The Sheriff of Escambia County's Cash-Generating System

"The American criminal justice system is not a justice system.  It is a money-generating system.  All the deputies are revenue-generators for the county, nothing more."  Mr. Michael Paul Cravatt to author, May 11, 2015.

Introduction

In 2005 and again in 2008, the state legislature of Florida passed and amended Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law, officially known as "Title XLVI Crimes, Chapter 776, Justifiable Use of Force."

On April 19, 2009, Mr. Michael Paul Cravatt was arrested by Escambia County Sheriff's Office deputies for "two counts of Aggravated Assault With A Firearm Without Intent To Kill," according to arrest report ECSO09ARR008739 written by Deputy Sheriff August Aaron Busche.

The law and facts are so straightforward that the first time the judge heard the facts, he asked that the defense counsel file a Motion to Dismiss.  But, the reason the Sheriff's Office and the prosecutor pursued these charges was to coerce a plea deal which generates income for Escambia County.

Unluckily for them, Mr. Cravatt was determined to fight the charges and had the means to do so, though he was represented by a Criminal Conflict lawyer who was determined to win.

Mr. Cravatt, who is taller than six feet, is a real character who has had more adventures than most people can even imagine.  But, he also has character--if you know the Pulp Fiction reference.  He's a libertarian at heart and could lean towards Rand Paul, if he were politically engaged, which he is not.  He wears his hair short and looks like he could have been a surfer.  He is a free spirit.  He makes damn good money at his job and travels the world to apply his much-demanded skills.  With his earnings he built his own house over a three-year period.  In other words, Mr. Cravatt is a hard working, tax-paying, law-abiding resident of Escambia County.

And, the Escambia County Sheriff's Office deputies treated him like a criminal from the moment they first encountered him.

Florida's Justifiable Use of Force Law

Under the 2005 statute, a person could use force, but not deadly force, if that person "reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony."  The 2005 law, Section 776.013(5)(c) defined a vehicle as "a conveyance of any kind, whether or not motorized, which is designed to transport people or property."

The 2008's Section 776.031 further provided for the use of non-deadly force when a "person reasonably believes that such conduct is necessary to prevent or terminate the other's trespass on, or other tortious or criminal interference with, either real property other than a dwelling or personal property, lawfully in his or her possession or in the possession of another who is a member of his or her immediate family or household or of a person whose property he or she has a legal duty to protect."

The Incident

In certain key respects, the arrest report written by Deputy Sheriff Busche is another act of creative writing with key details omitted.  One key detail Deputy Busche left out was his initial statement to Mr. Cravatt: "You're in a world of shit."  When Mr. Cravatt inquired as to why, the deputy replied, "For pulling a gun on kids."

Two kids?  One Black "kid" had a rifle protruding from behind his back and was armed with a crow bar or long pipe, as well as a knife.  The arrest report confirmed that the 17-year old, who had initially been seen on the roof of the Mercedes Benz, did indeed have a "small rifle style pellet gun...on [his] back."  The second Black "kid" had a long pipe and a knife.  One had been standing on the roof of the vehicle when Mr. Cravatt encountered them which gave him the appearance of being taller and older than he may have at first seemed.

Mr. Cravatt told me that once he had ordered the two youths to lay down on the ground, he realized that one was younger and smaller than the other.  But, it is important to note that though Mr. Cravatt did unholster and aim his pistol at the two youths, he did not fire and he did not threaten to shoot them.  He did not threaten to shoot them even after one of the youth's inquired as to what Mr. Cravatt would do if he got up and ran away.

For example, the arrest report initially described the incident taking place "at the residence" without ever explaining that Mr. Cravatt owned a half-interest in the residence.  The other half was owned by his grandfather.  In other words, Mr. Cravatt encountered the two youths destroying the windows on the Mercedes Benz on his own property.

The arrest report described the vehicle being damaged as "an abandoned vehicle."  The vehicle was not abandoned, it was being stored behind the residence.  In fact, his mom's boyfriend took old cars, restored and refurbished them, and sold them for profit.  The vehicle in question actually belonged to his mother's boyfriend.  The boyfriend had been notified of the vandalism by the next door neighbor.  The boyfriend, being in Alabama at the time, notified Mr. Cravatt who arrived on the scene ten minutes later from his own residence.

The arrest report described the knives carried by both youths as "a pocket knife."  Mr. Cravatt told me that they were "buck knives."

And, what the arrest report did not convey was what actually happened at the scene with the deputies, other than that Mr. Cravatt "advised [that] he did not wish to speak with this deputy."  Yeah, and for very good reasons.

The arrest report does state that the two juveniles, which the arrest report listed as 17-years old and 12-years old, though Mr. Cravatt stated that he initially thought the 12-year old appeared to be about the same age as the 17-year old due to his height, "began to break the windows out of the vehicle."

In fact, Mr. Cravatt could hear them smashing the windows as he approached the rear of the residence from the street.

Had Deputy Busche and the female deputy on the scene not roughed up Mr. Cravatt and treated him as a criminal, they would have been told that this was not the first time that the property had been vandalized.  Someone had stolen copper wire from the property; someone had burned the lumber stored to dry out that his grandfather had cut from logs; the windows of the school bus and the truck had been broken out; and, someone had tried to burn down the residence.

Roughing Up the Victim

When Deputy Busche first encountered Mr. Cravatt, his handgun had already been reholstered and was on his hip.  Mr. Cravatt complied with the demand to drop the weapon by repeating the officer's command and slowly taking the weapon and placing it on the ground.  The only object in his hand was his cigarette lighter which made the deputy especially nervous.  He complied with the command to lay down on the ground.

At that point, Deputy Busche put his boot on Mr. Cravatt's neck and his handgun to his head.  That is when he stated that Mr. Cravatt was "in a world of shit."  At that moment, Mr. Cravatt realized that this was not going well for him and remained silent, except for giving very short answers to their questions.

When Deputy Busche initially handcuffed Mr. Cravatt, the handcuffs were so tight that his hands eventually turned blue.  They had to be removed many minutes later and he had to be re-cuffed before he could be transported to the Sheriff's Office for processing.

After being searched while on the ground, he was searched a second time by a female deputy.  The female deputy pulled Mr. Cravatt to his feet and kicked his feet to separate his legs.  When Mr. Cravatt objected to being searched by a female deputy, a male deputy came over and kicked his feet even harder and forced his legs to spread wider.  Mr. Cravatt, wearing a t-shirt, shorts, and flip flops, was given very near, a very physical full-cavity search.

Once Mr. Cravatt had arrived at the Escambia County Jail, a deputy found Mr. Cravatt's wad of bills totaling between $2,200 and $2,500; they immediately and loudly demanded repeatedly that he explain why he had that amount of cash.  He told them the cash was his own and that he worked for his money.  Actually, Mr. Cravatt, in addition to his regular well-paying job, on the side earns money buying antiques and other interesting stuff from people who want cash on the spot.  You know, it is not illegal to carry cash--at least not yet.

After a deputy read Mr. Cravatt his Miranda rights, he was asked if he wanted to answer any questions.  He replied, "No."  At that point, he was placed under arrest.

By that time, his mother, who works for the Public Defenders' office, and his sister, who works for the Regional Conflict Counsel office, arrived at the scene and wanted to know why Mr. Cravatt was being arrested on his own property.

The female deputy intervened by placing a hand out to prevent his sister from advancing while with the other hand covered up her badge.  His sister had asked that they identify themselves by badge number.

I thought that local law enforcement had to identify themselves and provide their badge numbers.  But, not apparently under Sheriff David Morgan.  His deputies can act like East Germany's Stasi or secret police.

Once Mr. Cravatt was in the squad car headed back to the Sheriff's Office, Deputy Busche told him that the deputies were going to charge the two youths.  He said that though he could not question Mr. Cravatt, Mr. Cravatt was free to ask him anything he wanted.

Mr. Cravatt tested Deputy Busche's intentions by asking him a simple question: "Is this conversation being recorded?"  The deputy replied, "No."

Mr. Cravatt jokingly told me that anyone who had ever watched an episode of Cops knows that every conversation in the squad car is taped.  And, Mr. Cravatt recommended that everyone watch the videos, Don't Talk to the Cops Part 1 and Part 2.

And the two youths who were smashing up a Mercedes Benz with crow bars?  They were driven home by the deputies.  They were not charged.

In between the arraignment and the Pre-Trial conference, once Mr. Cravatt was in the hallway with his lawer, Sheriff deputies accosted Mr. Cravatt and forcibly took a DNA swab of his mouth.  They were waiving a paper claiming that Mr. Cravatt was a "convicted felon" and that they had the right to his DNA.  His lawyer told him to comply and she would get them to destroy the DNA swab.

The Sheriff's Office has never, to Mr. Cravatt's knowledge, ever destroyed that DNA swab that they took under false pretenses.

And, once the charges were dismissed and the judge ordered that his weapon and bullets be returned.  The Sheriff's Office refused to give him his weapon and bullets all at once.  They did give him his weapon and made him return the next day to retrieve the four bullets.

Petty.  But, that's how Sheriff Morgan runs his office.

The Escambia Cash-Generating Machine

The charges against Mr. Cravatt were bogus, though serious.  Mr. Cravatt was facing twenty years in jail for two counts of "Aggravated Assault With A Deadly Weapon Without Intent To Kill."

Mr. Cravatt was adamant that he was not going to accept a plea bargain deal.  He began interviewing law firms and had settled on hiring two firms to represent him.  He was prepared to spend up to $50,000 to keep his freedom.  He eventually decided to be represented by a very sharp lawyer from the Criminal Counsel office.  She was equally determined to win this case on the facts.

The prosecutor did offer a deal: plead guilty to improper display of a firearm, receive one-year probation, plus pay a fine.

Probation generates funds for Escambia County.  Mr. Cravatt, and any defendant, has to pay court fees and fines.  The probation officer is employed.  The prosecutor does not actually have to try the case.  The defense lawyers are paid and do not have to go to trial.  Jurors do not have to be selected and hear the evidence. The deputies get an arrest.  The Sheriff's Office gets a case closed with a conviction.  For the county, it is a win-win-win all the way around.

For the defendant, it is a lose-lose-lose: lose your money, lose your job, and lose your reputation.

Though the "Stand Your Ground" law may have been mentioned by his lawyer, that law was not used to gain his freedom.

At the morning's arraignment, the judge asked if the defense was prepared to go to a Pre-Trial Conference that afternoon.

At that conference, the judge heard the facts from the defense lawyer while the prosecutor listened.  After the presentation, the judge asked the prosecution if those facts were correct.  With an affirmative answer, the judge instructed the defense to prepare a Motion to Dismiss.  The prosecution then claimed that there were "new facts" in the case.  What new facts, the judge asked.  The youths were juveniles.  The judge responded that those facts were in the arrest report.  There were no new facts.

In other words, the simple facts of the case were so heavily in favor of Mr. Cravatt that the judge could not believe that Mr. Cravatt had been arrested and that the prosecution wanted to prosecute.  The entire arrest and prosecution were bogus.

The Power of the Sheriff of Escambia County

Not only was the arrest bogus, but Mr. Cravatt never received the $500 he had to put down as the deposit on his bail.  Worse, no lawyer in Escambia County or Santa Rosa County was willing to take his case to retrieve his money.  No lawyer wants to tangle with the Sheriff of Escambia County.

When even lawyers are afraid to cross the Sheriff, you are not living in a justice system; you are living in a police state.

Oh, and the two youths?  Mr. Cravatt had to demand four times, including once in a meeting with Sheriff Morgan, to have the two youths arrested for vandalism.  Eventually, six months later, the youths were arrested and they were given $700 restitution for breaking all the windows in a Mercedes Benz, taking a knife to all the seats, and breaking all the taillights.

Concluding Observation

The Escambia County Sheriff's Office, like other police departments around the country, are revenue-generators for their county or city.

The deputies on the scene should have known the law and not charged Mr. Cravatt.  Had they not treated him as a criminal and gathered basic facts about who he was and the property he was on, none of this story would be told today.

He was on his own property or property that he co-owned.  He had not threatened to shoot anyone.  He did not shoot anyone.  He had a license for his handgun.  He stopped a felony in progress--as allowed under Florida's Stand Your Ground law.  He immediately complied with every command from the deputy sheriff.  He never threatened the deputy.  He answered all the questions asked, but did not give a statement.

But, the law does not really matter with Sheriff Morgan and his deputies.  When asked to reveal their badge numbers, they cover them up.  When they write arrest reports, they are exercises in creative writing.  Even if you tell them that you are pregnant, they will body slam into the pavement.  Be on your own property retrieving cigarettes from your own car and the deputies will fire 17 shots at you because in the words of Sheriff Morgan, they have "anxiety."  His deputies enjoy intimidating residents they encounter--even residents who comply with every command given to them.  And, even when residents comply, there is always, again, to use Sheriff Morgan's term, a "furtive" movement.

When Mr. Cravatt was complying with all the commands of the deputy sheriff he told me that he repeated every command and kept telling the deputy what he was going to do and what he was doing.  Even a white, law-abiding, tax-paying resident of Escambia County cannot be sure they will not be shot by a deputy.

It is only a matter of when, not if, an Escambia County Sheriff's Office's deputy causes a fatal tragedy.  And, the one, if not two, fatal tragedies they have already caused, they cover-up.  But, that is another CJ's Street Report that I am working on.

Bosnia, Naples, Pensacola, and a Community's Lost Moral Compass

Introduction

Yesterday afternoon I had the pleasure of attending a talk or "sermon" by Mr. Abdul Mando, an adjunct instructor at the University of West Florida and imam at the Al-Islam Da'Wah Center on Barrancas Avenue.  Mr. Amando's talk was on the innate inner moral compass every person is born with, may lose through the course of his or her life, and regain it.  And, while a person may have lost his or her moral compass for a long period, it can be regained in an instant.

For example, he told the attendees, that if you see someone injured and bleeding, you do not have to be a Jew, a Christian, or a Muslim to know that you should render assistance.

And, so today I want to extend Mr. Amando's talk from an individual's lost moral compass to the Black community in Pensacola in the context of my experiences, either indirect or direct, with Bosnia-Herzegovina and Naples, Italy, respectively.  It is not my purpose to single out or scold the Black community in Pensacola; rather, it is to illuminate a very human problem of all of our human communities.

Bosnia-Herzegovina and Napoli/Sicilia, Italy

Bosnia-Herzegovina suffered a three-way ethnic-religious civil war as a result of two neighboring countries, Serbia and Croatia, seeking to divide the country and incorporate the parts where its co-ethnics were located into itself.  The Muslims of the country, called the Bosniaks, sought to maintain the territorial integrity of a country that had never been divided and had not had a history of sectarian ethnic or religious strife.

The civil war was not driven by religion or ethnic identity--but by the desire of Serbia's and Croatia's leaders for more territory and wealth.  Religion became the excuse to cover the political and economic aggrandizement of the ruling class.  They each concocted narratives of how the Muslims were threatening annihilation of their fellow ethnic group while also concocting narratives of how the Serbs (Orthodox) threatened genocide against the Croats (Catholics) and vice versa.

All three sides committed ethnic cleaning, that is, using brutal force against unarmed civilians to drive them from their homes, but the Bosnian Serbs committed most of the ethnic cleansing by all accounts.

At the start of the war, I was an intelligence analyst at the U.S. National Intelligence Cell in Naples, Italy, stationed at Allied Forces South (AFSOUTH), a NATO base located in the Bagnoli section.

From the very first press and human rights reports it was clear that the Bosnian Serbs were driving Bosniaks from their homes.  But, why were neighbors waking up one morning and killing their neighbors?

They were not.  The Bosnian Serb Army (Republika Srpska, actually), were using organized crime gangs from Serbia who were operating under the control of Serbia's Ministry of the Interior (who control all of the country's police) and Serbia's intelligence service.

The Bosnian Serb military would surround a village and send the organized crime gang into the village.  The organized crime gang, often times drunk, would force at gun point the Bosnian Serb men, again, often times drunk, to rape their neighbors' wives and daughters in front of the family's male members, physically beat the Bosniak men, and kill those who resisted or who refused to leave their ancestral home.

Using this method, the Bosnian Serb civilian leadership morally implicated the entirety of the Bosnian Serb population and made them lose their inner moral compass.  After the war, when the Bosniaks returned to their pre-war homes, they had to live side-by-side with neighbors who had raped, robbed, and murdered them with impunity.

The Bosnian Croats (Catholics) and the Bosniaks (Muslims) jointly participated in ethnically cleansing Bosnian Serbs (Orthodox) from the small town of Stolac in the southwestern portion of Bosnia-Herzegovina, very close to the city of Mostar and very close to the Croatian border.

After the Bosnian Croats and Bosniaks ethnically cleansed the Bosnian Serbs, the Bosnian Croats ethnically cleansed the Bosniaks from Stolac.  Again, it was a brutal operation with a local organized crime gang linked to a much larger organized crime gang operating from West Mostar raping, robbing, killing, and blowing up Bosniak women, men, and homes, respectively.

After the war, given the reputation of this Stolac criminal gang during the war and their continuing efforts to keep the Bosniaks from returning, the Stabilization Force's commander decided that SFOR would begin to install the rule of law in Stolac.  I began that intelligence effort as the head of the Intelligence Division's Special Projects branch.

Some in the Bosnian Croat community did regain their inner moral compass during the process.

During the day, the local criminal gang, the local police, and the local branch of the Bosnian Croat intelligence services did all they could to stop the Bosniaks from returning, including stoning buses filled with women and children attempting to visit the graves of their ancestors; beating up Bosniak men in the town; murdering at least one returning Bosniak; intimidating Bosniaks; threatening to burn SFOR soldiers alive for attempting to collect intelligence on the criminal effort; and, the criminal gang linked to the richest employer in Stolac blowing up rebuilt houses by the dozens at night while the Spanish brigade kept watch and collaborated by seeing nothing.

But, SFOR received intelligence reports and anecdotal reports that at night, when it was dark Bosnian Croat neighbors were doing all they could do to help their Bosniak neighbors rebuild their homes.  There were remarkable stories of courage and daring, because the penalties could be severe--the loss of a job, the blowing up of your car, or a beating.  A police chief I knew from an encounter in West Mostar had his car blown up for his anti-mafia operations.

Interestingly, the Bosniak political leadership in Sarajevo did nothing to help the Bosniaks return to Stolac.  While the Bosniak leadership wanted  Bosniaks to return to their pre-war homes in the Republika Srpska and other cantons (counties) where Bosnian Croats had expelled Bosniaks, Stolac was not on the list.  It was the Bosniak mayor of East Mostar, a fellow Muslim, who defied his political party and helped them return.  And, it was an SFOR intelligence effort, a Special Projects unit consisting of Americans, British, Danes, and French who worked for years to see that the right thing was done.

Naples and my ancestral home, Sicilia (Sicily), are the homes of the Camorra, one of the oldest secret criminal societies headquartered in Naples in the Campania region of Italy, and the Costra Nostra ("our thing"), organized crime in Sicilia, respectively.  To understand the rotten and vicious nature of the Camorra, one should read the book Gomorrah by the Italian investigative journalist living under a death threat, Roberto Saviano.

In the Spaccanapoli (Spanish) section of Naples lives the Camorra.  It is an area in which no American is allowed to live because when the Camorra decides to murder someone, they quietly put the word out in the Neapolitan dialect--a dialect so distinct that native Italian speakers cannot understand it.  On the given day at the given hour, windows are shuttered, people leave the streets, and doors are locked.  The victim is shot; stores re-open; children come out to play; shoppers come out to shop; lovers stroll hand-in-hand and eat ice cream in a local gelateria; and, women gossip from their upper story windows across the very narrow alleys.

No one living in Spaccanapoli sees anything or hears anything.  Fear, driven by real concerns that saying anything to the best anti-mafia force in the world, the Carabinieri, is a death sentence compromises the community's moral compass.

In Sicily, the Costra Nostra had virtually free rein of the island until on May 23, 1992, when the Corleonesi crime family assassinated Giovanni Falcone, an investigating magistrate, by remotely detonating a bomb on the highway his car was traveling on.  Falcone's death had been preceded by the gunning down of Carabinieri general with his wife by his side.  The general had been sent to Sicily by the national government with orders to crush the mafia.  The general's murder outraged Sicilians and Falcone's murder tipped the scales even further into community action.

The Carabinieri flooded Sicily with investigators and military troops.  Local Catholic priests began to speak out.  Sicilians began organizing counter-mafia civic groups.  The newspapers, radio, and television suddenly found their voices.  After decades of silence, Sicilians began to talk and slowly but surely the Carabinieri and Italian prosecutors began to make headway against leaders and foot soldiers of the Costra Nostra.  Even Costra Nostra members began breaking their vow of silence.  Books have been written about how Sicilians reacted.

And so, in America, while we watch and re-watch for the umpteenth time the Godfather trilogy of movies, Goodfellas, and The Sopranos, in Naples and especially in Sicily the mafia is feared and loathed.  When I told my Sicilian family that I did counter-mafia operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina, they responded, "Bravo, bravo."

The Sicilian case shows that a community can regain its inner moral compass.  Sometimes it has to become outraged by a heinous crime.  But, it takes a village.

Pensacola and the Moral Compass of the Black Community

To suggest that the Black community in Pensacola has lost its inner moral compass is not to single out the Black community as having a moral defect unique and special to the Black community.  The Black community in Pensacola has not, as Sheriff Morgan vociferously believes, "embraced a thug culture."

No, Sheriff David Morgan, the Black community in Pensacola is terrorized by young Black criminals because the Escambia County Sheriff's Office is perceived to be corrupt; its deputies are for sale; that its deputies rape and murder sex workers; its arrests and physical violence against Black folks captured in arrest reports are works of fiction; and, homicide investigators are perceived to be indifferent to the pleas and plights of the Mothers of the Murdered and Silenced.

The inner moral compass of the Black community has been lost in part through fear and in part through indifference.

There is virtually no doubt that members of the Black community know who have been killing sons and husbands in the community.

In at least one case, Black community members believe it is Escambia County Sheriff's Office's "confidential informants," that is, "snitches," who murder with impunity; and, there is the widespread fear that talking to ECSO investigators will get you killed with impunity because the "snitches" doing the killing.

In the case of Miss Rosa Dukes's son, Mr. Broderick Johnson, the second victim at the scene of the crime, Michael Vincent Wells, apparently told investigators that he was wounded in the leg and managed to run away after Mr. Johnson was mortally wounded.  That's a plausible story and he's sticking to it.  He knows who shot Mr. Johnson but he has refused to say anything.  We do know that the ECSO investigator on the case needs one more corroborating eyewitness witness to arrest the killer.

Fear keeps the inner moral compass swinging wildly.

There are undoubtedly witnesses who could help solve the murder of Mr. Blair Amos, the son of Mrs. Lucy Amos.  There are also probable witnesses to the murder of Mr. Darrington Lovely, son of Miss Angela Hopkins.  There are also probable witnesses to the murder of Mr. Keshwon Stallworth, son of Miss Sheranda Sheard.

All of these Black families and extended families have been terrorized by neighborhood criminals.  Fear of retaliation permeates the Black community, just as it does in the Republika Srpska, Stolac, in Napoli, and in Sicilia.  This fear and loss of the community's moral compass comes from the grounded community perception that law enforcement is not competent enough, sincere enough, trusted enough, or willing enough to do something about it.

As I have spoken to Black and white pastors in Pensacola one theme emerges: most Black pastors are more interested in collecting money on Sunday from the Black women who are the backbones and sinews of the Black community--women who provide neighborhood leadership, moral guidance, and volunteer their time and effort to help children and improve their neighborhoods.

Black pastors are more interested in spreading the "prosperity gospel"--Reaganism on steroids with its "name it and claim it" philosophy--than taking their congregations into the streets to join the young Black Lives Matters activists.

These very same Black pastors would not even allow their church properties to be used to hold a candlelight vigil for the Mothers of the Murdered and Silenced.  That candlelight vigil was held at the Unitarian Universalist Church headed by Dr. Julie Kain, a white pastor.  The highly esteemed Reverend H.K. Matthews lent his support and words of comfort to the mothers.

No, the majority of Black pastors are more interested in talking about individual "sin" than taking their congregations door-to-door and asking Black folks to come forward and say what they saw.

Black pastors are more interested in taking money from Sheriff Morgan's campaign slush fund, better known as the "Escambia County Law Enforcement Trust Fund Monies," so they can stand by his side, nod and hum, and give a bigot the Black seal of approval for his re-election photo-ops.

The Mothers of the Murdered and Silenced, those who have and carry and express the inner moral compass of the Black community are ignored by their pastors.  Just give them the money on Sunday and be quiet.

This is not a new problem and it is not unique to Pensacola's Black community.

Dr. Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., in his "Letter from Birmingham Jail," wrote: "One is a force of complacency, made up in part of Negroes, who, as a result of long years of oppression, are so drained of self-respect and a sense of 'somebodiness' that they have adjusted to segregation; and in part of a few middle-class Negroes who, because of a degree of academic and economic security and because in some ways they profit by segregation, have become insensitive to the problems of the masses" (The Radical King, p. 137).

And, Dr. King wrote of the "white church," those who he believed "would be among our strongest allies.  Instead, some of have been outright opponents, refusing to understand the freedom movement and misrepresenting its leaders; all too many others have been more cautious than courageous and have remained silent behind the anesthetizing security of stained-glass windows" (p. 140).

Reverend H.K. Matthews, a founding pillar of the early Freedom Movement in Pensacola and the Florida Panhandle in the 1960s and 1970s in his memoir, Victory After the Fall (p. 113), wrote of Black ministers:  "In an essay entitled 'The Failure of the Church in Dealing with Social Problems,' I maintained that the church had to lead the civil rights struggle for blacks.  I accused many pastors of restricting their messages to the narrow space behind the pulpit and not practicing their words in daily society....I thought that too many blacks, particularly ministers, had become wrapped up in watching out for their own interests.  They did not want the boat rocked for themselves, so they kept quiet when it came to racial injustices.  But this practice went against the teachings of Christ, and said as much in the column."

In Reverend Matthews' concluding chapter, writing about his perceptions of the Black community in Pensacola (circa 2007), he wrote (p. 314):  "In some cases, all blacks have left is the carcass of past victories.  We still have a long way to go in having a truly equal society, but blacks must also work together to achieve this goal.  Too many African-Americans still have a 'plantation mentality' where they accept their fate and do not question the status quo out of fear of white reprisals....We have to share much of the blame ourselves.  A disturbingly high number of blacks tend to sit passively by and say, 'Somebody ought to do something to fight racism' and do nothing to change conditions on their own."

But, Reverend Matthews' remarks can easily be applied and extended to Black witnesses to say something, to com forward, and to help put Black criminals in jail for murder.  That is the reason why Reverend Matthews traveled from Alabama to Pensacola to lend his support and voice to the mothers at the candlelight vigil.

March 20, 2015, candlelight vigil at the Unitarian Universalist Church, Pensacola, Florida. Reverend H.K. Matthews with (L-R) Ms. Sheranda Sheard, Ms. Lucinda Martin, and Ms. Rose Dukes.

Dr. Cornel West in his concluding remarks in his remarkable book, Black Prophetic Fire (p. 161-2) wrote that the decline of the "Black prophetic tradition" is due, in part, to the "shift of Black leadership from the voices of social movements...to those of elected officials in the mainstream political system.  This shift produces voices that are rarely if ever critical of this system."  And, it is due in part to the "culture of raw ambition and instant success that is seductive to most potential leaders and intellectuals."

Black ministers would rather talk about individual-level sin--fornication, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, abortion, homosexuality--and not about systemic racism and not about the need to collectively confront the climate of fear in the Black community generated by Black criminals, some of whom may operate with the protection of Sheriff deputies.  The one-time strolls through neighborhoods are nice, but what is need are committed and sustained actions to organize the community; to mobilize the community; to lend support to the street activists of Black Lives Matter.

Concluding Observation

Tomorrow is Mother's Day.  Everybody will be celebrating.  Everybody will be thanking their mother for all the support they've given their children.

But, there are some mothers in Pensacola who will have a very difficult time celebrating Mothers Day.  They will be suffering silently from the pain and loss none of us can comprehend or understand.  They will be grieving for lost sons or lost husbands or lost daughters.  Extended families will once again be reminded of their unfathomable loss.

And the vast majority of Black ministers will forget even to mention them, let alone dedicate themselves and their congregations to do anything about them.  And the overwhelmingly vast majority of white ministers won't even know they exist.

Who will lead the Black community in regaining its inner moral compass?  Which witnesses will step forward to identify a terrorist-murderer?

This problem of a community's lost inner moral compass is not new and it is not unique to the Black community of Pensacola.  It is a collective human failure.  We are all part of this failure--white, Black, Hispanic, rich, poor, Republican, Democrat, Christian, Catholic, Jew, Muslim, and free thinker.  None of us are innocent and we all have blood on our hands.

Doug Baldwin Sr., GOP candidate for Sheriff, Vision for Change

On May 2, 2015, at a gathering of about 30 residents of Escambia County, Mr. Doug Baldwin, Sr., a Republican candidate for Sheriff with 35-years of experience in law enforcement as a well-known and trusted member of the Pensacola Police Department, responded to questions from the residents.

In the question-and-answer exchanges, which he termed part of his "listening tour" of all communities in Escambia County, his vision for the Sheriff's Office emerged.  Called SAFE or Strategic Alliances to Foster Engagement, the aim of Mr. Doug Baldwin is build strong relationships with all residents and organizations in the county and regain their trust in the Sheriff's Office.

Mr. Baldwin promised residents of Escambia County a true "open door" policy; access to the Sheriff's Office policies, procedures and training; as well as telling residents that the Sheriff's Office would be open to explaining to residents how the Sheriff's Office would respond to emergencies and tragic events like an active shooter at a school.

Mr. Baldwin stated that he would support neighborhood watch groups and other community groups trying to improve their neighborhoods by acquiring street lights, sidewalks, and pruning trees to improve safety.  To alleviate poverty, if necessary, he would spend part of the Sheriff's Office budget to help poor communities.  He would also improve communication with all entities of government, but especially the Board of County Supervisors and the State Attorney's office.

Below are short videos covering Mr. Baldwin's responses to questions.  In some cases, the actual question is included.

Video 1:  Republican candidate for Sheriff for Escambia County (FL), Mr. Doug Baldwin, Sr., addressed a community meeting on May 2, 2015. Baldwin stated that given events in Ferguson, MO, and Baltimore, MD, that law enforcement and communities across the country were at a defining moment in history.

Video 2:  Republican candidate for Sheriff for Escambia County (FL), Mr. Doug Baldwin, Sr., told a community meeting on May 2, 2015, that solving the problem of crime in the county required the community and law enforcement to work together. He reminded the audience that the triumph of evil only requires that good people do nothing, say nothing, and hear nothing.

Video 3:  Republican candidate for Sheriff for Escambia County (FL), Mr. Doug Baldwin, Sr., responded to an audience question that aggressive, robust community policing was required to stop criminals intimidating and victimizing county residents.

Video 4:  Republican candidate for Sheriff for Escambia County (FL), Mr. Doug Baldwin, Sr. responded that when he is elected Sheriff, the Sheriff's Office will have their back. He will not allow criminals to intimidate any community in the county.

Video 5:  Republican candidate for Sheriff for Escambia County (FL), Mr. Doug Baldwin, Sr., when asked about his race and race issues in the election, responded that this election is about building trust between the community and the Sheriff's Office and reducing poverty in the county, not the racial characteristics of the candidates (the incumbent is white) or racism.

Video 6:  Republican candidate for Sheriff for Escambia County (FL), Mr. Doug Baldwin, Sr., responded to a question regarding the relationship between the Sheriff's Office and the Board of County Supervisors, that it was necessary to build better relationships and communications between all entities of government and the State Attorney's office.

Video 7:  Republican candidate for Sheriff for Escambia County (FL), Mr. Doug Baldwin, Sr., positively answered that as Sheriff he would support neighborhood watch and other community groups in their requests for funds to provide sidewalks, street lighting, bike lanes, and tree cutting in order to improve safety and the welfare of residents in neighborhoods.

Video 8:  Republican candidate for Sheriff for Escambia County (FL), Mr. Doug Baldwin, Sr., explained that his vision for the Sheriff's Office is to build strategic alliances with all communities in the county.

Video 9:  Mr. Doug Baldwin Sr., Republican candidate for Sheriff in Escambia County (FL), responded to a question from Mr. Jerry McIntosh, second vice president of the Movement for Change and a member of the leadership network, the Coalition for Justice. Mr. McIntosh asked Mr. Doug Baldwin about his policy in light of the fact that the incumbent Sheriff David Morgan, refused to meet with the community-wide network of civil rights organizations because they were not an established 501(c)(3) organization. Mr. Baldwin responded that he would have a true and genuine open door policy for everyone.

Video 10:  Mr. Doug Baldwin, Sr., Republican candidate for Sheriff in Escambia County (FL), stated that one pillar of his overall vision of Strategic Alliance to Foster Engagement (SAFE) was building an alliance between the Sheriff's Office and youth in Escambia County.

Video 11:  Responding to another question on the relationship between youth in Escambia County (FL) and the Sheriff's Office, Republican candidate for Sheriff, Mr. Doug Baldwin, Sr., expanded upon his vision of creating an alliance between youth, their parents, and the Sheriff's Office.

Video 12:  One great concern of parents in Escambia County (FL) is the safety of their children while at school and the presence of Sheriff Office deputies at the schools. Republican candidate for Sheriff, Mr. Doug Baldwin, Sr., responded that parents deserve to know how the Sheriff Office plans to respond to emergencies and possible school shootings.

Video 13:  Republican candidate for Sheriff for Escambia County (FL), Mr. Doug Baldwin, Sr., responded to a concern from a resident of Pensacola about being locked down in his house by the Sheriff's Office but not knowing what was going on. Baldwin responded that part of the taxpayer-funded 911 system is the reverse-911 system which allows local law enforcement to contact very specific parts of a neighborhood to disseminate information and warn residents about how to take precautions to their families and properties. Mr. Baldwin stated that he would use this reverse-911 system to keep citizens informed during an emergency.

Video 14:  Responding to a question regarding New York City's stop-and-frisk policy, Republican candidate for Sheriff for Escambia County (FL), Mr. Doug Baldwin, Sr., explained that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that stop-and-frisk is a lawful law enforcement tool. Mr. Baldwin explained that when he is elected Sheriff that he would use this tool, but only within constitutional limits--meaning that Sheriff Office deputies would stop individuals only if their behavior was actually suspicious. He commented that a person looking at a deputy and running is not suspicious under the U.S. Constitution.

Video 15:  Continuing his strong law and order theme and the common belief across the United States that the police are beleaguered by accusations of violence against civilians (Black, Hispanic, and white), Mr. Doug Baldwin, Sr., a Republican candidate for Sheriff in Escambia County (FL), responded that he would support his deputies who performed their jobs properly. He added that there needed to be a balance between a well-trained, responsive police force and community support for law enforcement.

Video 16:  While providing strong support for Sheriff Office deputies who performed their jobs well, Republican candidate for Sheriff for Escambia County (FL), Mr. Doug Baldwin, Sr., stated that mistakes will be made. These mistakes will be rectified by training and other means, but a key component was accountability and transparency to the residents of the county.

Medical Examiner Wrongful Death Cover-up in District 1?

"I just want the truth.  It's not about the money.  Society is not fair, but everyone should be treated equally under the law."  Mr. Steve Lillo to author, April 17, 2015.

"Thus, it is not possible to exclude that the most likely reason for Dr. Minyard's purposeful exclusion from her reports and deposition testimony any mention or documentation of her removal of the decedent's posterior cervical spine and spinal cord, is that the physical evidence related to the spine was inconsistent with her reported conclusions, and inconsistent with the interests of Law Enforcement."  Dr. Kris Sperry, Chief Medical Examiner for the state of Georgia, affidavit to the Florida Medical Examiners Commission.

Introduction

The Medical Examiner for District 1, one of 24 such medical examiner districts, is Andrea N. Minyard M.D.  District 1 includes Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Walton counties.

Dr. Minyard is arguably the top Medical Examiner in the state of Florida.  She was the chair of the fifteen-doctor committee that wrote the July 28, 2010, Practice Guidelines for Florida Medical Examiners (see other publications at link).  The Introduction (p. i) noted that administrative code, like statute, "is written in absolutes (shall and shall not)...[and] differs from statute in that it is more flexible and attuned to the current state of medical examiner practice."  The Practice Guidelines "are usually crafted in language that is more discretionary."

The administrative code that the Practice Guidelines refers to is Chapter 11G of the Florida Administrative Code.  Two parts of Chapter 11G at issue here are rules 11G-2.004 on "Physical Evidence, Body Parts, Specimens" and 11G-2.005 on "Records, Autopsy Report." Again, the Practice Guidelines remind us that administrative code "is written in absolutes (shall and shall not)."  This means, there is no discretion on the part of the Medical Examiner.

The Practice Guidelines further state that "the word 'shall' is to be taken [here] to mean that there is no discretion to deviate from the guideline unless it is stated explicitly in the text of the guideline.  The word 'should' is to be taken [here] to mean that the guideline is to be observed unless there is a compelling reason not to do so, and that the guideline should be observed in the majority of instances."

Thus, in raising the very serious accusatorial question of a potential cover-up of a wrongful death, Dr. Minyard's knowledge of statutes, rules, and guidelines is not in doubt.  She is undoubtedly an expert and her expertise is not in question.

The question is, did she knowingly and willfully cover-up a potential wrongful death in the case of Mr. John 'Ronnie' Lillo, Jr., who died in the presence of multiple Fort Walton Beach Police Department, Fire Department, and Emergency Medical Team personnel while at the Bridgeway Center in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.  Bridgeway Center provides "psychiatric medicine" and "psychological and psychosocial wellness," according to its website.

Mr. John 'Ronnie' Lillo, Jr.

This blogpost can provide no definitive answer, but the fact that it can be raised, based on an expert deposition from Georgia's Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Kris Sperry, M.D., suggests that an independent agency should investigate this possibility.

The Case Law "Facts" of Regarding the Death of Mr. Ronnie Lillo

On April 17, 2015, I interviewed Mr. Steve Lillo, an outgoing Italian restaurant owner of Lillo's Tuscan Grille in Gulf Breeze, Florida.  Steve Lillo had standing to sue as the "personal representative" of his deceased brother's estate.  Mr. Lillo sued nine members of the Fort Walton Beach Police Department for "cruel and unusual punishment, excessive force, unlawful seizure, failure to intervene, and deliberate indifference to a serious medical need."

All the facts quoted below are taken from the description of the case at fl.findacase.com. I have also included Mr. Steve Lillo's version when it differs.

There is no doubt that nine members of the Fort Walton Beach Police Department were involved to one degree or another in physically restraining Mr. Ronnie Lillo with leg restraints, more than one set of handcuffs, and a nylon rope to 'hogtie' Mr. Lillo during the early morning hours of January 22, 2004.

According to the FindaCase report, after Mr. Ronnie Lillo was restrained with only leg restraints and placed into a chair, a Bridgeway doctor prescribed Ativan and Geodon "to control Lillo's violent behavior."  These drugs would be administered later.

However, Mr. Steve Lillo told me that his brother had been handcuffed in the police vehicle, had leg restraints placed on him outside the vehicle, and was then carried into the Bridgeway Center by the police officers; his brother may have hit his head on the door frame and was always restrained face down on the ground.  He was never placed in a chair and he never tried to walk out of the Center.

Mr. Steve Lillo told me that his brother Mr. Ronnie Lillo, did not want to be treated at Bridgeway and did not want any drugs put into his system.  He said that his brother had pleaded, "No needles, no needles."  He had not resisted being arrested and thought he was being taken to jail.  He was taken to Bridgeway Center without his consent.

Mr. Steve Lillo told me that his brother had taken his medication within 30 days prior to this police arrest and did not want any other drugs in his system.  The 30-day window was normal dose for his bipolar condition.

According to FindaCase, "At that point, according to Bridgeway records and the testimony of the police officers, Lillo became agitated and struggled with police.  Brown, Harran, and other officers pulled Lillo to the floor by his waist and shoulders.  Brown, Harran, Millard, and Yeakos restrained Lillo on the ground by applying pressure with their hands to his shoulders and extremities."

After that, Mr. Ronnie Lillo was hogtied and the drugs Ativan and Geodon were administered by a Bridgeway Center staff member.  Mr. Lillo was turned on to side so that he could breathe.  At 1240 A.M., the Bridgeway staff observed Mr. Lillo "restrained with his face down and to the side."

Again, Mr. Ronnie Lillo was rolling around the floor because he did not want any drugs put into his system.  Mr. Steve Lillo contends that his brother was face down the entire time and was not on his side.

At 0110 hours, the Fort Walton Beach Fire Department's battalion chief and paramedic, and two Emergency Medical Technicians arrived at Bridgeway.  The first Emergency Medical Technician to arrive observed Mr. Lillo standing and then being taken down to the floor because he was "disruptive and violent." The battalion chief and the second EMT "testified Lillo struck his own head against the floor repeatedly" and that the battalion chief, a paramedic, to prevent further injury "used his hands and knees to keep Lillo's head still."

It is important to note that Mr. Ronnie Lillo was 5' 10" and weighed about 265.  The battalion chief who put his knee on the back of Mr. Ronnie Lillo's neck weighed around 250 pounds. Two other personnel were helping hold Mr. Ronnie Lillo down around his shoulders and two other personnel were pinning his legs down, according to Mr. Steve Lillo.

At 0115 hours, two Okaloosa County Emergency Medical Service personnel, a paramedic and an EMT, arrived at Bridgeway.  This paramedic, authorized by the Bridgeway doctor, administered "Haldol, an anti-psychotic medication" at 01:30 hours.

Mr. Lillo immediately stopped breathing and no pulse was detected; the paramedic administered CPR, Mr. Lillo's pulse returned and at 0145 hours Mr. Lillo was transported to the Fort Walton Beach Medical Center, where he arrived ten minutes later.  At 0219 hours, Mr. Lillo was pronounced dead.

Mr. Steve Lillo contended that his brother actually expired inside the Bridgeway Center.  The idea that his pulse had returned was a function of the needle moving while they were giving him CPR.  The whole point of this exercise was to give the impression that Mr. Ronnie Lillo had not died in police custody.

At the hearing to grant or deny qualified immunity to the police officers involved, according to the summary report, "Dr. Andrea Minyard reported Lillo's cause of death as complications of acute psychosis.  Her report noted multiple abrasions, lacerations and contusions of the face, scalp, and extremities, as well as deep contusions of the skin and muscle of the posterior neck."

Mr. Steve Lillo's expert witness, "Dr. Michael Berkland testified that Lillo's autopsy photographs depicted 'extensive deep subcutaneous hemorrhage that extends down and involves the musculature of the cervical and upper thoracic spine."  Actually, there was no testimony.  It was Dr. Berkland's deposition that contained his expert opinion on the cause of death.

Furthermore, based "on the injuries to Lillo's neck, and the reports of Bullard [the battalion chief and paramedic] restraining Lillo's head with his hands an knees, Berkland concluded that Lillo's death was the result of asphyxia induced by compression and restraint of the neck and upper back."

Mr. Steven Lillo's lawsuit against the nine police officers was unsuccessful because the Court ruled that they had "qualified immunity."  The judge summarily granted seven of the police officers "qualified immunity" as well as two police officers who had not made the request.  Mr. Lillo's lawsuit, contesting this granting of a summary judgement of qualified immunity, including the two who had not requested it, eventually made it up to the U.S. Supreme Court, which let the federal Appeals Court ruling stand.

Thus, this blogpost is not about the facts at the hearing or appeal.  It is about the potential cover-up of a wrongful death by the Medical Examiner for District 1, Dr. Andrea Minyard.

Elements of the Cover-up Based on Mr. Steve Lillo Narrative

Some of what Mr. Lillo told me cannot be corroborated or verified, though the actions of Dr. Minyard are clear-cut and virtually irrefutable.  However, we start with information that Mr. Steve Lillo accumulated from unrecorded, off-the-record conversations he had with various police officers and at least one Bridgeway staff.

Approximately six months before Mr. Ronnie Lillo died, he had a bipolar episode.  He had been working for a local construction company.  His paycheck bounced.  Checks for bills he had paid began to bounce.  Under increased psychological pressure, Mr. Ronnie Lillo would quote the Bible.  This was the first time he had an altercation with a police officer.

A very big man, possibly at the time approaching 300 pounds, Mr. Lillo in the confrontation came to be on top of the officer.  Though Mr. Lillo had not swung at the police officer, the officer sustained a broken nose.  Another officer suffered an injured arm.

Mr. Ronnie Lillo told his brother Mr. Steve Lillo that one of the two police officers who had been injured and embarrassed in front of fellow police officers, told Mr. Ronnie Lillo, "I'm going to kill you."  Months later, with police officers still harassing him, the Chief of Police in Fort Walton Beach allegedly told his officers to leave Mr. Ronnie Lillo alone if they see him on the street and call Mr. Steve Lillo.

During the day of January 21, 2004, Mr. Ronnie Lillo, who used to be homeless, was seen by the local police walking in or near the street, but did not stop him.  Mr. Ronnie Lillo wanted to be a preacher and on this morning he was sort of giving a "sermon" to the homeless across the street from the police station.

Ronnie Lillo's back was to the street and he was urinating.  A police car pulled up behind him.  The police officer told him to stop urinating.  When Ronnie Lillo saw who the police officer was--the same one he had broken the nose of--he pulled his pants down and put his hands in the air.  He was handcuffed and put into the police car.  Mr. Steve Lillo told me that his brother had not been defecating in the street, as the police officer alleged.

Internal Affairs officers who spoke with Mr. Steve Lillo told him that they were starting an investigation and knew about the first confrontation with the police officers.  But, Internal Affairs was not being truthful when they Mr. Steve Lillo that the police officer who had been injured previously was not working that night.

Mr. Lillo's inspection of the park and roadway revealed no fecal matter in the alleged area. A homeless person also told Mr. Steve Lillo that Mr. Ronnie Lillo was urinating, not defecating. In fact, when Mr. Steve Lillo initially heard the dash cam video, the police officer clearly ordered Mr. Ronnie Lillo to "stop urinating."

The allegation that Mr. Ronnie Lillo had kicked out a window in the police car could not be corroborated by Mr. Steve Lillo's inspection of the area looking for broken glass.  Mr. Steve Lillo also told me that what should have been a five-minute ride to the Bridgeway Center actually took twenty-five minutes--a time gap in which anything could have been said or done to Mr. Ronnie Lillo to make him suspicious of the police's motives and angry.

In fact, the elapsed time is based on the difference between the dash cam recorder showing the time Mr. Ronnie Lillo was picked up and the time the Bridgeway Center recorded him arriving.

Mr. Steve Lillo was told by at least one Bridgeway Center manager that "no one at the Center injured your brother John, and you can read between the lines."  But, no further information was apparently forthcoming because the Center relies upon funds from the city.

Mr. Steve Lillo told me that within two days of his brother dying, the police had told him that they had a video of the event.  Mr. Steve Lillo told me that the video showed his brother Ronnie being taken into custody with no struggle or resistance.

Two years later, Mr. Steve Lillo's second lawyer told him that there were two videotapes--one with audio and one without audio.  Both video tapes were dash cam recordings. Apparently one of these two videos or a third video was circulating in law enforcement circles because another Lillo brother found a source in  the Sheriff's Office who told him that on the video with audio there is clearly a voice saying, "Get off of him, you're going to kill him."  The second video had all audio removed.  Now we know why, said Mr. Steve Lillo.

But, it is not clear which video contains this information.  The two dash cam videos show Mr. Ronnie Lillo walking towards the police car and disappearing from view.  He is behind the camera.  What actually happened to Mr. Ronnie Lillo after he was out of the line of sight of the camera and without audio is impossible to say.

Mr. Steve Lillo told me that on the day of the autopsy Dr. Minyard told him that there was heavy bruising on the neck and that she was looking for a broken neck.

Two years later, after she gave her deposition, she allegedly told Mr. Steve Lillo, "I cut your brother's neck out" and had found no break.  That information is not in her deposition and not in her official autopsy report.

This act of omission by Dr. Minyard is what prompted Mr. Steve Lillo to exhume his brother's body and try to find the truth.

The Alleged Cover-up According to Counter Expert Testimony

Seven and one-half years after Mr. Ronnie Lillo was buried, Mr. Steve Lillo had his body exhumed and Dr. Kris Sperry, the Chief Medical Examiner for the state of Georgia, performed a graveside autopsy on Mr. Ronnie Lillo's remains.

Dr. Sperry was appointed to his position in June 1997, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's biography of Dr. Sperry states unequivocally: "Dr. Sperry is a nationally recognized expert in the fields of forensic pathology and childhood injury..."

In other words, to a layman like me, he's an experts expert--and not some fly-by-night pathologist offering his opinion for money.

Recall, that Mr. Steve Lillo's first expert witness, Dr. Michael Berkland, had concluded that "Lillo's death was the result of asphyxia induced by compression of the neck and upper back."  Now, Dr. Berkland was fired as the Medical Examiner for District 1 in 2003, "for not completing autopsy reports" and had his medical license withdrawn, according to a CBS News report.  In 1996, Dr. Berkland had been fired from his "contract medical examiner" position in Jackson County, Missouri, and eventually lost his medical license in that state, according to the same report.

Thus, the expert opinion of Dr. Kris Sperry is crucial to understanding the possibility of a cover-up by Dr. Minyard.  Dr. Berkland's expert opinion can be impeached on credibility grounds.  Dr. Sperry's expert opinion cannot be impeached on credibility grounds.

In the graveside autopsy video, taken on or about July 23, 2011, which I watched with Mr. Steve Lillo, Dr. Sperry did indeed find that Dr. Minyard had cut a significant portion, about eight inches, of Mr. Ronnie Lillo's neck out.  The video shows Dr. Sperry pointing out the missing part of the neck and describing how it would have been done.  Dr. Sperry also remarked that there was "no red bag" containing body parts or organs that are removed during an autopsy.  Dr. Sperry remarked that the "red bag" could have been removed by the embalmer. Nevertheless, the "red bag" was of no real consequence because, as Dr. Sperry explained on camera, the neck bone that had been cut out would have been decayed and damaged to the degree that it would not be possible to know what had happened.

Thus, Dr. Minyard's official autopsy report and all her notes and observations made during the autopsy are of critical importance.

Here is the verbatim quote from Dr. Sperry's "Affidavit of Kris Sperry, M.D. In Support of Complaint" in the case before the Florida Medical Examiners Commission of Stephen Lillo vs. Andrea Minyard, M.D.

According to Dr. Sperry's affidavit, prior to viewing Mr. Ronnie Lillo's body, he "reviewed the complete autopsy of John R. Lillo performed by Dr. Andrea Minyard (including the original autopsy on January 23, 2004, the subsequent edit to the autopsy report dated April 9, 2004, and the finalized autopsy report dated April 27, 2004).  I also reviewed the depositions of Dr. Andrea Minyard (taken September 9, 2008) and Stephen Lillo (taken October 20, 2008). Through my review of these documents, I was sufficiently informed as to the relevant facts surrounding the death and autopsy of the decedent" (paragraph 7).

In paragraph 11, Dr. Sperry stated:  "The removal of the dorsal vertebral column segments had been accomplished through a vertical incision to the posterior neck, from the base of the skull to the upper posterior thorax, and the dissection of the paraspinous musculature away from each side of the vertebral column to then expose the dorsal and transverse processes; then, the transverse processes were sawn on the right and the left with a bone saw, thus accomplishing the 'unroofing' of the spinal canal and spinal cord.  This is a conventional approach utilized in forensic pathology examinations to effectuate evaluation of the spinal cord in the cervical and upper thoracic regions, and also to evaluate the integrity of the bony structures of the cervical spine.  The portion of the dorsal spine which had been removed was approximately 8 inches in length."

In paragraph 12, Dr. Sperry concluded that Dr. Minyard or someone under her supervision had performed this specialized and intricate procedure: "Among the purposes of this specialized dissection, one specific purpose is to allow inspection and detection of the presence of any injury or any other trauma in the neck or spinal cord.  This type of procedure would not be done by a funeral home director or embalmer.  Accordingly, the removal of the spine was, in my opinion, either performed personally by Dr. Andrea Minyard, or performed by a trained autopsy assistant at Dr. Minyard's specific direction."

And, here is where Dr. Minyard's possible cover-up of a wrongful death begins.

According to Dr. Sperry (paragraph 13), "It is a breach of the standard of care by Dr. Minyard to fail to provide any description, documentation, notation, cataloging, or otherwise mention in any way this procedure in her autopsy report or deposition.  Dissection, examination, and removal of organs or body parts such as the spine for further examination are common during autopsies when required to determine cause of death.  However, the performance of such procedures and the detailed findings related to these procedures must be included in the autopsy report.  Above and beyond the description and documentation that such specialized autopsy procedures were performed, the resultant findings should also be described in sufficient detail to support the diagnoses, opinions, and conclusions.  Here, Dr. Minyard's reports and depositions are silent on this critical procedure that was clearly performed, and the results of this procedure."

Let us now examine Rule 11G-2.005 on "Records, Autopsy Report."  Recall that the Practice Guidelines that Dr. Minyard chaired stated that under Chapter 11G "code is written in absolutes (shall and shall not)."

According to 11G-2.005:  "The district medical examiner shall keep among the official records:....All other notes or documentation forming a record of the investigation." And, the autopsy report's "objective observations to be included or appended shall be the gross evaluations, any microscopic observations, and any results of toxicology tests.  Among the opinions to be included shall be the cause of death."

In the Practice Guidelines, which Dr. Minyard, as the chair of the writing committee helped write, Article 20 (1) states, "The gross findings should be described in sufficient detail to support the diagnoses, opinions, and conclusions."

Recall that in the Practice Guidelines the "word 'should' is to be taken to mean that the guideline is to be observed unless there is a compelling reason not to do so, and that the guideline is to be observed in the majority of instances."

What was Dr. Minyard's compelling reason for not including these legally required notes and documentation?  Florida's rule 11G provides no discretion to Dr. Minyard.  Under administrative code it is "written in absolutes (shall and shall not)."

Under Article 23 paragraph (1)(b) of the Practice Guidelines, an "internal examination....Optionally includes inspection and dissection of the posterior neck compartment, cranio-cervical articulation, lateral neck compartment, spinal column and cord, or the extremities."

Clearly, it is highly probable, based on Dr. Sperry's expert analysis, that Dr. Minyard performed this "optional" part of an "internal examination."  And, if Dr. Minyard did not include in the "all other notes or documentation forming a record of the investigation," then she violated rule 11G-2.005.

In paragraph 14 of Dr. Sperry's affidavit, he stated that "Dr. Minyard's dissection and examination of John R. Lillo's spine should have been documented in detail, and the objective results of any examination or testing of the spinal tissue should have been included in the autopsy report."

In paragraph 16, Dr. Sperry opined, "These failures by Dr. Minyard constitute, in my professional view, a willful non-disclosure and a gross breach of the Medical Examiner's Code of Ethics and the public trust.  Moreover, the fact that the death of John R. Lillo occurred during the course of a law enforcement custody event significantly elevates the importance of thorough and complete documentation of all autopsy procedures and relevant findings (both positive and negative), given the heightened scrutiny of such high-profile deaths.  Furthermore, the purposeful omission by Dr. Minyard and her subsequent findings would constitute a material misrepresentation of data upon which an opinion or conclusion by the medical examiner is based.  Consequently, her conclusions cannot be relied upon" [emphasis added].

In other words, Dr. Minyard deliberately and knowingly withheld information from her autopsy report which constituted, as Mr. Steve Lillo contended, and neither the Florida Medical Examiners Commission nor a local judge would consider--fraud and possibly even obstruction of justice and a violation of Mr. Ronnie Lillo's civil rights.  And, her conclusion regarding the cause of death in the case of Mr. Ronnie Lillo "cannot be relied upon."

In short, her allegedly fraudulent autopsy report does not meet the legal requirements for completeness upon which one can reasonably determine his cause of death.  Mr. Ronnie Lillo may very well have died from asphyxiation from a broken neck.

In paragraph 17, the Chief Medical Examiner for the state of Georgia, a "nationally recognized expert in forensic pathology," concluded: "This type of dissection is memorable for a forensic pathologist and a medical examiner, and is performed for specific purposes as part of the investigation of a custody-related death, and despite multiple opportunities to document the performance of this procedure as part of John R. Lillo's autopsy examination, no such documentation exists.  Thus, it is not possible to exclude that the most likely reason for Dr. Minyard's purposeful exclusion from her reports and deposition testimony [of] any mention or documentation of her removal of the decedent's posterior cervical spine and spinal cord, is that the physical evidence related to the spine was inconsistent with her reported conclusions, and inconsistent with the interests of Law Enforcement" [emphasis added].

In other words, the reason for Dr. Minyard's deliberate exclusion of this legally required information was to shield a public entity from a wrongful death lawsuit from Mr. Ronnie Lillo's legal representative, his brother Mr. Steve Lillo.

The Florida Medical Examiners Commission Protect Dr. Minyard

Mr. Steve Lillo sought to have the Florida Medical Examiners Commission investigate Dr. Minyard for her faulty analysis of the cause of death.  Specifically, he was claiming that Dr. Minyard had committed fraud and violate the administrative code governing autopsies.

An April 3, 2012, letter from Margaret A. Edwards, staff director of the Florida Medical Examiners Commission, took the low bureaucratic road and rejected Mr. Steve Lillo's effort on the narrow grounds that the "the section of spinal column that was allegedly retained by Dr. Andrea Minyard does not meet the definition of a body part or organ, as spelled out in Rule 11G-2.004(1)(a) and 11G-2.004(1)(b).  She continued, "Accordingly, the portion of the cervical spine at issue does not meet the definition of a body part or that of an organ."

In other words, rather than examine Dr. Minyard's lack of documentation of her procedures and findings in contravention of Florida's administrative code and guidelines that might have led her to conclude a different cause of death that implicated Fort Walton Beach Police Department or the Fire Department, the Florida Medical Examiners Commission took the easy way out and simply stated that the neck was not a "body part."

Without the Florida Medical Examiners Commission finding of fraud, a local judge refused hear Mr. Lillo's legal argument for a trial.  The judge rejected his claim stating that it was too late to bring in new evidence.

Seriously?  An allegedly fraudulent autopsy report is not worthy of consideration in the legal system in Florida?

The Financial Pressures on Florida's District Medical Examiners

Dr. Minyard is not an independent actor in the judicial system.  She is, in fact, under contract with at least two counties who use her services as a medical examiner, according to budget documents.

According to WebMd, Dr. Minyard is the owner of Gulf Coast Autopsy Physicians PA, and she is the only physician employed by her company.

Dr. Minyard's contract with Escambia County for one year (October 1, 2014 through September 30, 2015) is worth $847,300.

Dr. Minyard's contract with Okaloosa County from October 1, 2013 through September 30, 2014, was $510,568, an increase of $70,031 from the previous year.

Although I cannot find budget data for the other two counties, I assume she is paid by those counties for her services.

While it is not known how much she received for her services in 2004, she is now probably earning in the neighborhood of about $1.6 million per year for a one-physician office.

Moreover, all four county Sheriff's Offices apparently must sign off on her reappointment. They must give her a "favorable" rating on the "Recommendation for Reappointment" document.  The Northwest Florida Daily News website reported that as of April 2015, "all four county sheriffs within Minyard's jurisdiction recommend that she be reappointed."  The website went on to note that Dr. Minyard's gubernatorial appointment expires on July 1, 2015, and after that date Governor Rick Scott must re-appoint her or her replacement.

Concluding Observation

It is not too difficult to imagine that financial considerations could enter into Dr. Minyard's work.  Her hypothetical alternative finding that Mr. Ronnie Lillo's death was caused by excessive force applied either by the Fort Walton Beach Police Department and/or the Fire Department could have cost the county or city a huge settlement--perhaps larger than her contract.

How could she have foreseen that a brother's love and search for answers would lead to the exhumation of the deceased and the finding that the neck had been removed, no documentation presented in her autopsy report or deposition, and her finding of death by "complications of acute psychosis" challenged by a "nationally recognized forensic pathologist" who found that her methodology and lack of documentation meant that her "conclusions cannot be relied upon"?

We all deserve equal justice under the law and that is all Mr. Steve Lillo is asking for--justice for all--not justice for just us, the elites who run the system.

Sweetheart Deal for Robber, Others Get Hard Time

Introduction

On December 29, 2013, in Escambia County, five people--four adults, two white and two Black, and one white juvenile--robbed a house they believed had marijuana and money. The case received regional attention because when the robbers left the house disappointed with only $16 in cash and no marijuana, they took two pit bull puppies in a cage.  News outlets like NBC Miami featured a lovable little puppy underneath the headline to highlight the story. Essentially, they were the "puppy robbers."

The sentencing of the four perpetrators is so disparate, that it would appear that the Escambia County Sheriff's Office and the State Attorney's office for Florida's 1st Judicial Circuit have a special black box of favors that they dispense without apparent rhyme or reason.  One defendant received such favorable treatment that it appears to be a sweetheart deal with an unknown quid pro quo.

Let's Go To The Court Records

According to court records, Mr. Tyler Raley (white) pleaded guilty to the charge of "home invasion robbery with firearm (without discharge)."  He was sentenced to five years in prison with credit for 173 days.

Mr. Demetri Ranaldson's court records indicate that he pleaded "no contest" to the reduced charge of "aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill."  He received a five-year sentence.

Mr. Demontre Russell's court records also indicate that he pleaded "no contest" to the reduced charge of "aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill" and received a five-year prison sentence.

But, Mr. Jordan Dustin Michael Rowell (to distinguish him from his father, Mr. Dustin Michael Rowell), pleaded "no contest" to "home invasion robbery with firearm or other deadly weapon."

But, Mr. Rowell received a sentence of probation and community supervision and total restitution in the amount of $700.00. In fact, while Mr. Jordan Rowell's court record provides the restitution amounts for each victim, the additional favoritism is shown by the actual "Order of Judgment and Sentence" for Case 2013 CF 006324 B instrument number 2015019072.  That sentencing document shows that he pleaded "no contest" to "home invasion robbery with a firearm" and was assigned to the "Youth Offender Program."  Mr. Jordan Rowell was 19-years old at the time of the robbery.

In other words, like Mr. Raley, he pleaded to a higher charge of "home invasion" and received four years of supervised probation and two years of community control.  On the other hand, Mr. Russell and Mr. Ranaldson pleaded "no contest" to a reduced charge of "aggravated assault" and received five-years in prison.

Why did Mr. Jordan Rowell receive such a light sentence?

Let's Compare the Court Records

Putting all four court records for the four defendants side-by-side reveals some rather interesting points.

All four defendants had their cases heard by Chief Judge Terry D. Terrell.  But, due to different arrest dates, the judge assigned date differed.  Mr. Rowell's and Mr. Raley's were assigned on December 30, 2013, the day after their arrest.  Mr. Russell's assignment date was January 10, 2014, two days after his arrest date.  And, Mr. Ranaldson's assignment date March 27, 2014, two days after his arrest date.

Initially, three of the defendants had their bail bond set at either $20,000 (Ranaldson) or $25,000 (Rowell and Raley).  Mr. Russell's bail bond was set at $150,000 for some unknown reason.  His bond was reduced to $25,000.

Their "not guilty" pleas were entered on different dates: Mr. Rowell (January 22, 2014); Mr. Russell (January 23, 2014); Mr. Raley (January 31, 2014); and Mr. Ranaldson (April 16, 2014).

However, their pleas of "guilty" or "no contest" differ significantly.

Mr. Raley pleaded "guilty" to "home invasion robbery" on July 24, 2014.

Mr. Ranaldson pleaded "no contest" to the reduced charge of "aggravated assault" on November 21, 2014.

Mr. Russell pleaded "no contest" to the reduced charge of "aggravated assault" on November 24, 2014, just three days later before the same judge.

Mr. Rowell entered his plea of "no contest" to "home invasion robbery" on December 1, 2014.

And, their sentencing dates were also spread out: Mr. Ranaldson (January 8, 2015); Mr. Russell (February 12, 2015); Mr. Raley (February 25, 2015); and, Mr. Rowell (March 6, 2015), though his restitution order was prepared four days earlier.

Now, some of the differences in dates can be attributed to different dates lawyers being assigned, dismissed, and another lawyer reassigned.  Some could possibly be due to different lawyers filing more or less motions.

But, throughout the judicial process, Mr. Rowell always lags behind the other defendants.

The Lawyers Involved in the Cases

All four defendants appeared to have highly competent lawyers, but from the start of the judicial process, it appears that Mr. Rowell came from a family of money and was represented by a very reputable law firm in Pensacola.

Mr. Demontre Russell was initially represented by Mr. Paul John Hamlin, Jr. of The Hamlin Law Firm which specializes in criminal defense cases including weapons cases, robbery, drug cases, and assault cases.  Mr. Russell then was represented by Mr. Randall J. Etheridge, a law firm specializing in "aggressive criminal defense," "aggressive and savvy defense," and "highly skilled in drug offense defense and racketeering charges," according to their website.

Mr. Demetri Ranaldson initially had a Public Defender; then a Criminal Conflict Counsel lawyer for indigent clients; then a Mr. Spiro Kypreos, a criminal lawyer with no apparent presence on the Internet and no known reputation; and, finally, the court assigned Mr. Gene Edward Mitchell, a board certified criminal trial lawyer.

Mr. Tyler Raley initially, on December 30, 2013, the day after his arrest, was represented by Mr. Ralph Parnell of the Morris Parnell & Ellis law firm.  Due to an apparent conflict of interest, by January 23rd of the following year Mr. Raley was looking for another lawyer and on February 3, 2014, the court assigned him a Public Defender.  One month later, the court assigned him a Criminal Conflict lawyer, an entity created by the state of Florida in 2007 to represent indigent clients.

Mr. Jordan Rowell, on the other hand, was represented by a top law firm in Pensacola, the Morris Parnell & Ellis law firm, the same one that initially represented Mr. Raley on December 30, 2013, the day after both men had been arrested.

Mr. Rowell's Sweetheart Deal in Exchange for Fingering Two Black Suspects

To piece together the Escambia County Sheriff's Office and the State Attorney's Office sweetheart deal with Mr. Rowley, it requires reviewing three arrest reports.

Mr. Rowell's arrest report, ECSO13ARR025503, was written by Deputy Sheriff Amanda Kelly.  Deputy Kelly, however, interviewed only the victims, not Mr. Rowell.  In Mr. Rowell's arrest report, she reported interviewing six victims.  In Mr. Raley's arrest report, also written by Deputy Kelly, only five victims' interviews are reported--the girlfriend of Mr. Nicholas Snelson, Ms. Baile Lauren Davis, at the time of the incident unemployed, but previously employed as a dancer at Sammy's Gentlemen's Club, Diamond's, and Babe's Show Club is omitted, perhaps by the mistake of failing to cut and paste properly.

Mr. Russell's arrest report, ECSO13ARR025546, was written by Deputy Sheriff Michael Deerman, a member of the Gun Response Team.  Deputy Deerman's interview with Mr. Rowell took place on the morning of December 29, 2013, right after the arrest in the interview rooms.  Mr. Rowell was given his Miranda rights and signed the statement.  He then gave a statement that two of the robbers were "Dimitry" and "Demontre."  Deputy Deerman then "presented a photo lineup to S/Rowell and he immediately circled and indicated S/Demontre Lakesse Russell as one of the suspects with whom he had committed the home invasion and who had possessed the firearm."  In the same arrest report, Mr. Tyler Raley "would not identify S/Russell as having been involved in the home invasions and denied knowing S/Russell at all."

So, the first Black suspect, Mr. Demontre Russell, was identified by Mr. Rowell.

Mr. Ranaldson's arrest report, ECSO14ARR004864, was written by Deputy Sheriff Joshua Rasmussen, another member of the county's Gun Response Team.  It provides a second interview with Mr. Rowell.  However, this arrest report is copied directly from Mr. Russell's arrest report written by Deputy Deerman.  With the exception of adding two commas, the paragraph describing the results of the interview with Mr. Rowell are identical.  So, who actually interviewed Mr. Rowell?

In Mr. Ranaldson's arrest report, Deputy Rasmussen interviewed Mr. Rowell at the "law offices of Boyles & Boyles" and Mr. Rowell's attorneys "Tray Parnell and Brandon Morris" were there.

Now, it is important to note that Boyles & Boyles has only two lawyers, presumably father and son, Mr. Karl W. Boyles and Mr. Joseph W. C. Boyles, respectively.  This law firm specializes in business and corporate law.  In other words, they were probably the law firm for whatever business Mr. Dustin Rowell and/or Mrs. Tiffani Rowell were engaged in.

I say whatever business they are engaged in because a Google search and a search of Florida business records reveals they have no easily identifiable businesses that they own. Mr. Dustin Rowell's name is connected to a company called Southern Star Auto Group via a Florida Department of Environmental Protection document, but business records filed by the company with Florida's Secretary of State never mention him in their annual reports.  Mr. Dustin Rowell may very well own the company, but his link to any business requiring the services of Boyles & Boyles is difficult to find.

In fact, searches of public records, however, indicates that they have a great deal of unpaid public debts and other disparaging information.

In August 1997, Mr. Dustin Rowell was found guilty of seven counts of credit card fraud and given six months of community control under the supervision of the Florida Parole Commission (see Instrument 1997418093).

On June 17, 1998, though the record is not publicly available, both the Florida Department of Revenue and a Ms. Brandy E. Jordan were apparently successful in Paternity Order 97 1915 CJ (Instrument 1998493666).  See also Support Order CJ 97 1915 (Instrument 1998502862).

On August 29, 2000, the State of Florida issued a Civil Restitution Lien Order in favor of Escambia County for $1500 (see Instrument 2000769700).

On August 14, 2001, though the record is not publicly available, the State of Florida and Ms. Denise Wilson were successful in winning Juvenile 01 2073 (see Instrument 2001872410). Ms. Wilson was Mr. Dustin Rowell's ex-wife.  However, the Escambia County court records indicate that Ms. Wilson was successful in proving paternity--roughly three years after Mr. Dustin Rowell had married his current wife, Tiffani Deann (Kelly) Rowell.  On December 31, 2001, Ms. Wilson filed a Certificate of Delinquency Support (see Instrument 2001916511).

On January 2, 2002, Ms. Brandy E. Jordan filed a Certificate of Delinquency in case 97 0001915 CJ--the case she and the State of Florida had apparently won in June 1998.

In October 2002, the Florida Department of Revenue filed a "warrant for collection of delinquent sales tax" in the amount of $1,625.92 regarding their jointly owned Prell Auto Parts and Sales, a company that apparently no longer exists, according to the lack of a record.

In November 2002, the West Florida Regional Medical Center was awarded a judgment of $18,249.50 plus an initial interest award of $2,245.50, plus an interest rate of 9 percent per year (see Instrument 2002031118).  In February 2005, the West Florida Regional Medical Center won an additional final judgment for $2,581, costs of $290, and prejudgment interest of $164.34, and interest rate of 7 percent (see Instrument 2005341670).

Also in February 2005, the Florida Department of Revenue issued a "warrant for the collection of delinquent sales and use taxes" totaling with tax owed, penalties, and interest $90,793.06 (see Instrument 2005342448).  In June 2005, the Florida Department of Revenue issued another warrant for unpaid taxes totaling $1,827.32 (see Instrument 2005384892).

In May 2014, the federal Internal Revenue Service filed a notice of a Federal Tax Lien for tax year 2010 in the amount of $62,080.49 (see instrument 2014031589).  On June 5, 2014, a public notice was issued that their home would be "sold to the highest bidder at public auction" on July 7, 2014.  And, for tax year 2013, the Rowell's owed Escambia County $1,717.69 for real estate taxes.

So, the Boyles & Boyles business law firm, apparently retained by Mr. Dustin Rowell, hosted the two principal partners of the criminal defense law firm of Morris Parnell & Ellis.  That firm specializes in criminal law and state trial practice with specialties in burglary, drug possession/trafficking, robbery, and assault/battery.  The "Tray Parnell" in the arrest report is actually Mr. Ralph Wallace 'Trey' Parnell III.

At this meeting of high-powered lawyers, Mr. Jordan Rowell stated that after he was released on the $25,000 bond he returned to his residence where he had allowed Mr. Raley to reside. While cleaning up with Mr. Raley's belongings "he found a driver's license belonging to the fifth suspect who had previously not been identified.  S/Rowell stated that this suspect, S/Demetri Ranaldson, was friends with S/Tyler Raley and must have left the Florida driver's license at the residence while visiting S/Tyler Raley."

According to this second interview, Mr. Rowell,with his lawyers present, then "positively identified S/Ranaldson as the fifth suspect involved in the home invasion.  S/Rowell stated that during the home invasion, S/Randalson had possessed a firearm, had worn a mask, had pointed the firearm at victims inside the home, and had taken items from the home and fled with them in the getaway vehicle.  S/Rowell stated that on the drive from his residence to the Tiffany Drive location, he had been seated next to S/Ranaldson."

So, the only "positive identification" of the two Black suspects, Mr. Russell and Mr. Ronaldson, came from Mr. Rowell who from the first interview with the Gun Response Team on December 29, 2013, was identifying previously unidentified and/or unknown suspects.

It should be noted that the charge of using a mask during the home invasion was dropped for all four suspects due to lack of probable cause.

The Internal Contradictions of the Victims Statements

What kind of residence is 1204 Tiffany Drive?

According to the real estate website Trulia.com, it is a single-story dwelling of 1,814 square feet with two and one-quarter bathrooms in a neighborhood where the average price of a home in zip code 32514 is $184,635.  Homes.com suggested that its retail value was $132,600.  According to PropertyShark.com, the dwelling has five total rooms, including three bedrooms.  However, there is no layout of the dwelling depicting where the rooms are.

The only Deputy Sheriff to interview all six victims was Deputy Amanda Kelly.  Based on a review of the arrest report, we can state the following the regarding which victims were in which rooms and what they saw.

In the probable living room, sitting on a couch, were Mr. Branden Hoffman and his cousin Mr. Christopher Mason.  The doorbell rang at some time prior to 0409 hours (when the Sheriff Office's was responding to shots fired from the getaway car on Davis Highway) and both men answered the unlocked door.  Mr. Hoffman stated that "a bunch of people with guns pushed through the door."  This "bunch" made Mr. Mason lay down on the floor.  They also made Mr. Hoffman lay face down on the floor.

Mr. Mason told Deputy Kelly, that "three white males and two black males" "rushed in" and "all had guns."  The statement continued, "So me and Brandon hit the ground and laid down....Had a gun to my head the whole time."

Deputy Kelly then interviewed Mr. Mike Gann.  Mr. Gann was in a bedroom with his two small boys.  He stated that he "walked out of my room" and "two guys with guns" told him to get on the floor and give them his money.  Mr. Gann then laid face-down on the floor.  He then stated, "They took Brandon into Nates room and got him out of the bed and made him get on the floor....One guy staid [sic] with Nate and myself at gun point as we laid on the ground face down."  Mr. Gann thought he "saw four people all with guns in the house."

So, Mr. Gann has Mr. Hoffmann being taken into Mr. Nathaniel 'Nate' Phillips' room.  Mr. Hoffman stated that he was on the ground, presumably in the living room, with a "gun to my head the whole time."  Not only that, but Mr. Gann states that after Mr. Phillips got out bed, they made him "get on the floor" right next to him where he was guarded by one armed intruder.

Ok, what did Mr. Nathaniel 'Nate' Phillips tell Deputy Kelly?

Mr. Phillips stated, "My brother's friend woke me up saying people were in the house with guns.  I went and laid down on the living room floor until they left."  Mr. Phillips only saw a "white male with a mask on carrying a gun" and a "Black male with orange shoes...also carrying a gun."  Mr. Phillips then "allowed a few minutes to pass then I left the house to follow them."

Deputy Kelly apparently never asked Mr. Phillips who had actually woken him up.  If Mr. Gann statement is true, then Mr. Hoffman is the "brother's friend."

But, Mr. Gann has Mr. Hoffmann being taken into Mr. Phillips' room and Mr. Phillips lying down on the floor in his bedroom.  Mr. Phillips is woken up by a person unknown to the Sheriff's Office and Mr. Phillips walking into the living room where he presumably sees a "white male" and a "Black male."

But, Mr. Hoffmann stated that he never moved from the living room where he was guarded and never stated that he woke up Mr. Phillips.

Deputy Kelly took Mr. Phillips to the location where the suspect's vehicle was stopped at the intersection of Brent and Davis Highway.  Based on the clothing they were wearing he identified only three white suspects, Mr. Tyler Raley, Mr. Jordan Rowell, and Mr. Brandon Raley, Tyler's brother and a juvenile.

Deputy Kelly interviewed another victim, Mr. Nicholas Snelson, who was located in a bedroom with his girlfriend, Ms. Bailie Davis, a former dancer.

Mr. Snelson told Deputy Kelly that he was in bed with his girlfriend when one white male and one Black male came into the room with guns.  They took his phone, $16 from his girlfriend, and two puppies.  He then claimed, "Throughout all of this happening, two more males (one white, one black) entered my room, searched around, then walked out.  Every suspect had a gun to someone's head at one point."

What did Ms. Baile see?  She told Deputy Kelly that "four masked men, two black, two white, busted through the door pointing their guns at us and telling us to give them everything we had."

Another contradiction.  Mr. Snelson has two males (one white, one black) entering the room, demanding money, tossing the room, and taking the cash, a phone, and two puppies.  Ms. Baile has four males entering the room at once (two white, two black) toss the room, take her cash and the two puppies.

Let's see if we can make sense of these mutually contradictory stories that make each statement not credible.

First, Mr. Phillips is woken up by Mr. Hoffmann, according to Mr. Gann's statement.  But, Mr. Gann has Mr. Hoffmann being escorted to Mr. Phillips' bedroom by one of the intruders.  As he told Deputy Kelly, "They took Brandon into Nates room...and made him get on the floor."

Mr. Phillips's claimed that he was woken up by an unnamed person that Deputy Kelly wrote was Mr. Phillips' "brother's friend."  Mr. Phillips does not describe this person as being escorted into his room.  Deputy Kelly did not bother to decipher who this "brother's friend" actually was.

Second, Mr. Hoffman claimed he was lying face down on the floor the whole time with a gun to his head, near the front door, presumably in the living room.  If Mr. Hoffmann's statement is true, he could not possibly have been taken to wake up Mr. Phillips in the latter's bedroom.

Third, the only victim who claimed that he was able to walk around the house un-escorted by an armed intruder was Mr. Phillips.  Mr. Phillips claimed that after being woken up by his "brother's [unidentified] friend" that he walked into the living room and laid down "until they left."  But, his claim is contradicted by Mr. Gann's statement that an intruder "staid [sic] at the door with Nate and myself at gun point."

Well, if Mr. Phillips is on the floor in his bedroom, presumably at gun point, how did he manage to walk sight unseen through the house and lay down in the living room?

Fourth, if Mr. Phillips walked into the living room, and if the living room is close enough to the front door that both Mr. Hoffmann and Mr. Mason could get off the couch to answer the doorbell, then why didn't Mr. Phillips see Mr. Hoffmann and Mr. Mason?  Why didn't Mr. Hoffmann and Mr. Mason report seeing Mr. Phillips come into the probable living room? And, since both Mr. Hoffmann and Mr. Mason were being held at gun point, why wasn't Mr. Phillips also held at gun point?

Fifth, Mr. Snelson, cuddling up with his girlfriend Ms. Davis in bed, saw only two males enter the bedroom with guns--one white and one Black.  Ms. Davis, in the same bedroom, saw four males enter the room with guns--two white and two Black.

If Ms. Davis's statement is correct, four intruders are in her bedroom while cuddling with Mr. Snelson.

That leaves only one armed intruder guarding Mr. Hoffmann and Mr. Mason near the front door.

But, Mr. Gann reported that one armed intruder was guarding him and Mr. Phillips.

Mr. Gann also reported that "they," meaning two or one armed intruders, went to go get Mr. Phillips.

So, Ms. Davis's statement cannot possibly be correct in terms of how many armed intruders burst into the bedroom she shared with Mr. Snelson.

If Mr. Hoffmann's statement is correct, he and Mr. Mason, were in a room near the front door, presumably a living room which is quite common in American homes, with a gun to his head and never saw Mr. Phillips walking around and laying down on the floor.

This all sounds like a hastily constructed six-part story of a robbery in which every narrative contradicts another narrative.

The only thing that matched the story was that the two puppies were stolen and two puppies were found in the suspects' car.

Concluding Observation

Out of all these mutually contradictory stories, the Escambia Sheriff's Office and the State Attorney's Office brought "home invasion robbery with a deadly weapon" against four suspects.

There was no trial by jury with a cross-examination of the witnesses.  All the hearings were conducted by deposition--no doubt smoothed out to sound credible, since their initial stories are a hodgepodge of contradictions.  Their credibility was never put to the test.  In fact, given the quality of at least two of the defense firms involved in the case, it is difficult to believe that the six alleged victims' testimony would not have fallen apart on the witness stand.

My source told me that Mr. Russell took the "no contest" plea to a reduced charge of aggravated assault because he did not want to take his chances with an all-white jury.  My source told me that Mr. Russell had never entered the house; neither had Mr. Ranaldson. Both Mr. Russell and Mr. Ranaldson had merely gone along with the three others to get some marijuana. They did not learn of the robbery until the three white men came out of the house with the two puppies and told them they had robbed the house.  At the first available moment, Mr. Russell and Mr. Ronaldson exited the get-away vehicle and walked on foot away from the real criminals in this case.  Their exiting the vehicle is corroborated by Mr. Phillips' statement to the Sheriff's Office that he observed one or more persons exiting the get-away vehicle he was following.

Mr. Russell had no need to rob anyone.  According to his 2013 W-2 form from the Grocery Outlet where he worked as a stock clerk, he earned $10,848.22.  He was also working for a delivery business.  He had graduated high school one year behind his class because of an earlier injury in a car accident that kept him out of school.  Mr. Russell had graduated with mostly As and Bs from the S.L. Jones Christian Academy.  He had already been accepted to Pensacola State College where he was going to train to become an air conditioning and coolant technician.

Mr. Demontre Russell graduating from S.L. Jones Christian Academy

For some unknown reason, Mr. Rowell, from an apparently well-off family involved in unknown business dealings, but retaining the notable Boyles & Boyles business law firm, and hiring a top notch criminal law firm, Morris Parnell & Ellis, was able to get a sweetheart deal based on his family's money and possible connections.  He was sentenced as a youth offender, given a modest restitution penalty, and probation and community supervision.

What is fairly clear is that Mr. Rowell was given a sweetheart deal by Escambia Sheriff's Office and the State Attorney's Office in exchange for convicting the two Black suspects who, at worst, were accessories to a crime they did not know was occurring.  One of the suspects, Mr. Tyler Raley, did not identify Mr. Russell.  And, despite the fact that Mr. Rowell claimed that Mr. Ranaldson's Florida driver's license had been left at his house because Mr. Ranaldson had visited Mr. Raley, the latter never mentioned Mr. Ranaldson.

His lesser-well off defendants were not so fortunate.  Despite pleading "no contest" to a reduced charge of "aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill," Mr. Russell and Mr. Ranaldson, both Black, were given five years in prison.  Coming before the very same judge, Chief Judge Terry D. Terrell, they were never offered the opportunity to make restitution to the alleged victims.  Mr. Raley, an indigent client, pleaded guilty to "home invasion robbery with a firearm (without discharge). He has a five-year prison sentence.  He was not offered the opportunity to plead to a lesser charge and make restitution.

This was a sweetheart deal in order to convict two Black suspects.  Both of these suspects have family ties to Mr. Doug Baldwin Sr. who is now running for Sheriff.

Tell me that this did not figure into the equation.