Judge in James Rhodes case denies motions to remove State Attorney's Office, sanction prosecutor

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The mother of a local woman gunned down at work is fighting for a life sentence instead of the death penalty for the man suspected in killing her daughter.

James Rhodes is accused of killing Shelby Farah at a Metro PCS store in 2013.

Darlene Farah, Shelby’s mother, went head to head with prosecutors at a pre-trial hearing on Monday.

Farah said she does not feel sorry for Rhodes but believes that if the state takes Rhodes’ plea deal for life in prison without parole the case would be over with and her family would be spared years of appeal.

“I feel like life in prison without parole and no appeals is a death sentence because he will die in prison,” said Darlene Farah.

Darlene Farah started a petition urging the State Attorney's Office to take the plea deal, it has more than 7,500 supporters.

A very tense family dynamic was on display in court Monday between Darlene Farah and her son. Darlene Farah was called to the stand by the defense and her son was called by the state.

The defense filed motions that alleged the State Attorney’s Office has been creating tension among family members and asked the judge to remove the State Attorney’s Office from the case and impose sanctions against prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda.

The difference of opinion between mother and son were clear Monday. Darlene Farah has been very vocal against the death penalty and her son wants Rhodes to be sentenced to death. She said on the stand that she feels she’s being punished for disagreeing with the state on the death penalty.

Just recently, at the son's request, de la Rionda showed him the surveillance video which shows Shelby Farah getting killed. The defense claimed that by showing the video, it caused a major family rift.

But the state argued that they tried to warn Darlene Farah’s son about the graphic detail of the video and made numerous attempts to discourage it.

Darlene Farah said she doesn't know if she'll ever be able to repair her relationship with the State Attorney's Office.

“To me that's disrespecting me. I'm the victim's mother. You don’t call my son and tell him about motions before you call me. I heard it from my son,” Darlene Farah said.

De la Rionda denied the accusations and called the motions by the defense “insulting”.

“Quite frankly 99 percent of the time they're in favor of the death penalty that never comes out in the court room so that's irrelevant and there's a reason for that law specifically that's our focus here; making sure he is held accountable,” said de la Rionda.

Darlene Farah's son, 19, admitted on the stand that he was not forced or coerced by the state to watch the video. He's the one who requested to see it. The judge ruled against the defense denying those motions.

“It shouldn't be like this how it was between the prosecutor and I on the stand. We’re supposed to be on the same team and I feel like we're against each other,” said Darlene Farah.

Cox Media Group