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GAINESVILLE – The State Attorney’s office plans to seek the death penalty against 58-year-old Russell Dewayne Hogg, the High Springs man accused of killing his wife and son in a September shooting.

The news came Oct. 13 when the Office of the State Attorney filed the notice of intent to seek the death penalty.  According to the filing, the notice also invokes another provision in the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, which requires Hogg’s mental state to be considered.

The rule states that the defense should present during the penalty phase of the trial, “expert testimony of a mental health professional, who has tested, evaluated, or examined the defendant, in order to establish statutory or non-statutory mental mitigating circumstances.”

The State Attorney also filed a notice of intent to seek enhanced penalties against Hogg under the “10/20/Life Offender” law.  The law mandates a minimum sentence based on the use of a firearm during certain crimes.

A case management hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 10.

Hogg was indicted by a grand jury in September on five charges, two of which were murder in connection with the Sept. 11 shooting deaths of his wife and son.

The grand jury indicted Hogg on two counts of first degree murder, one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm.

Hogg is being held without bail on the murder charges and on $100,000 for each of the other three charges.

The Public Defender’s office has been assigned to represent Hogg against the charges.  Hogg’s counsel submitted a plea of not guilty on his behalf on Sept. 22.

Hogg, 58, has been accused of shooting and killing his wife, Trenda Hogg, 48 and their 22-year-old son, Anthony Wayne Hogg, on Sept. 11, reportedly after a family dispute over a pickup truck.

A recently-released report from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), where Hogg was picked up, sheds new light on what may have occurred at the scene of the shooting.  Some statements in the CCSO report are inconsistent with an earlier report by the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO).

According to the CCSO report, as Russell Hogg exited his car, he pulled out an AK-47 rifle and pointed it at his son who had reportedly just exited the truck in which he was sitting.

According to the report, Anthony Hogg said, “What are you gonna do, shoot me?”  In response, Russell Hogg is reported to have said, “I sure will,” after which he fired 2-3 rounds at Anthony, killing the 22 year old.

The CCSO report also states that after Russell Hogg shot his wife several times, she “fell to the ground and was still breathing momentarily.”

According to an ACSO arrest report, just before 1 p.m. on Sept. 11, Russell Hogg pulled into the driveway of the family home at 240 Poe Springs Road in High Springs.  He allegedly exited his vehicle, pulling out an AK-47 rifle and pointed it at his son stating, “I told you I was going to kill you,” to which Anthony Hogg replied, “shoot me then.”

Russell Hogg reportedly fired two rounds at his son, striking him in the torso.  The report states, “[Russell Hogg] then walked up to him and shot one round to his face.”

Upon realizing Anthony Hogg had been shot, Trenda Hogg ran outside where “Russell [Hogg] pointed the gun at her and fired several rounds at her,” the arrest record states.

Russell Hogg then threw the gun down and an eyewitness grabbed the gun and threw it under the house to prevent further access to it.  Russell Hogg then got into his car and left, officials report.

Two witnesses told investigators that Hogg stated his intentions to commit the crime beforehand.  “Russell was at their home and made the statement he “was going over to kill them.”  After the shooting, Russell Hogg allegedly returned to the witnesses’ home where he stated, “I told you I was gonna’ kill them,” the report states.

Columbia County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Russell Hogg on U.S. Highway 441 a short time after the shooting.

Hogg made several statements acknowledging that he killed his wife and son, according to Alachua County Sheriff’s Office Detective Sandra Myers.

Among his statements to investigators was that, “Tony [Anthony Russell] had gotten too big for his britches,” and that if he could have whipped his son, he would have, “rather than having to kill him.”

Myers wrote, “Russell [Hogg] also stated that it hurt him to see his wife laying there barely breathing because he did not want her to die.”

“I just killed my family and the bread winner of the home,” Russell Hogg allegedly said.