Murder convict guilty of burglary
When a judge granted Nima Nash Moradi bond after he was arrested on second-degree murder charges for a 2012 stabbing and carjacking, he was ordered to stay at his Windermere home with a supportive family that would supervise him until trial, court records show.
But a little more than a year after his release, the 25-year-old burglarized a neighbor’s home, shattered a window and slashed a screen door, prosecutors allege.
A jury already convicted Moradi of the murder charge in a July trial, records show, and he is awaiting sentencing in that case. On Tuesday, a separate jury added the burglary conviction to his record. They found him guilty of burglary of a dwelling with a mask, possession of burglary tools and misdemeanor criminal mischief.
The decision to release Moradi came after the court’s Chief Judge and Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs suspended the county’s electronic monitoring program in response to two cases, including the murder of a witness, that brought the measures under scrutiny.
In earlier attempts to get Moradi out of jail, attorneys suggested enrolling him in the county’s home confinement program, in which defendants wear an ankle monitor to ensure they don’t leave their residence. But by the time Circuit Judge Renee A. Roche agreed to set bond, that program had ended.
In closing arguments for the burglary trial Tuesday, jurors did not hear about the timeline leading up to the break-in.
Moradi was first arrested on Feb. 17, 2012, in connection with the murder of Richard Luyo in an upscale Dr. Phillips neighborhood.
According to investigative reports, Luyo came to Moradi’s house to buy cellphones. He parked outside, leaving his 5-year-old son in the car. A fight ensued and ended in both men getting stabbed, court records say.
Luyo ran back to his car to drive away, and Moradi followed and jumped in. At some point, the men tussled again on the ground and got back in the car. Luyo ultimately crashed into a light post and died days later of stab wounds at a hospital. Moradi fled the scene and was arrested in Tallahassee about a week later.
Moradi sat in jail for more than a year and half without bond as he awaited trial. After multiple attempts to release him, Judge Roche agreed to set Moradi’s bond at $100,000.
Court records do not indicate her reasoning, but defense attorneys argued that Moradi posed no threat to the public because he acted in self-defense.
To assuage concerns that Moradi could endanger the community,
In closing arguments for the trial, jurors did not hear about the timeline leading up to the break-in.
attorneys wrote “Mr. Moradi and his family are longtime residents of Florida, and Mr. Moradi resides in Windermere with close family members who care for and support him in the Central Florida community.”
As part of her ordering granting bond, Roche also required Moradi to turn over his passport, remain under his mother’s watch and stay home.
By Dec. 2 the following year, Moradi was back in jail on the burglary charge. This time, he was held on no bond.
In this week’s trial, defense attorney Bryce Fetter did not paint the break-in as a violent crime. He said Moradi was mad at his neighbor, a close family friend, over a recent divorce and damaged the home to send a message.
But Assistant State Attorney Mark Interlicchio argued Moradi intended to steal from the home because he was found running from the scene wearing a ski mask and latex gloves and carrying an empty backpack.
Sentencing for both cases is set for Dec. 18.