DUI on a Golf Cart (and Fleeing!)

Alex Acevedo via CCSO

This week a Collier County man from Immokalee was arrested for drunk driving in a golf cart when deputies tried to pull him over. According to reports, Alex Acevedo saw the cops, pulled over, tossed a can out the side of his cart, and then sped off. He got to a nearby residence, tossed his cell phone to someone before being detained. Deputies indicate he smelled strongly of alcohol, had trouble maintaining his balance, and refused to do exercises. He was arrested and charged with DUI and Resisting an Officer.

Notably, Mr. Acevedo actually got lucky. He could have been charged with Fleeing, which is a felony. The golf cart is technically a vehicle, and he left the stop– fleeing does not require high speeds– so he could have been charged with a felony in addition to the misdemeanor resisting charge. That’s probably some fair discretion to leave it at DUI, it’s not like he was on a high speed frolic! Again, the attempt to get away from the original charge was worse than the underlying offense.

Apparently, fleeing in a golf cart is not that unusual. A couple years ago in Martin County, several men fled a stop. One of them ran onto a golf course, stole a cart from some golfers as they played, and continued to flee. As golf carts are not very fast, he was “immediately” captured by deputies and taken into custody. Newsweek covered that case, and cited several other recent occurrences. So, fleeing on a golf cart is not that rare, but I suspect escaping on one doesn’t happen very often.

Time and Again, the Cover Up Ends up Worse than the Underlying Offense

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office recently released aerial footage from this weekend, when a man fled from deputies, wrecked his stolen vehicle, and jumped off the Edison Bridge into the Caloosahatchee River. He survived the fall, and was fished out by deputies. The footage is dramatic.

LCSO says Bryan Gray was driving a van that had been stolen. Now, Grand Theft Auto is a third degree felony. In Florida, that has a maximum penalty of five years. However, unless someone’s record is really bad, it does not generally score out to mandatory prison time. Since Gray fled, he’s also facing charges of fleeing, with a high speed and property damage enhancement, adding on a second degree felony. That takes his maximum penalty up to 15 years, and greatly increases his scoresheet that could lead to a minimum permissible sentence that is more likely to require prison. Plus, his stunt landed him in a hospital and it could have been much worse.

Another case is exemplar of the coverup far exceeding the underlying offense. This week, Courtney Gainey was sentenced in the death of 14-year-old Allana Staiano. She pled out a few weeks ago to charges of Leaving the Scene of an Accident involving death- literally her crime was fleeing the scene. Had she stayed, it may have merely been an accident and a civil traffic ticket. As it is, she was charged with a first degree felony, exposing her to up to 30 years in prison. The charge carries a four-year mandatory minimum prison sentence, but the minimum was thrown out the window as the judge maxed her out at 30 years. It was suggested that she had been drinking that night, but even if she had been drinking to the point of impairment, a DUI Manslaughter is a less serious offense than leaving the scene. Dui causing death is a second degree felony, again with a maximum 15-year sentence. Her flight from the scene directly exposed her to twice as much time, and the notoriety of the case likely contributed to such a harsh sentence for a first time offense.

Once more the flight, or the cover-up, ends up being more serious than whatever offense one is trying to avoid.

Man Exposes Himself to a Woman trying to drink her Coffee

Florida gonna Florida. (It’s a verb now.) Man, you gotta respect someone when they need their cup of joe.

Jousua Echezarreta

Naples Police reported a man was pantsless and playing with himself when a woman came out on to her condo balcony to drink her coffee. He yelled up at her, insinuating that he had been watching or stalking her, then he laid down on a lounge chair and played with himself. Naples Police identified and arrested the suspect, Jousua Echezarreta, and charged him with exposure of sexual organs, loitering, resisting and officer and stalking. Creepy.

 

Man Jumps in Canal to Flee, Gets Arrested on the Other Side

Shawn Gilligan

A local man tried running from the cops, only to end up getting arrested in addition to being wet. According to NBC-2, Shawn Gilligan was allegedly driving a car when a deputy attempted to stop him for running a stop sign. He fled, ended up on a dead-end drive, where he got out and ran. He came across a canal and jumped in, trying to escape. It didn’t work, and he was arrested by deputies on the other side. He ended up having to be taken to a hospital.

It’s worth noting, the deputy initially was stopping him for a mere infraction- for which he would have gotten a ticket. Now he’s facing multiple criminal charges, including felony charges. Any jumping into a canal in Florida is dangerous… he’s lucky it didn’t turn out much worse.

DUI on a Golf Cart, and the Suspect Growled at Cops, and much, much more

Parks Thornton Terry

Parks Terry, of St. Louis, Missouri, got WAY out of control on his recent Florida Keys vacation. It started out pretty typically: he had too much to drink and passed out in his vehicle. Being that he was on vacation in Key Largo, his vehicle was a golf cart. He was in town visiting his elderly mother. When he was awoken by a public safety officer, he drove off on the cart, weaving all over the road, first waving at the officer, and then flipping him off. It went downhill from there.

Terry got back to his mom’s house and locked the door. One of the public safety officers tried to force his way into the house, and Terry’s mother barricaded the door by leaning up against it, while Terry laid down and pushed it with his feet. Another officer entered through another door, and was attacked by Terry. As more officers and deputies responded, they ultimately attempted to taser Terry, who grabbed the stun gun. Deputies say that he was tacked, and growled at them like a dog, while rubbing his face on broken glass on the floor.

It several people to finally cuff Terry. They carried him out and placed him in the back of the patrol car, where he continued to lash out. He kicked the door and broke the handle and the window switch. He yelled obscenities at the deputy the whole ride to the substation, which was on a whole other island, Plantation Key, some 40 minutes or more away, with a pit stop at the hospital. Deputies report Terry suffered a dislocated shoulder at some point during the altercation. He is facing charges for Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer, Resisting with Violence, Fleeing, Criminal Mischief, and a DUI. All of those except the DUI are felonies.

It appears that the officers other than the deputies may be sworn officers. If they are merely security officers privately employed, Terry’s aggression toward them would not be protected like the deputies’. For instance, battery on a security guard wouldn’t qualify for the law enforcement enhancement, and fleeing is only a crime if a vehicle flees a sworn law enforcement officer. They may be sworn officers, but it’s uncertain. The DUI and fleeing charges can occur in any vehicle, so it would not be a defense for Terry that he was driving a golf cart, as we’ve seen before. Even if it was a sweet red custom job-golf cart! This appears to be the first DUI we’ve covered on a golf cart… congrats, Terry!

Hopefully some pictures and/or video will come out from this incident, and we’ll be sure to share them here.

Alleged Cop-Killer Desmaret Indicted for First Degree Murder

Wisner Desmaret

A grand jury has returned an indictment for First Degree Murder against Wisner Desmaret, the man accused of killing FMPD Officer Adam Jobbers-Miller. A grand jury indictment is a necessary step in Florida to proceed on First Degree Murder charges, and may be the next step toward the state seeking the death penalty. The grand jury found evidence that he killed Jobbers-Miller with premeditated design or in the course of committing a violent felony (resisting an officer with violence), in addition to additional charges of Resisting with Violence, Robbery, Depriving an Officer of Means of Protection, Attempted Murder and Aggravated Assault on other officers, and Burglary and Grand Theft. The police report indicates that Wisner, a former boxer, knocked Jobbers-Miller down, took his gun, and shot him in the head while he was still on the ground. He then fired at two other officers, one of whom shot Desmaret before he was taken into custody.

Desmaret is set for arraignment on August 27, though that may be moved up, since the indictment has been filed. Chief Assistant State Attorney Amira Fox was the prosecutor who obtained the indictment, and will likely be handling the case.

Florida Man Dances Naked through Fire, Attacks Officers

John Hennessey

Naked Florida Man stories are going to become passé before long. This time, John Hennessey was found completely naked, holding a knife while chanting and dancing around a fire. At one point, he actually stood in the fire, chanting gibberish all the time. He had allegedly broken a window of a home and tried to set a vehicle on fire. Officers tried to rescue him, and he dropped the knife but then allegedly grabbed a large stick that he used to assault officers. Cape officers were able to use a Taser to subdue him, and he was arrested and taken for treatment before being booked. There were indications he had taken psychedelic mushrooms prior to the incident. He’s facing charges of Aggravated Assault (X2), Criminal Mischief, Resisting with Violence, and an additional count of Aggravated Assault on a law enforcement officer.

 

Hennessey, via DOC

Hennessey is already on Community Control (which is like house arrest) for several charges out of Levy county, including drugs and aggravated assault. This reminds me of the crazy naked guy from North Fort Myers from a few years ago. This is the second naked man story in Florida in just a few weeks…

Florida Man Hides Legless Fugitive Girlfriend in Plastic Tote

Krystle Anerson

Krystle Lee Anderson lost her legs after she used a BB gun to hold some people hostage, resulting in a shootout with law enforcement that caused her disability. That didn’t keep her from getting into trouble, as she failed to appear in court on the armed kidnapping and assault charges that stemmed from her Burger King shootout in 2015. Law enforcement got a tip that she was hiding at the Winter Haven home of her boyfriend, John Carr Jr.

John Robert Carr Jr.

When marshals arrived at his home, Carr claimed that she wasn’t in the home, but one of the officers knew better: he saw Carr through the window as he stuffed Anderson into a plastic storage container. Officers located her and took her into custody. Carr was also charged with resisting arrest/obstruction of justice. Florida doesn’t have a specific law against harboring a fugitive, but he could be charged as an accessory after the fact, which would be a felony. Anderson faces life in prison for her charges.

Don’t Jump in the River when the Cops are Looking for You

Konstantinos Georgiou Mug Shot

Once again, the cover-up/aftermath was worse than the crime. Konstantinos Georgiou fled from the scene of a crash. He tried to commandeer a couple of people’s vehicles, before jumping off the bridge and into the Caloosahatchee River to evade officers. The marine units finally caught up to him, clinging to the bridge supports, and had to take him to the hospital.

The sad irony here is that the crash itself was not a crime, leaving the scene of the crash is only a misdemeanor… but trying to break into other peoples’ cars is a serious felony. Reports indicate he actually fought with the occupants of at least one vehicle, which makes the offense a Burglary with Battery, a Punishable by Life Felony (or PBL). His escape attempt is likely to land him in prison for many years; while the initial offense was relatively minor. He was lucky that officers located him and saved him from the river, it could have ended a lot worse after jumping off the bridge!

UPDATE: It’s extra dangerous to jump in the water in Florida, he wouldn’t have been the first to get caught by an alligator: https://crimcourts.wordpress.com/2013/05/09/man-flees-cops-is-caught-by-alligator/

UPDATE 2: The News-Press spoke to a witness who indicates that the suspect did run down to where the bridge gets closer to the water before he jumped in. (Also, photos added)

Caloosahatchee Bridge, from the Fort Myers River District, looking North

St. Pete Beach Arrest Video Goes Viral

Cop Tackles Unruly Beachgoer, from video by Darrell Tate

Spring breaker Darrell Tate caught some dramatic video this weekend on St. Pete beach, as two spring breakers were violently arrested by a cop. The video doesn’t show what initiated the contact by the deputy, but it does show both young men resisting. The officer does not draw a weapon, using only his hands, and is able to subdue both of the suspects. They have both been charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, a felony.

I’m not big into wrestling, but apparently the deputy’s move is called a ‘choke slam’. He’s a big dude. The whole experience must have been scary for the cop, in spite of his size. Don’t fight cops, kids.