ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — An Orange County woman says she was denied the justice she wanted in the death of her brother and blames the State Attorney’s office.
Daliana Perez says her 32-year-old brother, Carlos, was shot and killed by Savion Lambert back in 2024.
“The prosecutor just came out and told us, well, everything is done. He accepted a 20-year plea. And we’re like, that’s not what you said to us. Like, this is not fair at all.” She planned to ask the judge to give him the maximum of 40 years in prison, but instead, he got half that time, under a plea agreement.
“They’re giving him another chance, another opportunity there. They don’t care about the victim’s family.” Back in 2021, Lambert was arrested for carjacking. And then in 2022, for shooting from a vehicle.
But in that 2022 case, the State Attorney dropped the charges.
The plea agreement in this latest case was filed in court. Perez says the prosecutor lied to her about the case. “Before he was convicted, the prosecutor told us that we will be returning on the 15th of May to read our testimony so that the judge can understand our point of view so he can, you know, get him more than 20 years.”
The State Attorney’s Office released this statement:
“We extend our deepest respect and empathy to the Perez family. This office is committed to transparency, communication, and accountability at every stage of the legal process.
In this case, our office maintained persistent, consistent communication with the Perez family in full accordance with our standard protocols. The family’s attorney was notified of the plea hearing date, and the Perez family attended that hearing, as the record reflects.
It is important to provide full context: the defendant entered a plea agreement to manslaughter, in a case that was determined to be accidental. Notably, the defendant’s criminal punishment sentencing score was approximately 14 years, well below the agreed-upon plea of 20 years, reflecting the office’s careful and measured approach to the facts and circumstances.”
But Daliana disagrees with the statement and plans to file a complaint with the court. “I will continue on fighting for my brother.”
Legal analyst Bill Sheaffer says a prosecutor should talk to a victim or victim’s family. “By statute, it’s called the Victim Bill of Rights, and they have the right to be notified and to participate up through and including the plea or plea deal and sentencing.”
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