A 26-year-old man was sentenced to life in prison after he was found guilty of stabbing his former roommate to death over a stolen PlayStation 4 in 2018.
Jake Adam Bilotta was sentenced on Friday, December 16, by Judge Melissa D. Souto in Seminole County to spend life in prison following a jury trial that found him guilty in the murder of Josh Sosa.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Bilotta and his roommate, Ian Reilly McClurg, lured the victim to their residence at 1917 South Boulevard in Maitland on November 27, 2018, under the guise that they were going to a party together.
In fact, Bilotta and McClurg planned on killing Sosa upon arrival at the home after discovering that Sosa had stolen items from the home the day prior.
While interviewing McClurg, Seminole County Sheriff’s Office detectives determined that Sosa had previously been staying in the home shared by the two defendants and two other individuals. Sosa was kicked out approximately two weeks prior to the fatal stabbing over a dispute about not paying rent.
According to texts between the victim and a third roommate, Sosa confirmed stealing multiple items belonging to Bilotta after he was kicked out of the home.
Before Sosa arrived to the home, Bilotta and McClurg discussed a plan to kill Sosa that involved McClurg sitting on the couch to prevent the victim from escaping.
Upon Sosa’s arrival, Bilotta opened the door and stabbed Sosa before the two became involved in a physical altercation. Bilotta repeatedly stabbed Sosa while McClurg watched on, stating that he heard Sosa scream “you’re killing me” in the process.
McClurg says he watched Sosa fall to the ground and saw Bilotta check his pulse. When they believed Sosa was dead, both McClurg and Bilotta began loading Sosa’s body into trash bags that they retrieved from under the sink. The couple planned to remove Sosa’s body from the residence and bury him using a shovel they had in the residence.
According to McClurg, a third roommate arrived home shortly after the fatal stabbing and called 911 after seeing what happened. McClurg attempted to hide in the bathroom, while Bilotta fled the scene and was captured a mile down the road, at a local retail video game store.
According to court records, McClurg was sentenced in January 2020 to 10 years in prison and 10 years of probation.
Bilotta was found guilty of first-degree, premeditated murder by a jury in Seminole County on Friday, December 16.