Sarasota County prosecutors say they’ll try a man wanted on a series of rapes and a murder on a lesser charge first, just to make sure he never walks free. The decision will put 40-year-old Delmer Smith on trial next week on a home invasion charge. Authorities say they have strong evidence to convict Smith on that charge, which will keep him in jail until more serious charges can be brought. Smith is accused in a series of violent home invasions in 2009 that included rapes and the murder of a Manatee County doctor’s wife.
