Earl Antonio Joiner was found guilty and sentenced to 25 years in prison for one count of second-degree murder. It is a 25-year minimum/mandatory sentence. He was also ordered to not have any contact with the victim’s family.

Joiner was arrested in 2019 for the murder of his girlfriend, who was found shot to death in her Fort Myers apartment. She was murdered sometime between Feb. 13, 2016, and Feb. 14, 2016.

Just after the murder, Joiner called 911 to report that he had discovered the victim bleeding and unresponsive. She had been shot once in the head.

The case was investigated by the Fort Myers Police Department. Early in the case, there was not enough evidence to make an arrest. A major source of evidence came from phone records retrieved from the defendant’s cell phone. As more information was uncovered surrounding the crime, an arrest warrant was issued for Joiner.

The defendant was arrested in Lake Wales, in central Florida, with the assistance of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and Lake Wales Police Department. Assistant State Attorney Sara Miller of the State Attorney’s Office Homicide Unit and Assistant State Attorney Jennifer Royal, Assistant County Court Chief, prosecuted the case.

Source: Office of the State Attorney Twentieth Judicial Circuit