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V O L U M E

SPECIAL
POINTS OF
INTEREST:
A message
from the
State Attorney
Recent SAO
trial victories

2 ,

I S S U E

Tips for parents on leaving your kid

home alone

J U N E

2 0 1 4

A Message From the State Attorney

Summer is right around the
corner and that means kids
are out of school! While kids
are excited about the freedom, parents now have the
task of deciding what to do
with their children during the
summer months.
While younger children
need constant supervision,
some parents will allow their
teenagers to stay home alone
while they are at work. If a

parent chooses to give their

teens a little more independence, there are some things
every mom and dad should
consider. On page four of the
newsletter, you will find a list
of tips from SAO Investigators on what parents can do
to keep their kids safe when
they are home alone.
God bless and stay safe!
~Angela

The Rebuttal

Featured
SAO employee

With all of the talk about Juvenile Drug Court (JDC) lately, it is
unfortunate that only some of the
information about this program
has been reported by the media. What you may not realize is
that in order for a juvenile to be
sent to JDC, the juvenile must
be arrested. An arrest is required so the case can be
tracked through the Clerk of the
Courts because the JDC is funded by a federal grant.
Although some special interest
groups publicly support nonarrest methods, these same individuals are now claiming to be
upset that more juveniles have
not been sent to JDC. The SAO
routinely diverts juvenile drug
cases to the appropriate diversion program, which may include
JDC, but the SAO will not arrest
a juvenile just so we can send
the juvenile to JDC because the
SAO is committed to using nonarrest methods when appropriate
in juvenile cases. That is why
juveniles are routinely sent to
other diversion programs by the
SAO which also provide sub-

stance abuse treatment and do

not require an arrest.
It is important to note that the
SAO is not the only party responsible for requesting a case be
sent to JDC. In fact, Florida law
states that the juveniles defense
attorney, the court and the SAO
can request a referral to JDC in
certain cases.
Last year, court administration,
judges and members of the Public Defenders Office (PDO) met
to discuss how to send more juveniles to JDC. The PDO and
court administration agreed to
review cases and send the SAO
information on cases which were
appropriate for JDC. Seven
months after that meeting, the
SAO still has not received information on potential cases from
the PDO or court administration.
This year-long program requires the juvenile and his or her
parents to be in court several
times a month. As a result, many
juveniles and their parents decline to accept the rigorous drug
court offer due to the fact they
can receive a shorter sentence

based upon a recommendation

by the Department of Juvenile
Justice that is usually much
more compatible with the
schedules of working parents.
In addition, in 2009, the
SAOs juvenile division opened
6,184 cases. In 2013, that
number dropped to 3,226. This
also contributed to the drop in
referrals, and it should be noted
that last year nearly half of the
cases the SAO referred to JDC
were rejected by JDC.
Some have claimed the SAO
refuses to send cases to drug
court diversion, but this is simply not true. Juveniles who have
already received an opportunity
at Diversion are generally not
referred to the drug court diversion program. However, the
SAO does make exceptions to
this in appropriate cases. You
can read more about those cases and the JDC on our website
www.sao4th.com.

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 6

PAGE 2

Justice Promised, Justice Delivered

William H. Davis, III was

convicted of two counts of
Armed Robbery. ~ASAs
Vanessa Albaum and Janeen
Kirch
Labarfield Bryant, Jr.
was found guilty of Burglary
(Dwelling). ~ASAs Sandra
Rosendale and Mark Hulsey
Sandy V. Alston was sentenced to life in prison for
Sexual Battery on a Child
Under 12, Child Abuse, and
Sexual Battery on a Child
Over 12. ~ASA Terence
Martin
Terry L. Dixon was convicted of Accessory After
the Fact. ~ASAs Vanessa

Albaum and Janeen Kirch

Joe L. Kemp was found

guilty of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.
~ASAs Aaron Feuer and
Brett Mereness
Richard S. Pearson, III
was convicted of Murder in
the First Degree. ~ASAs Brian Brady and Joel Cooper
Tawana L. Harvey was
found guilty of Murder in the
Second Degree. ~ASAs Peter Overstreet and Garrett
Hill
Mark Salameh was found
guilty of Robbery. ~ASAs
Mai Tran and Cyrus
Zomorodian

Tirell A. Cross was sentenced to 12 years in prison

for DUI Manslaughter.
~ASA Lee Smith

Zavon D. Taylor was

convicted of Armed Carjacking. ~ASAs Vanessa Albaum and Tim Miller

Karium Hammond was

found guilty of Burglary
(Occupied Dwelling).
~ASAs Sandra Rosendale
and Ashley Young

Yvonne M. Johnson was

sentenced to three years in
prison for three counts of
Criminal Use of Personal
Identification. ~ASAs Joe
Licandro and Jacob McCrea

Hearings and Cheerings

Each year, our community comes together on Police Memorial Day to honor and pay
tribute to the law enforcement officers who have lost their lives while protecting this community. In May, the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office (JSO) held their Police Memorial Day service, which included the Presentation of Colors, 21 Gun Salute and a flyover by JSOs aviation unit, to honor the 60 JSO officers who have died in the line of duty since 1840. The
Clay County Sheriffs Office (CCSO) and the Nassau County law enforcement agencies also held memorial services to pay tribute to the fallen officers within their agencies.
In addition to attending the ceremonies, the SAO also shows support by
wearing blue C.O.P.S. ribbons, which stand for Concerns Of Police Survivors. We strongly support the work of all of our law enforcement agencies
and appreciate the relationships that we have built working alongside
them. We believe it is important to honor these brave men and women for
their dedication and commitment to helping keep this community safe.

Special Acknowledgement Opportunity

PAGE 3

PatJoneshasbeenpartof

theSAOsinceNovember
2007.
In2007,Patwashiredasa
SwitchboardOperator.She
thenbecameanIntakeClerk
inourDiversionDivision.

PatriciaJones

While we knew
that these
victims could
never fully
overcome what
they suffered, we
fought our
hardest to put
this defendant
away so that
these victims
would not live in
fear of this
defendant any
longer.

Patsinfectioussmileand
pleasantdispositionradiate
throughouttheofficeasshe
greetsthewalkinsanddiver
sionprogramparticipants.

InthefewyearsthatPathas
beenhereattheSAO,shehas
madeanimpressiononmany
peoplebothinsideandoutside
thisofficebyworkinghardand
alwayshavingapositiveattitude.

Victims Voice
Our number one priority
at the SAO is to help seek
justice for our victims here
in the Fourth Judicial Circuit. Being a victim of a
crime, especially a violent
one, is not something that
is easily overcome. In fact,
it is an experience that
many say affects them for
the rest of their lives. Knowing this, we try to do everything we possibly can in
order to help bring these
victims some closure and
peace of mind.
Recently, the 1st DCA
upheld the 1,000 year prison sentence for Arthur O.
Franklin, a Jacksonville
man who was convicted for
his brutal sexual attacks on
three women. In 1983,
Franklin, who was 17-years
-old at the time, committed
a series of acts in which he

kidnapped the victims, severely beat and raped them

and stole their belongings. In
1984, Franklin was found
guilty as charged on multiple
counts of Kidnapping, Robbery, Sexual Battery, and
Aggravated Assault a total
of 20 felony charges.
Each of the victims testified during the sentencing
hearing and it was clear to
see that this horrific experience had significantly affected them both physically and
mentally. The women explained that they now live in
fear because of the attack
and how this fear had
caused a tremendous
amount of strain on their
lives and relationships. One
of the victims even said that
she was permanently crippled from the attack.
Franklin was ultimately

Off The Record

DarrylBickley

Former SAO employee Darryl Bickley

stopped by the office
recently to visit his SAO
family.
Last year, Darryl
made the decision to
join the U.S. Navy,

which led him across the

county to Washington
State.
Darryl joined the SAO
in 2009 and worked as a
Clerk in the Felony Filing
Division.

sentenced to 1,000 years

in prison for his convictions, which he later appealed claiming that this
sentence was unconstitutional. After a review of the
case, the court agreed with
the State and affirmed the
1,000 year sentence.
While we knew that
these victims could never
fully overcome what they
suffered, we fought our
hardest to put this defendant away so that these victims would not live in fear
of this defendant any longer. We hope that this
courts decision will be able
to provide these victims
with the peace and closure
that theyve long needed.

We are grateful for all

the work that Darryl has
done for our office and
we support his courageous decision to become part of those that
protect our country.

PAGE 4

SafetyZone
Safety psforparentsonleavingkidshomealone

Whenleavingyourchildrenhomealone,itisimportanttoestablishasetofrulesandsafetyguide
linesforthemtofollow.Besuretocoverallareasfromfoodprepara ontohowtohandleanemer
gencysitua on.

Makesureyourchildrenunderstandyourexpecta onsforcheckingin,answeringphonesanddoors,
andtechnologyusage.Ideally,theyshouldnotanswerthephoneoropenthedoorunlessforatrusted
individual.Ul mately,stayinginsidewithallthedoorsandwindowslockedisthesafestsolu on.

Besurethatyourkidsareawareofwhereyouaregoingandwhoyouwillbewith.Itmaybeagood
ideatoalsoprovidethemwithalistoftheotherpar escontactnumbersincaseanemergencyarises.

Itisimportanttorememberthatevenwiththemostresponsiblechild,anaccidentcanoccur.Have
plentyofemergencysuppliesonhandandmakesurethelistofemergencycontactsiseasilyaccessi
ble.

Setting the Record Straight

There is a big misconception
out there that the State Attorneys Office just randomly releases documents to the media about a pending criminal
case. Nothing could be further
from the truth! We hope to
Set the Record Straight with
this article.
The SAO does not release
records unless there is what is
called a Public Records Request or PRR. In fact, the
SAO receives PRRs on a daily
basis. More than 1,000 Public
Records Requests are received each year. The number of PRRs has tripled since
2009. That number continues
to grow since more individuals
are becoming aware of their
right to access public records

in cases the SAO is handling.

In general, PRRs come from
area defense attorneys, inmates, the public, and members of the local and national
media.
You have no doubt seen stories in the news regarding the
thousands of cases this office
handles. Many times, the media will report The State Attorneys Office just released
these records about a specific
case. In actuality, the records
you are hearing or reading
about were not issued in a
random release by the SAO,
but instead the documents
were a response to a PRR.
The perception is the SAO
wanted the documents released when in fact, the SAO

www.sao4th.com

strives to preserve the integrity of every case we handle.

In fact, we would prefer the
information to just come out
at the appropriate time in the
courtroom. However, Chapter 119 of the Florida State
Statutes, which deals with
Public Records, mandates
the SAO to release public
records to the media when a
request is made.
So, the next time you hear
or read a media report on
new information in a SAO
case, please remember that
the information was
released in response to the
media filing a request for that
specific information.