By WILL GREENLEE will.greenlee@scripps.com
TCPalm.com
The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered a special grand jury to investigate gang-related crimes, prompting high marks from local law enforcers — though some remained unclear how the initiative would work with their own efforts. While the grand jury will probe crime statewide, the counties included in the specified judicial circuits are Indian River, Okeechobee, St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach and Broward, along with five others in Southwest Florida.
Those counties were chosen as bases because jurors there are seen as representative of the population and because of gang issues there, said William Shepherd, statewide prosecutor for the Attorney General's office.
"I think that there are gang problems developing throughout Florida, and part of what we want to do through this is seek indictments on specific gangs and work with our law enforcement partners to develop best practice strategies," Shepherd said. "The answer of where's the gang problem the worst is wherever a gang anywhere in our state has just committed a homicide or committed an act of violence."
Asked how the 12-month grand jury would affect the work of local law enforcement agencies, he said, "It just gives them another opportunity and another venue to work in conjunction with a prosecutorial agency, to sort of step back from the case and take a bigger picture look at it."
A Gang Prevention Task Force was formed in Sebastian earlier this year after concerns were raised about possible gang activity, mainly involving spray painting, around the Barber Street Sports Complex. There also have been reports of similar incidents in Fellsmere. And in May, four students were arrested for two gang-related incidents at the Vero Beach High School campus.
Martin County Sheriff Robert Crowder said gangs in his county are "trying to creep in," but they don't have a "chronic presence" because his deputies are maintaining pressure.
"Being able to look more clearly at the larger perspective on this gang problem, I think it will help us to be more effective statewide," he said.
To be considered for prosecution purposes by this special grand jury, a crime must have aspects that cross circuit boundaries. The 19th judicial circuit includes Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee counties.
"At this point we don't know what type of impact Governor Christ's grand jury will have on Fort Pierce," Fort Pierce police Sgt. Dennis McWilliams said. "We are hopeful it will have a positive effect on the number of gangs in Fort Pierce and gang-related crime."
In general, gangs have been in Fort Pierce since the late 1980s and have been linked to some of the city's most violent crimes, including homicides and shootings. More than 400 gang members live in Fort Pierce, ranging from pre-teens to those in their late 30s, said Kathy Grace, police crime analyst who specializes in gang intelligence.
"Most recently in the headlines have been the challenges that West Palm Beach is having with gang violence, but the truth is it's a statewide problem," St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara said. "We're either suffering from direct effects or indirect effects of gangs. I think that this was a wise move by the governor to empower a grand jury to look at this across the state."
In Okeechobee County, Detective Sgt. Brad Stark, his agency's sole investigator dedicated to street crime and gang probes, said there are about eight gangs with 250 members. Gangs have been in Okeechobee County for at least 13 years, he said.
"I don't know how a legislative grand jury is going to help a small, rural county like Okeechobee County," he said. "If they can come up with some kind of action or plan, then I'm all for it ... We are seeking grants for gang investigations. We have been unsuccessful."
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URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19346465/
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Crist on Crime
Gov. Charlie Crist signed into law Wednesday a handful of anti-crime bills, while also asking the Florida Supreme Court to convene a statewide grand jury to investigate a recent rise in gang-related violence.
"Nothing is more important than public safety," Crist said, echoing a line he used frequently during last fall's campaign, when his bid for the state's Republican nomination pivoted on his anti-crime stance. "The founding fathers understood it. It's in the first line of the Constitution: To ensure domestic tranquility."
The legislation Crist signed toughens state sanctions against sex offenders, drunk drivers, crimes against law enforcement personnel and cybercrimes involving adults who prey on children. The latter measure also will be advanced by the state's expansion of a Child Predator/Cybercrime Unit started under then-Attorney General Crist in 2005, and which state lawmakers agreed to expand this year to 55 staffers, up from its current 5.
"This will make for certain that child predators know that if they're coming to Florida to do business, they're going to be caught and they're going to be punished in a major way," said Attorney General Bill McCollum.
The legislation signed Wednesday includes:
SB 988: Requires new markings on drivers licenses and state identification cards issued to those termed sexual offenders by the courts;
SB 1004: Orders sexual offenders to register all e-mail addresses and instant-message names with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Tougher criminal penalties also are set for those who misrepresent their age when soliciting children on the Internet and for traveling to meet minors to commit crimes of sexual abuse;
SB 1604: Brings Florida in compliance with the federala Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act;
HB 409: Strengthens penalties for crimes committed against law enforcement officers on duty;
HB 25: Increases penalties for drunk drivers who leave the scene of an accident and for those who commit manslaughter. Restitution also would have to be paid to victims or their survivors.
The statewide grand jury Crist is asking Florida justices to empanel would meet for a year and investigate gang-related criminal activity across Florida. Counties named for purposes of selecting jurors include most of South Florida, suggesting that much of the panel's attention will be focused there.
McCollum's office, though, said the jury would also be following leads statewide and also could issue criminal indictments that would be prosecuted outside the South Florida region.
"What we're seeing is that no one is immune to this," said Statewide Prosecutor William Shepherd.
UPDATE: The Florida Supreme Court approved Crist's request for a statewide grand jury Wednesday afternoon. Justices named Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Kathleen Kroll to preside over the panel.
"Nothing is more important than public safety," Crist said, echoing a line he used frequently during last fall's campaign, when his bid for the state's Republican nomination pivoted on his anti-crime stance. "The founding fathers understood it. It's in the first line of the Constitution: To ensure domestic tranquility."
The legislation Crist signed toughens state sanctions against sex offenders, drunk drivers, crimes against law enforcement personnel and cybercrimes involving adults who prey on children. The latter measure also will be advanced by the state's expansion of a Child Predator/Cybercrime Unit started under then-Attorney General Crist in 2005, and which state lawmakers agreed to expand this year to 55 staffers, up from its current 5.
"This will make for certain that child predators know that if they're coming to Florida to do business, they're going to be caught and they're going to be punished in a major way," said Attorney General Bill McCollum.
The legislation signed Wednesday includes:
SB 988: Requires new markings on drivers licenses and state identification cards issued to those termed sexual offenders by the courts;
SB 1004: Orders sexual offenders to register all e-mail addresses and instant-message names with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Tougher criminal penalties also are set for those who misrepresent their age when soliciting children on the Internet and for traveling to meet minors to commit crimes of sexual abuse;
SB 1604: Brings Florida in compliance with the federala Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act;
HB 409: Strengthens penalties for crimes committed against law enforcement officers on duty;
HB 25: Increases penalties for drunk drivers who leave the scene of an accident and for those who commit manslaughter. Restitution also would have to be paid to victims or their survivors.
The statewide grand jury Crist is asking Florida justices to empanel would meet for a year and investigate gang-related criminal activity across Florida. Counties named for purposes of selecting jurors include most of South Florida, suggesting that much of the panel's attention will be focused there.
McCollum's office, though, said the jury would also be following leads statewide and also could issue criminal indictments that would be prosecuted outside the South Florida region.
"What we're seeing is that no one is immune to this," said Statewide Prosecutor William Shepherd.
UPDATE: The Florida Supreme Court approved Crist's request for a statewide grand jury Wednesday afternoon. Justices named Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Kathleen Kroll to preside over the panel.
Florida plans to resume executions despite criticism of changes
June 23, 2007
By RON WORD
Associated Press Writer
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Strapped to a gurney in the lethal injection chamber at Florida State Prison, Angel Diaz felt the poison flowing into his arms and awaited his death. But it didn't come quickly.
"What's happening?" the convicted murderer twice asked as his Dec. 13 execution dragged on. Witnesses had the same question and some thought he was in pain. Diaz appeared to grimace and he turned his head to the side, mouthing words, his chest rising and falling.
Something was wrong - the IV needles had been pushed completely through his veins and the poison that was supposed to kill him quickly was collecting in the muscles of his arms. It took 34 minutes for Diaz to die, about twice as long as normal.
The botched death caused then-Gov. Jeb Bush to halt executions and ask a commission to suggest improvements to the procedure. New Gov. Charlie Crist said last month he will sign death warrants again after the state followed 37 recommendations from the panel, including additional training for execution teams and installing video cameras, a communications system and better lighting in the death chamber.
It's unclear when Crist will act, and death penalty opponents and attorneys for Florida's 376 condemned men continue to challenge lethal injections in court because they say the changes are not enough. They claim too much of the process remains shrouded in secrecy and the execution teams still lack proper medical training.
They also cite medical studies that the three chemicals used can cause excruciating pain that probably violates constitutional bans on cruel and unusual punishment.
Florida is not alone with death row problems: lethal injections are on hold in seven other states and most challenges deal with the chemical cocktail used in executions.
But Florida prison officials say lethal injections give inmates a "humane and dignified death." Corrections Secretary James McDonough said his department determined the chemical cocktail "was working well" after reviewing the procedures of 37 other states, the federal government and Florida's 20 lethal injections.
In future executions, he said, officials will closely monitor the IV tubes and look for signs of red streaks on inmates' arms. In addition, gurneys holding inmates will not be moved after the IV tubes are inserted. McDonough believes gurney movement caused the needles to come out of Diaz' veins.
He said he couldn't guarantee that executions would be free of human error, but the extra training will make problems less likely. The state has not released specifics of the additional education. Costs for the training and chamber renovations are $44,000, Corrections spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger said.
McDonough said those involved in inserting the needles "are medically qualified people. The person that did the Diaz execution is highly experienced in the insertion of needles on a daily basis." Medical ethics bar doctors and other health professionals from taking part in executions.
A death penalty opponent, Dr. Jonathan I. Groner, clinical professor of surgery at the Ohio State University College of Medicine, said Florida is again inviting more problems.
"Florida's lethal injection procedure remains fundamentally flawed. The new protocol does nothing more than create the illusion that the procedure has improved," Groner said.
The state commission also suggested, but did not require, "exploring other more recently developed chemicals for use in a lethal injection." Corrections officials will continue to use the same ones: sodium pentothal, which is an anesthetic; pancuronium bromide, a nerve blocker and muscle paralyze; and potassium chloride, a drug to stop the heart.
Each is supposed to be capable of killing by itself, but if not, the anesthetic is supposed to make the inmate unconscious while the other drugs do the job.
Recently published research from the University of Miami School of Medicine suggests that inmates "may have been inadequately anesthetized during injection and may die of pancuronium-induced asphyxiation," Groner said.
Defense attorneys representing death row inmates remain skeptical of the new procedures and are waiting to see who Crist will choose as the next inmate to die.
"I think there are so many things that weren't dealt with," said D. Todd Doss, an attorney who represents several death row inmates.
Martin McClain, another defense attorney, said he is worried about part of the new procedure that lets the warden determine if the inmate is unconscious after the first drug is injected. "That's my concern - to guarantee that a person is unconscious," McClain said. "I don't know if they have solved that problem or not."
Lethal injection has been adopted by 37 states as a cheaper and more humane alternative to the electric chair, gas chambers and other execution methods.
Seven states - Arkansas, California, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina and South Dakota - have placed executions on hold because of issues dealing with the constitutionality of lethal injection, according to the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington.
Similar challenges about seven years ago to Florida's "Old Sparky" electric chair led the state to switch to lethal injection.
"There is no doubt that the crimes that some of these people committed are heinous, but is seems that our government could better spend its time and the taxpayer's money finding out ways to punish criminals and protect the public - not endorsing a flawed state-sponsored execution system," said Brandon Hensler, a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union in Florida.
State Sen. Victor Crist, chairman of the criminal and civil justice appropriations committee, said most voters want capital punishment and lethal injection is the most humane method. He said he doubted courts would find lethal injection unconstitutional.
"No matter what method we use, those who oppose the death penalty, the abolitionists, will find a reason to try to find it cruel and unusual and shut the process down," said the Tampa Republican, who is not related to the governor.
By RON WORD
Associated Press Writer
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Strapped to a gurney in the lethal injection chamber at Florida State Prison, Angel Diaz felt the poison flowing into his arms and awaited his death. But it didn't come quickly.
"What's happening?" the convicted murderer twice asked as his Dec. 13 execution dragged on. Witnesses had the same question and some thought he was in pain. Diaz appeared to grimace and he turned his head to the side, mouthing words, his chest rising and falling.
Something was wrong - the IV needles had been pushed completely through his veins and the poison that was supposed to kill him quickly was collecting in the muscles of his arms. It took 34 minutes for Diaz to die, about twice as long as normal.
The botched death caused then-Gov. Jeb Bush to halt executions and ask a commission to suggest improvements to the procedure. New Gov. Charlie Crist said last month he will sign death warrants again after the state followed 37 recommendations from the panel, including additional training for execution teams and installing video cameras, a communications system and better lighting in the death chamber.
It's unclear when Crist will act, and death penalty opponents and attorneys for Florida's 376 condemned men continue to challenge lethal injections in court because they say the changes are not enough. They claim too much of the process remains shrouded in secrecy and the execution teams still lack proper medical training.
They also cite medical studies that the three chemicals used can cause excruciating pain that probably violates constitutional bans on cruel and unusual punishment.
Florida is not alone with death row problems: lethal injections are on hold in seven other states and most challenges deal with the chemical cocktail used in executions.
But Florida prison officials say lethal injections give inmates a "humane and dignified death." Corrections Secretary James McDonough said his department determined the chemical cocktail "was working well" after reviewing the procedures of 37 other states, the federal government and Florida's 20 lethal injections.
In future executions, he said, officials will closely monitor the IV tubes and look for signs of red streaks on inmates' arms. In addition, gurneys holding inmates will not be moved after the IV tubes are inserted. McDonough believes gurney movement caused the needles to come out of Diaz' veins.
He said he couldn't guarantee that executions would be free of human error, but the extra training will make problems less likely. The state has not released specifics of the additional education. Costs for the training and chamber renovations are $44,000, Corrections spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger said.
McDonough said those involved in inserting the needles "are medically qualified people. The person that did the Diaz execution is highly experienced in the insertion of needles on a daily basis." Medical ethics bar doctors and other health professionals from taking part in executions.
A death penalty opponent, Dr. Jonathan I. Groner, clinical professor of surgery at the Ohio State University College of Medicine, said Florida is again inviting more problems.
"Florida's lethal injection procedure remains fundamentally flawed. The new protocol does nothing more than create the illusion that the procedure has improved," Groner said.
The state commission also suggested, but did not require, "exploring other more recently developed chemicals for use in a lethal injection." Corrections officials will continue to use the same ones: sodium pentothal, which is an anesthetic; pancuronium bromide, a nerve blocker and muscle paralyze; and potassium chloride, a drug to stop the heart.
Each is supposed to be capable of killing by itself, but if not, the anesthetic is supposed to make the inmate unconscious while the other drugs do the job.
Recently published research from the University of Miami School of Medicine suggests that inmates "may have been inadequately anesthetized during injection and may die of pancuronium-induced asphyxiation," Groner said.
Defense attorneys representing death row inmates remain skeptical of the new procedures and are waiting to see who Crist will choose as the next inmate to die.
"I think there are so many things that weren't dealt with," said D. Todd Doss, an attorney who represents several death row inmates.
Martin McClain, another defense attorney, said he is worried about part of the new procedure that lets the warden determine if the inmate is unconscious after the first drug is injected. "That's my concern - to guarantee that a person is unconscious," McClain said. "I don't know if they have solved that problem or not."
Lethal injection has been adopted by 37 states as a cheaper and more humane alternative to the electric chair, gas chambers and other execution methods.
Seven states - Arkansas, California, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina and South Dakota - have placed executions on hold because of issues dealing with the constitutionality of lethal injection, according to the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington.
Similar challenges about seven years ago to Florida's "Old Sparky" electric chair led the state to switch to lethal injection.
"There is no doubt that the crimes that some of these people committed are heinous, but is seems that our government could better spend its time and the taxpayer's money finding out ways to punish criminals and protect the public - not endorsing a flawed state-sponsored execution system," said Brandon Hensler, a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union in Florida.
State Sen. Victor Crist, chairman of the criminal and civil justice appropriations committee, said most voters want capital punishment and lethal injection is the most humane method. He said he doubted courts would find lethal injection unconstitutional.
"No matter what method we use, those who oppose the death penalty, the abolitionists, will find a reason to try to find it cruel and unusual and shut the process down," said the Tampa Republican, who is not related to the governor.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Death penalty upheld for killer of teenager
Posted on Fri, Jun. 22, 2007
Ronnie Keith Williams will die by lethal injection for the rape and murder of a pregnant teenager that left her unborn child severely impaired, the Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
On Jan. 26, 1993, eight months after being released from prison because of overcrowding, Williams attacked 18-year-old Lisa Dyke in Wilton Manors.
He stabbed her 18 times in a violent frenzy that permanently injured her unborn child.
One of the knife wounds penetrated the pregnant woman's womb and cut her baby's leg. Dyke lived 19 days after the attack and doctors delivered her son, Julius, before she died.
Today, Julius must breathe and eat through tubes.
He cannot talk or move his limbs without help.
A jury voted 11-1 to recommend that he be executed, but the Florida Supreme Court granted him a new trial because of an error by a juror. Williams was convicted again in 2004 and given another death sentence.
-- GARY FINE
Ronnie Keith Williams will die by lethal injection for the rape and murder of a pregnant teenager that left her unborn child severely impaired, the Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
On Jan. 26, 1993, eight months after being released from prison because of overcrowding, Williams attacked 18-year-old Lisa Dyke in Wilton Manors.
He stabbed her 18 times in a violent frenzy that permanently injured her unborn child.
One of the knife wounds penetrated the pregnant woman's womb and cut her baby's leg. Dyke lived 19 days after the attack and doctors delivered her son, Julius, before she died.
Today, Julius must breathe and eat through tubes.
He cannot talk or move his limbs without help.
A jury voted 11-1 to recommend that he be executed, but the Florida Supreme Court granted him a new trial because of an error by a juror. Williams was convicted again in 2004 and given another death sentence.
-- GARY FINE
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Rodgers gets death penalty
State high court threw out previous sentence in killing
Louis Cooper
lcooper@pnj.com
For the second time, convicted murderer Jeremiah Rodgers has been sentenced to die for the 1998 death of Pace High School senior Jennifer Robinson.
Circuit Judge Paul Rasmussen imposed the same sentence Wednesday that he delivered in 2000. The Florida Supreme Court threw out the original death sentence last year, citing improperly handled evidence, and ordered a new penalty phase.
Rodgers' new death sentence is subject to an automatic review by the state Supreme Court.
Rasmussen said the crimes Rodgers is convicted of meet the "cold, calculated and premeditated" standard that must be present to impose the death penalty.
Rodgers and co-defendant Jon Lawrence were convicted of killing Robinson, an 18-year-old woman just days away from graduating. Lawrence also received the death penalty for that slaying.
They also were convicted of killing Justin Livingston, Lawrence's mentally disabled cousin. Both are serving life sentences for that crime.
In addition, Rodgers and Lawrence were convicted for the attempted murder of Leighton Smitherman, whom the duo selected randomly and shot through Smitherman's living room window. Smitherman survived.
"It would appear from the evidence that the defendant was on a killing spree in Northwest Florida, for reasons only known to the defendant," Rasmussen said, reading from his sentencing order. "The defendant killed Jennifer Robinson for no other apparent reason than the thrill of doing it."
Robinson's mother, Diane Robinson, was in the courtroom Wednesday with a group of family and friends.
"I'm so glad this is over," she said. "I know, if he's ever executed, he will never hurt anyone else. No one will ever have to feel what all of us have felt."
Rodgers had lured Jennifer Robinson to a remote area of North Santa Rosa County on the pretense of a date, although Lawrence came along, according to court testimony and documents.
The two men deliberately got Robinson drunk. Rodgers then used Lawrence's gun to shoot her in the back of the head. Lawrence molested her body, and both men mutilated it before leaving it in a shallow grave in the woods.
"The common theme in the defendant's actions was a plan to kill human beings for reasons known only to the defendant and his co-defendant," the judge said. "They had even discussed these random killings two years prior while both were in prison."
Rasmussen rejected defense claims that Rodgers' various mental disorders contributed to the crimes and that he was under Lawrence's domination at the time of the crimes.
The judge, however, gave some consideration to the fact that Lawrence has a history of being sexually and physically abused by his parents.
"The court agrees that the environment within which the defendant was raised and the treatment he received at the hands of his mother and father was abhorrent and undoubtedly contributed to his early problems with the criminal justice system," Rasmussen said. "Although defendant's family history and background clearly does not excuse or establish a defense for what he did, it must be considered" when setting a sentence.
Justin Livingston's mother, Elizabeth Livingston, was also at the sentencing.
"I am very happy," she said. "I hope the next time I see him is at his execution."
Diane Robinson bemoaned the legal system that has allowed Rodgers' case to be so drawn out.
"I just don't think it's fair for people to have to go through this over and over and over," she said. "I know there are innocent people in prison. I understand that. But when there's so much evidence, so many confessions, it makes no sense to me why so much money is spent over and over and over. He admits he did it. I don't understand."
Louis Cooper
lcooper@pnj.com
For the second time, convicted murderer Jeremiah Rodgers has been sentenced to die for the 1998 death of Pace High School senior Jennifer Robinson.
Circuit Judge Paul Rasmussen imposed the same sentence Wednesday that he delivered in 2000. The Florida Supreme Court threw out the original death sentence last year, citing improperly handled evidence, and ordered a new penalty phase.
Rodgers' new death sentence is subject to an automatic review by the state Supreme Court.
Rasmussen said the crimes Rodgers is convicted of meet the "cold, calculated and premeditated" standard that must be present to impose the death penalty.
Rodgers and co-defendant Jon Lawrence were convicted of killing Robinson, an 18-year-old woman just days away from graduating. Lawrence also received the death penalty for that slaying.
They also were convicted of killing Justin Livingston, Lawrence's mentally disabled cousin. Both are serving life sentences for that crime.
In addition, Rodgers and Lawrence were convicted for the attempted murder of Leighton Smitherman, whom the duo selected randomly and shot through Smitherman's living room window. Smitherman survived.
"It would appear from the evidence that the defendant was on a killing spree in Northwest Florida, for reasons only known to the defendant," Rasmussen said, reading from his sentencing order. "The defendant killed Jennifer Robinson for no other apparent reason than the thrill of doing it."
Robinson's mother, Diane Robinson, was in the courtroom Wednesday with a group of family and friends.
"I'm so glad this is over," she said. "I know, if he's ever executed, he will never hurt anyone else. No one will ever have to feel what all of us have felt."
Rodgers had lured Jennifer Robinson to a remote area of North Santa Rosa County on the pretense of a date, although Lawrence came along, according to court testimony and documents.
The two men deliberately got Robinson drunk. Rodgers then used Lawrence's gun to shoot her in the back of the head. Lawrence molested her body, and both men mutilated it before leaving it in a shallow grave in the woods.
"The common theme in the defendant's actions was a plan to kill human beings for reasons known only to the defendant and his co-defendant," the judge said. "They had even discussed these random killings two years prior while both were in prison."
Rasmussen rejected defense claims that Rodgers' various mental disorders contributed to the crimes and that he was under Lawrence's domination at the time of the crimes.
The judge, however, gave some consideration to the fact that Lawrence has a history of being sexually and physically abused by his parents.
"The court agrees that the environment within which the defendant was raised and the treatment he received at the hands of his mother and father was abhorrent and undoubtedly contributed to his early problems with the criminal justice system," Rasmussen said. "Although defendant's family history and background clearly does not excuse or establish a defense for what he did, it must be considered" when setting a sentence.
Justin Livingston's mother, Elizabeth Livingston, was also at the sentencing.
"I am very happy," she said. "I hope the next time I see him is at his execution."
Diane Robinson bemoaned the legal system that has allowed Rodgers' case to be so drawn out.
"I just don't think it's fair for people to have to go through this over and over and over," she said. "I know there are innocent people in prison. I understand that. But when there's so much evidence, so many confessions, it makes no sense to me why so much money is spent over and over and over. He admits he did it. I don't understand."
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Medical examiner in boot camp case gets interim appointment
Posted on Tue, Jun. 19, 2007
An embattled medical examiner was granted an interim appointment Tuesday, days after the state Medical Examiners Commission voted to remove him from his post as medical examiner for six Panhandle counties.
Dr. Charles Siebert, will keep his job for roughly 90 days while a search committee looks for a replacement, State Attorney Steve Meadows ruled.
"I will not sacrifice Charles Siebert on the altar of political expediency or correctness," Meadows said Tuesday. "Despite what amounts to a reckless character assassination by some media outlets and, regrettably, even some members of our government, I believe Dr. Siebert to be a competent and thorough medical examiner - not beholden to anyone or any cause. Quite simply, Dr. Siebert is a well-qualified doctor doing his best to serve the people of this district."
The state Medical Examiners Commission voted last week to remove Siebert from his post as medical examiner for the six Panhandle counties, saying it had concerns about his honesty. The panel voted last month not to recommend his reappointment.
Siebert said he plans to reapply for his job and appeal the commission's decision to remove him from office.
"It's going to be a difficult road, but I'm going to give it a shot," Siebert told The Associated Press.
The Medical Examiners Commission will review candidates and make a recommendation to Gov. Charlie Crist for approval.
Siebert was criticized for his disputed autopsy on a teenager who died after an altercation with guards at a juvenile boot camp last year.
"The local support has been tremendous. The people I work for and with have been supportive all along and that's what keeps me going everyday and that's what I want to come back for," Siebert said.
Siebert performed the first autopsy on 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson, who died after being roughed up by guards at the Panama City boot camp. A report presented to the commission said Siebert likely made several missteps in his initial assessment of Anderson's death.
Siebert ruled that the teen died of natural complications of sickle cell trait. But a second autopsy found he died because the guards covered his mouth and held ammonia capsules to his nose. Siebert has stood by his initial opinion.
Seven guards and a nurse employed at the camp face manslaughter charges for Anderson's death. Trial was scheduled to begin Oct. 3 and last two weeks, Circuit Judge Michael Overstreet ruled Tuesday. Jury selection was set for Sept. 24 and 25.
The Legislature last month awarded Anderson's family $5 million in compensation.
Last year, the commission, in an administrative complaint, found Siebert was negligent in performing 39 of 698 autopsies it reviewed.
A telephone call to the state attorney's office was not immediately returned Tuesday night.
McDonough assesses progress in cleaning up prisons' problems
Posted on Tue, Jun. 19, 2007
By BRENT KALLESTAD
Florida's prisons have been rid of organized corruption by officials trying to game the system, Corrections Secretary James McDonough said Tuesday.
McDonough told The Associated Press there may still be intermittent wrongdoing by individual employees, but that institutionalized lawlessness he brought in to clean up has been weeded out. Former Gov. Jeb Bush appointed McDonough 16 months ago after his predecessor, James Crosby, was indicted.
Crosby and a top lieutenant are in federal prison after being convicted of accepting bribes in a kickback scheme.
"I think he somehow convinced himself he was above it, that he was untouchable and, of course, he was not," McDonough said.
McDonough said it was very difficult at first, beginning a job in an office cordoned off with police tape as a crime area and not knowing any of the agency's employees.
"You don't know who to trust," said McDonough, who took the job despite having no background in prison management.
After a 27-year Army career as an infantry officer with stops in Vietnam, Bosnia and Rwanda, the retired colonel served several years as Florida's drug czar before being picked by Bush to fix the state's scandal-ridden prison system.
And he knows there is still resistance to some of his proposed changes.
"Even in normal times, organizations are resistant to change," said McDonough.
He created a stir among many of his officers earlier this year when he announced a plan aimed at getting many of the agency's 27,000 employees to get into better physical condition by 2009 when they'll be asked to prove they're fit enough to keep their jobs.
Officers who fail the test will have six months in a remedial program to reach the minimum goals before being moved to another, less strenuous job in the department if one is available.
Just a month after taking charge in February 2006, McDonough fired the warden in charge of Florida State Prison where the state conducts executions and the No. 2 official at the prison system's medical center along with seven other top officials.
Shortly after that he yanked a $645 million prison health care contract signed in 2006 that he claimed the state was losing money on.
And he cleaned house at the Hendry Correctional Institution after learning an inmate had been beaten and choked by guards in March. Eight of the 13 prison employees fired from the medium and minimum security prison in the Everglades also face criminal charges. The previous warden and an assistant warden resigned, and three others were reassigned.
A West Point graduate, McDonough's also trying to restore confidence in the state's method of executing its worst offenders following a botched execution shortly before he was named secretary in February 2006.
McDonough said the condemned inmates still deserve a "humane and dignified" death.
He still faces turnover issues, particularly in South Florida, and wants to find a better way to treat mentally ill people who are in the system.
"It's really a major social issue," McDonough said. "Just think how bleak it is in prison."
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Decision on death penalty may come soon for Escobedo suspects
By MEGAN V. WINSLOW
megan.winslow@scripps.com
June 16, 2007
WEST PALM BEACH — Within two weeks, the U.S. Attorney's Office will decide whether to recommend pursuing the death penalty against murder suspects Ricardo Sanchez Jr. and Daniel Troya, a federal prosecutor announced Friday.
U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should make the final decision by Labor Day, said Steve Carlton, the assistant U.S. attorney prosecuting the suspects. The men are charged in the shooting deaths of Greenacres residents Jose and Yessica Escobedo and their two young sons, whose bodies were found on the side of Florida's Turnpike in Port St. Lucie on Oct. 13, 2006.
Carlton and attorneys for the two men and four others — indicted by a grand jury in connection with a related drug operation — met Friday morning before U.S. District Judge Daniel Hurley.
During the meeting, to discuss the status of the federal case, the attorneys agreed with Hurley's decision to move the tentative trial date for all six defendants from October to February.
The delay is necessary so the law is "meticulously followed" to protect the "due process rights of all parties," charged with these "very, very serious crimes," Hurley said.
To get the case moving, Hurley asked the appointed attorneys to meet with one another and establish a budget for defending the suspects with added projected costs if the death penalty is sought for Sanchez and Troya. Part of those funds will pay for the hiring of mitigation experts so defense attorneys may investigate Sanchez and Troya's backgrounds and establish factors that could help argue against the death penalty.
In April, Sanchez and Troya were indicted and pleaded not guilty to a variety of drug charges and two charges that could ultimately lead to execution: armed carjacking resulting in death and using a firearm in a crime of violence resulting in death.
According to St. Lucie County sheriff's reports, Jose Luis Escobedo, 28, and his fugitive brother ran one of the largest cocaine rings in the eastern United States. Sanchez, Troya and the other indicted suspects in the case — Danny Varela, Juna C. Gutierrez, Liana Lee Lopez and West Palm Beach resident Kevin Vetere — worked with or for him.
At about 2:15 a.m. Oct. 13, Sanchez and Troya had Escobedo stop his black Jeep Cherokee on the side of the turnpike in Port St. Lucie. Jose Escobedo and his 25-year-old wife and sons, Luis Damien, 4, and Luis Julian, 3, were shot between 20 and 50 times before Troya, in a burgundy van, and Sanchez, in the Jeep, sped off.
The Jeep was found three days later, abandoned in West Palm Beach. Drug ledgers in the Escobedo family's home and cell phone records between Sanchez and Jose Escobedo eventually led detectives to the suspects, according to reports.
The drug charges against the suspects stem from activity connected to Jose Escobedo's alleged drug ring, spanning from about May 4 to Oct. 25, 2006, according to the indictment.
Varela, Gutierrez, Lopez and Vetere all face up to life in prison.
None of the defendants appeared in court Friday, but all were represented by counsel.
Although an additional attorney specializing in death penalty cases has yet to be secured for Sanchez, West Palm Beach attorney James L. Eisenberg made an appearance as Troya's newly appointed death penalty counsel.
And he did not appear overly optimistic about the impending result of Gonzales' decision.
"With this administration, the odds are this is a death penalty case," he said after the hearing.
Unless an additional hearing is requested, the attorneys and Hurley will not meet again in court until October.
ESCOBEDO CASE DEFENDANTS
Ricardo Sanchez Jr., 23 (aka "Rick"): Various illegal drug charges and carjacking conspiracy, armed carjacking resulting in death and use of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence resulting in death
Daniel Troya, 24 (aka "Homer"): Various illegal drug charges and carjacking conspiracy, armed carjacking resulting in death and use of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence resulting in death
Danny Varela, 26 (aka "D.V."): Various illegal drug and firearm possession charges
Liana Lee Lopez, 19 (aka "Negra"): Various illegal drug charges
Juan C. Gutierrez, 20 (aka "Flaco"): Various illegal drug charges
Kevin Vetere, 23: Conspiracy to possess cocaine with the intent to distribute.
Slain deputy’s family torn by verdicts
Deplores rejectionof death penalty
By Gene WarnerNEWS STAFF REPORTER
Updated: 06/19/07 7:42 AM
The man who killed West Seneca native and Florida Sheriff’s Deputy Todd Fatta in an ambush three years ago likely will die in prison — following a federal jury’s split verdict that has left the family with mixed feelings.
Last week, a federal jury in South Florida rejected the death penalty against Kenneth Wilk, 45, after convicting him of first-degree murder a week earlier.
Wilk shot and killed Fatta, 33, a West Seneca West High School graduate and a deputy with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, as the deputy served a search warrant looking for child pornography in Wilk’s Fort Lauderdale home in August 2004.
“We feel justice has been done,” Joseph L. Fatta, the deputy’s brother, said Monday by phone from Florida. “However, we are greatly disappointed with the jury not giving him the death penalty. We feel there would be a lot better closure that way.”
The jury’s ruling against the death penalty left Fatta’s mother doubled over in her courtroom seat, sobbing, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.
“My son is buried in a crypt, and he [Wilk] gets life,” Josephine Fatta said, according to newspaper and family accounts. “It’s not fair. It’s not fair.”
Fatta’s brother explained why the family feels that way.
“The death penalty is part of the law,” he said. “We felt with the overwhelming amount of evidence, the death penalty was appropriate. If there was ever justice for the death penalty, this was it.”
In arguing for the death penalty, Joseph Fatta cited both the ambush and Wilk’s well-documented hatred for police officers. Prosecutors have claimed that Wilk wanted to harm police officers for what he claimed were unfair child pornography charges against his lover.
“It’s like treating cancer,” Joseph Fatta said. “You try to radiate it, to remove it. You can’t feel sorry for it and leave part of it behind. You have to remove it.”
But Joseph Fatta also said his family appreciates that Wilk was convicted of first-degree murder, meaning that he now is sentenced to life in prison.
“We’re definitely pleased that this man will be put away without the opportunity to be released,” he said. “He definitely will die in prison. We are happy that he won’t be on the streets.”
Wilk has AIDS, and his attorney had argued that the federal government was wasting its resources pursuing the death penalty against such a sick man.
“I shouldn’t feel pity for that,” Joseph Fatta said. “Those were his choices. It was his choice to practice unprotected sex. It was his choice to live with a gay partner who pursued 11- and 12-year-old boys. Whatever choices he made were selfinflicted.”
Todd Fatta was a 1989 graduate of West Seneca West. After earning his associate’s degree in criminal justice from Erie Community College, he went into the Air Force, serving as an Air Police officer in Albuquerque, N.M., before joining the Broward County Sheriff’s Office in 1995, his family said.
Among the survivors are his parents, Joseph and Josephine; two sisters, Colleen and Linda Kirtley; and his brother, Joseph.
“Todd would not only want us to go on, but he would demand that we do so,” his older brother said. “It tore us apart to sit in the courtroom every day and relive the horrific events. We felt anger, sadness and disbelief, but we are grateful it is all over.
“And we feel Todd is with us.”
gwarner@buffnews.com
Teen arrested on first-degree murder charge
Pedro Ruz
The Orlando Sentinel
June 14, 2007
A 17-year-old was arrested early this morning on a first-degree murder charge after Orlando police say he fatally shot a 16-year-old male victim Wednesday night.
The shooting occurred at about 10:30 p.m. near the intersection of Lee Avenue and Anderson Street. When police arrived, Jhymy Jean Gustin was found lying on the roadway with a gunshot wound. He died later at Orlando Regional Medical Center.
Overnight, police located and questioned two people near South Street.
'During the investigation, Julius Martin...was identified as the person responsible for the murder,' said police spokeswoman Sgt. Barbara Jones. 'The motive as to this murder is not clear at this time.'
Martin was to be booked later this morning at the Orange County Jail.
Orlando teen sentenced to 60 years for stabbing classmate
The Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla.
A 17-year-old boy was sentenced to 60 years in prison for fatally stabbing a classmate at a high school bus stop.
Circuit Judge Marc Lubet sentenced Kelvin De La Cruz on Friday. A jury convicted the teenager of second-degree murder in April for stabbing 15-year-old Michael Nieves.
De La Cruz was spared a mandatory life sentence when the jury passed on a first-degree murder conviction.
"By my calculations, you'll be close to 70 when you get out of prison, and perhaps then you won't be a danger to society anymore," Lubet told De La Cruz in the courtroom.
Authorities said the argument began at lunch over a girl and continued at a bus stop on the University High School campus last October.
De La Cruz maintains that he stabbed Nieves in self defense. His lawyers have a hearing scheduled Friday for a motion for a new trial.
De La Cruz's mother and older sister, present in the courtroom, sobbed as the sentence was read.
"You think 60 years is better than life in prison, but no," his older sister, Claribel Ramirez, said afterward. "For us and my family, in a way my brother is dead too. We can only see him on a TV and talk to him on the telephone."
Nieves' family and friends hugged each other after the sentencing.
"Justice was served," said Carmen Salicrup, the slain boy's mother.
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Information from: Orlando Sentinel, http://www.orlandosentinel.com">http://www.orlandosentinel.com
THIS WEEK'S SPOTLIGHT: TOMMY RAY
Polk's top whodunit agent
Amy L. Edwards
Sentinel Staff Writer
June 17, 2007
When the Florida Department of Law Enforcement needs a cold-case homicide solved in Polk County, there's one investigator they turn to -- Special Agent Tommy Ray. With 34 years of law-enforcement experience, 20 of which have been logged with the FDLE, Ray has played a role in solving about a dozen cold cases. Ray spent nearly a decade investigating the worst mass murder in Polk County history -- the Nelson Serrano case. Serrano was convicted in October in the slayings of four people, including his former business partner and a prosecutor. A jury recommended that Serrano receive the death penalty. He will be sentenced next week. Ray spoke with Sentinel reporter Amy L. Edwards.
What is the most challenging aspect of working cold cases?
Cold cases can be very labor- and time-intensive and may require innovative investigative techniques. Cold cases with no physical evidence, or key witnesses who are hard to locate or deceased, at that point you have to rely on your interview skills and hope for a confession from a suspect.
What is the greatest aspect of working cold cases?
The best part when you solve a cold case is for the victim's family. Just the joy and the amount of closure it's able to bring to the victim's family. You know, when someone's murdered, the family members, they never get over it, but it's just a small part of the closure or at least the healing process.
What case has had the most impact on your life and why?
Without a doubt the Nelson Serrano case, because it's such a senseless homicide. Four victims -- all over greed and money. And the victims, they were just unbelievable people as far as character. They're the kind of people that you would definitely want to be associated with. . . . You hope your family are as good as what the victims were.
Can anyone get away with murder?
I think they'll always be caught. I don't think there's such a thing as the perfect crime. There are crimes that just go undetected for years and years but eventually, especially with the new technology -- we're going back now, and cases are being solved that are 25 and 30 years old.
Has DNA technology made your job easier?
It has. To me, the DNA is the best thing that's come along since fingerprints. Now, almost monthly there's some advances in the DNA. What used to take maybe a spoonful of blood or other body fluids to get DNA results, now we can get it from a pin-drop size.
What's the longest you've spent working on a case?
It was Serrano -- 91/2 years.
Why do you think the public is fascinated with cold cases?
They say they get caught up in the emotions [and] the victim's families. Like all of us, they want to see some kind of conclusion to it. And they're fascinated by the way and the technology that's come out now that these cases are solved. Although that causes problems, because a lot of the jurors now have that CSI [TV show] effect.
Woman charged with murder after trying to blame her son
Article published Jun 13, 2007
Jun 13, 2007
The Associated Press
A Central Florida woman told her 19-year-old son that she loved him and would stand by him after he was arrested for killing her husband. But now authorities think she is the real killer and framed her son for the crime.
Rhonda Marie Sands' husband, Everette Lema, 50, was found stabbed to death on May 2, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
Prosecutors have dropped a murder charge against Sands' son, DeShane Sands. He was arrested the day after the killing, based largely on reports from his mother.
While in custody, authorities recorded a phone call between the mother and son, according to court records.
"I love you, Shane, and I'm gonna be here for you," Rhonda Sands said during the call.
But two neighbors told authorities that Rhonda Sands confessed to killing her husband to them, according to court records.
And while DeShane Sands initially refused to talk to authorities, on June 1 he told them he was innocent and suspected his mother was the killer.
DeShane Sands also had an alibi. His girlfriend said he was at her house the night of the slaying, according to court records.
A Sheriff's Office spokesman would not answer questions about the case Tuesday, saying it was still under investigation.
On Monday, a judge ordered DeShane Sands released, but he remained in the Seminole County Jail Tuesday evening. He was awaiting transfer to the Orange County Jail, where he was charged of violating the terms of probation in an unrelated case.
Rhonda Sands, 43, was being held without bond Tuesday night in the Seminole County Jail on a first-degree murder charge.
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Information from: Orlando Sentinel, http://www.orlandosentinel.com
Attorney quits Sly murder case
06/19/07
Law puts hardship on appointed lawyers, attorneys say
Murder defendant Jeremy Sly's court-appointed attorney quit his case Monday, citing a "major financial hardship" caused by a new law affecting the way court-appointed attorneys get paid.
And some attorneys are suggesting Sly's judge may have a difficult time finding another one to appoint in the months ahead.
The new law, signed by Gov. Charlie Crist May 24, created a bureaucracy to provide attorneys for indigent defendants in cases where the Public Defender's Office can't take the cases because of a conflict of interest.
The law calls for the state to establish five law offices statewide to provide attorneys who would work as state employees representing the indigent defendants. The five offices are to begin providing attorneys in October.
The problem now is, the law also puts more stringent limits on the state's compensation for private court-appointed attorneys, said Sly's attorney, John D. Mills of Fort Myers.
In particular, the law would cut the rate that can be paid to court-appointed attorneys for death-penalty cases from $125 per hour to $100 per hour. Also, the attorneys would have to wait until the cases are concluded before they can receive the compensation.
So Mills would have to wait until Sly goes through a trial and sentencing -- a process expected to take two years or longer --to get paid.
The law abolished the state's current system, in which court-appointed attorneys can get paid 80 percent of their billings after the first year on a case, and the final 20 percent after the case is concluded.
Sly, 37, is serving a life prison term for a November 1991 Collier County murder. He was arrested in February on charges that he murdered an elderly Port Charlotte couple on Dec. 19, 1991. Sly also has been accused of killing a father and his three stepchildren in North Port that same night.
Mills, in his motion to withdraw from Sly's case, argued he would have to travel to interview Sly, who is currently incarcerated in the Dade Correctional Institution. Mills said he would also have to investigate the other murders to prepare for trial.
Mills said waiting until the case is over for compensation would make his law practice unprofitable. He said it would be "impossible" to concentrate on Sly's case as a result.
Circuit Judge Lynne Dailey agreed.
There are only five attorneys in the five-county 20th Judicial Circuit who have qualified to accept court-appointed death-penalty cases. Mills said the other attorneys are also considering not accepting new cases because of the law.
Paul Sullivan, a Punta Gorda attorney, said he will no longer accept such cases after the new law becomes effective July 1. In part, that's because he already has been appointed to two murder cases. It's also because of the compensation limits under the new law, he said.
"It's not economically feasible," Sullivan said.
He pointed out that lawyers have office operating expenses to pay.
"We're hearing a lot of court-appointed lawyers expressing a lot of concern about what's going to happen," said A. Russell Smith, president of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. The association lobbied against the legislation last spring.
Smith cited the way the Justice Administration Commission, an executive agency that disburses funding for the courts, has begun to implement the law.
The JAC has told attorneys if they want to receive new court-appointed cases after July 1, they'd have to accept the new compensation limits -- even for their current court-appointed cases.
The limits include a series of flat fees for cases ranging from $750 for a third-degree felony case to $15,000 for a death-penalty case.
In some cases, the flat fees in the new law are higher than the fees in the current law. For example, the fee for death-penalty cases is currently only $3,000.
However, judges can now routinely approve higher charges. The new law establishes more restrictive criteria for approving such extraordinary compensation, Smith said.
"Our biggest fear is that innocent people charged with crimes they didn't commit will languish in jail because good lawyers won't work for these rates," Smith said.
Kenneth Kellum, spokesman for the courts in the 20th circuit, said judges have not experienced a problem appointing attorneys so far.
"I'm not saying it won't happen," Kellum said. "It's quite a radical change. I'm sure there's going to be some glitches."
The law was proposed this year to stem a steep rise in the costs for court-appointed criminal attorneys, which now exceed $50 million.
Under the law, a state law office would be established in each of the state's five appellate court districts. Each office would be allotted 38 attorneys for criminal "conflict" cases. Their salaries would be capped at $80,000.
In Southwest Florida, the 38 attorneys would handle cases in 13 counties from Polk to Collier.
Sullivan doubts that's enough attorneys.
"I don't see how 38 people can be in all the courthouses at the same time and still be able to get ready for trials and hearings," Sullivan said.
By GREG MARTIN
Staff Writer
Board hears charges about FDLE and restores Pinellas Park man's rights
BY BRENDAN FARRINGTON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TALLAHASSEE -- The clemency board heard a story involving diamonds, corrupt law enforcement agents and Israeli security before granting a full pardon Thursday to a man who said he was not a criminal, just someone who made a mistake trying to recoup money lost in a scam.
The board, led by Gov. Charlie Crist, also heard testimony from former Gov. Claude Kirk in defense of Michael Peros, who owns a Pinellas Park electronic surveillance company and said he was set up by Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents 17 years ago.
Peros' story goes like this: In 1989 he and his wife earned more than $4 million on a product he invented and sold to Sharper Image. They sought to invest $150,000 in diamonds only to find they had been ripped off.
"After realizing we had been conned out of our money by an FDLE agent by the name of Nik Vissokovsky, we decided to set up a sting operation because we were in dire straits to pay our taxes," Peros said.
Vissokovsky was not an agent, but rather an informant, according to FDLE. Vissokovsky told investigators he had loaned Peros $55,000, and Peros explained that he had used the loan and diamonds to purchase 30 kilograms of cocaine that was later stolen.
Vissokovsky later arranged to buy diamonds from Peros for $90,000 in a meeting FDLE monitored. But Peros said Thursday he was the one that was set up, though he acknowledged that his sting operation was a "total, total mistake."
"The FDLE agent ran off with the diamonds. A day later they fabricated evidence against me, they threw me in jail," Peros told Crist.
Not so, said the FDLE.
"Mr. Peros' claims that FDLE agents were involved in fabricating evidence or stealing diamonds are completely false. Mr. Peros was defrauded by members of his own criminal network as he engaged in cocaine trafficking," said department spokeswoman Heather Smith.
Peros was before the board because he wanted to restore his right to carry a gun.
"I'd like to get my rights back because I'm going into very hostile areas of the Middle East and I need that protection," Peros said.
Kirk, a Republican governor who served from 1967 to 1971, testified in Peros' support.
"The entire government of Israel has given this man all their confidence and trust," Kirk said.
Without question, Crist granted the pardon with no objection from the other clemency board members -- Attorney General Bill McCollum, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson.
Court date set for Couey
By Dave Pieklik
A July 17 court date has been set to hear arguments about whether John Couey is mentally retarded, and, if not, to determine if he should be executed for killing 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford of Homosassa.
The hearings have been scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Citrus County Courthouse in Circuit Judge Ric Howard’s courtroom. The hearings follow the March 7 conviction in Miami of Couey, 48, on charges of premeditated murder, kidnapping, sexual battery and burglary.
The same 12-person jury decided a week later Couey should be sentenced to death by lethal injection for raping and burying alive the Homosassa Elementary School third-grader in February 2005. The conviction came after the Feb. 12 start of the trial at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building, which led to several weeks of trying to find jurors who wouldn’t have problems being sequestered for possibly several weeks, or who hadn’t heard extensive details about the case.
Couey, a convicted sex offender, was accused of breaking into a mobile home Feb. 24, 2005, that Jessica shared with her family. Witnesses said he took her to his home, raped her, held her captive for a short time and killed her out of fear of getting caught.
Coverage of the case gained international attention and sparked the passage of tougher laws against sexual predators and offenders in Florida and numerous other states.
Eventually, a jury in the case was picked and testimony and closing arguments took just four days to complete. The jury’s recommendation of death by lethal injection set the stage for Howard to make a final determination as to an appropriate sentence.
Howard must decide between a death or life prison sentence; he must first determine if Couey suffers from a mental illness which, by state law, would prevent him from being executed. Two psychologists have evaluated Couey to determine his mental state, and depositions of them are being arranged.
A central claim of Couey’s defense attorneys at trial was that he suffered from mental illness and was mildly retarded. Jurors heard testimony from lone defense witness Dr. Robert Berland, a Tampa psychologist, who said Couey also suffered from psychological disturbance caused by brain injury.
Jurors were not convinced and returned the guilty verdict four hours after starting deliberations. During the penalty phase, the jury had to consider similar evidence when deciding if mitigating factors — reasons Couey shouldn’t be executed — outweighed reasons why execution was justified.
The jury took a little more than an hour to decide Couey should be sentenced to death.
At July’s hearings, if Howard determines Couey is not suffering from mental illness, a so-called Spencer hearing would be conducted. That hearing allows Howard to hear similar evidence and arguments presented to jurors before he makes a ruling.
A sentencing is expected to take place shortly after the Spencer hearing, though not the same day. If Howard agrees a death sentence is appropriate, the Florida Supreme Court would review an automatic appeal of the case that state law mandates.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Similar cases, diverging ends
In Pinellas cases against a man of influence and a man of none, one is offered probation.
By WILLIAM R. LEVESQUE
Published June 18, 2007
Ivy Cobb admits she knows little about courts. But Cobb says she knows enough about fairness to realize her son's getting a bad deal.
In one Pinellas courtroom, prosecutors say Josh Cobb should get 20 years in prison for firing a gun in a fight.
In another courtroom, a man accused in a similar case got a plea deal and probation.
The man who got the deal is 59-year-old Robert G. Walker Jr. of Belleair, a lawyer and former prosecutor, Clearwater's former city attorney, a friend of judges.
Josh Cobb, 20, of Clearwater is poor and unemployed and doesn't know anyone important.
"Should my son be treated differently because he doesn't have money?" Ivy Cobb said.
Prosecutors say the two cases can't be compared. Apples and oranges.
Still, a mother asks: Is this justice?
- - -
It began on a Clearwater street in May 2005 when Josh Cobb and two Tampa men, Roderick Smith Jr. and Willie Wesley, argued.
Cobb was accused of firing a shot into the air and pointing a handgun at Smith. He tried to fire, but the gun jammed, the men told police.
As Wesley and Smith fled, Wesley heard a bystander tell Cobb: "Give me the gun, I'll shoot him." Smith heard something similar.
As Smith and Wesley drove away, a shot hit their car. Nobody was injured. Neither man saw who fired it.
Later, police said, Cobb called Smith to say that next time, he wouldn't miss.
Using a gun to commit a crime in Florida carries devastating consequences.
A conviction for firing a gun during a felony, for example, can bring a mandatory 20-year prison term. And just pointing a gun at someone in a threatening way is felony aggravated assault, which carries a mandatory 10 years.
Prosecutors charged Cobb with aggravated assault. And they offered a plea deal: three years in prison.
Cobb, denying he fired any shot, refused.
As the case progressed, Wesley wouldn't cooperate, failing to attend depositions or show up in court. Prosecutors had to threaten him with jail before he came in, Cobb's lawyer said.
Smith didn't care one way or the other if Cobb was prosecuted.
Prosecutors didn't initially seek 20 years in prison, a sign to Cobb's lawyer, John Trevena, that they doubted Cobb fired the gun. Talks to reduce the charge to a misdemeanor soon failed, and by May 2006, prosecutors sought all 20 years.
Circuit Judge Richard Luce told Trevena, "I guess the elected state attorney regards discharges (of a gun) as dead serious."
- - -
On Feb. 4, as Cobb's case was pending, Walker walked to his neighbor's house on a tony Belleair street. He was upset by a loud Super Bowl party, police said.
As Patrick O'Reilly and his son-in-law, Scott McNay, walked out, both said Walker pointed a handgun at McNay's chest, saying, "I am tired of this ... "
McNay put his hands up. But fearing Walker would kill him, authorities said, he then grabbed the gun. As they struggled, Walker fired once, police said. Nobody was injured.
Within seconds, McNay told a 911 operator, "He tried to kill us. ... Thank God I grabbed it. He was going to shoot me in the gut."
Walker told police he fired a bullet into the dirt to scare the men. "It did not work," he told police, who thought he was intoxicated.
Walker was arrested for attempted murder and a misdemeanor charge of using a gun under the influence.
He hired lawyer Denis de Vlaming. But within days, he changed his mind and retained lawyer Doug Prior.
Besides being Walker's neighbor, Prior also offered another benefit: He was a close friend of one of the two men. Walker thought Prior could help him settle things, de Vlaming said.
Prior conducted an investigation he said was more thorough than the one finished by police.
Prior found that the two men no longer believed Walker pointed the gun at anyone. And Walker no longer thought he deliberately fired a shot into the ground. In retrospect, Walker now thought it an accidental discharge, and the two men agreed.
"Your mind becomes clearer upon reflection," Prior said.
Five days after the shooting, the two men filed a request that Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe not prosecute Walker. Days later, Walker apologized to both men in a letter.
Saying he exhibited "poor judgment," Walker wrote, "Someone might have been seriously hurt."
When McNay showed up on Feb. 21 to talk to prosecutors, he explained that he was getting so many calls from the community about Walker, including calls from Walker's wife, that he had shut off his phone.
A prosecutor wrote in an internal report, "It was clear ... that (McNay) has come under a great deal of pressure from various people to change his story or to not cooperate with prosecution."
McNay and O'Reilly declined to discuss their change of heart with a reporter.
"He seems like a pretty outstanding guy," O'Reilly said of Walker.
McNay said, "I just want this thing to go away."
- - -
Victims file requests not to prosecute all the time. In fact, the Pinellas-Pasco Public Defender, the office representing indigent defendants, has a standard form at its front desk for the purpose.
Public Defender Bob Dillinger said prosecutors, who must take a victim's wishes into consideration, nonetheless often pursue cases despite such requests, especially if the state has evidence beyond the victim's own testimony.
In Walker's case, police had Walker's own words to police and the 911 call the night of the shooting.
Sometimes, as with Cobb's case, a reluctant victim is forced to testify with a subpoena, said Dillinger, who declined to comment about Walker.
"It's the state of Florida vs. the defendant," Dillinger said, "not the victims vs. the defendant."
Though arrested for attempted murder, Walker was instead charged by prosecutors with two misdemeanors: the improper exhibition of a firearm and using a gun under the influence.
And in a May 1 plea deal, Walker pleaded no contest to the charges and received one year of probation.
McCabe, the state attorney, said he considered aggravated assault -- the charge that could have carried 20 years in prison -- but the victims' lack of cooperation prevented it.
In an unrelated 2005 trial, one of McCabe's prosecutors explained the difference between improper exhibition and aggravated assault.
"There's no pointing (the gun) at a person" with the lesser charge, a prosecutor told a jury in a case of a man convicted of aggravated assault for pointing a gun at someone, though not firing it. He got a prison sentence. "There's no inferred threat."
The difference, she said, is fear.
Still, McCabe said no special break was given to Walker, who would not comment.
"We drop cases all the time when people don't want to prosecute," McCabe said. "Absent the gun going off, he might not have been prosecuted at all."
Prior said his client received no favoritism and denied Walker committed a felony. But he said Walker's stellar life should not have been discarded when prosecutors decided what charges to file.
"You just don't dismiss that," Prior said.
- - -
Ivy Cobb, 47, a clerk for Pinellas County, wants publicity for her son's case. She wants everyone to know how the courts work.
Her son's attorney, Trevena, declined comment about Walker, saying he considers him a friend.
A trial for Josh Cobb, who has no adult criminal record, is set for October.
Insiders, Ivy Cobb said, get the benefit of the doubt, while poor, young, black defendants don't.
One man says he didn't point a gun at someone, and prosecutors believe him, she said. Another says the same, and he fights for his life.
Ivy Cobb said, "It doesn't seem like America."
Lowell work camp will open in November
Article published Jun 18, 2007
BY MABEL PEREZ
STAR-BANNER
LOWELL - The women's state prison in Lowell will soon have a new and improved work camp.
The work camp at Lowell Correctional will house 400 female inmates, employ about 70 staff members and open in November.
Outside the prison, bulldozers, dirt trucks and new fencing give clues to the construction.
Gretl Plessinger, public information officer for the Department of Corrections, said the camp will be more "self-supportive" than the previous one there.
The project cost estimates are $10 million and were budgeted from the prison's 2005-2006 fiscal year funds. Department of Corrections officials hope to have two dorms online by November. The first two dorms will house 144 inmates.
According to an e-mail from the DOC, work camp inmates will perform tasks such as picking up trash along roadways, mowing lawns and working with the Department of Transportation on road maintenance projects.
Officials have not chosen which inmates will go to the work camp. However, only minimum- to medium-risk inmates from Lowell Correctional are eligible.
Mabel Perez may be reached at 867-4106 or mabel.perez@starbanner.com.
BY MABEL PEREZ
STAR-BANNER
LOWELL - The women's state prison in Lowell will soon have a new and improved work camp.
The work camp at Lowell Correctional will house 400 female inmates, employ about 70 staff members and open in November.
Outside the prison, bulldozers, dirt trucks and new fencing give clues to the construction.
Gretl Plessinger, public information officer for the Department of Corrections, said the camp will be more "self-supportive" than the previous one there.
The project cost estimates are $10 million and were budgeted from the prison's 2005-2006 fiscal year funds. Department of Corrections officials hope to have two dorms online by November. The first two dorms will house 144 inmates.
According to an e-mail from the DOC, work camp inmates will perform tasks such as picking up trash along roadways, mowing lawns and working with the Department of Transportation on road maintenance projects.
Officials have not chosen which inmates will go to the work camp. However, only minimum- to medium-risk inmates from Lowell Correctional are eligible.
Mabel Perez may be reached at 867-4106 or mabel.perez@starbanner.com.
Officers stop inmate's suicide attempt
Article published Jun 18, 2007
Man tried to kill himself by shoving ink pen into his eye with a Bible.
BY MILLARD K. IVES
STAR-BANNER
OCALA - A Marion County Jail inmate tried to commit suicide Saturday evening by hammering an ink pen in to his left eye with a Bible.
Corrections officers shocked Lester Williams, 28, with a Taser stun gun, in an attempt to prevent him from further harming himself, allowing them to subdue the inmate.
Marion County Sheriff's officials said Williams' eye was not seriously injured. After being treated at Shands at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Williams was brought back to the jail, strapped down and placed on suicide watch.
Williams, of Riverview, has been in the jail since Dec. 5, 2003 on a number of charges, including sexual battery, false imprisonment, battery on an inmate, battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest.
Jail officials said Williams has spent some of his time behind bars at the Seminole County Jail . Williams also has outstanding cases in both Seminole and Alachua counties.
Sheriff's Capt. Fred Cyprian said it was not clear why Williams attempted suicide. Cyprian speculated that Williams had a court hearing canceled last week and could have been upset over that.
A Sheriff's Office incident report states a corrections officer, Jason Williams, was conducting a security check in the Alpha pod of the jail's E-section at about 6:45 p.m. Saturday when he saw Lester Williams sitting on his cell bunk.
The officer called out the inmate's name but got no response.
The report adds the officer noticed Williams holding an ink pen in his right hand and a Bible in his left hand. Williams then shouted: "I told you that I would stick a pen through my eye into my brain," the report stated.
Before the officer could reach Williams, it appeared the inmate had driven the pen into his left eye with the Bible. Cyprian said officials later learned the pen hit more towards the top of the bridge of the nose than the eye itself.
The officer shot Williams with a Taser stun gun in the torso. The shock caused Williams to hit the floor. But during the incident, the inmate was still able to hit the pen one more time before officers could restrain him.
Last Thursday, inmate Vito Joseph Loiacono, 46, died after he apparently hanged himself from his bunk bed with his pants. Sheriff's officials said there were no signs that the death was anything other than a suicide.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the case.
Millard K. Ives may be reached at millard.ives@starbanner.com or (352) 387-2488.
Man tried to kill himself by shoving ink pen into his eye with a Bible.
BY MILLARD K. IVES
STAR-BANNER
OCALA - A Marion County Jail inmate tried to commit suicide Saturday evening by hammering an ink pen in to his left eye with a Bible.
Corrections officers shocked Lester Williams, 28, with a Taser stun gun, in an attempt to prevent him from further harming himself, allowing them to subdue the inmate.
Marion County Sheriff's officials said Williams' eye was not seriously injured. After being treated at Shands at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Williams was brought back to the jail, strapped down and placed on suicide watch.
Williams, of Riverview, has been in the jail since Dec. 5, 2003 on a number of charges, including sexual battery, false imprisonment, battery on an inmate, battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest.
Jail officials said Williams has spent some of his time behind bars at the Seminole County Jail . Williams also has outstanding cases in both Seminole and Alachua counties.
Sheriff's Capt. Fred Cyprian said it was not clear why Williams attempted suicide. Cyprian speculated that Williams had a court hearing canceled last week and could have been upset over that.
A Sheriff's Office incident report states a corrections officer, Jason Williams, was conducting a security check in the Alpha pod of the jail's E-section at about 6:45 p.m. Saturday when he saw Lester Williams sitting on his cell bunk.
The officer called out the inmate's name but got no response.
The report adds the officer noticed Williams holding an ink pen in his right hand and a Bible in his left hand. Williams then shouted: "I told you that I would stick a pen through my eye into my brain," the report stated.
Before the officer could reach Williams, it appeared the inmate had driven the pen into his left eye with the Bible. Cyprian said officials later learned the pen hit more towards the top of the bridge of the nose than the eye itself.
The officer shot Williams with a Taser stun gun in the torso. The shock caused Williams to hit the floor. But during the incident, the inmate was still able to hit the pen one more time before officers could restrain him.
Last Thursday, inmate Vito Joseph Loiacono, 46, died after he apparently hanged himself from his bunk bed with his pants. Sheriff's officials said there were no signs that the death was anything other than a suicide.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the case.
Millard K. Ives may be reached at millard.ives@starbanner.com or (352) 387-2488.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Turnpike killings case delayed
Trial date pushed back to February
By Megan V. Winslow
Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers
June 16, 2007
West Palm Beach · Within two weeks the U.S. Attorney's Office will decide whether to recommend pursuing the death penalty against Ricardo Sanchez Jr. and Daniel Troya, a federal prosecutor said Friday.
The two men are charged in the shooting deaths of Greenacres residents Jose and Yessica Escobedo and their two young sons, whose bodies were found on the side of Florida's Turnpike in Port St. Lucie on Oct. 13.
U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez should make the final decision by Labor Day, said Steve Carlton, the assistant U.S. attorney prosecuting the case.
Carlton and attorneys for the two men and four others who were indicted by a grand jury in connection with a related drug investigation met Friday morning before U.S. District Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley. During the meeting, to discuss the status of the federal case, the attorneys agreed with Hurley's decision to move the tentative trial date for all six defendants from October to February.
The delay is necessary so the law is "meticulously followed" to protect the "due process rights of all parties" charged, Hurley said.
Hurley asked the appointed attorneys to establish a budget for defending the suspects with added projected costs if the death penalty is sought for Sanchez and Troya. Some of that money would pay for mitigation experts so defense attorneys could investigate Sanchez and Troya's backgrounds and argue against the death penalty.
In April, Sanchez and Troya were indicted and pleaded not guilty to drug charges, armed carjacking resulting in death and using a firearm in a crime of violence resulting in death.
According to St. Lucie County sheriff's reports, Jose Luis Escobedo, 28, and his fugitive brother ran one of the largest cocaine rings in the eastern United States. Sanchez, Troya and the other indicted suspects -- Danny Varela, Juan C. Gutierrez, Liana Lee Lopez and West Palm Beach resident Kevin Vetere -- allegedly worked with or for him.
About 2:15 a.m. Oct. 13, Sanchez and Troya allegedly had Escobedo stop his black Jeep Cherokee on the side of the turnpike in Port St. Lucie. Escobedo and his 25-year-old wife and sons Luis Damien, 4, and Luis Julian, 3, were shot 20 to 50 times before Troya, in a burgundy van, and Sanchez, in the Jeep, sped off, authorities said.
The Jeep was found three days later, abandoned in West Palm Beach. Drug ledgers in the Escobedo family's home and cell phone records eventually led detectives to the suspects, according to reports.
If convicted, Varela, Gutierrez, Lopez and Vetere all face up to life in prison. None of the defendants appeared in court Friday, but all were represented by lawyers.
Although an additional attorney specializing in death penalty cases has yet to be secured for Sanchez, West Palm Beach attorney James L. Eisenberg made an appearance as Troya's newly appointed death penalty counsel.
"With this administration, the odds are this is a death penalty case," he said after the hearing.
Unless an additional hearing is requested, the attorneys and Hurley will not meet again in court until October.
Megan Winslow can be reached at megan.winslow@scripps.com.
By Megan V. Winslow
Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers
June 16, 2007
West Palm Beach · Within two weeks the U.S. Attorney's Office will decide whether to recommend pursuing the death penalty against Ricardo Sanchez Jr. and Daniel Troya, a federal prosecutor said Friday.
The two men are charged in the shooting deaths of Greenacres residents Jose and Yessica Escobedo and their two young sons, whose bodies were found on the side of Florida's Turnpike in Port St. Lucie on Oct. 13.
U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez should make the final decision by Labor Day, said Steve Carlton, the assistant U.S. attorney prosecuting the case.
Carlton and attorneys for the two men and four others who were indicted by a grand jury in connection with a related drug investigation met Friday morning before U.S. District Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley. During the meeting, to discuss the status of the federal case, the attorneys agreed with Hurley's decision to move the tentative trial date for all six defendants from October to February.
The delay is necessary so the law is "meticulously followed" to protect the "due process rights of all parties" charged, Hurley said.
Hurley asked the appointed attorneys to establish a budget for defending the suspects with added projected costs if the death penalty is sought for Sanchez and Troya. Some of that money would pay for mitigation experts so defense attorneys could investigate Sanchez and Troya's backgrounds and argue against the death penalty.
In April, Sanchez and Troya were indicted and pleaded not guilty to drug charges, armed carjacking resulting in death and using a firearm in a crime of violence resulting in death.
According to St. Lucie County sheriff's reports, Jose Luis Escobedo, 28, and his fugitive brother ran one of the largest cocaine rings in the eastern United States. Sanchez, Troya and the other indicted suspects -- Danny Varela, Juan C. Gutierrez, Liana Lee Lopez and West Palm Beach resident Kevin Vetere -- allegedly worked with or for him.
About 2:15 a.m. Oct. 13, Sanchez and Troya allegedly had Escobedo stop his black Jeep Cherokee on the side of the turnpike in Port St. Lucie. Escobedo and his 25-year-old wife and sons Luis Damien, 4, and Luis Julian, 3, were shot 20 to 50 times before Troya, in a burgundy van, and Sanchez, in the Jeep, sped off, authorities said.
The Jeep was found three days later, abandoned in West Palm Beach. Drug ledgers in the Escobedo family's home and cell phone records eventually led detectives to the suspects, according to reports.
If convicted, Varela, Gutierrez, Lopez and Vetere all face up to life in prison. None of the defendants appeared in court Friday, but all were represented by lawyers.
Although an additional attorney specializing in death penalty cases has yet to be secured for Sanchez, West Palm Beach attorney James L. Eisenberg made an appearance as Troya's newly appointed death penalty counsel.
"With this administration, the odds are this is a death penalty case," he said after the hearing.
Unless an additional hearing is requested, the attorneys and Hurley will not meet again in court until October.
Megan Winslow can be reached at megan.winslow@scripps.com.
Case costs county $2.7 million
By Tonya Alanez
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
June 16, 2007
The Broward Sheriff's Office has paid $2.7 million in settlements and legal costs for a case in which three men were jailed for 16 months and two of them faced the death penalty for a murder they didn't commit, according to documents obtained by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
The long-standing false confession case had dragged on since 1993 and included two mistrials and testimony from a detective who said he put in a sock drawer at his home evidence that could have exonerated the accused killers.
It cost the agency more money to litigate the case than to pay the plaintiffs.
The Sheriff's Office arrested Carl Stephen Rosati, Peter Roussonicolos and Peter Dallas four years after the 1986 Deerfield Beach slaying of Joseph Viscido Jr. He died from a gunshot wound to the head in what detectives said was a cocaine deal gone bad.
The case rested on Dallas' false confession, which he has said was made amid pressure from detectives. He was the first to settle with the Sheriff's Office in October 2003, for $225,000.
Rosati settled for $1 million last September, and in April, Roussonicolos settled for $89,000. A judge had ruled that the amounts would remain confidential until the third and final settlement was worked out.
In addition, the Sheriff's office paid $1,411,427 in legal fees.
"It doesn't matter what amount of money they give you, you can't pick up the pieces," said Rosati, 47. "The anguish of being in there for a year and a half with the possibility of being electrocuted, it never, never leaves you. I have nightmares, I feel reclusive, and I'm mentally damaged forever."
The Sheriff's Office would have saved tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars had it settled the case sooner, said Roussonicolos' attorney Doug Bates.
The settlements and legal costs will be paid out of one of three sources: the county's self-insurance fund, the Sheriff's Office insurance or the Sheriff's Office general fund, said Elliot Cohen, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Office.
All three men spent 16 months in jail awaiting trial, with the threat of the death penalty looming over Roussonicolos and Rosati. Dallas pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and had been set to testify against the other two men.
The trio won freedom in 1992 after a special prosecutor cleared them of the murder and arrested two other men -- James Traina and Kerry Carbonell.
Traina was convicted and is serving life in prison; Carbonell committed suicide in jail while awaiting trial.
Rosati, Roussonicolos and Dallas filed a civil lawsuit in 1993against the Sheriff's Office and former homicide detectives Steve Wiley, Dominick Gucciardo and Sgt. Thomas "Bill" Murray. Wiley and Gucciardo have since retired, and Murray is stationed in Deerfield Beach.
The case went before jurors and ended in mistrial twice.
At trial, Murray admitted taking home a crucial audiotape that could have led to the real killers. He insisted that he had forgotten about the tape in his sock drawer.
Roussonicolos' settlement package totaled $100,000, said his attorney. In addition to the $89,000 the Sheriff's Office forgave an $11,000 debt Roussonicolos owed for time spent in jail on other charges, Bates said.
State law allows the Sheriff's Office to sue inmates for time they spend in jail, Bates said.
Roussonicolos is back behind bars for violating probation on a racketeering charge.
Bates said his client was satisfied with the settlement despite the many years it took to get it.
"Litigation has a way of wearing people down," Bates said. "He feels justice has been served although justice has been delayed."
Cohen, of the Sheriff's Office, could not specify why the agency opted to settle after so many years.
"This started long before the current administration," he said. "Sometimes it just takes that long to work it all out."
Tonya Alanez can be reached at tealanez@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4542.
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
June 16, 2007
The Broward Sheriff's Office has paid $2.7 million in settlements and legal costs for a case in which three men were jailed for 16 months and two of them faced the death penalty for a murder they didn't commit, according to documents obtained by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
The long-standing false confession case had dragged on since 1993 and included two mistrials and testimony from a detective who said he put in a sock drawer at his home evidence that could have exonerated the accused killers.
It cost the agency more money to litigate the case than to pay the plaintiffs.
The Sheriff's Office arrested Carl Stephen Rosati, Peter Roussonicolos and Peter Dallas four years after the 1986 Deerfield Beach slaying of Joseph Viscido Jr. He died from a gunshot wound to the head in what detectives said was a cocaine deal gone bad.
The case rested on Dallas' false confession, which he has said was made amid pressure from detectives. He was the first to settle with the Sheriff's Office in October 2003, for $225,000.
Rosati settled for $1 million last September, and in April, Roussonicolos settled for $89,000. A judge had ruled that the amounts would remain confidential until the third and final settlement was worked out.
In addition, the Sheriff's office paid $1,411,427 in legal fees.
"It doesn't matter what amount of money they give you, you can't pick up the pieces," said Rosati, 47. "The anguish of being in there for a year and a half with the possibility of being electrocuted, it never, never leaves you. I have nightmares, I feel reclusive, and I'm mentally damaged forever."
The Sheriff's Office would have saved tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars had it settled the case sooner, said Roussonicolos' attorney Doug Bates.
The settlements and legal costs will be paid out of one of three sources: the county's self-insurance fund, the Sheriff's Office insurance or the Sheriff's Office general fund, said Elliot Cohen, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Office.
All three men spent 16 months in jail awaiting trial, with the threat of the death penalty looming over Roussonicolos and Rosati. Dallas pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and had been set to testify against the other two men.
The trio won freedom in 1992 after a special prosecutor cleared them of the murder and arrested two other men -- James Traina and Kerry Carbonell.
Traina was convicted and is serving life in prison; Carbonell committed suicide in jail while awaiting trial.
Rosati, Roussonicolos and Dallas filed a civil lawsuit in 1993against the Sheriff's Office and former homicide detectives Steve Wiley, Dominick Gucciardo and Sgt. Thomas "Bill" Murray. Wiley and Gucciardo have since retired, and Murray is stationed in Deerfield Beach.
The case went before jurors and ended in mistrial twice.
At trial, Murray admitted taking home a crucial audiotape that could have led to the real killers. He insisted that he had forgotten about the tape in his sock drawer.
Roussonicolos' settlement package totaled $100,000, said his attorney. In addition to the $89,000 the Sheriff's Office forgave an $11,000 debt Roussonicolos owed for time spent in jail on other charges, Bates said.
State law allows the Sheriff's Office to sue inmates for time they spend in jail, Bates said.
Roussonicolos is back behind bars for violating probation on a racketeering charge.
Bates said his client was satisfied with the settlement despite the many years it took to get it.
"Litigation has a way of wearing people down," Bates said. "He feels justice has been served although justice has been delayed."
Cohen, of the Sheriff's Office, could not specify why the agency opted to settle after so many years.
"This started long before the current administration," he said. "Sometimes it just takes that long to work it all out."
Tonya Alanez can be reached at tealanez@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4542.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Jury spares Wilk from death sentence, says police mishandled raid where deputy died
Broward Sheriff's Deputy Todd FattaBy Robert Nolin
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
June 14, 2007
One mother doubled over in a courtroom pew and sobbed. Across the aisle, another mother heaved a sigh of relief.
A federal jury, the majority of whose members were against the death penalty, on Wednesday unanimously rejected that ultimate sentence for Kenneth Wilk, the man they had a week earlier convicted of killing Broward Sheriff's Deputy Todd Fatta.
The verdict left Fatta's mother, Josephine, red-faced and in tears.
"My son is buried in a crypt and he gets life," she cried out in a courtroom at the federal courthouse in downtown Fort Lauderdale.
"He'll never get out of jail," prosecutor John Kastrenakes assured her.
Wilk, 45, suffers from AIDS. Even his father expects him to die in prison. But Sheriff Ken Jenne, who attended the verdict along with about a dozen deputies, said the state still may prosecute Wilk. The State Attorney's Office acknowledged that possibility but said Fatta's family has not requested it.
Wilk was convicted of shooting Fatta, 33, as the deputy served a child pornography warrant at Wilk's northeast Fort Lauderdale home on Aug. 19, 2004. Prosecutors said Wilk was seeking revenge against police because his boyfriend, Kelly Ray Jones, had been arrested on charges of possessing child porn and attempting to have sex with a minor.
This was the third time federal prosecutors in South Florida have sought the death penalty, each time without success. Defense attorney Bill Matthewman said they never should have done so, and he blamed U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for approving the move. Wilk was charged in federal court because Fatta was serving a federal warrant on behalf of a federal agency.
"It shows such a lack of common sense and discretion to waste federal money and federal resources to pursue the death penalty against a man who has full-blown AIDS," Matthewman said.
The jury of eight women and four men deliberated more than six hours over two days before the verdict, which under federal rules had to be unanimous for a death sentence.
Juror Serge Augustin, 25, Coral Springs, said 10 jurors were strongly opposed to execution. "A lot of people came in with their own personal beliefs," he said. "It started a lot of arguments, the death penalty."
The jury, which at one point was deadlocked, almost convicted Wilk of second-degree murder, Augustin added. More debate swayed the holdouts.
In their verdict Wednesday, jurors were to weigh aggravating and mitigating factors in Wilk's crime. Ten jurors listed a mitigating factor on the verdict form: Police were in part responsible because of the inept way they tried to arrest Wilk.
Wilk's attorneys argued deputies botched the raid by not properly announcing themselves or having sufficient backup in light of Wilk's previous threats against law enforcement. Fatta's family is pursuing a wrongful death suit against the Sheriff's Office for mistakes they allege were made in the raid.
Wilk showed no emotion as the verdict was read, except to turn and nod at his parents, Walt and Joan Wilk.
In court, Jenne said Wilk deserved death, but acknowledged that "under federal rules and procedures, it's very difficult to get a death penalty."
Experts said federal court rules offer advantages to defense attorneys in death cases.
"As a general matter, resources provided to you are better in federal court than in state court," Andrea Lyon, director of DePaul University's Center for Justice in Capital Cases, said from her Chicago office. Extra resources could be money for special investigators, experts or testing, Lyon added. Also, jury instructions are easier to understand in federal death cases, she said.
"Legally, we know that Kenneth Wilk can be prosecuted in state court," Ron Ishoy, spokesman for the Broward State Attorney's Office, said in a statement. "If we're asked to review this case by Deputy Fatta's family or law enforcement, we certainly will meet with them and discuss that option."
Lyon said the jury has already "acquitted" Wilk of a death sentence and to seek that penalty against him again would violate the constitutional prohibition of double jeopardy, or, trying a person twice for the same crime.
But given that Wilk has AIDS, a life sentence is tantamount to death in prison.
"I have no joy," his father said after the verdict. "He's gone."
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
June 14, 2007
One mother doubled over in a courtroom pew and sobbed. Across the aisle, another mother heaved a sigh of relief.
A federal jury, the majority of whose members were against the death penalty, on Wednesday unanimously rejected that ultimate sentence for Kenneth Wilk, the man they had a week earlier convicted of killing Broward Sheriff's Deputy Todd Fatta.
The verdict left Fatta's mother, Josephine, red-faced and in tears.
"My son is buried in a crypt and he gets life," she cried out in a courtroom at the federal courthouse in downtown Fort Lauderdale.
"He'll never get out of jail," prosecutor John Kastrenakes assured her.
Wilk, 45, suffers from AIDS. Even his father expects him to die in prison. But Sheriff Ken Jenne, who attended the verdict along with about a dozen deputies, said the state still may prosecute Wilk. The State Attorney's Office acknowledged that possibility but said Fatta's family has not requested it.
Wilk was convicted of shooting Fatta, 33, as the deputy served a child pornography warrant at Wilk's northeast Fort Lauderdale home on Aug. 19, 2004. Prosecutors said Wilk was seeking revenge against police because his boyfriend, Kelly Ray Jones, had been arrested on charges of possessing child porn and attempting to have sex with a minor.
This was the third time federal prosecutors in South Florida have sought the death penalty, each time without success. Defense attorney Bill Matthewman said they never should have done so, and he blamed U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for approving the move. Wilk was charged in federal court because Fatta was serving a federal warrant on behalf of a federal agency.
"It shows such a lack of common sense and discretion to waste federal money and federal resources to pursue the death penalty against a man who has full-blown AIDS," Matthewman said.
The jury of eight women and four men deliberated more than six hours over two days before the verdict, which under federal rules had to be unanimous for a death sentence.
Juror Serge Augustin, 25, Coral Springs, said 10 jurors were strongly opposed to execution. "A lot of people came in with their own personal beliefs," he said. "It started a lot of arguments, the death penalty."
The jury, which at one point was deadlocked, almost convicted Wilk of second-degree murder, Augustin added. More debate swayed the holdouts.
In their verdict Wednesday, jurors were to weigh aggravating and mitigating factors in Wilk's crime. Ten jurors listed a mitigating factor on the verdict form: Police were in part responsible because of the inept way they tried to arrest Wilk.
Wilk's attorneys argued deputies botched the raid by not properly announcing themselves or having sufficient backup in light of Wilk's previous threats against law enforcement. Fatta's family is pursuing a wrongful death suit against the Sheriff's Office for mistakes they allege were made in the raid.
Wilk showed no emotion as the verdict was read, except to turn and nod at his parents, Walt and Joan Wilk.
In court, Jenne said Wilk deserved death, but acknowledged that "under federal rules and procedures, it's very difficult to get a death penalty."
Experts said federal court rules offer advantages to defense attorneys in death cases.
"As a general matter, resources provided to you are better in federal court than in state court," Andrea Lyon, director of DePaul University's Center for Justice in Capital Cases, said from her Chicago office. Extra resources could be money for special investigators, experts or testing, Lyon added. Also, jury instructions are easier to understand in federal death cases, she said.
"Legally, we know that Kenneth Wilk can be prosecuted in state court," Ron Ishoy, spokesman for the Broward State Attorney's Office, said in a statement. "If we're asked to review this case by Deputy Fatta's family or law enforcement, we certainly will meet with them and discuss that option."
Lyon said the jury has already "acquitted" Wilk of a death sentence and to seek that penalty against him again would violate the constitutional prohibition of double jeopardy, or, trying a person twice for the same crime.
But given that Wilk has AIDS, a life sentence is tantamount to death in prison.
"I have no joy," his father said after the verdict. "He's gone."
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Wilk had normal life, family testifies
BY WANDA J. DeMARZO
Kenneth Wilk -- convicted last week in the slaying of a Broward sheriff's deputy -- grew up in a typical middle-class family who loved and cared about him, Wilk's father, Walter, testified Tuesday.
He was kind and generous and often performed random acts of kindness, testified his sister, Karen Marie.
Yet he was cold-blooded enough to take the life of a young sheriff's deputy who dedicated his life to protecting others' lives, prosecutor John Kastrenakes told the jury.
Late Tuesday afternoon, 12 jurors began deliberating whether Wilk should be executed for gunning down BSO Deputy Todd Fatta, who was ambushed by Wilk as Fatta and other law enforcement officers served a search warrant on Wilk's Fort Lauderdale home three years ago.
The jury's decision must be unanimous, and no one has been sentenced to death in Florida in a federal capital case.
It was standing room only in U.S. District Judge James Cohn's courtroom as spectators, many of them attorneys, heard arguments in the rare federal death penalty case, handled by two flamboyant lawyers who are considered at the top of their game.
Prosecutor John Kastrenakes tried to show that Wilk, 45, planned to kill Fatta, contending that Wilk had held a grudge against law enforcement officers long before he shot Fatta in the chest with a high-powered rifle on Aug. 19, 2004.
Kastrenakes read from a letter Wilk wrote in 2001: ``I get so angry I was to kill every cop I see.''
''This was premeditated murder,'' Kastrenakes said. ``He took the life of a person who dedicated his life protecting the community and that deserves the ultimate punishment.''
Kastrenakes reminded the jury that after shooting Fatta, Wilk walked out of his home with a smile on his face.
''You saw him testify,'' Kastrenakes said. ``There's nothing wrong with him except that he's evil.''
But defense attorney Bill Matthewman, who said his client was suffering from AIDS-related dementia, appealed to the jury to spare Wilk's life.
''If one of you says no, [that] there's been enough death, enough killing, Wilk will spend the rest of his life in prison. Life in prison permits redemption,'' Matthewman said.
He added that sentencing Wilk to life in prison is essentially like a death sentence, since Wilk will not be eligible for parole.
''In federal court, life in prison means life in prison,'' Matthewman said. ``He will walk into a federal prison and come out in a casket.''
Matthewman reminded the panel about the gravity of their task.
''Each one of you has the power to say no,'' Matthewman said.
Wilk's family, who appeared in court for the first time since the case began two months ago, described Wilk as having a normal upbringing.
But his father spoke softly as he told the jurors about learning his son was gay.
''I found out he had HIV and that he was gay on the same day,'' said Walter Wilk, who lives in Houston. ``I thought he was going to die.''
Before the lawyers spoke to the jury, Cohn read 29 pages of instructions.
Kastrenakes and Matthewman often referred to those instructions, reminding jurors that they must follow the letter of the law and determine if the aggravating factors of the crime outweigh the mitigating factors.
In other words, if the acts committed by Wilk were so horrific that any kindness he performed, or any illness that he suffered, did not outweigh the crime he committed.
Deliberations continue today.
Kenneth Wilk -- convicted last week in the slaying of a Broward sheriff's deputy -- grew up in a typical middle-class family who loved and cared about him, Wilk's father, Walter, testified Tuesday.
He was kind and generous and often performed random acts of kindness, testified his sister, Karen Marie.
Yet he was cold-blooded enough to take the life of a young sheriff's deputy who dedicated his life to protecting others' lives, prosecutor John Kastrenakes told the jury.
Late Tuesday afternoon, 12 jurors began deliberating whether Wilk should be executed for gunning down BSO Deputy Todd Fatta, who was ambushed by Wilk as Fatta and other law enforcement officers served a search warrant on Wilk's Fort Lauderdale home three years ago.
The jury's decision must be unanimous, and no one has been sentenced to death in Florida in a federal capital case.
It was standing room only in U.S. District Judge James Cohn's courtroom as spectators, many of them attorneys, heard arguments in the rare federal death penalty case, handled by two flamboyant lawyers who are considered at the top of their game.
Prosecutor John Kastrenakes tried to show that Wilk, 45, planned to kill Fatta, contending that Wilk had held a grudge against law enforcement officers long before he shot Fatta in the chest with a high-powered rifle on Aug. 19, 2004.
Kastrenakes read from a letter Wilk wrote in 2001: ``I get so angry I was to kill every cop I see.''
''This was premeditated murder,'' Kastrenakes said. ``He took the life of a person who dedicated his life protecting the community and that deserves the ultimate punishment.''
Kastrenakes reminded the jury that after shooting Fatta, Wilk walked out of his home with a smile on his face.
''You saw him testify,'' Kastrenakes said. ``There's nothing wrong with him except that he's evil.''
But defense attorney Bill Matthewman, who said his client was suffering from AIDS-related dementia, appealed to the jury to spare Wilk's life.
''If one of you says no, [that] there's been enough death, enough killing, Wilk will spend the rest of his life in prison. Life in prison permits redemption,'' Matthewman said.
He added that sentencing Wilk to life in prison is essentially like a death sentence, since Wilk will not be eligible for parole.
''In federal court, life in prison means life in prison,'' Matthewman said. ``He will walk into a federal prison and come out in a casket.''
Matthewman reminded the panel about the gravity of their task.
''Each one of you has the power to say no,'' Matthewman said.
Wilk's family, who appeared in court for the first time since the case began two months ago, described Wilk as having a normal upbringing.
But his father spoke softly as he told the jurors about learning his son was gay.
''I found out he had HIV and that he was gay on the same day,'' said Walter Wilk, who lives in Houston. ``I thought he was going to die.''
Before the lawyers spoke to the jury, Cohn read 29 pages of instructions.
Kastrenakes and Matthewman often referred to those instructions, reminding jurors that they must follow the letter of the law and determine if the aggravating factors of the crime outweigh the mitigating factors.
In other words, if the acts committed by Wilk were so horrific that any kindness he performed, or any illness that he suffered, did not outweigh the crime he committed.
Deliberations continue today.
Court date set for Couey
By Dave Pieklik
A July 17 court date has been set to hear arguments about whether John Couey is mentally retarded, and, if not, to determine if he should be executed for killing 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford of Homosassa.
The hearings have been scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Citrus County Courthouse in Circuit Judge Ric Howard’s courtroom. The hearings follow the March 7 conviction in Miami of Couey, 48, on charges of premeditated murder, kidnapping, sexual battery and burglary.
The same 12-person jury decided a week later Couey should be sentenced to death by lethal injection for raping and burying alive the Homosassa Elementary School third-grader in February 2005. The conviction came after the Feb. 12 start of the trial at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building, which led to several weeks of trying to find jurors who wouldn’t have problems being sequestered for possibly several weeks, or who hadn’t heard extensive details about the case.
Couey, a convicted sex offender, was accused of breaking into a mobile home Feb. 24, 2005, that Jessica shared with her family. Witnesses said he took her to his home, raped her, held her captive for a short time and killed her out of fear of getting caught.
Coverage of the case gained international attention and sparked the passage of tougher laws against sexual predators and offenders in Florida and numerous other states.
Eventually, a jury in the case was picked and testimony and closing arguments took just four days to complete. The jury’s recommendation of death by lethal injection set the stage for Howard to make a final determination as to an appropriate sentence.
Howard must decide between a death or life prison sentence; he must first determine if Couey suffers from a mental illness which, by state law, would prevent him from being executed. Two psychologists have evaluated Couey to determine his mental state, and depositions of them are being arranged.
A central claim of Couey’s defense attorneys at trial was that he suffered from mental illness and was mildly retarded. Jurors heard testimony from lone defense witness Dr. Robert Berland, a Tampa psychologist, who said Couey also suffered from psychological disturbance caused by brain injury.
Jurors were not convinced and returned the guilty verdict four hours after starting deliberations. During the penalty phase, the jury had to consider similar evidence when deciding if mitigating factors — reasons Couey shouldn’t be executed — outweighed reasons why execution was justified.
The jury took a little more than an hour to decide Couey should be sentenced to death.
At July’s hearings, if Howard determines Couey is not suffering from mental illness, a so-called Spencer hearing would be conducted. That hearing allows Howard to hear similar evidence and arguments presented to jurors before he makes a ruling.
A sentencing is expected to take place shortly after the Spencer hearing, though not the same day. If Howard agrees a death sentence is appropriate, the Florida Supreme Court would review an automatic appeal of the case that state law mandates.
A July 17 court date has been set to hear arguments about whether John Couey is mentally retarded, and, if not, to determine if he should be executed for killing 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford of Homosassa.
The hearings have been scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Citrus County Courthouse in Circuit Judge Ric Howard’s courtroom. The hearings follow the March 7 conviction in Miami of Couey, 48, on charges of premeditated murder, kidnapping, sexual battery and burglary.
The same 12-person jury decided a week later Couey should be sentenced to death by lethal injection for raping and burying alive the Homosassa Elementary School third-grader in February 2005. The conviction came after the Feb. 12 start of the trial at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building, which led to several weeks of trying to find jurors who wouldn’t have problems being sequestered for possibly several weeks, or who hadn’t heard extensive details about the case.
Couey, a convicted sex offender, was accused of breaking into a mobile home Feb. 24, 2005, that Jessica shared with her family. Witnesses said he took her to his home, raped her, held her captive for a short time and killed her out of fear of getting caught.
Coverage of the case gained international attention and sparked the passage of tougher laws against sexual predators and offenders in Florida and numerous other states.
Eventually, a jury in the case was picked and testimony and closing arguments took just four days to complete. The jury’s recommendation of death by lethal injection set the stage for Howard to make a final determination as to an appropriate sentence.
Howard must decide between a death or life prison sentence; he must first determine if Couey suffers from a mental illness which, by state law, would prevent him from being executed. Two psychologists have evaluated Couey to determine his mental state, and depositions of them are being arranged.
A central claim of Couey’s defense attorneys at trial was that he suffered from mental illness and was mildly retarded. Jurors heard testimony from lone defense witness Dr. Robert Berland, a Tampa psychologist, who said Couey also suffered from psychological disturbance caused by brain injury.
Jurors were not convinced and returned the guilty verdict four hours after starting deliberations. During the penalty phase, the jury had to consider similar evidence when deciding if mitigating factors — reasons Couey shouldn’t be executed — outweighed reasons why execution was justified.
The jury took a little more than an hour to decide Couey should be sentenced to death.
At July’s hearings, if Howard determines Couey is not suffering from mental illness, a so-called Spencer hearing would be conducted. That hearing allows Howard to hear similar evidence and arguments presented to jurors before he makes a ruling.
A sentencing is expected to take place shortly after the Spencer hearing, though not the same day. If Howard agrees a death sentence is appropriate, the Florida Supreme Court would review an automatic appeal of the case that state law mandates.
Huss case now second-degree murder
Yana HussSTAFF REPORT
CHARLOTTE COUNTY -- The charge of manslaughter against Scott Huss in the slaying of his wife has been upgraded to second-degree murder.
Assistant State Attorney Daniel Feinberg filed the change, claiming that Huss killed Yana Huss on April 25 by stabbing her with a knife or another sharp object.
If convicted of second-degree murder, Huss could face a life sentence but not the death penalty, according to Florida statutes.
CHARLOTTE COUNTY -- The charge of manslaughter against Scott Huss in the slaying of his wife has been upgraded to second-degree murder.
Assistant State Attorney Daniel Feinberg filed the change, claiming that Huss killed Yana Huss on April 25 by stabbing her with a knife or another sharp object.
If convicted of second-degree murder, Huss could face a life sentence but not the death penalty, according to Florida statutes.
2 face death in Daytona woman's murder
By KENYA WOODARD
Staff Writer
PALM COAST -- A Flagler County man and woman charged with murdering a Daytona Beach grandmother will face a fight for their own lives.
The state will seek the death penalty for Cornelius Baker, 20, of Bunnell and Patricia Roosa, 19, of Flagler Beach in the January murder of Elizabeth Uptagrafft, State Attorney John Tanner said Tuesday.
In a telephone interview, Tanner said he decided to pursue the death penalty for the pair after careful review of the grisly circumstances of the case.
"This is different from your drug-deal-gone-wrong or a fit of anger between two spouses," he said. "This appears to have been . . . carried out with cold and conscious deliberation."
Baker and Roosa face charges of first-degree murder after police said they forced their way into Uptagrafft's home and pistol-whipped the grandmother and her son before kidnapping her. Uptagrafft's head was also grazed by a gunshot.
Baker later shot her and left the 56-year-old's body at a pine tree farm in Bunnell, investigators said. Both Baker and Roosa pleaded not guilty to the charges in February.
A Flagler County Sheriff's Office report states that Baker told investigators that "if he was going to get in trouble that he was going all the way and that is why he murdered (Elizabeth Uptagrafft)."
Reached by telephone Tuesday afternoon, Matthew Phillips, Baker's attorney, said it was "disappointing" but not surprising that Tanner's office is seeking the death penalty for his client.
"I've been expecting it all along," he said. "I've been approaching (the case) from that angle."
Phillips said the state's pursuit of the death penalty has intensified Baker's defense preparation. About 70 witnesses, including officers from Daytona Beach, Volusia and Flagler county law enforcement agencies, need to be interviewed.
Phillips said he's diving into Baker's background -- including psychiatric records -- to develop a defense. Baker also will undergo testing to determine his intelligence, Phillips said.
Tanner said his office is ready now to go to trial. But Phillips said the work he has ahead of him means the case isn't likely to go to trial until January.
"We'll just have to see how everything falls into place," he said. "You're only guaranteed one trial, so we want to do everything we can to make sure we're fully prepared . . "
Thomas Mott, Roosa's attorney, was unavailable for comment Tuesday afternoon.
Tanner said he hopes the state's pursuit of the death penalty will deter others.
"As long as the state of Florida has the penalty and it's applied judiciously, it will save lives," he said.
Uptagrafft's family could not be reached for comment Tuesday, nor could Roosa's.
Baker's grandmother, Thelma Smith, 64, of Bunnell said she has Uptagrafft's family in her heart, which also still has room for her grandson.
"I love him, but I don't love what he did," Smith said. "There's nothing I can do about it, just keep on praying. It's out of my hands."
kenya.woodard@news-jrnl.com
Staff Writer
PALM COAST -- A Flagler County man and woman charged with murdering a Daytona Beach grandmother will face a fight for their own lives.
The state will seek the death penalty for Cornelius Baker, 20, of Bunnell and Patricia Roosa, 19, of Flagler Beach in the January murder of Elizabeth Uptagrafft, State Attorney John Tanner said Tuesday.
In a telephone interview, Tanner said he decided to pursue the death penalty for the pair after careful review of the grisly circumstances of the case.
"This is different from your drug-deal-gone-wrong or a fit of anger between two spouses," he said. "This appears to have been . . . carried out with cold and conscious deliberation."
Baker and Roosa face charges of first-degree murder after police said they forced their way into Uptagrafft's home and pistol-whipped the grandmother and her son before kidnapping her. Uptagrafft's head was also grazed by a gunshot.
Baker later shot her and left the 56-year-old's body at a pine tree farm in Bunnell, investigators said. Both Baker and Roosa pleaded not guilty to the charges in February.
A Flagler County Sheriff's Office report states that Baker told investigators that "if he was going to get in trouble that he was going all the way and that is why he murdered (Elizabeth Uptagrafft)."
Reached by telephone Tuesday afternoon, Matthew Phillips, Baker's attorney, said it was "disappointing" but not surprising that Tanner's office is seeking the death penalty for his client.
"I've been expecting it all along," he said. "I've been approaching (the case) from that angle."
Phillips said the state's pursuit of the death penalty has intensified Baker's defense preparation. About 70 witnesses, including officers from Daytona Beach, Volusia and Flagler county law enforcement agencies, need to be interviewed.
Phillips said he's diving into Baker's background -- including psychiatric records -- to develop a defense. Baker also will undergo testing to determine his intelligence, Phillips said.
Tanner said his office is ready now to go to trial. But Phillips said the work he has ahead of him means the case isn't likely to go to trial until January.
"We'll just have to see how everything falls into place," he said. "You're only guaranteed one trial, so we want to do everything we can to make sure we're fully prepared . . "
Thomas Mott, Roosa's attorney, was unavailable for comment Tuesday afternoon.
Tanner said he hopes the state's pursuit of the death penalty will deter others.
"As long as the state of Florida has the penalty and it's applied judiciously, it will save lives," he said.
Uptagrafft's family could not be reached for comment Tuesday, nor could Roosa's.
Baker's grandmother, Thelma Smith, 64, of Bunnell said she has Uptagrafft's family in her heart, which also still has room for her grandson.
"I love him, but I don't love what he did," Smith said. "There's nothing I can do about it, just keep on praying. It's out of my hands."
kenya.woodard@news-jrnl.com
Monday, June 11, 2007
Pregnant corrections officer shot to death in her Palatka home
the associated press
June 11, 2007
PALATKA · Authorities were investigating the fatal shooting of a pregnant corrections officer in her home, an official said Sunday.
Tyvon Nichole Whitford, 25, who was six months pregnant, was shot in her home in Hawthorne, near Gainesville, on Friday night. Her 5-year-old son was in another room during the shooting, said Maj. Keith Riddick of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.
A man called authorities to report the shooting shortly after someone from the home called 911, Riddick said.
"We're not ruling anybody out, but we are not naming anyone as a suspect," Riddick said. "We have talked to a person of interest." He declined to give any additional details of the investigation.
Deputies found Whitford in the house with a gunshot wound to her upper torso, Riddick said. She was taken to Shands at the University of Florida, where she died, he said.
She had been a corrections officer at the Gainesville Correctional Institute since 2005, Riddick said
June 11, 2007
PALATKA · Authorities were investigating the fatal shooting of a pregnant corrections officer in her home, an official said Sunday.
Tyvon Nichole Whitford, 25, who was six months pregnant, was shot in her home in Hawthorne, near Gainesville, on Friday night. Her 5-year-old son was in another room during the shooting, said Maj. Keith Riddick of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office.
A man called authorities to report the shooting shortly after someone from the home called 911, Riddick said.
"We're not ruling anybody out, but we are not naming anyone as a suspect," Riddick said. "We have talked to a person of interest." He declined to give any additional details of the investigation.
Deputies found Whitford in the house with a gunshot wound to her upper torso, Riddick said. She was taken to Shands at the University of Florida, where she died, he said.
She had been a corrections officer at the Gainesville Correctional Institute since 2005, Riddick said
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