The sentencing for former Sebastian City Council members Damien Gilliams and Pamela Rapp Parris is set for next month at the Indian River County Courthouse, court records show.
Judge Michael Linn will hand down the sentences for the duo at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 23 in his courtroom. Gilliams and Parris were tried together in May and convicted by a six-person jury.
The conviction stems from a meeting held on April 22, 2020 by Gilliams, Parris and former Vice-Mayor Charles Mauti. Prosecutors described the meeting as illegal and said the public was not notified.
City officials said Gilliams, Parris and Mauti met in the chambers and locked the doors behind them before holding the meeting. Authorities said the meeting was an attempt to oust Mayor Ed Dodd, City Manager Paul Carlisle and City Attorney Manny Anon Jr. out of office.
Mauti later pled no contest and was issued a non-criminal violation of the Sunshine Law after he agreed to work with the state attorney’s office.
The jury found Gilliams guilty on three counts of violation of the Sunshine Law and one count of perjury. Parris was found guilty on one count of violation of the Sunshine Law and two counts of perjury.
The maximum penalty for each count of violation of the Sunshine Law is 60 days, prosecutors said. The maximum penalty for the perjury charges are one year.
Gilliams filed a motion on June 14 requesting Linn be removed from his criminal case. Gilliams said he feared he did not receive a fair trial because of prejudice or bias from Linn, noting that Linn’s wife previously worked at the state attorney’s office.
This caused the sentencing for Gilliams and Parris – originally set for June 21 – to be pushed back to Aug. 23. Linn denied Gilliams’ request while prosecutors said Linn’s wife had no connection to the case.
Gilliams then submitted a writ appeal to the Fourth District Court of Appeal, according to court records. Court officials denied Gilliams’ request, noting that Gilliams did not allege any basis for Linn to be disqualified from the case.
However, court officials also said Linn should have disclosed that his spouse worked as a paralegal specialist at the state attorney’s office from January 2007 through April 2021, which includes part of the time when charges were pending against Gilliams.
“The fact that the judge conveys this information does not automatically require the judge to be disqualified upon a request by either party, but the issue should be resolved on a case-by-case basis,” the Fourth District court filing reads.
Gilliams and Parris both were released May 27 from the Indian River County Jail. Gilliams was released on $225,000 bond while Parris was released on $25,000 bond.
