A new lawyer has been assigned to Joshua Gurto’s appeal, and a new timeframe has been established for the filing of a brief in the case.
on Feb. 3, the 11th District Court of Appeals ordered a brief be filed by Gurto’s attorney by Feb. 17, or the case could be dismissed, according to court records.
on Feb. 22, Gurto’s then-attorney, J. Michael Salmon filed a motion seeking to withdraw as Gurto’s attorney in this case. Last week, the court approved Salmon’s motion to be withdrawn as counsel, and appointed a new attorney, Jerri Mitchell-Tharp, to represent him, according to court records.
Tharp will have until March 24 to file a brief in this case.
Gurto is appealing his conviction on two counts of aggravated burglary and one count of rape, first-degree felony, and one count of felonious assault, a second-degree felony.
Gurto pleaded guilty to all four counts on the indictment on the day jury selection was scheduled to start, and was sentenced to 28 years in prison in this case.
In an unrelated case involving the death of 13-month-old Sereniti Jazzlynn-Sky Sutley, Gurto pleaded guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony, and one count of felony assault, a second-degree felony, and was sentenced to eight years in prison, according to that case.