Month: November 2013

Assistant State Attorney Emmett “Jack” Campbell is the perfect example of a SNOTTY-NOSE BULLY! As stated before, he has the characteristics of a CHILD MOLESTER! He is a PREDATOR! He preys on weak people with low self-esteem; while he makes others believe that he has power—when the truth is—if the LAWS of the Land were being exercised and PROPER PROTOCOL was being followed in and out of the courtroom, he would have NO POWER. So really, he has NO POWER. PEOPLE WHO BREAK LAWS HAVE NO POWER!

So what Emmett “Jack” Campbell has done, being the SNOTTY-NOSE BULLY that he is, has led all of those who have long supported his EVIL doings, down a disastrous path with him because he doesn’t want to be the only one to bare shameful, dishonest, and immoral practices. He has deceived those unsuspecting newcomers—who are “directly” unfamiliar with his predatory actions. However, at the end of the day, all of those will fall because of their own STUPIDITY!

Neither the Laws of the Land nor the rules set by the Florida Supreme Court, acknowledge ignorance as a defense.

 

 

 

As referenced:

Key evidence suppressed in Hernando murder case
By Joel Anderson, Times Staff Writer
Joel AndersonTampa Bay Times In Print: Saturday, August 14, 2010
 
BROOKSVILLE — After nearly four hours of questions at the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office, Robert Jardin decided that he was through talking with detectives. He told them he was ready to go home.  

But the detectives told him to sit down. Then they told him they had to go over the results of his voice stress analysis test. Finally, they told him he was going to be charged with a crime.
 
It was at this point, Circuit Judge Jack Springstead said, that detectives should have advised Jardin of his Miranda rights. Because they failed to do so, the judge has suppressed statements Jardin made in reference to the October 2006 stabbing deaths of an elderly Masaryktown couple.

“The state detective should have known that discussions with (Jardin) regarding inconsistencies in his CVSA exam results could have elicited an incriminating response from (Jardin),” Springstead wrote in a ruling that was filed Friday.

Jardin faces two counts of first-degree murder, armed burglary and grand theft for his role in the stabbing deaths of Patrick and Evelyn DePalma in their home in rural south Hernando County. His trial is set to start on Aug. 23. If convicted, Jardin could be sentenced to death.  

Assistant State Attorney Pete Magrino, the county’s chief homicide prosecutor, said he was disappointed with the ruling but wasn’t surprised given Springstead’s line of questioning during Wednesday’s hearing over the motion.

“I anticipated this ruling,” Magrino said. “And although it affects the presentation of the case, it’s not going to stop the prosecution of the case.”

The issue before Springstead was whether Jardin was properly informed of his Miranda rights before making statements to detectives during an interview at the Sheriff’s Office in July 2008.

Jardin went to the office after being summoned there by deputies who told him they were looking into a bar fight. He initially signed a Miranda waiver form and agreed to speak with detectives in a “non-custodial” interview, according to the motion.

As the interview went on, the questioning shifted to the murder case. According to court documents, Jardin said he was at the home the night of the murders and saw the couple lying dead in a hallway.

Jardin submitted to a lie detection test, and eventually told authorities that he was through answering questions. He said that he was told, “If I take this test and passed, I could go. I’m ready to go.”

Detective Phil Lakin then attempted to delay Jardin, telling him they were still looking over his test results.

In his ruling, Springstead notes that the interview had “shifted from a consensual, non-custodial interaction into a custodial interrogation” and authorities should have again advised Jardin of his Miranda rights.

Minutes later, Jardin asked if he was going to be charged with a crime. The detectives said yes, and Jardin responded, “Well, then I guess I better go hire a lawyer.” 

Jardin later waived his right to an attorney. However, Springstead noted that Sgt. Billy Beetz asked Jardin if he waived his right to an attorney because he “intended to compel an affirmative response.”

 “This is exactly the type of compelling pressures that undermine one’s willpower that the Miranda doctrine was designed to prevent,” Springstead wrote in his ruling.

Unfortunately, the Leon County Sheriff’s Office and Florida’s 2^nd District State Attorney’s Office does not mind violating citizens Florida and U.S. Constitutional Rights nor do they mind wasting taxpayers’ dollars.

On January 28, 2011, the day after 17-year-old DeShon Thomas’ two friends were found murdered in their Tallahassee townhouse, DeShon and his mother voluntarily went to the Leon County Sheriff’s Office—only after DeShon had told his mother that he’d been questioned during a traffic stop the previous night by Leon County Sheriff’s deputies. (On January 27, 2011, a few hours after the victims were found murdered, the Leon County Sheriff’s Office obtained a court order to have AT&T provide them with DeShon Thomas’ cell phone records, as well as to have DeShon’s cell phone GPS tracked—reporting his whereabouts to both the Leon County Sheriff’s Office and the Tallahassee Police Department every 15 minutes. Deputies soon pulled over a car in which DeShon was a backseat passenger.)

Unbeknowest to DeShon and his mother, Leon County Sheriff’s detectives had already pre-determined that DeShon was the murderer of the two victims long before they blindly walked into their office to give their statements. When DeShon agreed to speak with detectives in a “non-custodial” interview, his mother didn’t object until Reserve Deputy Don Odham would not allow her to get on the elevator—blocking her every move. DeShon’s mother invoked DeShon’s Miranda Rights and told them that she wanted an attorney for her son, who was a minor. Instead of adhering to DeShon’s mother’s request—detectives completely ignored her; deliberately kept DeShon and his mother at the Leon County Sheriff’s Office—locked them into an interview room, and then seven hours later (2 a.m. January 29^th)—stated that DeShon was going to be placed under arrest, refused to tell his mother what he was being charged with—and then Reserve Deputy Don Odham, who’d been using racist vulgar, abruptly kicked Deshon’s mother out of the Leon County Sheriff’s Office—escorting her from upstairs and out of the doors—using racist vulgar and making disparaging statements the entire time.

It wasn’t until around 5 a.m. as to when DeShon’s mother received a phone call from the Juvenile Assessment Center asking her to come pick DeShon up. DeShon had been charged with cultivation of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. It was later learned that during the time when DeShon and his mother were at the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, detectives had used false information to obtain a search warrant for 21-year-old Trentin Ross’ one-bedroom apartment. Trentin Ross and DeShon were co-workers. DeShon had been temporarily living with Mr. Ross. During the execution of the search warrant, detectives located 5 pots of soil with marijuana stems sprouting from them in Mr. Ross’ bedroom closet. Both Mr. Ross and Mr. Thomas was charged, despite Mr. Ross admitting to caring for the plants—never implementing Mr. Thomas as the care provider or the one who brought the plants into his residence. It would be the cultivation of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia charges that would hang over Mr. Ross’ head until he testified at DeShon’s recent trial in October 2013.

Mr. Ross, who waited 11 days, despite numerous interviews with Lt. Baxter, reportedly told Reserve Deputy Don Odham that he knowingly knew that 17-year-old DeShon had in his possession 3 guns before driving DeShon to the victims’ residence during the early morning hours on January 27, 2011 and from afar—basically witnessed a double murder and then drove DeShon to dispose of a gun in a dumpster that was no less than a mile away from the victims residence.

Mr. Ross was not charged in relation to the murders. The gun used in the murders was not recovered.

When 21-year-old Mr. Ross allowed 17-year-old DeShon to move into his apartment without DeShon’s mother’s permission, Mr. Ross assumed guardianship over DeShon. As stated in Florida Statutes 790.22 4)(a) Any parent or guardian of a minor, or other adult responsible for the welfare of a minor, who knowingly and willfully permits the minor to possess a firearm in violation of subsection *(3) commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. *Subsection (3) A minor under 18 years of age may not possess a firearm, other than an unloaded firearm at his or her home, unless:

During the time when Mr. Cummings was representing DeShon Thomas—DeShon’s mother brought the above information to Mr. Cummings attention in an email. Although Mr. Cummings never responded to the email, it supports DeShon’s mother’s belief that Mr. Cummings was having unethical communication with State Prosecutor Jack Campbell, hence, never objecting to Mr. Campbell’s repeated motions for continuances and the timing of the solicitation to commit murder plot—when Mr. Cummings may have heard about DeShon’s mother speaking with a local attorney about taking over as legal counsel. (**click link**) egc 3 24 12

The Leon County Sheriff, the 2nd District State Attorney’s Office and all of those representing the 2nd Judicial Circuit MUST abide by ALL State and Federal Laws accordingly. And for those who choose not to–MUST be held accountable.

Everyone has their own opinions about what motivates attorneys when it comes to representing their clients. The majority of people feel like attorneys are motivated by how much money they can swindle out of their clients. While some people feel like there are some attorneys that are motivated by the love of practicing law—privileged to represent those in the courtroom whose rights have been violated by others (some people believe that this group of attorneys is usually the younger attorneys—fresh out of law school—who haven’t been tainted by their older colleagues or hardnosed judges—those who don’t have favors to return—are not in debt to others). Being as though at one point or another, judges were lawyers—they know that judges and judicial officers of the courts take an oath of office. As stated on the Judicial Qualifications Commission website, “Other government agencies may deprive you of your rights, rightly or wrongly, but only a judge can deny you of your rights.”

When DeShon Thomas’ mother first met with Criminal Defense Attorney Gregory Cummings in mid-February 2011, she told Mr. Cummings that her son’s case had been sent to the Criminal Conflict Regional Counsel’s Office and that she and her son were waiting to speak with the attorney assigned to his case. Mr. Cummings then told DeShon’s mother that he receives cases through the Criminal Conflict Regional’s Office. DeShon’s mother asked if there was any kind of way that he (Mr. Cummings) could represent DeShon through the Criminal Conflict Regional Counsel’s Office. Mr. Cummings said no, because cases are assigned to attorneys in order and that he was not on the list to receive a case anytime soon. Mr. Cummings told DeShon’s mother if she wanted him to represent her son—it would be her hiring him as a private attorney—paying him directly. As a single mother with limited funds, DeShon’s mother had no reason to be in a hurry to hire a private attorney. (Years earlier, DeShon’s mother won 2 lawsuits in mediation, so she had an idea of what evidence needed to be brought to the table to support the charges. The lawsuits that she’d filed were mostly because of principal—not at all because of greed or need for money.)

After their meeting, in the days that followed, Mr. Cummings aggressively solicited DeShon’s mother to hire him. On March 9, 2011 a little over a month since 17-year-old DeShon Thomas had been charged with Two Counts of 1^st Degree Murder, DeShon had no attorney; on the same day the State Attorney’s Office announced that in addition to the murder charges, they were charging DeShon with Possession of a Firearm by a Juvenile Delinquent. DeShon, who had already pled Not Guilty to the murder charges—didn’t understand why he was being charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Juvenile Delinquent. DeShon and his mother knew that Leon County Sheriff’s Office didn’t have the murder weapon—so they too were wondering why over 30 days after his arrest was he receiving this new charge. With no attorney to help them understand what was going on with the past—now current—and future process of what’s to come—not only were things becoming very scary for DeShon and his mother—they didn’t know how much longer was DeShon going to be sitting in jail without an attorney. Low and behold, that very day (March 9, 2011), Mr. Cummings called DeShon’s mother. This time Mr. Cummings was no longer asking DeShon’s mother about hiring him—he was telling DeShon’s mother that she needs to hire him. Mr. Cummings basically stated the incompetence of the judicial system as the reason for the delay as to why DeShon hadn’t been assigned an attorney. DeShon’s mother was confused by the whole process, including the extreme delay of an attorney being assigned to DeShon’s case—she agreed to hire Mr. Cummings. Mr. Cummings told DeShon’s mother that he would email her the Contract for Service. They agreed to meet on March 12, 2011 to sign it. The next day (March 10, 2011), Mr. Cummings emailed DeShon’s mother a copy of the Contract. (**click link**) OM 3 10 11 On March 9, 10, and 11 DeShon and his mother contacted both the Leon County Clerk of Courts and the Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel’s Office seeking out his attorney—neither office had any information.

In late March 2013, DeShon’s mother found out that Mr. Cummings was in trial representing Mr. Elijah James. Mr. James, who was convicted in February 2011 in Georgia in the 2010 arson case where he set his missing girlfriend’s car on fire, was extradited to Tallahassee to stand trial for his girlfriend’s murder—although her body had not been found. State Prosecutor Jack Campbell was set to convict Mr. James—Circuit Judge James Hankinson presided over the case.

On April 2, 2013 after having been denied his motion to withdraw from DeShon’s case by Judge Hankinson, Daren Shippy appeared in court for DeShon’s case management hearing. While the hearing took place in Judge Hankinson’s courtroom, Judge Hankinson was in another courtroom presiding over Mr. James’ case. As Mr. Shippy walked into the courtroom, walking alongside of him was Mr. Cummings. The two of them were talking—Mr. Cummings looked to be stroking Mr. Shippy as if he was a pet weasel. Mr. Cummings then walked over and shook the hand of a deputy. Afterwards, he sat in the front row. DeShon’s case was the first to be called. At the conclusion of the brief discussion, Mr. Cummings thanked Mr. Shippy and proceeded to leave the courtroom (more than likely to go back to represent Mr. James).

Finding out that Mr. Cummings was representing Mr. James in his high-profile murder case (the first murder case in Tallahassee to be tried without a body), DeShon’s mother wanted to see how much work had Mr. Cummings done on Mr. James’ case—considering Mr. Cummings had done none on DeShon’s case. She went to the Leon County Clerk of Courts Records Division and requested Mr. James’ file. Not surprised—DeShon’s mother saw that Mr. Cummings had done a ton of work on Mr. James’ case—nearly a thousand times more than DeShon’s. If one were to look at DeShon’s case file after DeShon fired Mr. Cummings, one would probably think that Mr. Cummings didn’t know what he was doing because absolutely nothing had been done to build a defense for DeShon. On the other hand, if one were to look at Mr. James’ case file—his case file was overflowing—he had two files. While DeShon’s mother was mainly looking to compare the amount of work done on DeShon’s case and Mr. James’ case (keep in mind that DeShon’s mother had paid Mr. Cummings nearly $30,000)—as DeShon’s mother flipped through the huge amount of documents—it was like a hand reached out of the file and slapped her. There she stood reading an Order Granting Motion to Withdraw As Counsel And Order Appointing New Conflict-Free Counsel. The order was allowing the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel, Region One to withdraw and appoint Greg Cummings as new conflict-free counsel for defendant—the date when Mr. Cummings was appointed to represent Mr. James was March 9, 2011—the same day that he called DeShon’s mother telling her that she needed to hire him to represent DeShon—basically blaming the incompetence of the judicial system for the delay as to why DeShon had not been assigned an attorney. (**click link**) Order EJ Case

The majority of Tallahassee residence cannot afford the high cost of legal representation. Because of that—there are several attorneys who have to close their private practice and work for either the Public Defender’s Office or the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel’s Office—if not directly—then indirectly as a conflict-free attorney. An attorney in private practice working as a conflict-free attorney may seem to have to show some form of allegiance to the judges in which gives him/her cases to which there’s longevity and a guaranteed steady paycheck in that realm. With a single client, who will come and go—who may go without paying in full—there’s no allegiance to them. Although DeShon’s mother promised Mr. Cummings that she’d pay him in full—with nearly $30,000 netting DeShon absolutely nothing—not even a Defense Witness List—then surely $50,000 was only going to end with guilty verdicts.

DeShon went to trial being represented by a court-appointed attorney. After DeShon’s mother spent nearly $30,000 he had to default to the use of taxpayers’ dollars. There was one witness, Trentin Ross, that gave State Prosecutor Jack Campbell an incriminating testimony against DeShon—to which everyone knows that if there was any shred of truth to Mr. Ross’ statement, he too would be charged with something in connection with the murders. Although the jury has spoken, DeShon’s mother’s intuition about Mr. Cummings was accurate—the reason for Mr. Cummings not objecting to State Prosecutor Jack Campbell’s 4 or so Motions for Continuances was because he (Campbell) had nothing—Trentin Ross was not going to come to Tallahassee and lie for them. During the trial, Trentin Ross’ attorney, Paul Srygley, stated that he was holding out trying to work the best possible deal for his client who’d only been charged with cultivation of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. So basically holding out for over 2 years… It took State Prosecutor Jack Campbell and Det. Newlin to make arrangements with an inmate in order to get Trentin Ross to believe that there was a hit out on his life–they needed him to get back to Tallahassee to testify—to LIE. (**click link**) egc 7 18 12  This email is in response to DeShon’s mother’s email which was sent out in April–this is a great example of how out of touch Mr. Cummings was with not just DeShon’s mother but also DeShon. The email also brings to the forefront that Mr. Cummings knew what State Prosecutor Jack Campbell and Trentin Ross’ attorney were up too but instead of doing what was best for his client (DeShon Thomas), Mr. Cummings and Circuit Judge Hankinson allowed them to do their “Dog and Pony” show–as Mr. Cummings continued to collect DeShon’s mother’s thousand dollar payments.

It’s been said that State Prosecutor Jack Campbell, Criminal Defense Attorney Gregory Cummings and Circuit Judge James Hankinson all mostly work Tallahassee’s high-profile cases. It’s been said that 2^nd District State Attorney Willie Meggs allows Jack Campbell to do whatever he feels—regardless. It seems that judges in Florida’s 2^nd Judicial Circuit seem to sign off on whatever Jack Campbell puts in front of them to sign without any reservations.

DeShon’s mother spoke with a few other private attorneys in Tallahassee about DeShon’s case. At the time in which she spoke with them—there was no problem for them to take on the case. Not long thereafter, neither of the attorneys was able to represent DeShon—the both attorneys (conflict-free counsels) had clients who were inmates—their clients had been associated with DeShon’s Solicitation to Commit 1^st Degree Murder case.

It seems like the Florida Bar has no problem cleaning up the backyards of attorneys in other counties—but when it comes to cleaning up Mr. Cummings backyard—the Florida Bar says—Mr. Cummings did not violate any of their rules. This is what was stated after DeShon’s mother filed a complaint with the Florida Bar. When DeShon, himself, filed a complaint with The Florida Bar—well, he has yet to hear back from them. Mr. Cummings hand delivered his response to The Florida Bar in regards to DeShon’s mother’s complaint—no matter what The Florida Bar stated—Mr. Cummings violated several of their rules. The question is—who did Mr. Cummings throw a “Big Bone” to when he hand delivered his response to them. If Mr. Cummings and a private investigator can travel to the Virgin Islands to get a statement from a character witness using taxpayers’ money—then surely he has the ability to throw “Big Bones.”

Judge James Hankinson may have been removed from presiding over DeShon’s case—but in late July 2013—he supported State Prosecutor Jack Campbell by signing the Order to prevent DeShon’s mother from visiting with DeShon. State Prosecutor Jack Campbell has not failed to get the support of many locals when it comes to his frivolous claims. One could only hope that those who support him realize what they’re getting into.

Side Note: Mr. Cummings told DeShon’s mother that he is a sole proprietor—has an office in Tallahassee but works from his home in Eastpoint, FL without a paralegal. After DeShon’s mother learned about his simultaneous representation on two high-profile cases, she filed another complaint against Mr. Cummings with The Florida Bar (again). (Keep in mind, Mr. Cummings had not filed anything in a 16 months time period to build a defense–had not spoken to any of defense witnesses, had not filed a defense witness list, had only been to the jail to speak with DeShon 3 times, did not depose the one witness who gave an incriminating statement–nothing.) This time DeShon’s mother specifically stated the Rule of Professional Conduct that she believes Mr. Cummings violated:

Rule 4-1.3 Diligence: A lawyer’s workload must be controlled so that each matter can be handled competently.  

DeShon’s mother has yet to hear a response from The Florida Bar. This type of service cannot be viewed as acceptable by the Florida Supreme Court.

Tallahassee, FL —When DeShon Thomas’ mother returned home from his long awaited trial, there was an overnight U.S. Express Mail envelope that had been returned to her—it was one that she’d previously mailed to her son’s attorney, Regional Counsel Daren Shippy. The unopened mail had gone Unclaimed twice at the Tallahassee Post Office where the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel’s Office receives their mail. The Unclaimed Express envelope was a reminder of how every attorney placed to defend DeShon of the bogus charges against him—have been literally against properly presenting information and dodging information in a way that could clearly and completely exonerate him. Desperately doing any and everything to not hear or care about what his mother has to say—simply because they know that what she has to say makes the most sense.

In March 2013 when Daren Shippy was first assigned to represent DeShon (well, actually 7 months ago considering he didn’t want the case—so officially April 2013), anyway, DeShon’s mother called Mr. Shippy to share information and to offer to pay for a private investigator to assist on the case. Also, DeShon’s mother, who previously worked in telecommunications, had contacts at a number of cell phone companies, including AT&T, Sprint and Verizon. When she received the probable cause back in February 2011 in regards of the murders—it basically stated that AT&T had provided the Leon County Sheriff’s Office with DeShon’s cell phone records, so she reached out to AT&T and obtained information about DeShon’s cell phone records. DeShon’s mother had shared this same information with Mr. Cummings—after the horrific outcome with Mr. Cummings—there was no way for DeShon’s mother to believe that Mr. Cummings would honestly handover/ relay important information over to the attorneys that replaced him. Unfortunately, Mr. Shippy never returned any of DeShon’s mother’s phone calls.

Unexpected Drama—A Reminder of Childish School Days

The person responsible for answering the phone at the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Office stopped answering the phone when DeShon’s mother would call from her central Florida phone (identified by area code on caller I.D.). So DeShon’s mother started calling their office from her other cell phone (which has a Tallahassee area code).  At first, the person would answer the phone without incident—eventually the person stopped answering the phone altogether. The person not answering the phone wasn’t due to DeShon’s mother calling excessively—it was due to Mr. Shippy’s (previously Mr. Olmstead) unwilling to want to properly represent DeShon.  It didn’t take long for the phone game to get old—it was just one of many games that DeShon’s mother had to play with people working for state agencies that are getting paid with taxpayer dollars. Over the past 2 years, it has been nearly unbelievable how much work has been involved in the process of just trying to get a fair and equal trial. Since Mr. Shippy wouldn’t return DeShon’s mother’s calls, she decided to reach out to Mr. Shippy via U.S. Mail. She also copied 1^st District Regional Counsel Jeff Lewis and Judge Jackie Fulford on most of her letters. Eventually, Mr. Lewis had someone from his office reply to DeShon’s mother. As you will read in the response, the tone is more of an aggravating tone more so than a welcoming one—more so than one would have in appreciation and understanding of a mother wanting to assist her son’s legal defense team save her son from being wrongfully sent into Florida’s prison system. (**click link**) CCCRO LTR 7 23 13

Their Second Time Around

This wasn’t the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel’s Office first time assigned to DeShon’s case. As a matter of fact they were assigned to his case 3 times. Jeff Lewis, Regional Counsel over District One, does not work full-time within the Tallahassee office. Not everyone is capable of working unsupervised. Often times—even those in supervisory positions need to be supervised.

The underlining problem with the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel, District One was—in August 2012, after DeShon fired his private attorney Gregory Cummings—Circuit Judge James Hankinson appointed DeShon’s case back to the Public Defender’s Office. (In February 2011 the Public Defender’s Office conflicted off of the case—they were able to conflict off of the case again in September 2012.) The Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel’s Office was appointed to DeShon’s case—actually—they were re-appointed to Deshon’s case. Now here is where DeShon’s mother’s suspicions of unethical practice began to expand beyond Mr. Cummings. Back in February 2011, to the knowledge of DeShon, his mother, the Leon County Clerk of Courts and the person answering the phone at the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel’s Office—there were no other attorney assigned to DeShon’s case. Back in February 2011, before the Public Defender’s Office conflicted off of DeShon’s case, they were very informative and took it upon themselves to contact DeShon’s mother to inform her of any court dates and other input concerning DeShon’s case. The Public Defender’s Office wanted to make sure that DeShon’s mother was aware of what was going on with DeShon’s case so that she could help reinforce DeShon’s understanding of the charges (DeShon was only 17-years-old at the time of his arrest). The Public Defender’s Office sincerely seemed to want the best possible outcome for DeShon. The Public Defender’s Office are the ones who set the foundation as to how a legal team should work with the defendant that they are responsible for representing—not looking to do any favors—just looking to present the facts of the case.

That was not so for Circuit Judge James Hankinson and the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel’s Office. Back in February 2011, when the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel’s Office was assigned to DeShon’s case, no one made contact with DeShon or his mother. DeShon and his mother repeatedly called the Leon County Clerk of Courts and the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel’s Office nearly begging for a contact name for whoever replaced his Public Defender—to no avail. So now—fast-forward to nearly two years later (September 2012) and just imagine the shockwave that went through DeShon’s mother when she learned that DeShon was not only court appointed an attorney from the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel—where the attorney never Filed a First Appearance, which is required by all attorneys when they come on a case—and then the attorney never contacted DeShon to let him know that he had come onto the case. DeShon wasn’t in jail charged with stealing a piece of bubble gum from Circle K—this teenage boy, who was a full-time freshman college student and employee—was in jail for murdering two people—the female victim was pregnant—her toddler daughter was left in the home to fend for herself.

At the time of the murders—nobody knew for sure that DeShon was the father of the deceased unborn baby. In Det. Mike Reeves report, dated January 31, 2011, there’s a statement from the female victim’s 21-year-old boyfriend–he states that he thought (because she told him) that he was the father of her unborn baby. So instead of Leon County Sheriff’s Detectives saying DeShon murdered her because he didn’t want her to have the baby—they should’ve investigated all angles—they could’ve looked at it and said maybe the boyfriend murdered her because he found out that he wasn’t the father—maybe since she was moving to Jacksonville she told him that he wasn’t the father.

In March 2011, Mr. Olmstead conflicted off of the case—whereas DeShon was court-appointed a conflict-free attorney. Again, DeShon was not made aware that he’d been assigned a conflict-free attorney. It is believed that the conflict-free attorney had not been informed that he’d been assigned DeShon’s case. In regards to the murder charges, the Leon County Clerk of Courts was not made aware that DeShon had been assigned a conflict-free attorney. Sure, all of this may sound like possible episodes where communication was lacking—that’s what it may sound like. However, after the Public Defender’s Office contacted DeShon’s mother and told her that they were getting off of the case, DeShon’s mother didn’t know what to expect. Although she knew that she wasn’t going to hire a private attorney until she’d spoken with DeShon’s court-appointed attorney, she was inclined to speak to a private attorney just in case if she was going to need one. Mr. Gregory Cummings was one of the attorneys whom DeShon’s mother had spoken/met with. Before and after meeting with Mr. Cummings, DeShon’s mother told him that she was not going to hire an attorney until after she’d spoken with DeShon’s court appointed attorney. Nearly a month passed —no attorney had been named on DeShon’s case. Meanwhile, Mr. Cummings was aggressively soliciting DeShon’s mother to get her to hire him to represent her son. Each time DeShon’s mother repeated her need to wait to speak with DeShon’s court appointed attorney.

When DeShon’s mother, a single parent—who took out a loan against her life insurance policy as part of a way to pay Mr. Cummings nearly $30,000 learned that two of DeShon’s previous court appointed attorneys had been withheld from her and DeShon’s knowledge… In addition, in response to the Florida Bar complaint that DeShon’s mother filed against Mr. Cummings (which fell flat), Mr. Cummings basically acknowledges Circuit Judge James Hankinson’s willingness to do whatever he (Mr. Cummings) asks of him to do. From DeShon’s mother’s point of view that means purposely withholding the information/names of the very attorneys that he (Circuit Judge Hankinson) assigned to represent him—allowing time for Mr. Cummings to harass DeShon’s mother during their most vulnerable state.

So again, now that Mr. Cummings has been fired—the same attorney from February 2011—the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel’s Office is being reassigned to the case? There were only two questions that DeShon’s mother wanted to know—what happened with him back in 2011? And—what is it going to take for DeShon to get a fair and equal trial? DeShon’s mother left several messages on the attorney’s voicemail. She also mailed the attorney a few letters—no response. Six months on the case—this attorney did absolutely nothing! This attorney with the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel’s Office did absolutely nothing in regards to DeShon’s defense. Circuit Judge James Hankinson allowed this—the same as he allowed State Prosecutor Jack Campbell and Mr. Cummings to play patty-cake for nearly 16 months—he allowed this attorney to play ghost—not appearing at quite a number of DeShon’s case management hearings.

In June 2013, Judge Jackie Fulford replaced Circuit Judge James Hankinson.

Simultaneous to DeShon firing Mr. Cummings, DeShon was put in solitary confinement—his phone and visitation privileges were taken away. This made it just about impossible for DeShon’s mother to get him another private attorney. Nearly a year after being in solitary confinement, State Prosecutor Jack Campbell filed a motion with the court—blocking DeShon’s mother from visiting—basically stating that his mother helped manipulate their phone system to arrange the “hit” put out on their key witness, Trentin Ross. This accusation was none other than another ploy to keep DeShon’s mother from being able to effectively communicate with her son in a timely manner about his U.S. Constitutional Rights (in which DeShon’s rights have been severely violated). (**click link**) Motion Barring Visitation 8 2 13

In September 2013, two weeks before DeShon’s trial, Mr. Shippy called DeShon’s mother to inform her about DeShon’s need for clothes to wear during trial—he also asked for contact information for one of the witnesses. DeShon’s mother reminded Mr. Shippy that that was the job of a private investigator—one to get the contact information of all of the witnesses. (DeShon’s mother had offered to pay for a private investigator to assist Mr. Shippy—to no avail.) It was brought to DeShon’s mother’s attention that Mr. Shippy had called several of DeShon’s family members trying to get contact information of witnesses—to which none of them, including DeShon’s mother, had the information.

During trial, Mr. Shippy called DeShon’s mother out in open court about the presence of a witness—stating that she should’ve informed him about the witnesses’ presence in the courtroom. Again, had there been a private investigator on the case—this wouldn’t have happened. If Mr. Shippy had developed an open line of communication with DeShon’s mother—this wouldn’t have happened. Fortunately, the courtroom bailiff corrected Mr. Shippy—that witness was not present in the courtroom during the time in which Mr. Shippy was crying about.  Also, there were several Leon County Sheriff’s Detectives that could’ve assisted with exonerating DeShon—Mr. Shippy either didn’t have them subpoenaed to trial or when they took the stand he didn’t ask them the proper questions. For example, Mr. Shippy didn’t ask Det. Melinda McBride about what the victims’ brother and mother telling her about Sterling (the male victim) buying $400 worth of drugs with fake money shortly before the murders. Neither did Mr. Shippy ask the victims’ mother about a confrontation that her daughter, Laqecia (the female victim) had been involved in within 48 hours of her murder to which several threatening Facebook posts between Laqecia and her once bestfriend were extremely serious—her daughter owed about $350 to the bestfriend and the bestfriend’s mother. Since everybody knew that the victims were leaving to go to Jacksonville—the people that they two victims had wronged monetarily knew that if the victims left town then they weren’t going to get their money. This information was provided early on in the investigation—before DeShon’s was charged with the murders.

The week of October 14, 2013 DeShon got his day in court—the verdict—after all that had been done and had not been done—was not surprising to DeShon’s mother. It’s simply —if a woman doesn’t want a man to know her level of intelligence about engine parts in fear that she may intimidate the man—then she’ll play stupid, however, from time to time, naturally, her level of intelligence will show. The same can be said about Mr. Shippy. On the fourth day of court (while DeShon was on the stand testifying on his own behalf—after he’d made State Prosecutor Jack Campbell look like a plum fool )  Judge Fulford immediately called for a long side bar—the longest ever. Afte side bar she whispered in a bailiff’s ear–next DeShon’s mother and brother (his only support team) were kicked out of the courtroom. They were told because of gesturing and whispering. While DeShon’s mother does not deny gesturing or whispering—it was not to the level to where she and her son—had to be removed from the courtroom. Besides that, Judge Fulford never gave specific rules of the courtroom other than cell phone usage—and when the victims’ family members were doing a lot of walking in and out of the courtroom. DeShon’s mother was told by another person that after they were kicked out of the courtroom, Judge Fulford explained the rules of the courtroom to others. Judge Fulford should never expect people to automatically know courtroom etiquette. It is her duty to go over the rules and what she expects of those in the courtroom before trial begins. Not wait and have a defendant’s family members removed from the courtroom in front of the jury. It’s possible that Judge Fulford may have been paying more attention to DeShon’s mother than the jurors themselves. What Judge Fulford saw DeShon’s mother doing—may have gone unnoticed by the jurors.

Like everything else, being kicked out of the courtroom was something that DeShon’s mother took in stride. Looking at DeShon’s case as a whole— had DeShon’s mother and brother been allowed to be present in the courtroom for DeShon’s entire trial would’ve probably made people think that there was some shred of dignity within the Florida’s 2^nd Judicial Circuit.