Johnnie Thomas sentenced to 25 years for killing of Robert Lee Emanuel

Johnnie Spydale Thomas Jr. had multiple prior arrests in Flagler County.

By Jonathan Simmons
| 7:50 p.m. December 13, 2019

Johnnie Spydale Thomas Jr. Photo courtesy of the FCSO

Palm Coast Observer
Crime

The man convicted of manslaughter in the 2018 killing of Robert Lee Emanuel Sr., 60, will spend 25 years in prison.

Johnnie Thomas Jr., 26, had originally been charged with second-degree murder in the case, and pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He'd faced a sentence of 15-25 years.

Circuit Judge Terence Perkins sentenced him to 25 years in state prison in a sentencing hearing on Dec. 13.

Emanuel died in November 2018 from injuries sustained the previous month when Thomas struck him in the head. Thomas was charged approximately two months later.

He had multiple previous arrests for charges including domestic violence, trespassing and drug crimes, and had been found guilty when he was 18 of firing a gun toward a crowd of people at Ralph Carter Park after an argument.