KEY WEST, May 14, 2020 – A Key West man who repeatedly violated probation stemming from a 2017 arrest has been sentenced to state prison following his most recent transgressions.
Roger Walls, 48, was given several second chances by Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Mark Jones but on May 6, he sentenced Walls to 30 months in prison after Walls admitted his most recent violations. Assistant State Attorney Patrick Flanigan represented the state.
The original case is from May 16, 2017, when Key West police were called to a Truman Avenue convenience store about a fight between a man, Walls, and a woman. Both told police the woman paid Walls to drive her around since she had no license. That night, he wanted to call it quits but they argued.
The woman told police Walls punched her in the face. Walls denied striking her, even though she had a 3-inch cut on her forehead. He said she fell on the pavement, but police noted her dress was clean and there was no dirt on her hands.
Walls was arrested for battery. At jail, he was found to have 10 Oxycodone pills in one of his socks, which turned out to be prescription tablets he took from the woman’s car, so Walls was also charged with possession of a controlled substance without a prescription.
In June 2017, Walls pleaded no contest to both charges and Judge Jones placed Walls on 24 months of probation. Shortly thereafter, Walls failed to submit to court-ordered urinalysis for illegal substances and, in a test he did take, tested positive for cocaine. Walls admitted the violations in August 2017 and had probation extended by six months.
Walls violated probation again by testing positive for cocaine and failing to submit to drug testing. In November 2017, he admitted to the violations and had probation reinstated.
Walls again violated the same terms of his probation and Judge Jones handed down a new period of 35 months of probation in September 2018.
On May 6th of this year, Walls again admitted to violating probation for refusing drug testing, unsuccessfully being discharged from a treatment program, not paying the cost of his supervision and court costs, moving without permission from his probation officer and failing to report to his probation officer.