No evidence presented for convicted Polk murderer Michael Gordon in brutal stabbing deaths of mom Patricia Moran, daughter Deborah Royal

BARTOW — Lawyers for convicted murderer Michael Anthony Gordon declined Thursday to present additional evidence supporting a life sentence for their client, who's facing the death penalty after jurors unanimously recommended death during his double-murder trial in February.

“While we have explored several potential witnesses that we could potentially call, we have decided that we don't have anything additional to present for the court's consideration,” said Clearwater defense lawyer Bjorn Brunvand, representing Gordon.

Assistant State Attorney Kristie Ducharme said the state, too, had no additional evidence and would rely on testimony presented during the two-week trial in January and February.

Gordon, 39, was among four co-defendants charged with robbing an Auburndale pawn shop at gunpoint in January 2015 and leading police on a high-speed chase to Haines City, where the car in which the four were riding crashed just inside the Candler Ridge subdivision. During Gordon's trial, jurors convicted him of forcing his way into the home of 72-year-old Patricia Moran and her daughter, Deborah Royal, 51, who lived in Candler Ridge, and fatally stabbing them, then crashing through their garage door in their car in an attempt to flee.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against only Gordon. One of his co-defendants, Terrell Williams, 34, was found guilty of first-degree murder and related charges in a jury trial in October. He was sentenced to mandatory life imprisonment without parole. The remaining two — Jovan Lamb, 34, and Devonere McCune, 27 — are scheduled to stand trial in September and December, respectively.

Although prosecutors have not asserted that Williams, McCune and Lamb were at the murder scene, they have maintained that each of them was involved in the crimes that resulted in the murders. Based on that argument, the co-defendants can be charged with murder under the Florida's felony murder law, which states that if someone dies while a violent crime is being committed, all those involved in the violent crime are held accountable for the death.

During Gordon's trial, Brunvand and his co-counsel, Jervis Wise, presented testimony from medical experts who said Gordon had brain damage that likely dated to infancy and was exacerbated by his father's physical abuse. The experts said brain scans revealed damage to the frontal lobe of his brain, preventing him from making good decisions.

Prosecutors relied on trial testimony to prove that Gordon was committing other felonies at the time of the murders, that he killed to avoid capture, that he'd been convicted of other violent felonies and that the murders were especially heinous, atrocious or cruel. Jurors found that prosecutors had proven each of their four legal reasons for imposing the death penalty, which means Circuit Judge Jalal Harb must consider them when determining his sentence. He also must give great weight to the jury's unanimous recommendation.

Lawyers for each side now will submit sentencing memorandums, stating the legal reasons supporting their respective positions. Harb asked that those documents be submitted by October, then he will schedule a hearing to impose sentence.

Suzie Schottelkotte can be reached at suzie.schottelkotte@theledger.com or 863-533-9070. Follow her on Twitter @southpolkscene.