· Congratulations to ASAs Chloe Castro and Bronwyn Nayci, who received a guilty verdict on two counts of the Sale or Possession with Intent to Sell Cocaine. The jury was out approximately 40 minutes on this case where the Defendant was selling cocaine at a street corner with the stash located in a phone booth. The Defendant faces 42 years at the bottom of his guidelines. Sentencing is set for April.
The ASAs would like to their Victim/Witness Coordinator Stephanie Grande-Brito for her assistance throughout the case.
· Congratulations to ASAs Mary Ernst and Stacy Cleveland for their second guilty verdict in a complex fraud case in the last two months! In just 22 minutes of deliberations, a jury found the Defendant guilty of Organized Scheme to Defraud $50,000+, Grand Theft $100,000+, three counts of Unlawful Filing Causing Financial Losses, and Burglary of an Unoccupied Dwelling.
The Defendant created fraudulent deeds claiming that a deceased property owner deeded several properties to him prior to death. The Victim had died without a will and no close or local relatives. The Defendant even broke into and illegally occupied one of the properties.
Despite being in jail and having outstanding criminal cases, the Defendant never ceased filing fraudulent deeds, lis pendens, and frivolous motions in many other cases.
Complicating this trial, the Defendant fired his lawyer and proceeded pro-se. As a frequent litigant, he was very experienced with muddying up the legal records and thought he was up to the challenge in this criminal case. Bad decision. The Defendant has 7 other pending trials.
Special thanks go out to all the Economic Crimes Unit attorneys, support staff, and Victim/ Witness Coordinators Tracey-Ann Spencer and Danielle Richardson for their support throughout this trial. .
· Congratulations to ASAs Pamela Agudelo and Joseph Rome for obtaining guilty verdicts on a Burglary of an Occupied Dwelling and Grand Theft case.
In the early morning of July 17, 2021, the Victim awoke to a strange man inside her hotel room rummaging through her things. The Defendant ran out of the room with the Victim running after him barefoot. She observed him getting away on a bike with her laptop. A fingerprint was recovered from a water bottle that was found in a stairwell at the hotel along with some of the Victim’s belongings.
The latent examiner was able to testify that this fingerprint matched the Defendant. The State introduced CCTV footage of both the Victim running and the Defendant cycling through the hotel courtyard. A month after the incident, the Victim was shown a line-up by a local police officer back in Denver, CO, where she lived, and she positively identified the Defendant. During the trial, the Victim testified that the stolen laptop had been hidden under her pillow before she went to sleep. After a few hours of deliberation, the jurors returned a verdict of guilty on both counts.
This trial would not have been possible without Victim/Witness Coordinator John Zoeller and Travel Coordinator Idalvis Trujillo, who helped coordinate the Victim’s flights and accommodations.
· Congratulations to ASAs Alex Bergida and Ana Cuello, who were successful in securing a guilty verdict on one count of Lewd or Lascivious Battery and one count of Lewd or Lascivious Molestation.
The Defendant was the fourteen-year-old Victim’s violin instructor who fondled her breasts, reached into her pants, and digitally penetrated her during one of her lessons. The Defendant had made multiple confessions throughout the investigation, including during a conversation with the Victim’s parents, and during his post-Miranda interview with detectives. Through a devastating cross-examination, ASA Cuello was successful in having the Defendant confess once again on the stand.
A conviction would not have been possible without Victim Specialist Deborah Fernandez and Victim/Witness Counselor Alexa Perdomo’s dedication to the case. They worked extra hours to make sure the victims and witnesses appeared when they needed to appear, were a comfort to them during the trial itself, and most importantly, put up with the ASAs incessant requests.
· Congratulations to ASAs David Harden and Julianne Ruiz-Necuze for securing a guilty verdict on one count of Attempted Second Degree Murder, one count of Aggravated Battery, and one count of Tampering with a Witness on a Life Felony.
In May 2016, the Victim was chased for a couple of miles by a car that he knows belongs to the Defendant while driving in the neighborhood where the Co-Defendant lives.
While trying to escape, Victim accidentally hit the back of a vehicle driven by Victim 2 in this case. After Victim 2 got out of his vehicle to see the damage, he walked over to Victim’s window to make sure he was ok. In that moment, the Defendant drove up and his brother (Co-Defendant) shot 5 rounds through the open passenger window. Victim 2 was shot in the back of the leg as he ran for cover.
Victim fled the scene to a nearby cousin’s house where he waited about an hour and a half to call police. During that time, an anonymous 911 caller informed police that the shooting vehicle had a partial tag of “CYA.” Since the Victim was on probation, he initially didn’t tell police that he was the driver so as to not be in violation for leaving the scene of an accident. However, a few hours later, he told police the truth about his involvement and ID’d both co-defendants.
Circumstantial evidence from DHSMV records showing that the Defendant owned a grey Infiniti with the tag “CYAH08” (and gifted it away to a friend 12 days after the shooting) was the only other evidence to connect the Defendant to the scene. There were no traffic cameras, CCTV footage, or any other independent witnesses. The shooter is set for trial on May 31, 2022.
Special thanks to Legal Assistant A.J. Gonzalez and Victim/Witness Coordinator Janelle Arguelles for all their hard work, advice, and support throughout the trial; and to Angel Del Castillo in Litigation Support for helping them every step of the way with exhibits.
· Congratulations to ASAs Natasha Moghadam and Jonathan Sallah for securing a guilty verdict against a Defendant charged with Burglary with Assault while Armed and Criminal Mischief. The Defendant and the Victim had been in a tumultuous relationship for more than ten years and have a child in common.
The Defendant was captured on surveillance footage breaking the window of the Victim’s efficiency with the butt of a shotgun, placing his hand through the window, and then placing the barrel of the shotgun through the Victim’s window. Although the Defendant’s face was not captured on the video footage, the Victim was able to testify about seeing the Defendant’s face and recognizing his voice before hiding behind the door panel of her bedroom. Before leaving the scene, the Defendant shot the victim’s car twice.
The ASAs would like to thank Lead Worker Janet Gonzalez, Victim/Witness Counselor Melany Badia-Taveras, Felony Secretary Annette Rizo, and everyone in Fiscal that helped get our out-of-state victim to Miami for her testimony.
· Congratulations to ASAs Sandra Demirci and Paige Minyard for securing a guilty verdict on one count of Sale, Purchase, Manufacture, Delivery, or Possession with Intent to Sell, Purchase, Manufacture, or Deliver A Controlled Substance and one count of Resisting an Officer Without Violence.
This is the second of three open cases where the Defendant has been found guilty by a jury. On the date of the incident, the Defendant was seen driving erratically on a stolen motorcycle. When the patrol officer attempted to initiate a traffic stop, the Defendant fled and hid behind a private residence’s bush. The officer apprehended him after a short foot pursuit. A search of the Defendant after arrest revealed that he was carrying 46 baggies of heroin as well as several empty baggies consistent with the sale of narcotics. The search was captured on BWC and the jury returned a guilty verdict after deliberating for about 45 minutes.
A special thanks to Victim/Witness Coordinator Janelle Arguelles and Legal Assistant A.J. Gonzalez for their assistance.
· Congratulations to ASAs Jennifer Hernandez-Garcia and Alexa Antin for securing a guilty verdict on a Grand Theft in the Third Degree (less than $20,000 more than $10,000) case.
On July 31, 2019, the Victim hired the Defendant to care for her sick mother. About a month later, the Victim and the Defendant started a romantic relationship that continued until July 2020. The Victim had lost her husband to a heart attack in April of 2018 and still had pictures of him and personal items in her household.
Throughout their relationship, the Defendant would express his displeasure in seeing her “dead husband’s” photos in the house. On July 8, 2020, the Victim realized that her husband’s 18K gold Rolex “Submariner” and his platinum wedding band (with 13 diamonds totaling .84 carats) had been stolen. The Victim would go on to confront the Defendant for several days in person and over text messages.
The State introduced the text messages between the Victim and the Defendant where he partially admits to taking the watch as well as a picture of the Defendant wearing the watch and ring. The State also introduced testimony about the original cost of the watch, the age, condition, and how much the Victim would have had to pay to get the watch back from the pawnshop broker. The Defense argued that the Victim gave the Defendant her deceased’s husband’s watch because she owed him money. They admitted that the Defendant pawned the watch but mostly argued that the Defendant had a “good faith” belief that he was entitled to the watch.
The Defendant did not testify. He was originally charged with a Grand Theft in the Second Degree but after deliberating for one-hour, the all women-panel came back with a guilty on the lesser Grand Theft Third Degree.
A Special Thanks to Victim/Witness Coordinator Janelle Arguelles for her assistance on this case.
· Congratulations to Misdemeanor DV ASAs Daniella Capote and Janeen Zamora for securing a guilty verdict in a misdemeanor domestic battery case.
On July 3, 2021, the Defendant, her mother, and five other people drove over two hours from her residence in Port St. Lucie, FL to the Miami to confront her ex-husband over an alleged disagreement between him and their adult daughter. The Defendant went to the restaurant where he works and slapped him outside the entrance. As the victim retreated into the restaurant, the Defendant and her mother (the Co-Defendant) then followed him and continued to strike him repeatedly in front of all of the patrons.
A few months before trial, the Defense filed a Stand Your Ground Motion to Dismiss claiming that the Defendant hit the Victim because she thought he was going to strike her mother (the co-Defendant), which the Court denied. About two weeks before trial, the Court severed the co-defendants, limiting the State’s ability to introduce key pieces of testimonial evidence.
The Defense proceeded to trial on a theory of self-defense. The State presented the testimony of the Victim, two officers, and an independent eyewitness who saw the initial battery by the Defendant. The State also presented CCTV footage from inside the restaurant that showed the Victim retreating with his arms up in self-defense while being stuck repeatedly. Finally, the State introduced the spontaneous and unprovoked confession by the Defendant, which was caught on Body Worn Camera of the backup officer. The jury of five men and one woman deliberated for 30 minutes before returning a guilty verdict.
A Special Thanks to Victim/Witness Counselors Ursula Sanchez and Ashley Benitez, and the rest of the support staff, for their diligent efforts to get the victim to various hearings and the trial.
• ASA Marisol Garcia successfully argued a Motion to Set Aside Clerk’s Default in a Child Support case in which the Father filed a Petition to Disestablish Paternity, seeking to remove his name from the minor child’s birth certificate and eliminate his child support obligation. After intense legal argument delineating the strict requirements of Florida’s Disestablishment Statute, ASA Garcia persuaded the Judge that the best interests of the child could only be served by allowing a full hearing to take place on all the issues.
• ASA Marisol Garcia also prevailed on a Motion for Contempt when the Father argued that he has been unable to pay his child support obligation because he is working for a roofing company, earning only commission, and has not earned any income for an entire year. ASA Garcia cross-examined the Father regarding his living expenses to attack his credibility and demonstrate that he could not be working for free if he was still able to meet his other financial obligations. The General Magistrate granted the Motion for Contempt and ordered the father to pay a $5,000.00 purge.
