JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville man, whose infant son is missing and believed to be dead, was sentenced Wednesday to 35 years in prison on unrelated charges.
Dwayne Curtis Weedon pleaded guilty to charges of armed robbery and three counts of burglary in June.
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Weedon spoke to a Duval County judge before the sentencing hearing, expressing remorse for his crimes and saying his life went on a downward spiral because he couldn't earn enough to support his four children and he needed fast money to pay bills.
One of those children was baby Nehemiah, who hasn't been seen since 2014. Weedon didn't mention Nehemiah by name, and wasn't asked about the baby.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said it believes the baby was dead in October 2014. Weedon was wanted for questioning in the disappearance of his son.
The state attorney's office said the investigation into what happened to Nehemiah is still ongoing.
Weedon was arrested in February on several outstanding warrants after a Crime Stoppers tip was called in connection with an incident Jan. 8 at a Subway near Regency Square.
Police said he took money and stole keys from a young woman inside the restaurant.
Weedon was also charged with burglary without a weapon in connection with an incident in December 2015.
Missing baby presumed dead
The Sheriff's Office said Nehemiah's mother, Kristen Branch, was pregnant in the Duval County jail in March 2014. She had been arrested on drug, fraud and forgery charges.
In August 2014, the then-26-year-old was taken from the jail to UF Health Jacksonville, where she gave birth to a child named Nehemiah. Branch turned the child over to Weedon, his biological father.
Authorities said Weedon was homeless and stayed at the Sulzbacher Center along with the couple's two other children, ages 2 and 4, while Branch was in jail. She was sentenced in September 2014 and served her time at the Florida State Prison.
According to JSO Chief Tom Hackney, Weedon was having trouble caring for Nehemiah and he told a case worker at Sulzbacher in October 2014 that he made arrangements with an out-of-town relative to take custody of Nehemiah.
Police said Weedon was asked to leave Sulzbacher in December 2014 with his two other children because of behavioral issues. Nearly a year later, Branch finished her sentence at Florida State Prison and was released in November 2015.
She contacted Weedon and took custody of her two children and he told her that he gave Nehemiah to an out-of-state relative. However, Branch, along with some of her family members in St. Johns County, began questioning Weedon's story about the baby in December 2015.