Paralegals & Legal Secretaries

FORT PIERCE ? Edwina Jackson's co-workers say they have a hard time sitting at her old desk.

Her name is still labeled on her stapler and other office supplies at the Brandt & Gufford law firm in Stuart, where she worked for four years. Her number is still programmed in their cell phones.

Several of her co-workers Thursday said they can't bear to remove those reminders of Jackson, whom they remembered as a warm-hearted friend who sang beautiful songs around the office and sometimes liked to play pranks.

"She was a character and always fun to be around," said her boss, attorney Joseph Gufford.

Several of her co-workers joined Jackson's family in a St. Lucie County courtroom Thursday afternoon to watch as the man convicted of second-degree murder in her death was sentenced to two consecutive life terms.

Circuit Judge Cynthia Cox ordered the maximum possible sentence for Alden Benjamin White, 17, of Port St. Lucie. A jury in April found White guilty of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder in a brash drive-by shooting last spring that killed 30-year-old Jackson and injured her boyfriend Ricardo Thomas.

After Thursday's sentencing, Jackson's father said the family was relieved White's trial is over and satisfied with the jury's verdict.

White and his family did not speak during his sentencing hearing, but several women yelled "I love you" as they led him out of the courtroom.

White was 16 and a resident of Cocoa when the shooting occurred near 29th Street and Avenue B in Fort Pierce on May 26, 2007. During his trial, prosecutors offered no motive for the crime, but speculated outside the courtroom that White may have encountered Thomas at a rap concert in Cocoa.

They argued a time-stamped Burger King receipt and White's DNA found on a chewed straw in the attackers' car linked him and an accomplice to the couple's shooting.

Police began investigating White after discovering he was friends with the man who borrowed the car before the attacks. An assault rifle was found under White's mattress that matched one of the two types used in the shootings.

The second alleged shooter and two men who reportedly drove vehicles for the attackers also have been arrested in connection with the shootings and are awaiting trial.

Jackson's co-workers said Thursday they hope all charged in the case also get the maximum sentenced allowed. They said Jackson, who worked her way up from file clerk to paralegal, did every job in their office expect that of an attorney, and always with a smile and cheerful attitude.

"The word I'd use to describe her is joyous," attorney Arthur Brandt said.

Her co-workers and family have set up a scholarship fund in her name. Those wishing to donate should contact the Brandt & Gufford law firm at 221-1922.  (Source >>>)