Convicted cop-killer Wisner Desmaret asks for new trial

Wisner Desmaret, convicted of shooting and killing a Fort Myers Police officer, is asking for a new trial on the grounds that he should not have been allowed to represent himself in the first one.

In April, Desmaret was found guilty of the 2018 murder of Fort Myers Police Officer Adam Jobbers-Miller, and the jury recommended life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Desmaret fought for months to be allowed to represent himself in court, with doctors having to deem him competent, but he now claims he shouldn’t have been allowed to do that because he showed signs of not being competent.

Desmaret’s family also expressed concern about his mental health. Lee Hollander, Desmaret’s standby counsel, filed a motion on April 26 claiming the court made a mistake in finding Desmaret competent to stand trial. He wants either a new trial or a judgment of acquittal on the charges.

WINK News spoke to Hollander in April after Desmaret was convicted.

“He told the judge he was hearing voices, which made my job a whole lot harder because he was listening to God, not me,” Hollander said. “We had a constant conflict. If I said ‘A,’ he said ‘B.’ I was hoping for a life sentence. Giving death sentences to people who are psychiatrically not all there… we’re supposed to be a little better than that in society.”

“I’m hearing voices,” Desmaret said at one point during the trial. “When I’m alone, I hear things… see them.”

“I think the jury realized his mental health issues and they recognized it,” Hollander said. “Even though they found aggravating factors, they found that whatever happened did not require a death sentence.”

The judge has allotted 10 minutes at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday to hear Desmaret’s case.