The jury’s verdict sets up a Dec. 8 sentencing hearing, where prosecutors are seeking life in prison without parole. On Wednesday, an Elmore County Circuit Court jury convicted Isaac Mathis of attempted murder, first-degree robbery, first-degree rape and attempted arson. Jurors deliberated for 24 minutes. Prosecutors said the charges stemmed from an attack more than two years ago in which Mathis forced a Prattville shopping center employee into a back room at gunpoint, assaulted her and tried to set the business on fire.
Mathis, a 31-year-old man from Pompano Beach, Florida, was arrested Aug. 9, 2024, according to the Elmore County District Attorney's Office, after the attack at a business in Prattville's High Point Shopping Center. According to police testimony reported by WSFA, the woman alleged that Mathis forced her into a back room at gunpoint, tied her up, then beat and sexually assaulted her until she lost consciousness several times.
Prosecutors said Mathis bound and assaulted the woman, threatened to kill her, poured a chemical agent into her eyes and throat, took money, and started a fire inside the store, according to WBMA. The woman testified that she awoke to see Mathis trying to set the room on fire, the same WSFA report notes.
Victim Fought Back and Fled for Help
Police said that after the woman regained consciousness, she fought back, ran from the business to a nearby store for help, and Mathis later surrendered to police. The attack left her with a broken right hand and extensive bruising on her face and body, according to the Montgomery Advertiser, and she was treated at a Birmingham hospital.
In the days after the attack, Elmore County District Judge Ben Baxley ordered Mathis held without bond following an Aniah's Law hearing. The same report detailed Mathis's criminal history, noting prosecutors said he had seven adult felony convictions in Florida, including armed burglary, armed carjacking, robbery and grand theft of a vehicle.
Defendant Removed From Courtroom
WSFA reported that Mathis was removed from the courtroom during the arresting officer’s testimony. District Attorney CJ Robinson said the survivor’s testimony was central to the case, according to WBMA.
Mathis is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 8 by Judge Joy Booth. Prosecutors are seeking life in prison without the possibility of parole, citing his prior record in Florida as grounds for the request, WBMA reported.
How Alabama's Habitual Offender Law Factors In
Alabama's Habitual Felony Offender Act can trigger a life prison sentence — sometimes even life without the possibility of parole — depending on a defendant's criminal record, according to al.com. If at least one prior conviction was a Class A felony, life without parole is mandatory under the law, which has resulted in longer sentences for about 27 percent of inmates in the state prison system, per the same report.
What must be proved for prior convictions to count?
Alabama Rule of Criminal Procedure 26.6 requires the state to prove the prior felony convictions it relies on; if it does not meet that burden, the defendant cannot be sentenced as a habitual offender. The rule also says an out-of-state conviction counts only if the conduct underlying it constitutes, or would have constituted, a felony under Alabama law, according to the Alabama Judicial System. The legal overview cited above says life without parole is mandatory if at least one prior conviction was a Class A felony. That limits a judge’s discretion when the required prior conviction is established; the overview does not detail the judge’s options in other circumstances. The state’s proof and whether the Florida convictions meet Alabama’s test are therefore relevant to the sentencing request.
