Friend who helped DeBary teen cover up mother's murder won't have felony on his record

After Gregory Ramos, who was 15 at the time, strangled his mother to death in 2018 in DeBary, he got two friends to help him try to cover up the killing by staging a burglary.

On Friday, Circuit Judge Elizabeth Blackburn sentenced one of those friends, Brian Porras, to 14 years of probation, ordering that Porras serve the first 364 days in the Volusia County Branch Jail.

Neither Porras nor the other friend, Dylan Ceglarek, were present when Ramos killed his mother, Gail Cleavenger, 46, on Nov. 2, 2018 in their home at 35 Alicante Road. And they were not present when Ramos disposed of her body.

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The sentence was part of a plea agreement in which the now 21-year-old Porras pleaded no contest to a lesser charge of accessory after the fact to second-degree murder. The agreement capped his maximum possible sentence at 828 days, or just over two years in state prison.

The judge also withheld adjudication, meaning that Porras will not have a felony conviction on his record. The judge said she took into account that Porras was 17 at the time of the crime, a juvenile.

"You're given an opportunity today, even though you may think going to jail is not an opportunity," Blackburn said. "You're not going to come out a convicted felon."

"You can make of your future what you choose to make of it, because you are being given an opportunity today to move forward," Blackburn said. "Good luck to you, sir."

"Thank you, your honor," Porras replied.

A bailiff then handcuffed Porras as the judge finished reading the sentence. Porras took one last look toward his family as he was escorted out of the courtroom at the S. James Foxman Justice Center in Daytona Beach.

What happens next?

Once he is released, Porras must obtain a substance abuse evaluation and a mental health evaluation and follow all recommended treatments and abstain from alcohol or illegal drugs. The judge also ordered Porras to perform 100 hours of community service.

Like Porras, Ceglarek, 21, pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of accessory after the fact to second-degree murder. Ceglarek was sentenced in February 2021 to 828 days time-served in the Volusia County Branch Jail.  He had been unable to make bail and had also been held due to concerns about his mental health.

Ceglarek is now back in jail after violating probation in October by fleeing from Ormond Beach Police during a traffic stop and crashing into another vehicle, according to a charging affidavit.

Assistant State Attorney Andrew Urbanak had argued on Friday that Porras had committed the same offenses as Ceglarek and should get the same sentence: 828 days incarceration, although Porras would have had to serve that in state prison.

But Porras' defense attorney Kendell Ali said that Porras should not be punished for being able to make bail while Ceglarek could not.

Ali asked that Porras be placed on two years of community control followed by 13 years of probation.

Gail Cleavenger was killed over her son's grades

The killing was sparked by a commonplace issue among families: Ramos had argued with his mother over a grade he had received in one of his classes at University High School in Orange City.

Ramos's reaction was uncommon: He strangled the life out of his mother.

Ramos was a Boy Scout and also an Orange City police explorer. Now, Ramos is an inmate who turned 19 in June at the Lake City Correctional Facility.

Ramos reached a plea agreement in which he was adjudicated guilty of first-degree murder and other charges and sentenced in January 2021 to 45 years in state prison and a lifetime of probation.

After killing his mother, Ramos drove her body to the River City Church in Debary. Then Ramos used belt straps around her legs to drag her body to a firepit behind the church where he buried her in a shallow grave, according to Volusia County Sheriff's Sgt. Cameron Tucker, who testified during the hearing on Friday.

The next morning when Porras picked up Ramos and Ceglarek from their homes to drive them to University High School, Ramos told them he had killed his mother, Tucker said.

Ramos had injuries on his face, beneath his eyes, Tucker said. And Ramos' clothes were dirty from burying his mother.

Ramos then enlisted Porras and Ceglarek to help him stage the home burglary, throwing open drawers, cabinets and smashing items. The three of them damaged a door to make it look as if someone had broken into the house.

They then drove back to where the mother had been buried to discard items from the house. They also covered up the drag marks where Ramos had pulled his mother's body, Tucker testified.

But Volusia County Sheriff's Office detectives soon grew suspicious of Ramos' story and the three were arrested.

Ceglarek led detectives to where the body had been buried. After that Ceglarek was placed with Porras in the back seat of a Volusia Sheriff's Office patrol vehicle. The pair did not know their conversations were being recorded. Urbanak played a portion in court.

As investigators exhumed the mother's body from just a short distance away, the recorder captured Porras and Ceglarek sitting in the back seat, joking and singing, including "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall" and “Alien Boy” by Oliver Tree.

Porras said on the recording he was going to be grounded once his father learned what happened.

“I’m not going to get a birthday or Christmas or (expletive) anything. I’m going to be grounded for the next (expletive) 10 years,” Porras said.

'Sorry for this tragedy'

Porras took the stand on Friday and told Cleavenger's family in the courtroom that he regretted what had occurred.

"I want to say that I'm very sorry for this tragedy that's happened to you guys," Porras said. "I knew her from scouts and she was always there for everyone."

He recounted how Cleavenger would give him a ride home at night because she was concerned for his safety.

Porras testified he didn't believe Ramos when he said he had killed his mother.

"There's no way you could accept that it actually happened, because how could somebody do that and continue going on," Porras said.

"If I knew he actually committed that crime I would have right away called the police," Porras said.

But Tucker testified earlier that Ceglarek had been more helpful to investigators and Porras had been more difficult to get information from.

Porras said he was under the impression that some things he took from Ramos' house, including a PlayStation, were not being used anymore.

Porras said he graduated from high school and has been taking online and in person courses at Daytona State College and plans to study psychology. He had also been working at an Ace Hardware.

'Gail did not deserve what happened to her'

Cleavenger's family members testified about their loss.

“No one tells you what you are supposed to say to your kids when they want to know why Aunt Gail is dead and what happened to her,” said sister Ivy Wick. "No one tells you how to be a big sister to someone who is no longer here."

Wick said Cleavenger was an artist and an architect who would often plan activities for kids.

“Gail did not deserve what happened to her," Wick said. "She did not hurt Greg. She did not abuse him. She loved him. And she loved being his mom. She was incredibly proud of him. She kept every school program, every certificate, every award.”

She took part in Tae Kwon Do and scouts with him, paid for his college fund and his braces and his cell phone, Wick said.

“She fretted over screen time and video games and grades like every good parent I know,” Wick said. “And I am standing here today because Brian Porras doesn’t care about that. He does not care about what kind of a person Gail was. He doesn’t care who misses her. He doesn’t care about his friends, Greg and Dylan. I don’t think it has ever crossed his mind what trauma Gail's nieces and nephews have experienced.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida man sentenced for covering up friend's murder of his mother