Latest news with #BrowardStateAttorney'sOffice
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Broward sheriff reinstates deputies charged in jail fight, says ‘public corruption' led to arrests
An incensed Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony announced Friday the reinstatement of three detention deputies recently arrested over a fight with an inmate, describing the decision to charge them as evidence of 'public corruption and favors for friends.' The three deputies, Denia Walker, 37, Cleopatra Johnnie, 47, and Sgt. Zakiyyah Polk, 44, were arrested on felony aggravated battery charges last week following an investigation by the Broward State Attorney's Office. The three women were processing Samantha Caputo, 38, who had been arrested on a DUI charge, when an argument ensued and she flung her bra at one of the deputies, according to jail footage and arrest warrants. The altercation then became physical, though most of it occurred off camera. Caputo lost consciousness during the fight and suffered multiple injuries, saying in a sworn statement that she was in fear for her life. The deputies also had injuries. At a news conference Friday, Tony was flanked by the deputies' private attorneys as he repeatedly condemned the State Attorney's Office over its charging decisions both in the jail fight and in other cases while suggesting that prosecutors treated Caputo differently because of her name and connections. He did not elaborate on what those connections were. 'This is most certainly a miscarriage of justice and exhibits signs and symptoms of public corruption in itself. Favors for friends,' Tony said, adding that there are individuals who 'are selectively charged and those who are not. Is it their last name? Is it they're a power player or influence in this community?' The Sheriff's Office will foot the bill of the three deputies' criminal defense and all of them will be reinstated to full duty, Tony said. Tony began the news conference by going through the numbers of potential criminal cases involving his deputies that he has sent to the State Attorney's Office, arguing that prosecutors have repeatedly declined to charge them. He then had reporters watch segments of the jail footage from the Oct. 4, 2022, incident to show that the deputies acted professionally. All of the deputies 'demonstrated only the level of force necessary' to get Caputo into compliance, Tony said. BSO nursing staff treated Caputo immediately after the incident. She had significant bruising underneath her right eye and a bruised and swollen face, according to the warrants. At a hospital after she was released, she learned she had a skin infection where she had been shocked with a Taser. The deputies also sustained injuries during the fight, Tony said, including a bite that fractured the bones in Polk's finger. Caputo had been charged with aggravated battery following the fight, but the State Attorney's Office dropped those charges, as well as the original DUI charge, another decision that he suggested was selective treatment. 'I don't care if it's the Caputos, the Thurstons, the Rockefellers, the Vanderbilts, the Trumps or the goddamn Obamas,' Tony said. 'It doesn't matter when you're in Broward County. Everyone's going to be held to the same standards.' The State Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to Tony's allegations Friday afternoon. This is a developing story, so check back for updates. Click here to have breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo cleared in public corruption investigation
Prosecutors in the Broward State Attorney's Office have cleared Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo of criminal wrongdoing following a yearslong investigation into accusations that he stalked a Little Havana businessman and threatened a former police chief. In a closeout memo Monday, Julio Gonzalez, who heads Broward's Public Corruption Unit, said the state 'cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Carollo's actions rose to a criminal offense as it pertains to his dealings with' Ball & Chain owner Bill Fuller and Art Acevedo, the former Miami police chief. Gonzalez wrote that the matter can be referred back to the city of Miami for a possible administrative investigation. Broward County sometimes investigates public corruption matters out of Miami-Dade County because of conflicts of interest. Fuller previously won in a federal civil lawsuit against Carollo, with a jury awarding him and businessman Martin Pinilla $63.5 million. Jurors found that Carollo weaponized police and code enforcement officers in retaliation against Fuller and Pinilla after they supported his 2017 election opponent. Acevedo, meanwhile, filed a lawsuit in 2022 against Carollo and two other commissioners who voted to fire him in 2021, accusing the defendants of violating his First Amendment rights and illegally retaliating against him for 'speaking out against corruption and abuse of power by the City of Miami Commission.' That lawsuit is ongoing. The positive news for Carollo lands the same week as a campaign fundraiser that Miami First, the political committee tied to the commissioner, is hosting to raise money for his potential mayoral campaign. Carollo said Tuesday that he has not decided if he's running for mayor, saying that other people organized the event. The commissioner faced scrutiny for the timing of the fundraiser, which was scheduled on the same day as the memorial services for Commissioner Manolo Reyes, who died last week. Reached for comment, Carollo acknowledged that the timing wasn't ideal but said it wasn't intentional. 'This is something that had been planned way before,' Carollo said. 'It's not in my control to cancel something that others have done, and this has got nothing to do with Manolo.' 'I wish it would've been on another day, but that's the day that it fell on,' he added.
Miami Herald
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo cleared in public corruption investigation
Prosecutors in the Broward State Attorney's Office have cleared Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo of criminal wrongdoing following a yearslong investigation into accusations that he stalked a Little Havana businessman and threatened a former police chief. In a closeout memo Monday, Julio Gonzalez, who heads Broward's Public Corruption Unit, said the state 'cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Carollo's actions rose to a criminal offense as it pertains to his dealings with' Ball & Chain owner Bill Fuller and Art Acevedo, the former Miami police chief. Gonzalez wrote that the matter can be referred back to the city of Miami for a possible administrative investigation. Broward County sometimes investigates public corruption matters out of Miami-Dade County because of conflicts of interest. Fuller previously won in a federal civil lawsuit against Carollo, with a jury awarding him and businessman Martin Pinilla $63.5 million. Jurors found that Carollo weaponized police and code enforcement officers in retaliation against Fuller and Pinilla after they supported his 2017 election opponent. Acevedo, meanwhile, filed a lawsuit in 2022 against Carollo and two other commissioners who voted to fire him in 2021, accusing the defendants of violating his First Amendment rights and illegally retaliating against him for 'speaking out against corruption and abuse of power by the City of Miami Commission.' That lawsuit is ongoing. The positive news for Carollo lands the same week as a campaign fundraiser that Miami First, the political committee tied to the commissioner, is hosting to raise money for his potential mayoral campaign. Carollo said Tuesday that he has not decided if he's running for mayor, saying that other people organized the event. The commissioner faced scrutiny for the timing of the fundraiser, which was scheduled on the same day as the memorial services for Commissioner Manolo Reyes, who died last week. Reached for comment, Carollo acknowledged that the timing wasn't ideal but said it wasn't intentional. 'This is something that had been planned way before,' Carollo said. 'It's not in my control to cancel something that others have done, and this has got nothing to do with Manolo.' 'I wish it would've been on another day, but that's the day that it fell on,' he added.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Yahoo
Man indicted in July shooting death of toddler at Fort Lauderdale birthday party
Months after a drive-by shooting in Fort Lauderdale turned a birthday party into chaos, a man has been charged in the death of 3-year-old Rylo Yancy. A grand jury indicted Tyler Tyrone Hollins, 20, of Lauderdale Lakes, on charges of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a delinquent on Thursday, the Broward State Attorney's Office said. Hollins has been in the Broward Main Jail since December, when he was arrested by Sheriff's Office Burglary Apprehension Team detectives on unrelated charges, jail and court records show. On July 21, Rylo was playing on the playground at Riverland Park during a child's birthday party when gunshots erupted from at least one car driving by, sending adults and toddlers running. He was taken to a hospital, where he died. He had turned 3 in May. Detectives found two cars that were used in the shooting days later, the department previously said, a 2024 red Mercedes-Benz C 300 and a 2017 black Mercedes-Benz C 300. Hollins is not the only suspect, Fort Lauderdale Police said Monday. 'While this arrest marks significant progress in this murder investigation, there is still work to be done,' the police department said in a statement. 'Detectives have identified additional suspects involved in this shooting and are working to ensure those suspects are held accountable.' This is a developing story, so check back for updates. Click here to have breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.
Miami Herald
07-03-2025
- Miami Herald
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.
