The State Attorney Sidebar

V O L U M E

SPECIAL
POINTS OF
INTEREST:
A message
from the
State Attorney
Recent SAO
trial victories
Featured
SAO employee
Tips on how
to spot an
unlicensed
contractor

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I S S U E

1 1

S E P T E M B E R

2 0 1 4

A Message From the State Attorney

I am proud to tell you
that our team at the
State Attorneys Office
(SAO) doesnt just focus
on keeping this community safe! We are also
out in the community volunteering to raise awareness or money for special causes. Recently,
one of our prosecutors

took part in a rib eating

contest benefiting the
folks who care for
abused and neglected
children. You can read
more about the charity
and how our staff helped
them out on page two of
this newsletter.
God Bless! ~Angela

Pulled From The Headlines

We have said it over
and over - anyone can
be a victim of a crime.
Here at the State Attorneys Office, we often
see cases where a victim
was an innocent bystander. One of our
most recent trials proves
this point.
Assistant State Attorneys Mark Caliel and
John Cannizzaro recently
convicted Theodist Tyrone Richardson, 23, on
one count of Murder in
the First Degree, one
count of Murder in the
Second Degree, one
count of Attempted Murder in the First Degree,
six counts of Attempted
Murder in the Second
Degree, and one count of

Shooting or Throwing
Deadly Missiles.
In August 2011, Richardson and the victim,
Kenneth Curry, were involved in an argument at
a Prince Street apartment
complex. This altercation
stemmed from an earlier
argument over drugs in
which the defendant pistol whipped the victim.
During the second confrontation, a shootout occurred when Richardson
pulled out a gun and fired
19 times.
Curry was shot and
died at the scene. An innocent bystander, 19year-old Danielle Melton,
was shot and later died
as a result of her injuries.
Richardsons shots also

entered into a nearby

apartment where a 13month-old child was hit in
the head. Thankfully,
that child survived and
recovered from his injuries.
Richardson now faces
mandatory life in prison.
He will be sentenced in
October.

TheodistRichardson

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 11

PAGE 2

Justice Promised, Justice Delivered

Theodist T. Richardson
Rashane L. Jones was
was convicted of one count
convicted of three counts of
of Murder in the First DeAtt. Murder in the Second
gree, one count of Murder
Degree and one count
in the Second Degree, one
PFCF. ~ASA Jeff Moody
count of Att. Murder in the
Andrew S. Johnson was
First Degree, six counts of
found guilty and sentenced
Att. Murder in the Second
to 10 years for Traveling to
Degree, and one count of
Meet a Minor to do UnlawShooting or Throwing
ful Acts, Unlawful Use of a
Deadly Missiles. ~ASAs
Two-Way Communications
Mark Caliel and John CanDevice, and Solicitation of a
nizzaro
Child to Engage in Sexual
Aaron C. Davis was found
Conduct. ~ASAs Jonathan
guilty of Burglary (Dwelling).
Sacks and T.J. Bryant
~ASAs Leah Daza and Jessi Christopher M. Charles
ca Hensley
was convicted of Murder in
the Second Degree. ~ASAs Bernard White was sentenced to life in prison for
Matt Polimeni and Alan MizArmed Robbery and Kidrahi
napping with a Firearm.

~ASA Coreylyn Crawford

Sean T. Adams was

found guilty of Armed Robbery and PFCF. ~ASAs
Vanessa Albaum and Aaron
Feuer

Jamie L. Meekins was

convicted of Murder in the
Second Degree and PFCF.
~ASAs Peter Overstreet
and Collins Cooper

Charles C. Reeder, III

was found guilty of Murder
in the Second Degree.
~ASAs Janeen Kirch and
Garrett Hill

Kenneth Bicking, III was

convicted of Armed Sexual
Battery and Kidnapping with
a Weapon. ~ASAs Lee
Smith and Alan Mizrahi

Hearings and Cheerings

Recently, Assistant State Attorney Collins Cooper participated in the
Woodys Bar-B-Q Annual Spare Rib Eating Contest! Collins and the
other participants competed to see who could down the most ribs in five
minutes.
After the contest, attendees were invited to stay for the VIP Party,
which included a silent auction, raffles, music, and lots of delicious
BBQ!
All proceeds collected during this event went to benefit Healing
Hands the First Coast Child Protection Team, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing services for abused and neglected children
here on the First Coast.

PAGE 3

Special Acknowledgement Opportunity

RobertDemershasbeenpartof
theSAOfor29years!
InSeptember1985,Robertwas
hiredasaClerkinFileControl.Over
thenextseveralyears,heworked
inMFD,CountyCourt,andthe
ComputerDivision.In1995,he

RobertDemers

Beingableto

helpvic ms,
likeMr.
Aldridge,is
what
mo vatesusto
con nuetodo
theworkwedo
forour
vic ms.

waspromotedtoUnitSupervisorof
theComputerDivision.
RobertalsoworkedintheDrug
CourtandPreTrialRestitutiondivi
sionsandiscurrentlythesupervisor
ofFileControl.
InadditiontohisworkattheSAO,
RobertisaFloridaSupremeCourt

Mediatorcertifiedintheareasof
CountyCourt,FamilyLaw,and
Circuit/CivilLawinthe8thCircuit.
Heisalsooneofthefoundersof
LetsTalkJacksonvillesonlyadult
stutteringsupportgroupandisvery
activeinhischurchandthecom
munity.

Victims Voice
A erhavingthefrontdoor
ofhishomekickedopenbya
burglar,78yearoldJames
Aldridgehiredacontractor
tomaketheappropriatere
pairs.Mr.Aldridgethought
histroubleswereoverwhen
hefoundacontractorthat
toldhimhewouldreplace
hisdoor,fixhisleakyroof,
andremodelhiskitchenand
bathroomfor$30,000ifpaid
infullandupfront.Unfortu
nately,Mr.Aldridgesoon
learnedthathistroubles
werefarfromover.
Mr.Aldridgehadtakenout
aloantopayfortherepairs,
however,therepairswere
nevermade.This78yearold
re reehadbecomethevic
mofanunlicensedcontrac
torscam.Notonlywashe
nowfacedwithbillshewas

contractor.Thesepeople
strugglingtopay,Mr.Al
dridgealsohadtoliveina havetakenoutloans,lost
homethatwasfallingapart. thousands,losthomeown
ersinsuranceandarenow
A erhearinghisstory,
le withhomesthatareun
Vic mAdvocateGina
livableandnomoney,said
Voughtcoordinatedwith
GinaVought.Beingableto
PaulDavisRestora onto
makethenecessaryrepairs helpvic ms,likeMr.Al
dridge,iswhatmo vatesus
toMr.Aldridgeshome.
tocon nuetodothework
Eachyear,thiscompany
wedoforourvic ms.Gina
choosesonelocalfamily
sayssheiss lltryingtofind
thathasahomeinmajor
helpfortheothervic msof
needofrepairsandfixes
themforfree.Localcompa thisscam.
niespitchedinbydona ng Onpagefourofthenews
suppliesandinAugust,the le er,ourSAOinves gators
repairsbegan.Beforelong, haveprovideduswithsome
Mr.Aldridgefinallyhadthe
psonhowtospotanunli
safeandhealthyhomehe
censedcontractor,whichwill
hadlongneeded.
helppreventyoufrompo
Unfortunately,Mr.Al
dridgeisonlyoneofmany ten allybecomingthevic m
othersthathavebeen
ofthistypeofscam.
scammedbyanunlicensed

Off The Record

JasmineBurkettandState
AttorneyAngelaCorey

A erworkingattheSAO
thissummer,Jasmine
Burke ,formerBollesHigh
Schoolstandoutathlete,is
leavingJacksonvilleand
headingtoSt.JohnsUniver
sityonatrackscholarship.
Thissummer,Jasmine
workedcloselywithourpar

alegalsandlearnedalot
aboutthefunc onsofour
oce.Ilearnedthatwork
inghardandtogetherwith
greatpeopleequalssuccess
andhappiness,saidJas
mine.Sheevensaysthat
thisexperiencehassparkeda
newinterestforherinbe
comingalawyer.

WewishJasminethebest
ofluckasshebeginsher
collegecareerandhopethat
herexperiencehereatthe
SAOprovidedherwithskills
thatshecanu lizetobe
comesuccessfulinallshe
does.

PAGE 4

SafetyZone
Safety psfromtheSAOinves gators
Know the signs of an unlicensed contractor:
Unlicensed contractors often go door to door claiming they just finished a job down the
street.
They may try to rush you by claiming you will get a special price if you act fast or pay
cash.
Unlicensed contractors either neglect to pull construction permits or ask you to do it for
them. If you do, you are assuming liability for the project, including their mistakes.
Some states require contractors to list their license number on their vehicles, estimates,
websites, and their advertising. If they have not done so, that may be a bad sign.
Do your research! Check with your local licensing board to confirm that the contractor is
certified. Also, ask for references and follow through by verifying them.

Behind The Scenes

A lot goes on behind the
scenes at the SAO in order to
get a case before a
judge. For example, have you
ever heard of the Intake Unit
at the SAO? This unit is the
first to receive new arrest and
case information.
Five employees are assigned to Intake. The unit is
responsible for the preparation
of felony and misdemeanor
arrest and search warrants,
but their job doesnt end there!
As part of the process, the unit
reviews all new arrest dockets. They also run criminal
histories on defendants while
looking for any pending cases,
co-defendants or information

about the defendant being

monitored on probation.
Once the initial review process is complete, Intake creates a file. The file information
is then entered into the SAOs
computer tracking program
called STAC. Case information includes everything
from the name of the judge to
the division the case is assigned to at the SAO. If a defendant has multiple cases,
Intake is responsible for identifying those cases and then
making sure all of the defendants cases are assigned to
the same judge and division. Its a huge task! In fact,
since the beginning of 2014,

www.sao4th.com

the Intake unit created 10,120

files and performed data research on 18,957 cases.
In addition to creating case
files, Intake is also responsible for tracking any cases that
have not been formally filed.
The unit sends an alert to officers who have not followed
up on an arrest or a warrant. They also alert prosecutors when a charging decision
has not been made in a
case.
Believe it or not, Intake is
just part of the process for a
case to be a filed. In the next
edition of The SAO Sidebar,
we will tell you about the Felony Filing Division.