Army vet accused of slaying wife, her father and a neighbor in Tamarac, pleads not guilty
The Army veteran accused in the chilling murder of his wife, her father and a neighbor — as the couple's 4-year-old daughter watched — made a brief appearance in court Friday morning and pleaded not guilty.
Nathan Gingles, 43, dressed in gray-striped prison garb, didn't utter a word during the hearing at the Broward County Criminal Courthouse. When asked during the arraignment how he would plead, Gingles' attorney Kaitlin Gonzalez said not guilty before Broward County Circuit Court Judge Marina Garcia-Wood. The suspected gunman was then escorted back to the Broward County Jail.
His next appearance in court is scheduled for May 15, said Aaron Savitski, a spokesman with the Broward State Attorney's Office.
Earlier this week, a grand jury indicted Gingles on three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Mary Catherine Gingles, 34, her father David Ponzer, 64, and neighbor Andrew Ferrin, 36, whose Tamarac home Mary Gingles ran into as her husband stalked her before she was killed.
Court records also show Nathan Gingles is facing two counts of child abuse, and single counts of kidnapping and violating a domestic violence injunction.
After the early-morning killings on Feb. 16, the Broward Sheriff's Office said Nathan Gingles kidnapped his daughter, which set off an Amber Alert. He was taken into custody a short time later at a Walmart in North Lauderdale. His daughter Seraphine, who followed her father barefoot as he hunted down Mary, was not hurt.
The triple murder set off alarms with BSO that led to Sheriff Gregory Tony suspending eight deputies and demoting a top officer in the Tamarac division, all believed to have been involved one way or another in the dozens of calls to the family's home over the years. In December, a Broward judge signed a restraining order in which a deputy failed to take custody of Nathan Gingle's weapons.
Police believe one of those weapons was used in the murders. Court records show that a BSO dive team recovered a black Sig Sauer P320 and a suppressor in a body of water less than half a mile away from the slayings. A Sig Sauer and suppressor with the same serial numbers were on the list of weapons deputies seized in February 2024, when Nathan Gingles was served an earlier restraining order.
Broward Sheriff's deputies were well aware of the couple's rocky relationship. Besides more than a dozen calls to service at their Tamarac home the past few years, Mary Gingles was so worried about her husband's arsenal and his stated desire to kill her, that she obtained at least two restraining orders against him. The first was in February 2024.
In her divorce petition that month, she described Nathan as 'heavily armed' with 'semi-automatic, handguns and more sophisticated firearms' with silencers that she believed he would use to kill her.
Nathan served in the U.S. Army from February 2011 to January 2019, leaving as a captain, according to Army records. He was deployed to Afghanistan from July 2013 to January 2014. Mary, too, served in the Army from 2016 to 2020, also leaving as a captain. She had no deployments.
Nathan Gingles' most recent job was as a contractor with the U.S. Southern Command in Doral.
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Newsweek
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Father Accused of Killing Daughters Could Be Traveling to Canada: Police
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Yahoo
a day ago
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Broward Sheriff report sheds new light on inmate fight that led to deputies' arrests
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The jail altercation has since escalated into a wider conflict between the Sheriff's Office and the Broward State Attorney's Office. On Friday, Sheriff Gregory Tony accused prosecutors of 'corruption' and bias in their handling of Caputo's case. He reinstated the deputies and said their arrests were a 'miscarriage of justice.' State Attorney Harold Pryor issued a statement denying Tony's allegations, saying that 'attempts to verbally bully my office or sway public opinion prior to trial will not deter us from seeking justice and striving to do the right thing.' Three Broward detention deputies face aggravated battery charge in 2022 inmate booking Broward sheriff reinstates deputies charged in jail fight, says 'public corruption' led to arrests The series of events began with a traffic stop along Southwest 10th Street in Deerfield Beach just after 2:30 a.m. on Oct. 4, 2022. Caputo's Ford Escape had suddenly stopped in the middle of the road, almost causing a crash, according to Deputy Jose Guzman. He pulled her over and asked why she had stopped, according to the internal affairs report. Caputo said that her shoe had fallen off, so she slammed the brakes. She also told him that she was sick. 'Can you give me a warning?' Caputo asked him at one point, according to the report. 'I literally just paid my insurance.' Guzman noted that Caputo had 'glossy red eyes, slurred speech, disorientation, and lethargy,' according to the report. When he asked if she had been drinking, she said she did not drink but had taken prescribed medication. Guzman then had Caputo perform field sobriety tests, where he noted that she lost balance multiple times and did not follow instructions. Then he handcuffed her. Upset, Caputo repeatedly maintained that she was sober, had passed the sobriety tests, and that Guzman had no right to arrest her. 'It doesn't bother you that it's your job to serve and protect, and you are arresting people that are completely sober?' she asked Guzman at the BAT facility as she waited to take a breathalyzer. Caputo turned the same criticism onto the woman operating the breathalyzer, who repeatedly said 'okay' in response to her comments. 'No, it's not okay,' Caputo said at one point. 'I don't have money for this, and I am being wrongfully accused.' She frequently cursed at both Guzman and the woman. 'It was beyond a task dealing with the subject during processing at the BAT Facility,' the woman later wrote in a report. Caputo had not been drinking, it turned out. She blew a 0.00, but was taken to Broward Main Jail anyway after submitting her urine for testing. The urine later tested positive for amphetamines, corresponding with Caputo's prescribed medication for 'dextroamp – amphetamin,' the generic name for Adderall. Three Broward detention deputies face aggravated battery charge in 2022 inmate booking Broward sheriff reinstates deputies charged in jail fight, says 'public corruption' led to arrests A little after 5 a.m. that morning, Caputo entered Broward Main Jail and was taken to the strip search cell where the fight took place. Polk had already been alerted about Caputo, who 'was likely to be a potential problem,' according to the report, and informed the other deputies. Walker, Johnnie and Polk entered the cell, giving Caputo clothing to change into. Caputo refused to change into a jail-issued bra, Polk told the internal affairs investigator. She then threw her bra at Polk, who caught it, then pushed Caputo back. At that point, Polk said that Caputo 'threw a punch at her.' The three deputies then rushed forwards and Polk pinned Caputo to the wall, at which point Caputo scratched her and bit her thumb, fracturing her bones, Polk said, according to the report, which also includes pictures of her injuries. Johnnie sprayed Caputo with pepper spray while Polk appeared to kick and punch Caputo in the footage. The fight continued until Polk Tased Caputo. The Broward Sheriff's Office internal affairs report vastly differs from Caputo's account in the State Attorney's Office warrant. She said in a sworn statement that she 'never returned any form of physical aggression, and did not strike or bite' the deputies, according to the warrant, and that she was 'in fear for her life.' BSO Sergeant Jeffrey Liotta, a use-of-force expert, reviewed the case and the footage and determined that the deputies' actions were justified, according to the report. His interpretation based on the footage aligned with the deputies' statements. Caputo's level of resistance was 'aggressive resistance,' he said, which authorizes deputies to use tactics like punching and kicking in response. Once Caputo bit Polk, he said, the threat of 'great bodily harm' made her level of resistance rise to potential 'deadly force.' After the fight, Caputo continued to be uncooperative, according to the report, including with the EMT who checked her injuries. She did not sign an Urgent Medical Care Record due to being 'uncooperative, aggressive, patient non-compliant,' the EMT wrote. Caputo spent four days in the hospital following her arrest and had to take antibiotics for a skin infection where the Taser prongs had hit her, according to the warrant. Polk also went to the hospital for her thumb, where doctors diagnosed her with a fracture and wrote that she was exposed to 'blood borne pathogens' due to the bite, the report states. Caputo was charged with battery on a law enforcement officer. 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'… Guzman is concerned that the SAO dropped this case and has been left questioning their reasons.' Caputo's attorney, Phil Johnston, did not return texts or voicemails Friday or Saturday. Over the course of their careers, all three deputies regularly received positive evaluations about their conduct with inmates, according to personnel files released Friday. None of the deputies had other documented use of force incidents in their files. Polk received one negative evaluation in 2018, which said she 'needs to work on her interpersonal skills' and 'shows the unwillingness to communicate or be forthwith with supervisors.' She filed a rebuttal to the review, saying it was 'unsubstantiated and baseless' and that the supervisor who wrote it barely interacted with her. Otherwise, Polk frequently received glowing feedback before and after her promotion to sergeant in 2021. As a mental health sergeant in the North Broward Bureau, she trained other deputies in handling 'inmates in crisis,' according to her file. Polk 'has embraced her role and has created a culture where staff and inmates expect leadership, effective communication, and quick resolution to incidents and concerns,' her supervisor wrote in 2024. Johnnie received similarly positive feedback. In a 2024 evaluation, her supervisor wrote that she 'demonstrates strong de-escalation skills, effectively managing tense situations with inmates.' Walker was also frequently praised over her handling of inmates. In 2024, her supervisor wrote that she has 'good interpersonal communication skills that enables her to de-escalate situations that result in a positive outcome and avoid a use of force.' Her file mentions a closed 2017 internal affairs investigation, but no report or further information was included in her file. All three deputies are set to be arraigned in Broward County Court on June 24.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Why wasn't an Amber Alert sent for the 3 sisters found dead in Washington?
The deaths of three girls in Washington state whose mother reported them missing after their father didn't return them from a custodial visit, has prompted cries for reform because an Amber Alert was never sent for the sisters. The bodies of Paityn Decker, 9; Evelyn Decker, 8; and Olivia Decker, 5, were discovered on June 2 – just days after they were reported missing by their mother, Whitney Decker. The three girls did not return home from a planned visitation with their father, Travis Decker, a former military member who is homeless and was living out of a pickup. Authorities found the girls' bodies about 75 to 100 yards away from their father's unoccupied vehicle near the Rock Island Campground in Chelan County, about 148 miles east of Seattle. The FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Marshals, and U.S. Border Patrol have joined the search for Travis Decker, whose whereabouts remain unknown. Now, Whitney Decker is calling for changes to Washington state's Amber Alert system and improvements in mental health care for veterans as the search for the man stretched into its sixth day on June 6, according to reports. Washington State Patrol was originally contacted on May 30 to request an Amber Alert, but the situation "did not meet the required criteria" at the time, Wenatchee police said. The agency instead issued a statewide Endangered Missing Person Alert (EMPA) for the girls on May 31. As authorities intensify the search for Travis Decker, 32, a family attorney told local media outlets that Whitney Decker believes her daughters might still be alive had an Amber Alert been issued in the hours after they were reported missing. "She really feels that the system let her children down," Attorney Arianna Cozart said in an interview with KING 5. "It was the inadequacies in the services for our veterans that killed those children." Court filings revealed that Travis Decker had exhibited mental health issues prior to the girls' deaths. Cozart told The Seattle Times that Travis Decker had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and complex post-traumatic stress disorder after leaving active service. "They did not see him as an immediate physical danger to his children, despite the fact that he had a well established history of mental health issues," Cozart added. "And had they had seen it that way, those children might still be alive. And that's the thing that is so brutal, and the one thing she's really hoping can be changed in this tragedy." Cozart did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment on June 5. 'One too many': Death of 3 girls in Travis Decker's custody is a familiar tragedy Chris Loftis, spokesperson for the Washington State Patrol, reiterated to USA TODAY that the request for an Amber Alert did not meet the system's guidelines, which are set by the U.S. Department of Justice. He said that, similar to other states, Washington's system has "specific criteria" to ensure that features of the program are only used in instances where the standards have been met. According to Loftis, the criteria include: "The person(s) must be 17 or younger." "The incident must be investigated by a law enforcement agency, and the subject must be entered into the National Crime Information Center." "There must be enough descriptive information that activating the alert will assist in the recovery." "There must be reason to believe the person has been abducted." "The missing person(s) must be known to be in danger of imminent serious bodily injury or death." While the first three criteria were met, Loftis said Travis Decker had limited custodial rights, and there was not immediate legal presumption that the girls were abducted when the Amber Alert requests were submitted on May 30 and May 31. He added that law enforcement does not "automatically have clear indication that the children are in danger" in situations where a custodial parent is late returning children to another parent. Loftis noted that discussions with local law enforcement did not mention danger as a concern. Citing notes from the intake specialist for Washington State Patrol's Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit, Loftis said initial and follow-up reports from local police stated there was no threat of great bodily harm or death to the children at the time. The notes also showed that Travis Decker had previously "never diverted from the parenting plan in the past" and "no alarming mental health status" had been mentioned in the reports, other than "he may be 'going through a lot' after leaving the military and weathering housing and employment issues." Though the case did not meet the Amber Alert threshold, Loftis said there was "ample concern" and State Patrol had enough information to issue the EMPA. Unlike an Amber Alert, the EMPA does not send a push notification or text message to all cell phones in the targeted area about missing children. According to Loftis, issuing an EMPA allows law enforcement to post electronic fliers, send text messages and emails to listservs of people who have requested notification on all alerts, post vehicle information on highway reader boards, and promote coverage by state broadcasters. "The State of Washington handled this incident no differently than any other state with the information they had available. But all of that said, nothing, no process, and no set of standards can protect us from all evils and horrors," Loftis said in a statement to USA TODAY. "We learn from every tragedy, and I'm sure we will review and learn from this set of tragedies, but the depth of this sorrow is beyond a learning opportunity right now, it is a tragedy first and forever." Community mourns amid manhunt: Who were Olivia, Evelyn and Paityn Decker? The three girls were found dead by apparent suffocation in a remote campground, according to the Wenatchee Police Department. Whitney Decker had reported the children missing on May 30 after they left their central Washington home to visit their father. On June 2, a Chelan County deputy found an unoccupied truck at about 3:45 p.m. local time near the Rock Island Campground. Officers found the bodies of the missing girls soon after, down a small embankment, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by USA TODAY. While Travis Decker was nowhere to be found, investigators traced his cell phone, which revealed that he visited the same campground the day before the kidnapping, the court documents show. Travis Decker is wanted on charges of kidnapping, first-degree murder, and custodial interference in connection with the deaths, according to the Wenatchee Police Department. In an update on June 4, Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison said Travis Decker may have scoped out a hiding location before going off the grid using his extensive military and outdoor survival training. Contributing: Natalie Neysa Alund, Anthony Robledo, and Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Death of 3 Decker sisters: Why wasn't Amber Alert issued?
