDEO ON YouTube.com. The very first person to sing the jingle was Danesh “Danny” Patel of Danny’s Food Mart in Chiefland in March of 2013. HardisonInk.com started as a daily news website on Feb. 1, 2011.
Photo and Video by Jeff M. Hardison © Jan. 24, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
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