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2006 Releases
12/08/06 Women Arrested in Assault on Pinder Witness
12/05/06 Crisis in our Courtrooms 05/31/06 Former Mayoral Candidate Pleads No Contest 05/23/06 Closeout Memo - Shooting Death of Rigoberto Alpizar at Miami International Airport  05/17/06 Arrest of City of Miami Commissioner Johnny Winton 02/03/06 Dropping of Vehicular Manslaughter Charges Against Palmenia Alfonso ED GRIFFITH Public Information Officer PHONE: 305-547-0535TERRY CHAVEZ Hispanic Media Relations Public Information Officer PHONE: 305-547-0535 PRESS RELEASE ARCHIEVE If you cannot view PDF's, click on Acrobat Reader or the image below to download the free software.  |
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Contact: Ed Griffith 305-547-0535 12/08/06 Woman Arrested in Assault on Pinder Witness Charged with Witness intimidation Miami (December 8, 2006) - Today, in the aftermath of a physical attack on Ginger T. Williams, a witness in the recently filed criminal case against Opa Locka Commissioner Terence K. Pinder, the Miami-Dade Police Department, in conjunction with the State Attorney's Office Public Corruption prosecutors have arrested Sheniqua Gardner. Ms. Gardner, a friend of Commissioner Pinder's present girlfriend, lives in the same apartment complex as Ms. Williams. She has been charged for her role in a December 5, 2006 attack which left Ms. Williams bruised and battered. Prior to the charging of Commissioner Pinder, the two women had no history of animosity. "Neither I nor any member of law enforcement will ever tolerate someone trying to intimidate a witness," commented Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. "This type of crime tries to cut the very heart out of our criminal justice system. When thugs intimidate witnesses, everyone in the community loses. I will never allow that to happen. " Ms. Gardner is charged with one count of Retaliating Against a Witness, a 2nd Degree Felony, and one count of Battery, a 1st Degree Misdemeanor. ###  Contact: Ed Griffith 305-547-0535 12/05/06 State Attorney to Address GMCC's Joint Board of Trustees and Directors Crisis in Our Criminal Courtrooms is Target of Initiatives Miami (December 5, 2006) - State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle will be addressing the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce's (GMCC) Joint Board of Trustees and Directors on Wednesday December 6, 2006 on the growing crisis low salaries are having on the ability of State Attorneys to retain experienced prosecutors. "Throughout Florida, but particularly in our metropolitan areas, our criminal courts are being stripped of experienced prosecutors," commented Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. "These skilled legal professionals have helped rid our streets of violent criminals and, as a result, helped make the community safer. The unending increase in the cost of housing and insurance in our community, coupled with the inadequate starting salaries the legislature allows us to offer new attorneys has made it difficult to recruit and hire young talent. Additionally, as law firms, businesses and governmental agencies throughout the area avidly recruit our experienced trial attorneys, the experience and knowledge they have accumulated to fight against crime is lost and not easily, nor cheaply, replaced." State Attorney Fernandez Rundle has made developing a comprehensive solution to this problem her highest legislative priority for the 2007 session of the Florida Legislature. She will be sharing her five initiatives that form the basis of her overall approach with the GMCC Joint Board of Trustees and Directors and will be seeking their assistance and support to gain passage of the necessary legislation and funding during the 2007 Legislative session. "The effectiveness of our police is inevitability undercut when there are fewer and fewer experienced prosecutors in the courtroom to effectively make their case," said Ms. Fernandez Rundle. Click here for a copy of the Five Point Initiative and click here for an informative PowerPoint with facts and statistics supporting these initiatives. ### Contact: Ed Griffith 305-547-0535 05/31/06 Former Miami-Dade County Mayoral Candidate Pleads in Election Financing Case Jay Love to Return Public Finance Money Miami (May 31, 2006) - Miami-Dade restaurant owner and former mayoral candidate Jay Love has pled no contest today to misdemeanor charges filed as a result of a review of his 2004 campaign for County Mayor by the Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics and Public Trust, the Miami-Dade Police Department Public Corruption Investigations Bureau and the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office. Jay Love pled to 5 misdemeanor charges:
Mr. Love has agreed to repay Miami-Dade County the $300,000 he had received as a part of the public financing of his campaign. When he applied for, and received, $300,000 in public financing Jay Love was ineligible to it since he lacked the proper number of contributors to qualify. He will also reimburse the Miami-Dade Police Department $16,000 for their investigative costs. Additionally, Mr. Love will receive 3 years of reporting probation and has agreed that he will not attempt to run for or hold any public office during the term of his probation. "Successful public financing of local elections can only occur when all candidates document the honesty of their campaign. Full public scrutiny brings full public honesty," said State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. "Jay Love failed to do this and violated several key parts of Florida's and Dade's election laws. Today he admitted his actions before a criminal court judge. Hopefully, others will learn the lessons of Mr. Love's mistakes." ### Contact: Ed Griffith 305-547-0535 05/23/06 Closeout Memo - Shooting Death of Rigoberto Alpizar at Miami International Airport ### Contact: Ed Griffith 305-547-0535 05/17/06 In Relation to the Arrest of City of Miami Commissioner Johnny Winton Miami (May 17, 2006) - State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle has asked Florida Governor Jeb Bush for an executive assignment of the ongoing review of the arrest of City of Miami Commissioner Johnny Lee Winton. There is a long-standing personal friendship between Commissioner Winton and Ms. Fernandez Rundle. Therefore, an appearance of impropriety may be unavoidable no matter what decision is made relating to this matter. "My personal associations with Johnny Winton go back many years, dating back to the days when the Chamber stood by my side in advocating for more crime fighting resources from Tallahassee. These long standing associations may affect the public perception of any action taken by my office in this matter. The appointment of an outside prosecutor to review the facts of the May 15th arrest may be the best course of action for all the individuals involved and for the public at large," stated Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. The State Attorney has expedited her request so that a prosecutor can begin the full investigation and notify the Governor of their findings so he can make his determination as to the Commissioner's status. While the appointment of another State Attorney may delay somewhat the decision-making process regarding potential filing of criminal charges, this delay may be minimal. In an arrest situation where there may be numerous witnesses to interview before any charges could be considered, an immediate charging decision is rare. In many circumstances such decisions may not be announced until the matter first appears in a courtroom for arraignment, which for this matter is June 5, 2006. ### Contact: Ed Griffith 305-547-0535 02/03/06 Close Out Memo Relating to the Dropping of Vehicular Manslaughter Charges Against Palmenia Alfonso Miami (February 03, 2006) - Below is the closeout memo compiled by Assistant State Attorneys Scott Miller and David Gilbert articulating the details of the investigation into the death of 11 year old Diannet Leyva which resulted in the dropping of the vehicular manslaughter charges against Palmenia Alfonso (case number f06-325). The memo outlines the circumstances forcing this decision. The following introductory quote from the memo outlines the proof problems encountered which made it impossible to charge the driver with "reckless driving"---the basis of the felony charge-- and forced all of Palmenia Alfonso's actions to the level of "careless driving" -which are not felony crimes. "On completion of our investigation, significant factual discrepancies between our initial information and the factual circumstances as reported by witnesses during our investigation became evident. These factual circumstances were considered in conjunction with the applicable case law, and as a result it was determined that no felony charges were appropriate." The key element in this legal determination was the fact that the accident happened, as recorded by incoming 911 calls, at 7:50 a.m. and the school zone signals started, making the speed limit 15 mph, at 8:00.10 a.m. Therefore Ms. Alfonso could not be charged with speeding through a school zone at 35-40 mph. The law & the erroneous discrepancies are fully outlined in the Close Out Memorandum. Click here to view Close-Out Memorandum ### |
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