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. 

WADE, Alan Lyndell (W/M)

DC#:  J35401

DOB: 05/22/87

­­­4th Judicial Circuit, Duval County Case # 16-2005-CF-010263-BX

Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Michael R. Weatherby

Attorney, Trial: Refik Eler – Public Defender’s Office

Attorney, Direct Appeal: Frank J. Tassone, Jr. – Private

Attorney, Collateral Appeals: Ann Finnell --Registry

Date of Offense: 07/08/05

Date of Sentence: 03/04/08

Circumstances of Offense:

Alan Lyndell Wade and codefendants Tiffany Ann Cole, MichaelJames Jackson and Bruce Kent Nixon were convicted for the July 8, 2005,robbery, kidnapping and first-degree murders of Reggie and Carol Sumner, aretired couple living in Jacksonville, Florida. 

The group’s plan to rob the couple originated fromcodefendant Tiffany Ann Cole’s information, which was gained as a result of aprior relationship with the Sumners.  The Sumner’s had been neighbors ofCole when they lived in South Carolina.  Wade knew Jackson and hisgirlfriend, Cole, because he had visited and partied with them in SouthCarolina in the summer of 2005 and had known codefendant Jackson for at least ayear.  In June 2005, Cole and Jackson visited Wade, who lived inJacksonville.  During this visit, the Sumners’ let Cole and Jackson staywith them in Jacksonville. 

In June, Wade arrived at his longtime friend Nixon’s home inJacksonville driving a Mazda RX-8 that Cole had rented in South Carolina. Wade told Nixon of a vague plan to rob someone but offered no specifics. Two evenings before the murders, Wade contacted Nixon and asked whether Nixonwould like to join him, Jackson, and Cole in digging a hole.  Nixon agreedand stole four shovels from his neighborhood before the others arrived at hishome in the Mazda.

The foursome searched for and decided on a good location forthe hole—a remote, wooded area just across the state line in Georgia. They dug a large, deep hole and returned to the car. Wade asked Jackson ifNixon could join their robbery plan and Jackson agreed.

In preparation, the defendants purchased disposable rubbergloves, duct tape, a large roll of plastic wrap and a toy gun that shot plasticpellets.  At approximately 10:00 p.m. on July 8, 2005, Cole drove herthree codefendants in the rented Mazda RX-8 to the Sumners’ home.  She andJackson remained in the car while Wade and Nixon approached theresidence.  When Carol Sumner opened the door, they asked to use herphone, and she invited them in.  Upon entering, Wade pulled out the phoneline while Nixon pointed the toy gun at the couple.  Nixon took the coupleinto the spare bedroom and used duct tape to secure their hands and legs andcover the mouths and eyes.  Jackson then entered the house after being signaledthe victims were secured.  Wade and Jackson began searching for financialinformation.  A pile of mail and financial statements and Mr. Sumner’scoin collection were taken to the Mazda.

At Jackson’s direction, Wade and Nixon walked the Sumnersout to their own Lincoln Town Car and put the couple in its trunk. According to the plan, the two headed for the pre-dug grave where, uponarrival, Wade and Jackson buried the couple alive.

Later, Wade and Jackson drove the Lincoln up to the roadwhere Cole and Nixon waited.  Jackson held a yellow legal pad and reportedthat it contained the previously unknown personal identification numbers (PINS)for the Sumners’ bank cards.  Then, with Wade and Nixon in the Lincoln andCole in the Mazda, the foursome drove to Sanderson, Florida, where theyabandoned the Lincoln after wiping it clean of prints.  They left the fourshovels in the trunk.

All four defendants then returned to Jacksonville in theMazda.  They withdrew money from one of the Sumners’ accounts at an ATMmachine and went to their hotel. They also returned to the Sumners’ home andstole the computer.  Nixon stayed with the defendants for another day andthen went home.  Wade stayed with Cole and Jackson and traveled with themto Charleston, South Carolina.  There Cole rented two hotel rooms—one forher and Jackson and one for Wade.

Carol Sumner reported her inability to contact her parentsto the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office on July 10.  On July 12, the car wasfound.  An investigation by law enforcement showed an unusual number ofrecent ATM withdrawals.  Video from the ATMs showed Michael Jackson’s faceand a silver Mazda in the background.  Wade called Nixon to tell him thatthe Lincoln had been found.

On July 14, Jackson, Cole and Wade were located and arrestedat their South Carolina hotel and their rooms were searched pursuant towarrants.  Carol Sumner’s key ring, which contained the keys to theLincoln, was found on the nightstand in Wade’s room.  In Cole andJackson’s room, officers found a suitcase full of the Sumners’ financialrecords, bags of recent purchases made on the Sumners’ accounts, receipts forthose purchases and for purchases made earlier in Jacksonville and other items,including the Sumners’ driver licenses, credit and bank cards, and checks andcheck register.  Notably, a check for $8,000 on the Sumners’ account hadbeen made payable to Alan Wade.  Officers also searched Cole’s car, aChevy Lumina, and the Mazda, which had not been returned to the rental agencybut had been recovered by law enforcement officers.  In the Lumina, theofficers found Reggie Sumner’s coin collection and, in the Mazda, they foundWade’s fingerprints on one of the victim’s magazines.  They also found anunused roll of plastic wrap with Cole’s and Jackson’s fingerprints on it.

Nixon was arrested, and he took officers to the Georgiagravesite.  A roll of duct tape was found there.  On the morning ofJuly 15, law enforcement officers began the excavation of the gravesite. Both victims were found fully clothed and sitting in crouched positions, withat least two feet of dirt over their heads.  The medical examinertestified that both Reggie and Carol were alive in the hole before the dirt wasshoveled in on them.  Their mouths, nostrils, throats, esophagi, andtracheae contained fine sprays of dirt, indicating that the dirt wasinhaled.  Both victims died of a combination of mechanical asphyxiation,as the dirt compressed their chests and abdomens, and smothering, as the dirtpiled up around their heads and obstructed their noses and mouths.

Codefendant Information:

Tiffany Cole – Death

Michael Jackson – Death

Bruce Kent Nixon – Twoconcurrent sentences of 45 years (pleaded guilty to second-degree murder)

Additional Information:

Bruce Kent Nixon pleadedguilty to two counts of second-degree murder in exchange for his cooperationwith the State and his testimony against his three codefendants at theirseparate trials.

Trial Summary:

08/18/05         Indicted as follows:

                                   Count I:          First-Degree Murder (Reggie Sumner)

                                   Count II:         First-Degree Murder(Carol Sumner)

                                   Count III:        Armed Robbery

                                   Count IV:        Armed Robbery

                                   Count V:         Kidnapping

                                   Count VI:        Kidnapping

10/24/07         Jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment

11/15/07         Jury recommended death by a vote of 11-1

03/04/08         Sentenced as follows:

                                   Count I:          First-Degree Murder (Reggie Sumner) – Death

                                   Count II:         First-Degree Murder (CarolSumner) – Death

                                   Count III:        Armed Robbery – 15 years

                                   Count IV:        Armed Robbery – 15 years

                                   Count V:         Kidnapping – Life inPrison

                                   Count VI:        Kidnapping – Life in Prison

Appeal Summary:

Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal

FSC# 08-573

41 So.3d 857

03/27/08          Appealfiled

11/04/09          OralArgument

05/06/10          FSCaffirmed convictions and sentences

08/20/10          Mandateissued

United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ ofCertiorari

USSC# 10-7410

131 S.Ct. 1004

11/01/10          Petitionfiled

01/18/11          Petitiondenied

Factors Contributing to the Delay in Imposition ofSentence:

Case Information:

On 03/27/08, Wade filedan Initial Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court.  Wade makes the followingarguments: (1) his death sentences are disproportionate to codefendant Nixon’ssentences, and the trial court erred in sentencing Wade to death without consideringNixon’s sentence, (2) the prosecutor made statements during closing argument inboth phases of trial that constitute fundamental error, (3) the trial courterred in denying Wade’s motion for mistrial regarding a “golden rule” violationby the prosecutor, (4) the trial court erred in denying the defense motion topreclude imposition of the death penalty under Furman v. Georgia, 408U.S. 238 (1972), (5) the trial court erred in denying the defense motion todisallow the death penalty as a sentence because Florida does not have uniformstandards for determining whether to seek the death penalty (6) the trial courterred in dismissing potential juror Butler for cause, and (7) the deathsentences are precluded by Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005). On 05/06/10, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the judgment and sentences. The mandate was issued on 08/20/10.

On 11/01/10, Wade filed aPetition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court.  Thepetition was denied on 01/18/11.

________________________________________________________________________

Report Date:   05/12/10          MJH

Approved:       05/12/10          RM

Updated:         01/25/11          MJH