The Place Where Ludington Talks
Florida Felony Factory
A new member joined this morning and offered a link to the Citrus County Cover-Up, the story of a person who appears to have been manufactured into a criminal by Florida's criminal justice system. The long tale of what happened seems to me very credible, and should at the least present a cautionary tale to those who seek justice and straight-up information from the American system of justice.
This is similar to what has happened to several good people from around our country, people minding their own business getting slapped down by an increasingly out of touch police and judicial industrial complex-- taking a bunch of red-blooded Americans that have no intent on disobeying the law and branding them criminals when they don't kow-tow to the occasional bad cop(s) drunk on their own power. It happens here, whether it be:
Joe McAdam taking pictures of officers arresting his mother and getting trumped up charges against him after he gets tased, tackled and beaten by a gang of local cops.
Martin Schilling being the father of a wanted suspect, getting unlawfully stopped twice, arrested, and interviewed without any charges or Miranda rights being read to him.
Myself, enduring civil contempt charges and serving a short stint in jail for questioning the authority of a local judge's jurisdiction in my traffic court case, after being cited for riding my bicycle through an unlawfully erected stop sign with no legal traffic control order on file for it.
And several others I have talked to who have reported similar abuse of the system, that I cannot either verify or mention due to confidentiality promises.
Is this what we want in Amerika? Gulags populated by those who have legitimate gripes against the criminal justice system, populated by those who were undeniably good citizens doing good things before their rights were trampled on by the growing police state, their livelihood being trespassed against by a justice system which doesn't have anything to do with "justice", but plenty to do with the "system"?
The Way It Was
Friday, January 28th, 2005 began as any other day in our quiet sub-division of Osceola Hills, here in Citrus County, Florida. A slight chill was in the air of the overcast gray morning as I bid my spouse, of 30 peaceful year’s, good-bye and went off on an errand.
Only a few other families live in Osceola Hills and having become weary of outsiders destroying our mulched sand-based streets, we installed gates at either end of the access to the sub-division in order to maintain the peaceful environment, and limit the open use by outsiders. As I turned South onto Red Fern Terrace off of West Blue Indigo Lane, our street, I came upon one member of a crew that had been in the process of repossessing a manufactured home (erroneously referred to by some as a mobile home). And as I drove passed him he yelled something to the effect of, "you know anything about this?" not explaining what "this" was. As I approached where the home was parked on the East Side of Red Fern Terrace another person yelled the same words.
In that I had been observing some nefarious activities of the crew, for several days, I had no desire to stop. I did notice what appeared to be a large tear in the plastic film, which had been applied to cover the exposed opening of the separated doublewide home. An unfamiliar vehicle had been seen leaving from the side of the home during the previous night, but the crew’s demeanor did not leave me with the urge to inquire of their problem, nor to assist them…
On Friday, January 21st, as I was returning home a white pickup was seen to be leaving out the East entrance gate to Osceola Hills pulling a trailer loaded with an air conditioning unit. The tire tracks of that vehicle indicated it had came out of a property, owned by people who lived out of the area, upon which an unoccupied manufactured home had been sitting for several months. A foreclosure sign had been seen in the driveway weeks before but had since disappeared. Out of curiosity I drove back and was greeted by one of the two men working on the home. It was noticed the vehicle they were using, and the pickup pulling the trailer loaded with the air conditioner, did not have any commercial markings on them.
The numerous warnings law enforcement has given over the years concerning persons engaged in commercial activities, and how their vehicles were to be clearly marked, came to mind.
As the man approached I asked him if they had seen anything of a Yorkshire Terrier, as my wife’s had been missed for two days and had on previous occasions wandered down to the property to visit the people living there at the time. He said they had not seen it and went on to say they were there to repossess the home for the bank. I noticed a large wooden deck had been moved back from the home, a small utility trailer belonging to the property owner was parked next to the well, and a pile of 4x4 posts was on the other side of the well. The large air-conditioner was not where it had been located. I bid the man a good day and went on home.
Sunday, the 23rd of January, I drove back to the property, which is located East of our home on West Blue Indigo Lane. The first thing noticed was the utility trailer was no longer where it had been on Friday. Then too it was noticed the electrical panel had been wired shut, which was considered strange since it was not associated with the home itself by way of repossession.
I called the 911 service and ask for a deputy to come out as, at the moment, I had no way of contacting the property owner to inform him of the missing trailer. The deputy responding said that they did not get involved with any activities associated with repossessions, even though I expressed my concerns of the unmarked vehicles and the removal of the utility trailer and air conditioner, believed to have non-association with the home’s repossession. He suggested I call the property appraiser’s office the next day, Monday, and acquire the owner’s contact information. The reason I called him out there was with the idea that he would at least consider my allegations of the crew’s activities and contact the owner of the property himself. Monday I called the property appraiser’s office and was informed the owner had an address in Clearwater, Florida, though his phone number was unlisted and they could not give any further information. That was as much as could be done on my part…or so I thought. Tuesday the crew returned and was still there around 6 o’clock that evening when I returned from an errand. Seeing their trailer parked with steps, or a deck, loaded on it and hearing them back in the area of the home, I parked a short distance away and listened as they came out, hooked up the trailer and backed down the driveway to the home’s site. After they turned their motor off I could hear a lot of banging and sliding of heavy objects, (sounded like concrete blocks and pipes banging around). In the dim light, as they left, I could tell they were transporting several lengths of galvanized steel pipe which shone quite well considering the light conditions.
Wednesday morning I drove to the property and noticed the well was gone (a deep well system… pump, pipe and all), all of the 4x4s were gone also. Another neighbor would later state that several concrete parking bumpers, and the utility trailer he had also seen there, were missing. Recalling the words of the deputy sheriff that Sunday, I considered it would be futile to call them back. It was realized though that perhaps the property’s owner could still be contacted though via the law enforcement agencies where they lived.
Thus it was that I called the Clearwater, Florida police department to see if they could contact them, since it was a Clearwater address. No, they could not help, as the address was believed to be in the county and thus the sheriff’s jurisdiction. I called the Pinellas County sheriff’s office and was informed that the address was actually in Largo, Florida’s jurisdiction. The person I explained the situation to questioned as to why Citrus County’s sheriff’s office was not inquiring instead of me…I told them the Sheriffs’ Department did not consider it to be their responsibility and that I was just looking after my neighbor’s interests.
I called Largo, Florida’s police department and yes, the address was in their 911 area and yes they would contact the owner with my information and he could then contact me if he so chose to. Again I was asked why Citrus County was not doing what I was doing…again I had no idea. The owner did not call me that day nor for the next several days.
The afternoon of January 28th, I left to run another errand and, as I turned down Red Fern Terrace, drove past one of the crew members standing near the intersection of West Blue Indigo Lane and Red Fern Terrace. Further on I noticed a car, used by members of the volunteer public service officers (also known as Citizens on Patrol) associated with the sheriff’s office, diagonally parked to the roadway headed North, partially onto the shoulder and obstructing the road with it’s right rear area.
The volunteer was standing on the shoulder about 50 feet or so from the front of his car and across Red Fern Terrace from where the home was parked. Since there was no way I could continue down Red Fern Terrace I dro.... He turned to me and asked, with a hint of surliness, if he could help me. Before I could respond the crewmember back at the intersection yelled something which sounded like an assortment of expletives which won’t be mentioned herein. The volunteer looked up and said, "This is him?" He then turned back to me and asked, "Were you back there on that property? You were trespassing. You know anything about this?", pointing to the home. To which I replied ,"The home has been sitting here for a few days." He told me to "turn my engine off and stay right there", displaying a "badge-heavy" arrogance as he turned and walked to his car… In my opinion, attempting to impersonate a law enforcement officer by way of arresting my freedom as well as questioning me, together with the accusation of trespassing, which no one there that day had the right to make. (On the phone later, the property owner would state I was not trespassing. )
A few months, previous, two of the volunteers had been told by a deputy that they had no business being back there on the roads in our private sub-division. Thus it was that I restarted my engine and idled up to park beside ... I turned my engine off and attempted to use my cell phone to call for a deputy sheriff to come out, since it was a deputy who had previously informed the volunteers they were not permitted in our sub-division. The volunteer was sitting on the side of his seat, his left foot wa... As I attempted to use my cell phone his signal was cutting out my reception. The 911 operator told me to drive to another area and to call back. I started my truck and it lurched forward slightly…maybe an inch or two, as a part was broken which would have prevented the engine from starting while the transmission was in gear. I had my foot on the brake already, thus it was that no further movement was involved. Since we were situated with our vehicle’s seat backs just past each other, the movement was away from him and no danger to him at all, though it did startle both of us. His reaction was very exaggerated as he yelled, "Hey you almost cut my legs off!" My reaction to him was, "It was an accident. Man, I don’t want to talk to a wannabe." I idled on away from him, between the rear of his car and another vehicle parked to my right, a pickup truck belonging to the crew moving the home.After clearing the rear of the car I accelerated a bit causing the ...
I drove on down Red Fern Terrace and around the corner to a position about a block away from where the home was and, after turning around, parked on the shoulder and again called 911. The operator said a deputy was on the way and within a few minutes he was at my location. I explained to him the doing’s of the repossession crew, which he said he would look into. He said he was there in reference to vandalism though and did not ask me anything about it. It was accepted that I would be going back to our home around the other way and would wait there for him. About 15-20 minutes after arriving home the interrupted errand was recalled and after telling my wife the details of what had happened and that perhaps a deputy may come to the house, I went on my way to the errand. Less than an hour later, I was under arrest for assault with a deadly weapon on a law enforcement officer, a 2nd degree felony with a potential sentence of 15 years.
As I was returning home my wife called to tell me there were three deputies at out home wanting to speak to me. I said I was on my way home and would arrive in about 20 minutes or so. Less than ten minutes later a deputy called me wanting to know where I was and went on to say they were no longer at our home but another location opposite from the route home. I said I would be there at his location shortly. When I arrived there were two sheriff’s vehicles parked on the shoulder of the road. One of the deputies asked me to step out of my pickup…the same one I had met earlier after I moved from the scene on Red Fern Terrace. As I got out of my vehicle I asked if he had determined whom the people were repossessing the home. He said yes he had and that it was a legal operation. The repossessing of the home was never an issue with my concerns to begin with, other than the fact it was being done with non-marked vehicles engaged in a commercial function. The only matter I was concerned about was the crew doing it were also stealing personal property of the property owner. "However," he said, "I am arresting you for assault with a deadly weapon on a law enforcement officer." "No way," I said. "Yes way. I have pictures of your tire track going through his door." Recalling what had transpired and how far my pickup had been from his door, I said, "If you have pictures of that, then the car was moved." The other deputy said "You’re lucky, if it would have been one of us you would have been shot." I was totally bewildered by that remark as I thought, ’How could what happened be interpreted into a scene warranting the use of deadly weapons?’ As I recall, mention was made about whether or not the volunteer was a law enforcement officer. "Yes", both deputies concurred. "They have the same powers of law enforcement as we do. The only difference is, they don’t carry guns" the one not arresting me stated. Realizing I had done nothing wrong and the situation they were placing themselves in as far as making a wrongful charge and arrest, by their implications, I peacefully went to the car and was jailed.
Just to be sure what I was thinking was correct, I asked the deputy, "Doesn’t assault mean intentionally threatening someone?" "Yes it does," was his reply. I said not another word from that moment on, except to relate the incident on Red Fern Terrace to the female deputy in the sheriff’s booking room at the jail, while the arresting deputy was looking through a book…trying to find what to charge me with. "I can’t find anything in here.", he said to her. Apparently referring to finding a specific charge for the volunteer as a law enforcement officer. "There are firemen, EMTs, nothing for the volunteers." Several hours later, my wife was able to bail me out.
The following Monday I tried once again to contact the property owner via the police department in Largo, Florida. Within 15 minutes the property owner called. "Yes," he said, I had been right all along. The home was assumed to have been removed from the property several months previous and, no, the other items taken by the repossession crew were not associated with the home. The home was a relative’s, while the land and other items belonged to him. He was irritated that the Citrus County Sheriffs’ Department had let the thefts occur without taking any involvement in the situation, where my suspicions were concerned.
On or about, February 8 my wife was able to acquire a small loan and an attorney was retained to defend me against what I knew to be a crime, which had not happened. "I am not guilty. I don’t know why I am being charged with a crime which did not happen, and considering what happened, it was an accidental action.", I told my attorney during our initial meeting. I also told him, "There were to be no plea deals, ever." No record was kept of the following chain of events as to exact time and dates but what ensued in the next several months was a nightmare of trying to establish how I could be charged with such an unwarranted, bonehead crime. On one occasion visiting my attorney’s office, he showed me a picture of the scene that day. My instant reaction was to shove it back to him . "That is not what things looked like when I drove away that day.", I said, as the first thing instantly noticed was the orientation of the vehicle to the roadway. It was nearly parallel, whereas on Friday, January 28th, it had been at an obvious angle, so much so that it did not look as though my pickup could be driven between the right rear corner of the car and a crew man located just off the road way, and a truck parked just in front of the home. During one visit the attorney gave me copies of the statements made by the crewmembers and the complaint filled out by the volunteer. Without reading them, they were placed in my folder of papers, created from day one of this matter.
Some three months, or so, later as I was preparing to go to the court on the following day and still unaware of the cause for my charge, I mailed an overnight letter to Tallahassee, referencing the volunteer being considered a Law Enforcement Officer. The next day as I was entering the courtroom my attorney came out to tell me the volunteer was not a law enforcement officer. From his demeanor…someone had been "rattled" a bit. ’Thank you Tallahassee’, was all I could think. The charge was lowered to assault with a deadly weapon, with a potential imprisonment of five years instead of fifteen. But the cause for the charge still had not been realized. Each day came to me with unknowns, as I had no concept of the steps involved in the legal processes. Each time my attorney informed me to go to the courthouse it was expected that I would be facing trial and sentenced for something I had not done. ’Why would no one consider what I was telling them?’ It was the truth of that day’s event. There was no way I had intentionally threatened anyone. There was no way I would ever endanger someone with a vehicle, much less a weapon of any sort. Nothing made sense. Eventually the moment came for choosing the members of the jury for my trial. It was a very emotional experience for me. Not only was I there, still not knowing the cause, but doing so in front of numerous people whom I had never met previously, with the exception of one, a former neighbor. As events progressed that day I became emotional in a courtroom of total strangers gathered for a crime’s consideration which had not occurred. It was extremely embarrassing to say the least. I tried my best to cover my eyes, and not look at the jury…it was my opinion that people were not to have eye contact with the jury anyway. As stated previously, I have no knowledge at all of what is and what is not to happen in a courtroom. To this day I am still confused by the proceedings. Due to an extreme hearing impairment, they had furnished headphones. But after listening for a bit and hearing nothing remotely in my favor, nor understandable, they were removed and placed on the table. They had me. I didn’t understand the cause. There was not a thing I could do. A back injury which impairs my ability to walk and stand in one place comfortably, also impairs the ability to sit comfortably, as normal people do. In the course of sitting at the table I had inadvertently squirmed around so much that my chair was encroaching on the space occupied by my attorney’s and at one point he forcibly shoved me away from him.
Later reading of a document describing my attorney‘s observations that day revealed that the judge, and he, had no idea of what I was going through as I sat at the table. I did not know I was making an audible "gurgling" sound in my efforts to conceal my emotional reaction to the proceedings and not disturb the court. Apparently I was not successful according to statements made later by my attorney in a letter sent by him to the Florida Bar.
That was December 1st, 2005 when I went to the courthouse for my trial. After the jury was selected we were allowed a break, during which my attorney said I could go out to sit in a sort of lounge area. A few minutes later the volunteer walked past me, looking smug as hell. ‘What was this?’, I thought, ‘Some sort of test?’…wondering how many were witness to the activity, waiting for me to react. ’Sorry folks. Not going to satisfy that pipe dream.’ My attorney met me at the door of the courtroom. He was behaving in a peculiar manner as he did not look me directly in the eye and stopped my entrance into the courtroom. The prosecuting attorney accompanied him as he said "He does not want to put you in jail…How about five years probation? With a plea of no contest" I think is what he said, it is hard to recall exactly. Not knowing who "He" was, it was assumed Vaughn was refering to the judge. My response is not hard to recall though. "No way" I said, "No contest was an admission of guilt and I had not did anything wrong to start with." ’Why was he mentioning this, when on day one I had told him there was to be no plea deals?’
They went back into the courtroom leaving me to ponder why it was that my attorney was apparently being involved in a plea deal, something that I had told him I wanted nothing to do with…I was not guilty of the charge. A few minutes later they came out of the courtroom. "He really does not want to put you in jail. How about 11months-29 days (and something else I cannot recall), and a plea of no contest?" That was all he said and the only thing I could think of was how much my wife had already suffered, mentally as well as financially, from the matter. With the idea that what we were agreeing to would be my sentence, were I to be found guilty by the jury…after my utterance of what had happened that day…I agreed to what my attorney said. Although he still had not informed me of what was the cause for the charge. "I still think no contest is admitting guilt", I said, as we entered the courtroom. "Not necessarily", was his reply. Had he stated a definite "yes"…which, I feel, he should have, things would have been considerably different.
In the courtroom the judge asked if we had reached an agreement—which I considered strange, as I was of the opinion he was party to the conversation I was ex parte to, as I waited in the hallway.
The conversations in the courtroom that day are recalled hazily, as due to an extreme hearing handicap, I had to use a hearing assistance device, which was not functioning clearly. In fact, a deputy in the courtroom said it was picking up the conversation of another judge, Judge Yerman, in another courtroom, after he picked up the headset and listened to it, when the proceedings had ended. It was only after reading the transcript several months later that what was said that day would be fully realized.
I was handed a document referred to as an open plea, which had not been mentioned, nor the contents explained, in the hallway outside the courtroom, during the oral agreement proceedings. Right away I read text which did not appear as favorable to the defense of my innocence. The judge apparently gave us time to go over the document, which my attorney really did not go into detail on as he slid his thumb down the page of clauses for me to initial. It contained words, which I was not totally in favor of accepting but, in that I had heard the word perjury from Judge Howard, and had already orally agreed to the plea deal, I felt I had to accept it’s terms or be further punished…for something I still had no knowledge of committing. Later reading of the transcript revealed the judge had asked me if I wanted him to accept it. Had I known then what has been realized since, I would have refused it and fired my attorney then and there for endangering us the way he had. Based upon the reluctant no contest plea, with no trial, no opportunity for me to speak my defense, without disclosure of evidence proving the alleged crime had happened, minimal reprsentation by Charles Vaughn, I was found guilty.
My attorney later stated that he felt it was in my best interest that I not stand trial, although he never discussed the ramifications of the decision with me. There are moments when I feel the attorney I trusted to defend me was in fact my judge and jury. The judge found me guilty per the no-contest plea and ordered a pre-sentence investigation. My sentencing was put off until February 2nd of 2006. I still had no idea of what I had been found guilty of. Around the 16th of December, as I was going through my papers, I came across the witness statements and the original complaint, which my attorney had given me in his office. It was the first time, since that day, that I read them. The words that everyone else had been considering for nearly a year…The words describing a scene that had not taken place… the words uttered in a false complaint…I had plead no contest to a false charge. I was found guilty of a crime that had never occurred, and the no-contest plea was the deciding factor. The plea my "defense" attorney had coaxed me into.
In his complaint the volunteer stated that I was situated in front of his vehicle as he was sitting in it, with his feet on the ground, as he used his radio… That I accelerated my pickup towards his open door and, that, had he not pulled the door in tight against his legs, he would have suffered severe injury as I "flew" past him…referring to him as a wannabe and yelling "screw you" as I did so.
This, and a witness statement from one of the crewmembers, depicted something that had not remotely happened that day. The statement of another crewmember closely matched my own version of what had actually taken place. In one of their statements, it is stated that I was parked beside the volunteers’ car. And, although he did not get the moment of the volunteer’s telling me to park my pickup in the right context, one of them obviously heard that conversation, which had taken place when I was first speaking with the volunteer…not beside his vehicle. The photographs themselves portray the fact that the words of the one witness, describing spinning tires and threatening the volunteer, were not factual. Neither my attorney, nor the prosecution, deduced the fact that the words of the volunteer’s complaint were not supported by evidence in the photographs.
The physical features of the vehicles themselves did not allow for the events contended to have taken place. The volunteer’s car was re-positioned after I left the area. to satisfy the allegations made by the volunteer, and the deputy in his statements describing the photos. I immediately notified my attorney and all others that the no contest plea was off. There was no way I was going to admit guilt to a false complaint and charge.
January 31st of 2006 the judge denied my change of plea. I was forced to guilt for something which had not happened.
Around 4o’clock in the morning on February 2nd, the scheduled day of my sentencing, my wife had to take me to the hospital for a painful attack of kidney stones. A subsequent examination in the emergency room revealed there were several, one of which was about the size of an ordinary sewing thimble. Later that morning my wife called to inform me that the judge had issued a warrant for my arrest. The emergency room doctor supplied documentation via fax as to my condition and told me, "The hell with him. You are in my care right now." They had to inject me with powerful pain medications to control the extreme pain I was experiencing. My wife said I had a court appointment at 9:30 the next morning, when she came to drive me home.
At around 9:50 the morning of the February 3rd, 2006, under the influence of the pain medication prescribed by the doctor, and, without the aid of a hearing assistance device (having not mentioned one word in my defense, except to tell the judge that the volunteer was lying) and in spite of the fact that the plea deal had involved 11 months-29 days… I was sentenced to five years in prison. I wrote my wife’s cell phone number on the attorney’s legal pad and asked him to call her, as she was sitting out in the parking lot waiting for me. Months later I learned that she had been left to sit out there for 4 hours, until she finally realized I was not coming out and drove home, where it would be another few days until she was finally told of the outcome.
Once again I became emotional in the courtroom as I was handcuffed and led away, stating how wrong the whole thing was. I even turned to the volunteer and told him that I had done nothing to him that day. He only stared straight ahead at the judge, even though he had stood up just moments before, under oath, and lied to His Honor… Over exaggerating the situation by stating, "he could have had his legs chopped off and left to bleed to death". He carried his theatrics all the way into the courtroom. What type of mentality must one have to dramatize to that extreme?
My attorney made no provisions for an appeal. In fact I never heard from my attorney again except when he sent me his bill.
Months later my wife informed me of a hearing on April 11th 2006 in which my sentence was to be modified to the original 11month-29days… Not corrected to what had originally been agreed to, but, modified. I had still been given a prison sentence where originally it was to have been nothing more than a County Jail sentence. The judge also added 5 years of probation to begin when the 11months-29days had been satisfied, which in this state of zero tolerances for probation violations still amounts to a five year sentence. He also added several thousand dollars in fines and costs…all for a crime never committed and due to dishonest Law Enforcement, compounded by the misrepresentations of the attorney trusted to defend me.
One or two letters were mailed to Vaughn wanting an explanation of why I was imprisoned and, others caused to suffer for that which had not happened. He never replied to my letters. I was transferred from the state’s prison system back to the County Jail on May 10th 2006 where I remained until November 1st 2006, the day I was released to begin serving probation. Through it all numerous statements had been uttered, via mail, protesting my innocence. to several government bodies including the Governor’s Office, Senators, the Court of Appeal, the State’s Supreme Court, the Attorney General’s Office…all with no favorable response except from the Supreme Court, and judges Howard and Yerman ignored the recommendations from the Supreme Court, stating the recommendations had been satisfied via one excuse or another. The recommendation from that Honorable entity was that the lower court consider my letters as motions for post-conviction relief and one was made as a petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus consideration. The lower court did not acknowledge any of these recommendations. A few opportunities arose for appeals but, lacking any legal knowledge and not having an attorney to represent, my allegations, and the defense thereof, they went unsatisfied.
The lower court, evidently growing weary of my incessant efforts at gaining recognition of my allegations, mailed me a show cause order which I attempted to address by way of a letter of apology, although there has been no acknowledgement of it’s consideration. Apparently it has been construed that I have been arbitrarily, frivolously wasting the courts time with my bumbling efforts to acquire representation and defense for my allegations.
I cannot get anyone to investigate the fact that a false complaint was made; the evidence tampered with and there was a possible conspiracy involved, given the various statements. The arresting deputy contends one of the photographs proves the volunteer’s car was not moved. He also states the volunteer as having pulled his legs in and closing his door (this is not what is stated in the original complaint in which the volunteer states he pulled the door in tight against his legs) and, that I "fled the area", which I did not do, having only driven a block away and parked to use my cell phone.
All defenses of the court and others for the non-recognition of my allegations and pleas, have been based upon the document signed in court that day. A document which is portended to have been thoroughly explained and understood. It was not. In fact it is my opinion the document should have been mentioned and explained prior to and during the oral agreement, which I held to be binding once it was made. There have been thousands of dollars and copious amounts of others’ time and efforts wasted, as a result of what others have contended was, a vindictive allegation. An action taken as the volunteer in his eagerness to portray a law enforcement officer, had his ego bruised, by my failing to heed his attempts at said impersonation and, egged on by the only true perpetrators of crime in the days previous in their efforts to develop a smoke screen to cover their nefarious deeds. A few days prior to January 28th I had related to the crew that I knew their allegations of the air conditioner, well parts and dishwasher being stolen were false, as I had witnessed them on the property prior to and during their activities.
Although I was never questioned by anyone, there was also a statement entered in the local newspaper that I was suspect in the alleged vandalism of the home…A statement suspected to have been uttered by the volunteer.
Thus it has been that:
- I did not threaten anyone with malice of any sort.
- The evidence does not demonstrate its creation by me when it is examined…
- McLain’s statement is not supported by what photographs depict.
- McLain’s statement/photographs are not supported by mine nor witness statement.
- McLain’s statement on complaint is dissimilar to deputy’s version, and what he stated under oath in the Courtroom the day I was sentenced, of which, rather handily, there is no transcript of. My proof of evidentiary facts was not given consideration, no one gave consideration to the fact that my pickup’s exterior goes beyond the tires track…by several inches or the dimensions of McLain’s car door versus his statement of my actions…. A cars door is several inches in thickness…that combined with the distance his knees would have protruded beyond the cars’ seat edge plus…the end of the arc created by the outer edge of the cars’ door.
- There is no way the events he contends to have occurred, could have happened.
- My attorney, and the state, did not realize evidence discrepancies, or, for whatever reason, chose to ignore them..
- There is no evidence in photographs indicating alleged "burnout".
- There is no evidence that proves the tracks they refer to were actually created by my vehicle.
- There is no evidence a threat was made by me.
- The statement of a witness parallels my own.
- The similarities of a witness statement and McLain’s suggest conspiracy.
- Photographs/McLain’s statement support false, vindictive allegation.
- Deputy’s claim that photograph proves car was not moved is false.
- Deputy’s "fled" implication is unfounded…I only drove a short ways and parked..
- Deputy’s claim to have questioned me about vandalism is false…he did not.
- McLain accused me of trespassing and vandalism…neither was factual.
- I was never allowed a trial, per attorney’s decision.
- Attorney did not explain no-contest during procedure of coaxing me into the plea deal, although I contended I felt it was an admission of guilt.
- Attorney did not explain, imply, pending waiver/open plea during coaxing proceedings.
- Plea bargain, although reluctant, was for 11months-29days.
- Howard sentenced me to DOC…it was supposed to be county.
- Howard only "modified" sentence…did not correct…still prison record.
- Attorney made no allowance for appeal to be made.
- Attorney knew of waiver/appeal ramifications…did not explain prior.
- Attorney knew there would be numerous rights compromised but he never once explained the facts of that happening.
- The court clerk answered my request for the transcript of my sentencing by stating, "There was no transcript as Judge Howard had not ordered one."
- I have not been given a public defender to represent and defend my ...
- There has never been an investigation by Citrus County of my allegations.
- My attorney never explained cause for charge.
- My attorney misrepresented me.
- It is my belief the Citrus County justice system is prejudiced against me and this is supported by their apparent disregard for my statements and allegations.
- Verification of the false complaint and evidence tampering would clearly cast considerable doubt about my guilt.
- The deputy misidentified the scene location and evidence.
- There are different scenarios described by McLain in his statements.
- My attorney made several damaging misrepresentations.
- I was gullible enough to never consider law enforcement would utter false statements.
- In that I never threatened anyone, there was no cause for the charge. Due to the complaint being false and the evidence tampered with to support it, my entire case should have been nonexistent. The Court and prosecution have reacted to words and words alone.
There is not, nor has there ever been, any factual physical evidence to support the allegations of McLain. There is plenty to disprove him though, yet the Court and prosecution would apparently rather disregard the facts and rely upon their own self-serving conclusions, in the interest of preventing embarrassment of admission to oversight, and, protecting the wrong doings of the Sheriffs’ Department. Justice has not been demonstrated, but rather how the court can be used to satisfy a desire of self-gratification…not society. Not for one second did I ever threaten McLain, nothing exists to contend I did, beyond words. It has been the property owner and our family who have been the victims here. And it has been made possible by the manipulations, and malicious actions of others. I have been made the victim of a crime.
It’s a crime to utter a false complaint. It’s a crime to manipulate evidence, i.e., the moving of the car to support the contention of a threat being made. It’s a crime to participate in a conspiracy to contend and stage a false complaint, i.e., the similarity between McLain’s statement and one of the witnesses…neither of which the photographs support as being factually truthful.
It was a crime to stage the scene alleging the car was not moved. I consider it unconstitutional that I am not being granted legal representation, or the opportunity to have my allegations considered by the Sheriff’s Office, the State, and the Court, even though numerous redundant statements have been made by me.
I consider it as unconstitutional that I was not allowed to change my plea. It is not and cannot be that difficult to present the facts that cast doubt upon what I have been charged, arrested and convicted of…a crime that exists in words alone.
My allegation of being victimized should warrant investigation…the Sheriff chooses to ignore it. Two written requests to the Sheriff for an investigation into my allegations have been ignored. I believe my conviction should be set aside and a new trial granted or my allegations investigated and the entire matter thrown out, which is what would happen if the Sheriff’s Office admitted to their wrongs.
It makes no sense to be subjected to what we have been, and consideration should be given to the fact that I thought I was pleading no-contest to the defensible event that actually occurred…not something which was a fabrication. McLain’s implications did not occur. I did not intentionally threaten him in any way at all. That is the gist of my entire argument. A person cannot be guilty of a crime that never happened. Have there not been enough wrongful convictions?
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