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Trial postponed for Pasco man accused of rape

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By TODD LESKANIC | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 3, 2009

Bobby Lee Black

DADE CITY - A judge today postponed the trial of a Zephyrhills man accused of rape after learning the victim is recovering from a stroke.

Bobby Lee Black Jr., 21, was to stand trial beginning Tuesday on charges that he and another man broke into the woman's mobile home on March 27, 2007.

Investigators said Black raped the woman before he and co-defendant Jathniel McMichael put her in her minivan and forced her to withdraw money from her bank account. The suspects then drove her to an old quarry and pushed her in, rolling the van in after her.

Black faces a life sentence if found guilty as charged. McMichael, 20, who will be tried separately, is not charged with rape in the case.

Assistant State Attorney Manny Garcia said the victim, who was 68 at the time of the attack, had a stroke in August. It's unclear whether she will be available to testify at trial.

Garcia said he hopes to know more about her condition by Nov. 19, the date of a scheduled pretrial conference.

No matter what happens at trial, Black will likely be spending the rest of his life in prison. In April, he was convicted of charges stemming from a March 1, 2007, attack on a 66-year-old woman.

A jury needed only 45 minutes to find him guilty of home invasion robbery, two counts of sexual battery and a single count of battery on a person older than 65.

Black was to be sentenced in that case today, but that was postponed when Assistant Public Defender Tom Hanlon said he wanted more time to review an evidentiary issue.

Black's sentencing is now set for Sept. 17.

McMichael will be tried separately in the March 1, 2007, attack. He faces a possible life sentence if found guilty as charged.

At Black's trial, the victim testified that two men broke into her mobile home, dragged her into the living room and raped her. Before leaving, one of the men kicked her in the face.

A third man, Andre Brathwaite, was charged with home invasion robbery in the March 1 attack and is awaiting trial. Authorities said Brathwaite, 20, drove Black and McMichael to and from the attack.

Reporter Todd Leskanic can be reached at (813) 731-8098.

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