The Commission on Capital Cases updates thisinformation regularly.  This information; however, is subject to changeand may not reflect the latest status of an inmate’s case and should not berelied upon for statistical or legal purposes. 

PHILLIPS, Galante (B/M)

DC#    J03479

DOB:  07/11/1979

­­­Fourth Judicial Circuit, Duval County Case #06-15566

Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Mallory D. Cooper

Attorney, Trial: Francis Jerome Shea – Public Defender’sOffice
Attorney, Direct Appeal: Registry – Frank J. Tassone, Jr.

Date ofOffense:         10/18/05

Date of Sentence:       09/19/08

Circumstances of Offense:

Galante Romar Phillips was convicted and sentenced to deathfor the murder of Christopher Aligada on October 18, 2005.  Phillips wasalso convicted of robbery with a deadly weapon.

On the evening of October 18, 2005, Phillips entered theparking lot of the Builder’s First Source lumber yard with the intent to commita robbery.  Sometime between 8:00 and 8:30 p.m., Phillips approached anemployee of Builder’s First who had just finished with his shift and asked himif the shift was getting off.  The employee, Mr. Long, asked Phillips whomhe was waiting for, but Phillips got annoyed and asked him again if the shiftwas getting off.  Mr. Long replied that, yes, the shift was gettingoff.  Mr. Long then got into his vehicle and left.

A few minutes later, between 8:30 and 8:45 p.m., ChristopherAligada and Wilbur Sweet finished working and headed towards their vehicles inthe parking lot.  Mr. Sweet testified that he was cranking his truck witha screwdriver, and when he stepped back from the truck he saw a man, whom helater positively identified as Phillips, standing there with a gun.  Phillips pointed the gun at Mr. Sweet and demanded money.  At first, Mr.Sweet said he did not have any money.  But, in fact, Mr. Sweet had $3,100with him that day, which he was going to use to purchase a car for hisson.  When Phillips continued to point the gun at Mr. Sweet and demandmoney, Mr. Sweet put his hands up, and Phillips went into Mr. Sweet’s pocketand took his money and his wallet.

According to another employee who witnessed the events, whenPhillips approached Mr. Sweet, Mr. Aligada began running towards them andyelling.  The employee then heard two gun shots and saw Mr. Aligada fallto the ground.  Mr. Sweet testified that as soon as Phillips removed themoney from his pocket, Phillips turned and fired his gun two times.  WhenMr. Sweet saw that Phillips had shot Mr. Aligada, Mr. Sweet ran off, andPhillips then shot at him.  Phillips then jumped in Mr. Sweet’s vehicleand drove off.

Officers testified that Mr. Sweet’s abandoned vehicle wasfound in the middle of the road about a block away from Builder’sFirst.   Testing of the vehicle revealed that DNA consistent withPhillip’s DNA was on the gearshift.  Further, a DNA analyst testified thatthe possibility of finding someone in the population who had the same DNAprofile as that found on the gearshift was approximately one in 9.5 trillionAfrican Americans.

A few weeks after the murder, Phillips admitted to hisgirlfriend, Katrina Joyce, that he robbed a man and shot someone who was tryingto be a hero and stop the robbery.  She was also told that the shootingoccurred in a parking lot. She decided not to contact the police department atfirst, but sometime in March 2006 she called the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Officeand identified Phillips as someone who may have committed a crime.  Ms.Joyce also agreed to meet with Phillips and allow the police to record theconversation.  Part of that recording, which was played for the jury attrial, related Phillips stating that he shot a person because “he interfered insomething that didn’t concern him, he tried to play hero and prevent what wasgoing on.” Joyce also asked what he got out of all of this and Phillips repliedthat he got some money, although he had to split it three ways and some of itgot lost while he was running away.

Phillips also acknowledged to the police that he killed Mr.Aligada.  In a videotaped recording, which was played for the jury,Phillips related the details of the crime.  Throughout the interview, Phillipsrelated several reasons for shooting Mr. Aligada.  He first said, “It wasan accident.  He forced me.”  He also stated that he knew Mr. Aligadaand that he had spoken to him a few weeks before about applying for a job atBuilder’s First.  “But he put me in a situation to where I wanted to comeout on top that I wouldn’t come out if I let him prevent me from gettingaway.  I’m on foot so I couldn’t let him stop me.  He put me in asituation,” he said.  Phillips reasoned that Mr. Aligada did not have toget out of his truck, but yet he rushed up on Phillips and tried to grab hisgun.

Phillips further stated that, after the shooting he pulledaway and went to a back road, but his getaway driver was gone.  Phillipsfound the driver eventually, and was dropped off at home.  Phillips saidthat he left town the next day and traveled to either Carolina or Georgia andthat the gun he used was gone because he dismantled it and “spread it all overa state.”

After the videotape ended, the interviewing officertestified that neither the money nor the gun was ever recovered and that thedetectives were never able to implicate any other accomplices to thecrime.  The jury vote for the death penalty was (7-5).    

Prior Incarceration History in the State of Florida:

Trial Summary:

11/29/2006     Indicted as follows:

                                   Count I:          First-Degree Murder

                                   Count II:         Armed Robbery

04/09/2008     Jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment

04/23/2008     Jury recommended death by a vote of 7-5

09/19/2008     Sentenced as follows:

                                   Count I:          First-Degree Murder – Death Sentence

                                   Count II:         Robbery Gun/DeadlyWeapon –Sentenced to Life

Appeal Summary:

Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal

FSC#08-1882

So. 3d 2010 WL 1904537

10/06/08         Appeal filed

05/13/10         Convictions and Sentences Affirmed
05/24/10          Motion forRehearing

07/09/10         Rehearing Denied

07/26/10         Mandate

United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ ofCertiorari

USSC# 10-6158

08/25/10         Petition filed

11/01/10         Petition denied

Case Information:

On 10/06/08, Phillips filed a Direct Appeal to the FloridaSupreme Court.  The following issues were raised: the trial court erred infinding and instructing the jury on the avoid-arrest aggravator, the trialcourt erred in instructing the jury during the penalty phase, the deathsentence is not proportionate, the trial court erred in not striking the jurypanel or granting a new trial after some jurors observed Phillips wearingshackles, handcuffs, and a jail uniform, and whether the evidence wassufficient to sustain Phillip’s conviction.  On 05/13/19 the FloridaSupreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentence of the lower court.  Amotion for rehearing was submitted on 05/24/10.  This motion was denied on07/09/10.   On 07/26/10, the Florida Supreme Court issued amandate.  On 08/25/10, Phillips filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorariwith the United States Supreme Court.  This petition was denied on11/01/10.

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Report Date:  06/01/10          CAR

Updated:        04/18/11         CAR