Ex-Volusia deputy sentenced for threatening woman with arrest unless she performed sex act
An ex-Volusia Sheriff's deputy, who reportedly threatened to arrest a woman if she did not perform a sexual act on him, was sentenced Thursday to six months in jail.
Stephen Corbin, 41, entered a no contest plea to unlawful compensation or reward for official act and was sentenced to 180 days in the Volusia County Branch Jail and 10 years' probation, according to the State Attorney's Office and jail records. The charge is a second-degree felony.
Corbin must also surrender his law enforcement certificate.
As part of the plea with prosecutors, Circuit Judge Elizabeth Blackburn withheld adjudication, meaning Corbin will not have a conviction on his record if he successfully completes probation.
Prosecutors dismissed a count of solicitation to commit prostitution, a second-degree misdemeanor, as part of the plea agreement.
Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood wrote after Corbin's arrest that Corbin had been a deputy for 11 years. Corbin resigned as the process to fire him started, Chitwood said. At the time, Corbin was assigned to a courthouse in Daytona Beach, according to an affidavit.
The investigation began after a woman told Daytona Beach Police that she was approached May 13 on South Ridgewood Avenue by a man in plain clothes driving a marked Volusia Sheriff's Office patrol car.
The woman told police that the man, later identified as Corbin, ordered her into the patrol car at Cedar and Segrave streets. She said he threatened to arrest her if she did not perform oral sex on him, police stated. She refused. She said Corbin grabbed her left arm and pulled her toward his lap but she pulled away.
Corbin released the woman after she agreed to show him her breasts, according to a charging affidavit. Once she pulled up her shirt, Corbin let her out on South Street.
The woman, who was homeless, said she was not a prostitute but had spoken to some women who were. They told her a man in a 'sheriff's cruiser' was picking them up and paying for sex, the affidavit stated.
Corbin then picked up a second woman. That woman said Corbin asked her if she wanted to make some money but she told him she did not do that, the affidavit stated. Corbin responded by laughing and saying "Yeah, right," the affidavit stated. The woman said again she did not "trick." Corbin told her she was homeless and asked her if she wanted to make some money if he gave her a place to stay and shower and she declined.
Corbin then grabbed her hand and tried to force it to his genitals but she pulled away, the affidavit stated. She said she asked Corbin to let her out of the sheriff's vehicle but he refused and she tried the door and it was locked. She said she gave Corbin directions to the Sunset Inn so it would be on video when he dropped her off.
Once he dropped her off she walked back to Segrave Street and saw Corbin in the Ford Taurus patrol car drive back. Corbin tried to get her to go back inside but she heard people yelling at her not to get in the car. She said Corbin opened the passenger door but she slammed it shut and he sped off.
The woman said she was upset at what happened and that she was not a prostitute.
Corbin's patrol car was towed to the police department and searched. Officers found a sealed box of Trojan condoms in the driver's side door and two sealed condoms in the center of the vehicle.
Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood said after Corbin's arrest that the ex-deputy had disgraced the sheriff's office and later posted a video of melting down of Corbin's badge. Corbin's defense attorney, Michael Lambert, called the badge burning a "childish" stunt.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Ex-Volusia Sheriff's deputy jailed, tried to coerce woman into sex act
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Florida ex-sheriff arrested for allegedly running illegal gambling house that generated millions
A former Florida sheriff has been charged with racketeering and conspiracy after an investigation into an illegal gambling operation. Ex-Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez was arrested Thursday on first-degree felony charges over accusations he pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars and used campaign contributions to keep the alleged gambling operation afloat. "As law enforcement, we are held to higher standards of integrity and character than other professions," Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass said in a statement. "This case revealed that Lopez violated the trust and integrity expected of him as the duly elected sheriff of Osceola County." Nba Player Investigated For Allegedly Manipulating His Playing Performance To Aid Illegal Gambling Scheme Fox News Digital has reached out to the Osceola County Sheriff's Office for comment. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended Lopez after his arrest and appointed a Florida Highway Patrol officer, Christopher Blackmon, as interim sheriff. Lopez was elected in November 2020. Read On The Fox News App Lopez pleaded not guilty Friday to the charges, and he was given a $1 million bond, according to Fox 35. San Bernardino Sheriff's Deputy Arrested On Felony Weapons Charges, Accused Of Ties To Outlaw Biker Gang Prosecutors alleged Friday that Lopez took in as much as $700,000 while operating the illegal business, which included slot machines, a lottery and a "gambling house" out of a business called the Fusion Social Club in Kissimmee. Lopez remained in custody as of Friday afternoon, and he is next expected in court June 30. The illegal gambling operation allegedly generated more than $21.6 million over the years. In addition to Lopez, four others — Ying Zhang, Sharon Fedrick, Sheldon Wetherholt and Carol Cote — face the same racketeering and conspiracy charges. Osceola County is not implicated in the investigation. The Associated Press contributed to this article source: Florida ex-sheriff arrested for allegedly running illegal gambling house that generated millions

Miami Herald
12 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Outraged Broward sheriff lashes out at state attorney for arresting 3 deputies
Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony blasted the State Attorney's Office for arresting three corrections deputies who are accused of battering a woman they booked into jail almost three years ago. Tony said the deputies never should have been arrested, that the woman they're accused of beating attacked and injured them and he is reinstating them. 'So, we're moving forward from an internal-affairs standpoint. Our investigation has been completed. All three deputies will be reinstated to full capacity, and they've been either exonerated of these false allegations or it's been unfounded,' he said at a press briefing Friday morning. The State Attorney's Office arrested Sgt. Zakiyya Polk, Deputy Cleopatra Johnnie and Deputy Denia Walker last week on aggravated battery charges stemming from an Oct. 4, 2022, incident involving a woman being booked into jail on a charge of driving under the influence. Each faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted on the second-degree felony charge. Eric Schwartzreich, Polk's attorney, said she and the other 'detention deputies have not committed any crimes, or any policy violations.' 'As a criminal defense attorney that represents those that find themselves thrust into the criminal justice system, which at times includes deputies, this is the first time that the Sheriff and I have stood in solidarity and both of us agree that these deputies should not be charged with any crimes,' Schwartzreich said in an email to the Miami Herald. 'This is an important case for all of law enforcement. I applaud the Sheriff on his response and for standing up for the men and women who keep us safe.' According to the deputies' arrest warrant, the woman, 38-year-old Samantha Caputo, became argumentative when the deputies told her to remove her bra as she was changing from her personal clothes to her jail uniform. Polk pushed Caputo, and then Johnnie and Walker punched and kicked her several times, the warrant states. Walker and Polk also pepper-sprayed Caputo, and Polk shot prongs into her with her Taser stun gun, according to the warrant. After the struggle, Caputo had a hematoma under her right eye, bruises and a scar from the Taser prongs, the warrant states. The jail nurse treated her for her injuries, and she was hospitalized days later because the Taser wound became infected, according to the warrant. Tony stressed that security-camera footage shows the deputies used an appropriate amount of force in controlling Caputo. He said Caputo 'struck, scratched and bit' one of the deputies, puncturing the skin and fracturing her finger. 'The video is crystal clear that [the deputies] had demonstrated only the level of force necessary to get this individual back into compliance,' Tony said. 'Our standard is reasonable, necessary force in proportion to the threat to that which we face.' Tony struck out at Broward State Attorney Harold Pryor's office for pursuing charges against the deputies yet declining to charge in many cases against deputies and other public employees whom the sheriff's office recommends for prosecution. Referring to Polk, Johnnie and Walker as 'the select three,' Tony questioned why Pryor's office pursued them while ignoring other public-corruption leads from the sheriff's office. 'This is most certainly a miscarriage of justice and exhibits symptoms of public corruption in itself,' Tony said. Tony said that in his two terms he has taken deputy misconduct so seriously that he has fired 141 of them. He said he holds his deputies to strict standards when they use force. Pryor responded in a statement that it took almost three years to charge the deputies because prosecutors didn't begin looking at the case until Caputo's attorneys filed a motion to dismiss a charge of battery on a law-enforcement officer. Public Corruption Unit prosecutors then viewed the security-camera footage and decided to charge the deputies, Pryor said. They also dropped the battery charge against Caputo, according to court documents. 'All individuals charged with a crime are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty. At no time were the detention deputies placed in front of the national media in handcuffs, they were allowed to surrender to the jail at a time that was arranged with their defense attorneys in advance, and they were released from the jail on agreed bonds of $7,500 without going through magistrate court,' Pryor said. Tony said he was outraged the charge against Caputo was dropped. 'You don't get a free pass to strike, injure or harm any of my God damn deputies in this agency,' he said. 'None of them!' Johnnie's attorney did not immediately respond to a Herald request for comments. Information about Walker's legal representation was not immediately available. All three deputies were released from jail on May 29, the same day they were arrested. Tony brought up the case of former Broward Sheriff's Office Deputy Ronald Thurston and other examples of what he said were mishandled cases by Pryor's office. READ MORE: Broward school security specialist is accused of abusing student Thurston was fired for excessive force in 2022. The sheriff's office recommended the State Attorney's Office charge him with battery the previous year, but prosecutors declined. He was arrested three years later on charges of aggravated child abuse and aggravated battery after being hired by Broward County Public Schools to work security at Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach. Pryor defended his office's handling of both cases against Thurston. 'Thurston was criminally charged in February of this year on an unrelated matter and is currently facing criminal prosecution by our agency,' Pryor said. 'As with all cases, we will file criminal charges when we have facts and evidence to support them.'


USA Today
13 hours ago
- USA Today
'Devil in the Ozarks' fugitive captured after 12-day Arkansas manhunt
'Devil in the Ozarks' fugitive captured after 12-day Arkansas manhunt Show Caption Hide Caption Ex-Arkansas police chief imprisoned for murder escapes prison Grant Hardin, a former Gateway, Arkansas, police chief serving time for murder and rape, escaped from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock on May 25. unbranded - Newsworthy A former Arkansas police chief who escaped from a prison where he was serving decades-long sentences for murder and rape was captured June 6 after a 12-day manhunt involving federal, state and local law enforcement. Police in Mountain View and the Stone County Sheriff's Office confirmed that escaped inmate Grant Hardin has been captured. According to a social media post by the Mountain View Police, Hardin was captured by authorities on Friday afternoon. Grant Hardin, 56, had gained notoriety as the subject of the 2023 documentary 'Devil in the Ozarks'' about his 1997 rape of a school teacher and 2017 murder of a water department worker. Hardin fled the North Central Unit in Calico Rock, Arkansas, through a secure entryway on May 25 wearing a fake law enforcement uniform. His disguise caused a corrections officer to open a gate and let him walk out of the medium-security facility. The escape followed the May 16 jailbreak of 10 inmates in New Orleans – several of them charged with murder – which drew national attention and caused consternation in area communities. Hardin was regarded as no less dangerous a fugitive. In 2017 he was convicted of killing James Appleton, an employee of the northwest Arkansas town of Gateway whose brother-in-law, Andrew Tillman, was the mayor. Tillman told investigators they were talking on the phone when Appleton was shot to death in his pickup truck. A DNA test conducted following the murder connected Hardin to an unresolved 1997 rape in Rogers, Arkansas, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in the case. The teacher was attacked at gunpoint after leaving her classroom to go to a restroom near the teacher's lounge, according to the affidavit. Like true crime? Check out Witness: A library of true crime stories Getting away with murder: : These fugitives were never caught Where did Hardin work in law enforcement? Hardin's combined convictions, including two counts of rape, added up to 80 years in prison sentences. 'He's a sociopath,'' former Benton County prosecutor Nathan Smith told Arkansas ABC affiliate KHBS/KHOG. 'Prison's not full of people who are all bad. It's full of a lot of people who just do bad things. Grant's different.'' Hardin had an erratic career in Arkansas law enforcement starting in 1990, working for police departments in Fayetteville, Huntsville and Eureka Springs before briefly serving as Gateway's police chief in 2016. He was fired from the Fayetteville job after less than a year because of subpar performance and failure to accept constructive criticism, according to KHBS/KHOG. In Huntsville, where he worked from April 1993 to October 1996, the former police chief told the TV station Hardin used excessive force and made poor decisions. Escaping from prison, for which he now faces charges, may be just the latest one. Contributing: N'dea Yancey-Bragg, Michael Loria and James Powel, USA TODAY