In the predawn hours of September 25, 2023, three men set out from a Tallahassee hotel to rob homes for cash, and in doing so, nearly took a young officer's life and shattered the peace of two households miles apart. Nearly three years later, a jury of their peers deliberated for four hours before finding all three guilty — the shooter, the participant, and the driver — each accountable for their role in a chain of violence that began with greed and ended in a courtroom. The verdict does not undo the blood spilled or the fear endured, but it marks the moment a community's reckoning with that n
Three convicted in violent 2023 crime spree that nearly killed Tallahassee officer
Officer Caleb Babb was shot in the hip and nearly bled to death; another man was shot in the face while sleeping; a third person was shot at but unharmed.
Nearly bled to death, then returned to watch justice
Mark
What strikes you most about how this case came together?
Mimi
The physical evidence was almost surgical in its precision. A shoe left behind, DNA analysis that's nearly impossible to argue with. But what stays with me is Babb—a rookie, shot in the hip, nearly bled out, and then three years later he's sitting in the courtroom watching the verdict. That's not just survival. That's bearing witness to accountability.
Luke
The DNA figure—700 billion times more likely—that's a real number from the lab analyst, right? Because that's the kind of statistic that can sound like certainty but needs context.
Mimi
It's what the crime lab testified to. It's strong evidence, but you're right to flag it. The shoe print match at both scenes is what really ties it together.
Mark
Why did they hit two homes that morning? Was it random, or were they targeting specific people?
Mimi
The source doesn't say. We know they were after cash, but whether they knew these homes or just chose them in the dark—that's not in the record I have.
Luke
And the other victims—the man shot in the face, the father who was shot at—do we know their condition beyond survival?
Mimi
Only that the first man survived being shot in the face. The father wasn't hit. Nothing more is documented about their recovery or their lives after.
Mark
What happens next for these three?
Mimi
Sentencing. Judge Sjostrom set a case management conference for June 1st and said he'd set a special sentencing date later. These are serious felonies—attempted murder of a police officer, home invasion, armed robbery. The sentences could be substantial.
Luke
Do we know what charges they were actually convicted of? The story says they were found guilty in connection with the crime spree, but the specific counts aren't listed.
Mimi
That's a gap. The verdict is guilty, but the exact charges—that would matter for understanding what sentencing could look like.
The Pulse
- A violent predawn robbery spree across two Tallahassee neighborhoods left one man shot in the face while sleeping and a rookie police officer bleeding from a severed femoral artery — his survival far from certain in those first moments.
- The three men — shooter, accomplice, and getaway driver — had coordinated their crimes from a hotel room, targeting homes for cash and leaving a trail of gunfire ten miles wide.
- Physical evidence became the spine of the prosecution: a size 12 Jordan shoe abandoned in flight carried DNA 700 billion times more likely to belong to the shooter than anyone else, tying him to both scenes.
- Officer Caleb Babb, who nearly bled to death at the scene, recovered fully and returned to testify — sitting in the courtroom to hear the verdicts that closed the case he had lived through.
- After more than four hours of deliberation, the jury convicted all three men; sentencing dates are yet to be set, with a case management conference scheduled for June 1st.
In the predawn hours of September 25, 2023, three men set out from a Tallahassee hotel to rob homes for cash, and in doing so, nearly took a young officer's life and shattered the peace of two households miles apart. Nearly three years later, a jury of their peers deliberated for four hours before finding all three guilty — the shooter, the participant, and the driver — each accountable for their role in a chain of violence that began with greed and ended in a courtroom. The verdict does not undo the blood spilled or the fear endured, but it marks the moment a community's reckoning with that night moves from wound to record.
Three men checked out of a Baymont Hotel on the morning of September 25, 2023, with a plan to rob homes for cash. What they left behind was a trail of gunfire across two Tallahassee neighborhoods, a man shot in the face while he slept, and a police officer who nearly bled to death in the street.
John'Darious Wright was the shooter. Rahyim Sanders participated in the invasions. Tyrell Guinnie drove the getaway car — Wright's white Toyota Corolla. Their first target was a home on Cypress Point Road, where a man was shot in the face and his father narrowly escaped injury. Ten miles away, they struck again on Sandpiper Street, firing rounds inside before fleeing into the dark.
Rookie officer Caleb Babb responded to the second scene. As he pursued Sanders, Wright opened fire. The bullet caught Babb in the right hip and severed his femoral artery. He nearly died where he fell. That he survived at all seemed uncertain in those first moments — yet he recovered fully, and nearly three years later, he sat in Leon County Courtroom 2F to watch the verdict read aloud.
The case against the three men rested heavily on physical evidence. Wright had lost a size 12 Jordan shoe while fleeing the second location. A state crime lab analyst testified that DNA recovered from it was 700 billion times more likely to belong to Wright than to any other person, and the shoe's print matched one found at the first scene. Prosecutors described Wright as having an "itchy trigger finger," firing without hesitation at both locations in pursuit of what the men called "cheese" — street slang for cash.
On Friday, May 1st, after more than four hours of deliberation, the jury found all three men guilty. Judge Jonathan Sjostrom ordered them taken to the Leon County Detention Facility in handcuffs. Sentencing dates will follow a June 1st case management conference. The legal chapter is closing — but the weight of that September morning, measured in blood and survival, remains the story's truest record.
Three men left a Baymont Hotel on the morning of September 25, 2023, with a single purpose: to rob homes for cash. What followed was a violent spree across Tallahassee that would leave one man shot in the face while he slept, another wounded, and a police officer fighting for his life from a severed artery. On Friday, May 1st, after more than four hours of deliberation, a jury found all three guilty of their roles in the crime.
John'Darious Wright, 28, was the shooter. Rahyim Sanders, 28, participated in the invasions. Tyrell Guinnie, 29, drove the getaway car—Wright's white Toyota Corolla. The two home invasions struck locations ten miles apart in the predawn darkness. At the first house on Cypress Point Road, a man woke to gunfire and was shot in the face but survived. His father was also shot at but escaped injury. The attackers moved on to a townhouse on Sandpiper Street, where they fired more rounds inside before fleeing.
Caleb Babb, a rookie officer with the Tallahassee Police Department, responded to the second shooting. As he chased Sanders, Wright opened fire. The bullet struck Babb in the right hip and severed his femoral artery. He nearly bled to death at the scene. The injury was catastrophic enough that his survival seemed uncertain in those first moments, yet Babb recovered fully. Nearly three years later, he sat in Leon County Courtroom 2F to watch the verdict that would define the case he had lived through.
The evidence against the three men was methodical and physical. Wright had slipped out of a size 12 Jordan shoe while fleeing the second location, leaving it behind. A crime lab analyst from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement testified that DNA found on the shoe was 700 billion times more likely to belong to Wright than to any other person. The same shoe print matched one left at the first scene. Assistant State Attorney Georgia Cappleman told jurors that Wright had an "itchy trigger finger," firing indiscriminately at both locations in pursuit of what the men called "cheese"—street slang for cash.
Babb took the stand on Tuesday, April 28th, the trial's opening day, to testify for the state. He watched closing arguments and heard the guilty verdicts read aloud on Friday. Judge Jonathan Sjostrom ordered all three men taken to the Leon County Detention Facility in handcuffs. A case management conference was scheduled for June 1st, with sentencing dates to follow. The violence that began before dawn on a September morning three years ago now moves toward its legal conclusion, though the weight of what happened—the blood, the fear, the officer who nearly died—remains the story's true measure.
Notable Quotes
The evidence has shown that the conduct of these men was so dangerous. The evidence is there, and they must be held accountable for their roles.— Assistant State Attorney Georgia Cappleman, closing arguments
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Crime & Justice