By Levy County Sheriff, Johnny Smith

What Happens After an Arrest

Hi everyone and welcome back to the Sheriff's Corner. The time immediately after arrest, first appearance and then moved into the defenses motion to discover. Many people tell us that the time after arrest up to the time right before testimony and depositions seems to drag. That it seems like nothing is going on. As you can see quite a bit happens behind the scene between many agencies.

Now let's get into the very important phase. When the prosecution "takes testimony" and the defense sends out their subpoenas for depositions. Both testimony and depositions are taken under oath with the deposition also using a court reporter. The defense attorney conducts the deposition with a state attorney present. Testimony is usually given at the State Attorney's office and is hosted by the State Attorney.

The State Attorney also sends the "maximum plea offer" with conditions. This means the defense is basically told that the State Attorney is going for the maximum. An example would be; we arrest for possession of cocaine. If the offender has not been arrested before, they would receive drug offender probation, drug testing, court costs and fees, and drug evaluation and counseling. At the same time law enforcement, that is the investigating/arresting agency can send an affidavit to the court showing the investigation hours, the wage/hours for the officers along with a transcript of the case. Generally speaking, if the guidelines score less than 40 the offender gets probation. If the score is more than 40, jail time is in order. 

As you can see, law enforcements participation in cases is most intense at the reporting of the crime, the investigation and preparation for prosecution. Once the case goes to the State Attorney's Office or once the arrest is made, our participation lessens. We maintain contact with the prosecuting attorney, investigate additional case leads and prepare to testify in deposition and at trial if necessary.

Sometimes it becomes frustrating for the victim of crimes to see the offender get arrested and then get out of jail. Sometimes it's tough for us to see also. However, what is happening has to do with people's rights. Our agency must always respect and protect these rights.

I'd like to use the second half of this weeks Corner to start a unit on the sexual offender situation in our county, our state and to a degree our nation. There have been a number of cases recently involving sexual offenders who have violently, heinously and with total disregard for life, kidnapped and killed their victims. And as a result our entire sexual offender protocol is being looked at and may ultimately be changed. So I felt that this might be a good time to give you some facts about our Florida Sex Offender Laws.

I will identify and define "Sexual Predators and Sexual Offenders. We will talk about the qualifying offenses for someone to be designated a sexual offender or a sexual predator. We'll also talk about the registration requirements as well as law enforcements responsibilities once an offender or predator enters our community. And we'll talk about the implications for the many areas of our community that have offenders or predators. 

Crimes on the Elderly

 I'd like to talk to you about elderly crime. Specifically domestic mistreatment and financial abuse.

First, let's take a look at financial abuse or financial exploitation of the elderly. Actually, two Florida Statutes cover the various types of abuse that law enforcement and other professionals see. Chapter 415, covers protection for abuse, neglect and exploitation of adults and the many situations that face adults as they approach their later years. Chapter 825 specifically addresses abuse, neglect and exploitation of elderly persons and disabled adults.

Your Sheriff's office investigates these cases but I believe that there are many more people being abused, neglected and exploited than what is being reported. I remember an old figure that said one in ten cases get reported to law enforcement. I think that some definitions will shed some light on this terrible crime. First, " Caregiver". This means a person who has been entrusted with or has assumed the responsibility for frequent and regular care or for the services to a vulnerable adult. This isn't the entire definition but the key words entrusted, responsibility and vulnerable make up the focus of this title.

Next, exploitation and its definition covers a huge area in elderly abuse. Exploitation includes breaches of fiduciary relationships such as the misuse of a power of attorney or the abuse of guardianship duties, resulting in the unauthorized appropriation, sale or transfer of property; next, the unauthorized taking of personal assets; third, misappropriation, misuse, or transfer of monies belonging to a vulnerable adult from a personal or joint account. Lastly, intentional or negligent failure to effectively use a vulnerable adults income and assets for the necessities required that for that person's support and maintenance.

This is a terrible crime with far reaching effects. Next week I'll tell you some of the clues to financial elderly abuse. As always, if you have questions or suspect that a crime has been committed, give us a call or Crime Stoppers at 1-877-349-8477. 

Suicide

Hello, welcome to the Sheriff's Corner. I've chosen suicide to be this week's topic. I know that talking about suicide is unpleasant at best. However, due to the fact that your Sheriff's Office is responsible for investigating this type of incident, I felt a responsibility to get out some facts and tell you all a little about what we do when called upon to investigate this truly devastating situation.

At this time, Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in our country. Incredibly, it is also the third leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 15 and 24. It is estimated that 1500 Americans attempt suicide everyday. 86 of these are successful. This means that for every suicide, there are eight to twenty-five attempts. Also, rates vary with age with the highest being among Americans 64 year of age and older. Of these men represent 84 percent.

Since January of 2002, we have investigated 113, threatened, attempted, suspected attempts and actual suicides. This is very concerning. Each and every one requires and receives a full investigation. If the suicide occurs and the person dies, the investigation is very much like a homicide or murder investigation. We feel we have to answer every question about the incident. If the suicide fails, the investigation changes to include making sure the victim recovers and help them receive the necessary treatment so there won't be further attempts.

We also feel that staying available for the families of suicide victims can help to some degree in closure and coming to terms with loss and grief. Helping to answer questions that come to mind can help clear up confusion as to foul play versus the suicide.

Someone who is anticipating taking their life sometimes give off clues to these intentions. Some may actually state their intentions, others are more subtle saying things like, "I'm tired of life, my family would be better off without me, nobody needs me anymore, I won't be kicked around anymore, or I have nothing left to care for." Of course there are other possible signs, personal things special to the person.

Please, if our office can assist, give us a call. If we don't know the answer, we do know where to look for information. 

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