Sanford cops wanted to charge Zimmerman in Trayvon Martin case

Sanford cops asked prosecutors to file charges in the Trayvon Martin case, but the Seminole County State Attorney’s office held off.

State Attorney Norman R. Wolfinger Seminole County State Attorney’s Office

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Sanford rally for Trayvon Martin Monday, March 27

BY FRANCES ROBLES
[email protected]
SANFORD — Despite public claims that there wasn’t enough probable cause to make a criminal case in the Trayvon Martin killing, early in the investigation the Sanford Police Department requested an arrest warrant from the Seminole County State Attorney’s office, the special prosecutor in the case told The Miami Herald on Tuesday.

A Sanford Police incident report shows the case was categorized as “homicide/negligent manslaughter.”

The state attorney’s office held off pending further review, The Miami Herald has learned.

The Miami Gardens high school junior was killed Feb. 26 by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer. The 28-year-old insurance underwriter and college student was never charged, triggering a nationwide crusade on the dead teen’s behalf.

Asked to confirm that the police recommended a manslaughter charge, special prosecutor Angela Corey said: “I don’t know about that, but as far as the process I can tell you that the police went to the state attorney with a capias request, meaning: ‘We’re through with our investigation and here it is for you.’ The state attorney impaneled a grand jury, but before anything else could be done, the governor stepped in and asked us to pick it up in mid-stream.”

A capias is a request for charges to be filed.

The Seminole County State Attorney’s Office declined to comment on whether its prosecutors ever recommended against filing charges.

“If you go with what was reported in the press the first night, there would have been an arrest right away, but obviously something gave investigators pause,” said a source in the Seminole State Attorney’s office who did not want to speak publicly, because the case is now assigned to a different prosecutor. “We get capias warrants all the time. That doesn’t mean we file charges right away. We investigate to see if it’s appropriate. That’s the responsible thing to do.’’

The Seminole County State Attorney’s Office was consulted the night of Trayvon’s killing, but no prosecutor ever visited the scene. As the controversy intensified, Gov. Rick Scott replaced Seminole State Attorney Norm Wolfinger with Corey, the state attorney for Duval, Nassau and Clay counties, based in Jacksonville.

“The case now has a new state attorney, and they didn’t file charges the first day they got it, either,” the Seminole prosecutor who asked to remain anonymous said.

The development is in stark contrast to the statements repeatedly made by Bill Lee, the Sanford police chief who has since stepped aside and was lambasted for his handling of the case. Lee publicly insisted that there was no probable cause to arrest Zimmerman, leading many critics to say he came across more like a defense attorney for the security buff.

“Zimmerman provided a statement claiming he acted in self defense which at the time was supported by physical evidence and testimony,” Lee wrote in a memo posted on the city’s website. “By Florida Statute, law enforcement was PROHIBITED from making an arrest based of the facts and circumstances they had at the time.”

He cited the statute number for Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law, which provides immunity to people who kill someone in self defense.

Lee’s was criticized for his explanations, because many people thought he was bending over backward to protect the shooter based on the results of a shoddy investigation.

CLICK LINK FOR ZIMMERMAN’S STORY
http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/27/10894561-zimmerman-accused-of-domestic-violence-fighting-with-a-police-officer

TELECIA AND CHARLIE BLACKS ARE EXPECTING THEIR FIRST CHILD..CONGRATULATIONS AND MAY YOU HAVE A SAFE AND PERFECT DELIVERY

Psalm 10[a]

1 Why, LORD, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises.
3 He boasts about the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.
4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
5 His ways are always prosperous;
your laws are rejected by[b] him;
he sneers at all his enemies.
6 He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”
He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”

7 His mouth is full of lies and threats;
trouble and evil are under his tongue.
8 He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent.
His eyes watch in secret for his victims;
9 like a lion in cover he lies in wait.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless;
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
10 His victims are crushed, they collapse;
they fall under his strength.
11 He says to himself, “God will never notice;
he covers his face and never sees.”

12 Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.
13 Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
“He won’t call me to account”?
14 But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked man;
call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
that would not otherwise be found out.

16 The LORD is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.
17 You, LORD, hear the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror.

CURTIS CAMPBELL, STAR Writer

Children wait in line to play in the bouceabout at the Vassell’s Christmas Treat held at Pier One, Montego Bay, St James, back in 2009. – File

The owner of popular entertainment venue Pier 1 in Montego Bay, St James, has dispelled allegations that the venue was sold to an anonymous Caucasian buyer. According businessman and owner of the venue, Jason Russell, the allegations are baseless.

“I have heard just like everybody else that a white man came with papers to claim Pier 1, but I haven’t seen any white man and I am here every day,” he said.

Russell revealed that he was told that the rumour started via Blackberry broadcasts, and the source of the rumour is yet to be traced.

“I did not have no service on my Blackberry at the time so a people call mi and a tell mi. I don’t know where it started from and who is behind it, I was just told that it was being broadcast on BBM. As far as I can attest, no white man came here and no police came here to investigate nothing,” he said.

Russell expressed that there was no interest to sell the venue, and for the Pier 1 management team, it was business as usual.

“It is amazing to see how something that has no fact can spread so fast. I don’t know if this was a prank on me, all I know is what I heard … people are saying it was a scam, but I haven’t seen no white man, for us it is business as usual,” he said.

The businessman also rubbished further allegations that local police officers seized the venue since the rumours began to spread.

“They say police seized the premises, and I want to state that it’s false. I haven’t even reported the matter because I don’t have anything to report. A police officer asked me about the rumour once and that was it,” he said.

Russell also disclosed that business was not affected by the rumour, adding that any publicity in entertainment is good publicity.

“Everybody has been talking about Pier 1 for the past week or so since the rumour. I have not noted any negative impact in sales, it’s the same business … a man scamming, a white man is doing nothing to harm business for me,” he said.

The businessman was not quick to rule out the possibility of a plot by others to defame his business, and he laments that it’s not wise to believe everything others say.

“I am not going to rule out competitors, anything is possible in this business. The lesson from this story is that people should not believe everything that they hear, trust me, I learnt from this experience,” he said.

The next major event scheduled for Pier 1 is World Clash on April 9, 2012, featuring local and international sound systems.

*************NOW MI NEVA KNOW SEH STAR CAN DO INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING? YESSIDEH WHEN DEM PUT INA DEM FRONT PAGE HOW CLUB OWNER’S WIFE BEAT’S EMPLOYEES AND ALL QUOTE POLICE BOUT POLICE A GO MEK ARREST TODEH …WITHOUT SPEAKING TO THE POLICE FI POLICE TELL DEM SEH NO EMPLOYEE WAS BEATEN, TWO YOUNG LADIES ENGAGED IN A FIGHT AND BOTH FILED REPORTS…THERE WAS A DISCREPANCY WITH A PATRON WHERE DRINK WAS SPILLED AND A FIGHT ENSUED FROM THERE WITH TWO LADIES…WHO BOTH SUSTAINED INJURIES..DEM GO AS FAR AS FI SEH DESIGNATED ROOM DID DEH DEH…DEM NUH CUDDA CALL DI BIG BIG SOCIALITE DARREN VIRTUE AND QUESTION HIM OR CALL DI CLUB ITSELF…YET DEM PUT PAN BIG FRONT PAGE HOW EMPLOYEES GET BEATEN WITHOUT CONFIRMATION BUT DEM FIND DEM WAY A PIERE 1 FI CONFIRM STORY DOE? STRUPS************************