Man who attacked Realtor in St. Petersburg home gets life sentence

A man who beat and robbed a Realtor inside a St. Petersburg home five years ago was sentenced to life in prison Friday.

A jury found James Parcher, 32, guilty of armed robbery, aggravated battery and burglary. The life term was a mandatory sentence.

In March 2006, Parcher posed as a house hunter and set up an appointment with Realtor Julie Roberts to view vacant houses. At a house in the 1200 block of 14th Street N, Parcher attacked Roberts from behind by hitting her in the head with a gun. Parcher cuffed her with plastic ties and robbed her. He later was arrested after using her ATM card.

Part of the reason the case took so long to reach trial was that Parcher was represented by the Regional Office of Conflict Counsel during a time of high turnover. Then he began representing himself, which delayed the proceedings.

On Wednesday, Roberts finally got to testify against him. Jurors took only about an hour to find Parcher guilty Friday night.

"I am happy for Julie Roberts because she waited for six years for her justice, and a very dangerous person has been taken off the streets," Prosecutor Scott Rosenwasser said after the verdict.