Wisner Desmaret to represent himself in trial for FMPD officer’s death

Wisner Desmaret, facing a first-degree murder charge for the 2018 shooting death of Fort Myers police officer Adam Jobbers-Miller, was in court as his own defense for the first time on Wednesday afternoon.

Desmaret made it clear several times that he was prepared to defend himself without professional legal help. He is accused of shooting in the head and killing Jobbers-Miller while the officer was responding to a call at a gas station on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. There have been many delays as the trial date has approached, including a push to get the trial moved out of Lee County and Desmaret’s battle to be his own defense.

“They won’t sign me nothing… I know he’s a snake, he’s a snake,” Desmaret said at one point. “To tell you the truth, God is my lawyer. I represent myself.”

Doctors had to rule him competent before he was able to take on his own murder case and defend himself in his death penalty trial. Desmaret’s competency has been a matter of contention for some time: Over the last five years, he has had to be accompanied into the courtroom by several deputies and with his arms strapped down. He’s also had several outbursts.

Wednesday’s hearing went over the specifics of the jury selection process.

“To me, to my knowledge, from what I’ve seen and heard and been through on the street, I could pick better jurors, and I could read the jurors probably better than they can,” Desmaret said. “I prefer, you know, fighting for myself. I’m the one that’s gonna do the time, right? If I lose or if anything bad goes, I’m the one that’s in chains, locked up.”

In court Wednesday, it was obvious Desmaret was not interested in saying or doing much. At one point, the judge asked him if he wanted the jury questionnaire sent out before bringing jurors into the courtroom. “Yeah, that’s good,” Desmaret said.

Or if he wanted to wait.

Desmaret: “I’ll wait.”

Judge: “You’ll wait?”

Desmaret: “Yeah.”

Judge: “Do you want to do everything the first day? My only plan was to try to do it early. So that if there are folks that are inappropriate for the potential jury selection, that will limit that pool down to more specific and potential candidates.”

The judge decided the questionnaires would be sent out. Desmaret will get a copy to review before they are sent out, and then the clerk of courts will send them to a large pool of potential jurors in mid-February.

If the jury convicts Desmaret at trial in March, he could get the death sentence. Desmaret’s trial date is set to start on March 30.