Former Florida ice cream truck driver who killed two brothers and injured four has been sentenced to life in prison
A Florida ice cream truck driver furious over being shot five times and robbed of $12 was sentenced to life in prison on Friday for killing two brothers he mistakenly believed were behind the attack.
Michael Keetley, 52, killed Juan Guitron, 28, and Sergio Guitron, 22, on Thanksgiving 2010, killing the couple while standing on the front porch of a house in Ruskin, Florida. Four others were injured.
But it later emerged that the Guitron brothers had nothing to do with the attack on Keetley in January 2010, which left him permanently disabled, with metal rods lodged in his bones.
Keetley’s lawyers argued that he was physically unable to shoot because of his injuries.
Michael Keetley, 52, will be photographed in court on Friday ahead of his sentencing
Victims Juan Guitron, 28, and Sergio Guitron, 22, of Ruskin, Florida
Keetley is seen at a first hearing, more than 10 years ago. The ice cream man is pictured in January 2011: he was convicted of the November 2010 murders on Friday
They said the injuries to his hands made it impossible for him to pull the trigger.
“This is our defense — Michael Keetley is not guilty because he didn’t do it,” said John Grant, Keetley’s attorney.
He told the jury, “Michael Keetley didn’t do it, he couldn’t do it. He is medically incompetent.’
Keetley’s lawyers also condemned the handling of the shooting investigation, which they called “nothing short of a nightmare.”
His first trial in 2020 ended in a mistrial, but his second trial ended in a conviction in March.
“This has been a very long road and a very difficult case,” Judge Christopher Sabella said when announcing the verdict.
“What it shows to the victims in this case is that justice is not always quick, but that justice is ultimately served.”
The jury heard that a man wearing a “sheriff” t-shirt arrived at the Ruskin home in a minivan and got out with a shotgun in hand.
The home in Ruskin, Florida, where the Guitron brothers were murdered in November 2010
Keetley drove this ice cream truck. He was attacked in the truck in January 2010 and shot five times for $12: Left disabled, he wanted revenge
Keetley is seen with his lawyers on Friday. They argued that he was physically unable to pull the trigger on the gun
Paz Quezada, the mother of the Guitron brothers, will appear in court on Friday
Paz Quezada hugs a supporter Friday after Keetley’s sentencing
He asked for someone nicknamed “Creeper,” who wasn’t there but was well known to the group.
Keetley believed that ‘Creeper’ was responsible for the ice cream truck shooting: he was later found not to have been involved.
Keetley then ordered everyone to lie down on the floor, according to Fox News.
Thinking Keetley was a member of law enforcement, the men complied and he shot them one at a time.
Paz Quezada, the mother of the Guitron brothers, addressed Keetley directly at the sentencing hearing. NBC news reported.
She told him he “took half my life” and “destroyed my heart.”
“My sons were all I had,” she said. “I loved them with all my heart.”
Gonzalo Guevara, who survived the shooting, wore a T-shirt with a picture of the Guitron brothers as he addressed the court.
“He has caused so much pain to everyone involved,” he said.
“You hurt so many people,” Guevara said directly to Keetley.
“We know what you did that night and you know what you did that night.”
Keetley’s lawyers have said they plan to appeal.