The 12th Circuit State Attorney’s Office filed formal charges in the case of a 31-year-old man arrested for killing a toddler in Holmes Beach.
David Vickers, 31, formerly of Apollo Beach, was arrested Oct. 11 by Holmes Beach police after HBPD, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Crimes Against Children and state Child Protective Services investigated the August death.
The state filed a formal charging document Oct. 31, which included the second-degree murder and neglect of a child with great bodily harm recommended by HBPD and added a charge of aggravated manslaughter.
Vickers is being held in Manatee County jail without bond.
Luca Sholey, 17 months old, lived with family members and Vickers in the 200 block of Peacock Lane and died Aug. 23, allegedly in Vickers’ care.
Assistant State Attorney Dawn Buff said she added the manslaughter charge “to cover the bases.”
An autopsy in August identified the cause of death as a swollen brain and indicated broken ribs in various stages of healing.
Vickers has been in the county jail since an Aug. 24 arrest for a revoked driver’s license and allegedly possessing marijuana. HBPD arrested Vickers in jail several days later for allegedly stealing a laptop and stereo from Sholey’s mother.
In September, the prosecutor reduced the license charge and transferred the case to a misdemeanor court. The theft case is pending in circuit court.
Vickers faces up to life in prison, a life probation and a $10,000 fine on the second-degree murder charge.
The aggravated child-abuse charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, 15 years probation and a $10,000 fine.
Life in prison, life on probation and a $10,000 fine are maximum sentences for the manslaughter count.
Vickers remains in custody without bond on the homicide counts. A $100,000 bond was set for the abuse charge, according to the MCSO jail website.
His next court date is 9 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 19, at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.
Maximum sentence, please, Dear God!!!