Pablo Manuel Ibar

Case identifiers

• Name: Pablo Manuel Ibar
• Florida Supreme Court opinion: SC00-2043
• DC#: L31274
• Date of birth: 04/01/72
• Seventeenth Judicial Circuit
• Broward County
• Case #: 94-13062

Timeline

• 06/26/94 — A Palm Beach County police officer discovered a Mercedes SL convertible on fire in a road south of South Bay, Florida.
• 06/27/94 — A woman called the Broward County Sheriff’s Department and reported that her daughter, Marie Rogers, and her friend Sharon Anderson had gone to Casey’s Nickelodeon on 06/25/94 but had not returned home.
• 06/28/94 — A deputy went to Casey’s Nickelodeon to investigate and was told that Rogers and Anderson had left the club early on the morning of the 26th in the company of Sucharski; the deputy then went to Sucharski’s house, saw Anderson’s car in the driveway, and peered inside and saw three bodies.
• 08/25/94 — Pablo Ibar was indicted on the counts listed in the indictment.
• 06/14/00 — The jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment.
• 07/24/00 — The jury recommended death by votes of 9-3.
• 08/28/00 — Pablo Ibar was sentenced.
• 09/25/00 — Pablo Ibar filed a Direct Appeal with the Florida Supreme Court.
• 03/09/06 — The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentences.
• 12/05/06 — Pablo Ibar filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court.
• 02/20/07 — The U.S. Supreme Court denied the Petition for Writ of Certiorari.

Background

Pablo Ibar gained Spanish citizenship after his 2000 conviction. Pablo Ibar lived with several friends in a rented house in Hollywood, Florida.

The offence

On 06/26/94, a Palm Beach County police officer discovered a Mercedes SL convertible on fire in a road south of South Bay, Florida. The car was registered to Casmir Sucharski, the owner of a nightclub called Casey’s Nickelodeon.

On 06/26/94, a Miramar Police Department officer went to Sucharski’s home to tell him that his car had been found. The officer knocked on the door and received no answer, so he stuck his card in the door and left.

On 06/27/94, a woman reported that her daughter, Marie Rogers, and her friend Sharon Anderson had gone to Casey’s Nickelodeon on 06/25/94 but had not returned home. A deputy investigated Casey’s Nickelodeon and was told that Rogers and Anderson had left the club early on the morning of the 26th in the company of Sucharski. The deputy went to Sucharski’s house, saw Anderson’s car in the driveway, but no one answered the door. A Miramar police department card was still in the door, so the deputy peered inside and saw three bodies.

The bodies in the house were Sucharski, Rogers, and Anderson. All three died of gunshot wounds to the back and back of the head.

Video surveillance footage inside the house showed intruders coming inside the house, beating Sucharski, and shooting all three victims in the back of the head. Video footage also showed the intruders rummaging through the house and garage and taking Sucharski’s watch and boots. One of the intruders had something covering his face but eventually removed it. The other intruder wore a cap and sunglasses, which were never removed.

Investigation

Miramar police distributed flyers with pictures of the intruders taken from the surveillance video footage. Three weeks after the murders, Miramar police received a call from the Metro-Dade Police Department and were informed that a man matching the flyer picture was in custody on an unrelated charge.

The man was identified as Pablo Ibar. Ibar was identified as the man who uncovered his face during the murders.

Ibar lived with several friends in a rented house in Hollywood, Florida. One of the roommates identified Ibar and another roommate, Seth Penalver, as the men pictured on the flyer. Ibar was identified as the man who uncovered his face, while Penalver was identified as the man who wore a cap and sunglasses.

Arrest

Pablo Ibar was identified after a call from the Metro-Dade Police Department informed Miramar police that a man matching the flyer picture was in custody on an unrelated charge.

Trial

Codefendant

• Seth Penalver was a codefendant.
• Seth Penalver was also sentenced to death for his role in the murders.

Trial history

Pablo Ibar and Seth Penalver were tried together in 1998, but the trial ended in a mistrial due to a hung jury. They were tried separately again in 2000 and both were convicted and sentenced to death.

Indictment

On 08/25/94, Pablo Ibar was indicted as follows:

• Count I: First-Degree Murder (Casimir Sucharski)
• Count II: First-Degree Murder (Sharon Anderson)
• Count III: First-Degree Murder (Marie Rogers)
• Count IV: Armed Burglary
• Count V: Armed Robbery
• Count VI: Attempted Armed Robbery

Guilty verdicts and jury recommendation

Trial participants

• Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Lance True Andrews
• Attorney, Trial: Kayo Morgan & Barbara Brush – Private Attorney
• Direct Appeal: Peter Raben – Private Attorney
• Collateral Appeals: Richard Kiley – CCRC-M

Sentencing

On 08/28/00, Pablo Ibar was sentenced as follows:

• Count I: First-Degree Murder (Casimir Sucharski) — Death
• Count II: First-Degree Murder (Sharon Anderson) — Death
• Count III: First-Degree Murder (Marie Rogers) — Death
• Count IV: Armed Burglary — 25 years
• Count V: Armed Robbery — 25 years
• Count VI: Attempted Armed Robbery — 10 years

Appeals

Direct appeal to the Florida Supreme Court

On 09/25/00, Ibar filed a Direct Appeal with the Florida Supreme Court. The appeal cited the following trial court errors:

• failing to find that out of court statements were “statements of identification”
• admitting witness testimony for purposes of impeaching testimony
• admitting the transcript of testimony given by a deceased witness at a previous trial
• allowing the State to introduce hearsay evidence and expert testimony
• precluding admission of evidence regarding third-party motive, animosity, and reputation evidence
• admitting evidence regarding a live lineup
• denying due process by references to certain evidence
• violating the Florida and U.S. Constitutions with the imposition of the death penalty

On 03/09/06, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentences.

U.S. Supreme Court

Ibar filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court on 12/05/06. The petition was denied on 02/20/07.

Codefendant collateral appeal

On 02/02/06, the Florida Supreme Court reversed Penalver’s convictions, vacated his sentences, and remanded for a new trial.

Outcome

Pablo Ibar was sentenced to death on 08/28/00 and his convictions and sentences were affirmed by the Florida Supreme Court on 03/09/06.

Other details

• Victims:
  • Casmir Sucharski
  • Sharon Anderson
  • Marie Rogers
• Video surveillance footage showed intruders taking Sucharski’s watch and boots.
• One intruder covered his face but removed the covering; the other wore a cap and sunglasses, which were never removed.