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I S S U E

M A Y

2 0 1 4

A Message From the State Attorney

Every single day we
hear of people being victimized on the First
Coast. These victims are
young, old, black, white,
male and female. Crime
does not know gender or
age! Anyone can become a victim of crime, at
any time of the day or
night. In the Safety Tips

section of The SAO Sidebar, our investigators

have compiled a few tips
for you and your loved
ones to follow in order to
stay safe. Please take a
moment to look at the tips
and as always, God
Bless.
~ Angela

Pulled From The Headlines

Thousands of people
become a victim of fraud
each year in the Northeast
Florida area. Our prosecutors see cases all of the
time where young people
and senior citizens are
taken advantage of by
criminals.
One of the SAOs most
recent cases dealt with the
theft of $250,000. The
Nassau County case
made headlines across
the state. Assistant State
Attorney Steve Siegel convicted Furman Otis Clark,
Jr., 65, on a charge
of Organized Fraud
($50,000 or more), which
is a first degree felony.
In January 2008, Clark
convinced the two couples
he had developed a friend-

ship with that he would

provide them with guaranteed investment returns if they invested their
money in several real estate land development
projects. Instead of developing the land projects, Clark took the victims money for his personal benefit. Over the
course of a year, Clark
stole $250,000 from the
victims.
The Florida Office of
Financial Regulation assisted the SAO in this
case. I am pleased that
justice has been served
in this case, said Commissioner Drew J. Breakspear. I thank the Office
of the State Attorney and

our partners in law enforcement for helping protect Floridians and ensuring that these types of
criminals are prosecuted.
Clark was recently sentenced to 20 years in prison for the crime. He has
also been ordered to pay
the victims $250,000 in
restitution.
The SAO is dedicated
to cracking down on
these
criminals
and keeping the
citizens of
the Fourth
Judicial
Circuit
FurmanOtisClark,
safe.
Jr.

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 4

PAGE 2

Justice Promised, Justice Delivered

Furman O. Clark, Jr.

was sentenced to 20 years
in prison for Schemes to
Defraud. ~ASA Steve
Siegel

Shasta N. Stewart was

convicted of Grand Theft.
~ASAs Dustin Nemati and
Joel Cooper

Leon Bullard was found

guilty of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree,
Aggravated Battery, and
Possession of a Firearm by
a Convicted Felon. ~ASAs
Peter Overstreet and Mai
Tran

Terrell J. Reed was sentenced to life in prison for

First Degree Felony Murder, Attempted Armed
Robbery, and Tampering
with Evidence. ~ASAs David Thompson and Pam
Hazel
Jamichea Ziegler was
convicted of Attempted
Murder in the Second Degree and Possession of a
Firearm by a Convicted
Felon. ~ASAs Brittany Mauerberger and Janeen Kirch
Joseph T. Jackson was
found guilty of Robbery.
~ASAs Mark Hulsey and
Leah Daza

Michael W. Morris was

sentenced to minimum
mandatory life in prison
for Murder in the First
Degree. ~ASAs Mark
Caliel and Jessica Garcia

John M. Guidry pleaded

guilty to two counts of
Lewd or Lascivious Molestation. ~ASAs Catherine Licandro and Richard Giglio

Bernard White, Jr.

was convicted of Armed
Robbery and Kidnapping
with a Firearm. ~ASA
Coreylyn Crawford

Hearings and Cheerings

In honor of Aprils Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the State Attorneys
Office participated in the University of North Floridas annual Walk a Mile
event. UNFs Womens Center recently hosted the event to help raise awareness of the severity and frequency of sexual assault against women. The event
also took time to honor and remember those who have fallen victim to sexual
attacks.

During the event, men walked a mile along an outlined course in womens
high-heeled shoes. Community agencies had informational booths available for
faculty and students about recourses associated with sexual assault intervention and prevention. Staff from the SAO took part in the event by educating
others about the work our office does and what services we offer to victims of
sexual assault.
SAOVictimAdvocate
ChaniOscavich

By participating in this event, we were able to help bring awareness to others

about sexual assault, which we ultimately believe will help reduce the number
of those who become victims of these attacks each year.

Special Acknowledgement Opportunity

PAGE 3

TheresaSimakhasbeen
partoftheSAOsince2003.
InSeptember2003,There
sawassworninasanASA
andwasassignedtoCounty
Court.Oneyearlater,she

ASATheresaSimak

Mr. Stamper
hopes that by
sharing his
story, people will
begin to see
things from a
victims
perspective and
realize that some
offenses, like the
one his son fell
victim to, should
not be taken so
lightly.

waspromotedtoCircuitCourt.
InApril2006,Theresatrans
ferredtotheSexualAssault
Division(SAD)andthenlater
transferredtoourClayCounty
office.

InMay2008,Theresare
turnedtoDuvalandwaslater
promotedasaDivisionChiefin
CircuitCourt.
In2010,shetransferredto
SADwhereshecurrentlyserves
asDivisionChief.

Victims Voice
In 2010, Bruce Stamper
received some of the worst
news a parent could ever
receive his son had been
the victim of an attack and
was severely injured.
Stampers son was an outstanding student at Paxon
School for Advanced Studies and an Eagle Scout. Unfortunately, his son had also
become a victim of bullying
by another student. The
bullying became more extreme as time went on and
eventually, it became physical. One afternoon, the other
student approached Stampers son and tried to pick a
fight with him. As the victim
tried to walk away, the bully
attacked him, punching him
several times in the head,
neck and face area. The
child was so severely injured

that he was hospitalized. The

blows the victim sustained
caused a tear in his carotid
artery, seizures, and neurologic injuries eventually
causing him to have a stroke.
Although there is nothing
that can be done to take back
what happened, Stamper
says that he is grateful for
how hard our office fought for
his sons rights as a victim.
Yiolanta Jones [the ASA assigned to the case] was extremely helpful throughout the
entire process.
Recently, Stamper shared
his story with members of the
City Council in regards to issuing Civil Citations. He
strongly believes that civil
citations should not be issued
when there is a victim involved. He said he has seen
the types of violent crimes

that juveniles are committing and how they do not

seem to be remorseful for
committing them. The way
I saw these kids talking to
their parents and other authorities was so disrespectful. He said he has seen
too many juveniles that
have been given a second
chance by not being arrested continue to commit
crimes that you would think
only an adult would commit.
Mr. Stamper hopes that
by sharing his story, people
will begin to see things
from a victims perspective
and realize that some offenses, like the one his son
fell victim to, should not be
taken so lightly.

Off The Record

(FOP).
By the end of the night,
ney Aaron Feuer recently competed in the the score was tied 7-7,
Guns n Hoses charity leaving Aarons fight to
be the tiebreaker. Altboxing match. Aaron
hough Aaron fought tirewas the first ASA to
participate in the match, lessly through all three
representing the Frater- rounds, it was his opponent who was crowned
nal Order of Police
Assistant State Attor-

AaronFeuer(blue)during
GunsnHosesmatch

champion.
Regardless, we are
proud of all the time
and hard work that
Aaron put in and of
the phenomenal job
he did representing
the SAO!

PAGE 4

SafetyZone
Safety psforexercisinga erdark

S cktowelllitroutes.Thiswillhelpyouseeobstacleslikepotholesandhelpmotoristssee
you.

Wearlightcolored,reflec veclothing.Wearingdarkercolorsmakesitmoredicultfor
driverstoseeyou.

Carryaflashlightormakesureyourbicycleisequippedwithalight.

Leaveyourmusicathome.Becauseitishardertoseeatnight,youwanttomakesureyou
canuseallofyourothersenses.

Runorwalkingroupsifpossible.Thereissafetyinnumbers.

Setting the Record Straight

Whats the big difference - a
punch is just a punch, right?
Think again! Especially when
that punch is not returned.
While some would say an individual throwing a punch is just
a fight, the law actually labels
it as a victim crime Battery.
Theres been a lot of talk
lately about what is a fight and
a Battery. We hope to set the
record straight for you on the
differences of the two crimes.
In the Victims Voice section,
you read Bruce Stampers story. His son was beaten at
school which resulted in a
stroke. The Stamper story is
a prime example of what is
not a fight.
The law is complicated and
can be confusing for those
who are not trained to decipher it. Many times, people
do not realize there can be a

varying level to a crime. That

difference can bump up a
crime from a misdemeanor to a
felony. For example, some believe that an Affray, or what is
also known as a fight, is the
same thing as a Battery. In
actuality, the two crimes are
nothing alike.
An Affray is a mutual combatant situation. That means
two or more people are hitting
each other. But as in the
Stamper case, Stampers son
did not hit back. That is when
the crime escalates. If one
person is doing the hitting and
the other individual is not defending themselves or fighting
back, plain and simple that is a
Battery. In some instances if a
victim is hit first and strikes
back to defend themselves,
that victims actions may be
protected under Florida law as

www.sao4th.com

Justifiable Use of NonDeadly Force. The victims

actions could be an affirmative defense so prosecutors
must carefully review all of
the facts of these cases.
Remember, the crime of
Battery has a victim! And victims have constitutional
rights. They have a right to
consult with the State Attorneys Office prior to our decision on whether to file or divert charges or receive restitution such as medical bills,
eyeglass repairs, etc.
It should be noted that no
two cases are alike! That is
why the SAO reviews each
case individually and makes
the appropriate filing charge
or diversion decision based
on the facts and evidence.