Latest news with #JimmieGardner
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Yahoo
Tampa federal prosecutors drop sex trafficking case against exonerated man
TAMPA — When Jimmie Gardner was arrested 18 months ago on human trafficking allegations, Tampa authorities were quick to tout his past wrongful imprisonment and his relationship to a Democratic politician. Police and prosecutors accused Gardner, 58, of offering to pay a 16-year-old girl for sex, then choking her when she resisted his advances. News of his arrest became a minor political sensation. It also caught the attention of federal prosecutors, who quickly scooped up the case. Last month, though, they dropped it. Ultimately, the government lost confidence in the credibility of their key witness, the accuser, who admitted in a pretrial meeting that she'd lied in all her previous statements to investigators, according to court records. Other inconsistencies further complicated the case, which hinged on the word of a girl prosecutors acknowledged was troubled. Gardner, through his attorney, declined to comment. 'Mr. Gardner has no ill will toward the alleged victim,' said attorney David Little. 'We are thankful, and he is certainly thankful, that she finally came forward and clarified part of her misrepresentations to law enforcement. And Mr. Gardner looks forward to moving forward and putting this situation behind him.' Gardner is a Tampa native who as a young man played in the storied Belmont Heights Little League. In 1984, he was drafted by the Chicago Cubs and played four seasons in the minor leagues while spending the offseason studying business at Tampa College. He is best known, though, for the harrowing story of his wrongful conviction in a 1987 West Virginia rape. That case hinged on false testimony from a blood analyst. Prosecutors were also faulted for failing to disclose lab reports that indicated someone else committed the crime. Gardner was exonerated in 2016 after 27 years in prison. He became a motivational speaker and later married Leslie Abrams Gardner, a federal judge who is the sister of Stacey Abrams, the nationally recognized Democratic Georgia voting rights activist. In November 2023, Gardner was back in his hometown, staying at the Renaissance Tampa International Plaza Hotel. Police were called there early one morning after a young woman told several people that someone tried to rape her. She later told police that hours earlier she'd been walking along Fowler Avenue when Gardner pulled up alongside her in a black Cadillac SUV. He asked if she wanted to 'chill,' and if she wanted to 'do something for some money,' she said, according to court records. She learned he was staying at a 'nice hotel' and 'wanted to take pictures for social media,' the records state. She denied there was any talk in the SUV about sex, records state. She agreed to 'hang out,' she said, but claimed she told him she was 16 and wouldn't do anything sexual. They later went to his hotel. In his hotel room, the girl said, Gardner watched TV and made conversation with her. At some point, she said Gardner put a $100 bill in her pocket and asked if she would engage in sex acts, court records state. She initially agreed, she said, but told Gardner she'd changed her mind after the encounter became physical. She said Gardner became angry and told her to leave. A loud argument ensued. As she yelled at him, the girl said, Gardner placed his hands around her neck, court records state. She ran out of the room and began banging on doors. A hotel guest took her to the lobby, where police were called. As officers talked to the girl, Gardner phoned the front desk and said he wanted to tell his side of the story. He claimed he met the girl in the lobby and she followed him back to his room, according to court records. He said he believed she was an 'escort,' and told her he wanted nothing to do with her. He claimed it was she who became angry. Gardner was arrested on human trafficking and other charges. Within weeks, federal prosecutors picked up the case, bringing it to a grand jury that returned an indictment for sex trafficking of a minor. Court records note that male DNA obtained from the girl the night of Gardner's arrest did not match him. There was little other physical evidence. Gardner's defense sought to introduce evidence that the girl was involved in sex work. They asserted that 'she engaged in a pattern of lying about her age to unsuspecting men,' records state. The defense disputed that the girl ever told Gardner she was a minor. He claimed he asked if she was over 18 and she responded 'yes.' Although the girl first denied to police that she'd ever accepted money for sex, she later admitted to soliciting men on North Nebraska Avenue in Tampa, according to court records. The defense obtained a month's worth of data from two cellphones the girl used. One phone held records of more than 4,000 text messages. More than 95% of those messages were conversations with various men about exchanging money for sex, according to a court paper filed by the defense. They showed a pattern of her reaching out directly to men she met on dating apps. She frequently sent them sexual photos of herself, the paper states. Gardner's defense identified eight instances in which she falsely told men she was between 18 and 22. Hours before she met Gardner, she texted with another man, discussing various sex acts in exchange for money. A judge granted a request from prosecutors to bar evidence that the girl was involved in prostitution. The government also noted one text message she sent to a friend after Gardner's arrest, which was consistent with what she told police. 'Some man just choked me up like tried to kill me,' she wrote, according to court records. But there was more the defense obtained that seemed to diminish her credibility. In the months after Gardner's arrest, the girl was named as a victim in two other sex cases. In both, police arrested men they said had solicited her on North Nebraska Avenue. In April 2024, the girl went on TikTok 'to boast about her role in the arrest of three men,' including Gardner, according to court records. In response to a comment from a viewer, the girl said she had pending cases with the Florida Department of Children and Families due to her involvement in 'prostitution activities' on Nebraska Avenue, the records state. She said she was 'getting money' from the men and emphasized that she did not consider herself 'a snitch.' State prosecutors ultimately decided not to formally charge the two other men, court records show. Neither was charged in federal court. But the federal sex trafficking case against Gardner continued. His defense attorneys at one point argued that he was being selectively prosecuted because of his high profile and his race — Gardner is Black; the other two men who were arrested were white. Prosecutors denied that accusation. A judge denied the defense's request to dismiss the case on those grounds. A trial was scheduled to begin this month. Then, in late April, Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney Derry asked a judge to dismiss the case. In a pretrial meeting with prosecutors and law enforcement, the girl admitted to lying in her previous statements, the prosecutor wrote. The girl said she never told Gardner she was 16. Rather, she told him she was 18. She said she lied because she was angry that Gardner had choked her. The change in her testimony and 'other inconsistencies' left the government unable to prove its case. 'The evidence,' Derry wrote, 'is insufficient to sustain a conviction based on the credibility of the victim.'
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Prichard Mayor Jimmie Gardner announces bid for re-election
PRICHARD, Ala. (WKRG) — Prichard Mayor Jimmie Gardner says he wants to continue leading the city for another four years. Inaugural Polo fundraiser helps support the Palm Project in Baldwin County Gardner has been Prichard's mayor since his election in 2016, when he defeated former Mayor Troy Ephriam. Before becoming mayor, Gardner served as the city's police chief from 2010 to 2012. Gardner is holding an event at 6 p.m. tonight at 3705 St. Stephens Road in Prichard to formally launch his re-election campaign. Prichard Police looking for card skimmer suspects after device found in store A Mayoral Candidate Forum featuring Gardner, Carletta Davis, Rodney Clements, Terrance Harris and Anthony Clarkbannks is set for 6:30 p.m. May 1 at Destiny Vision Christian Center Church, 500 Dykes Road in Eight Mile. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
PWSB crisis: Prichard seeks state and federal aid
PRICHARD, Ala. (WKRG) — The City of Prichard is seeking state and federal support to address its critical water infrastructure issues. Theodore man accused of attacking someone with a bottle of spray paint: Mobile police 'The City of Prichard is calling on federal and state agencies to provide immediate assistancein addressing long-standing issues with the Prichard Water and Sewer Board (PWSB), similar to the support provided to Flint, Mich.; Jackson, Miss.; and Baltimore, Md.,' Prichard Mayor Jimmie Gardner said in a statement released Wednesday. In that statement, Gardner blamed 'decades of neglect, financial mismanagement, and infrastructure deterioration' for the current situation. He said it has 'placed an unfair burden on our residents, many of whom face persistent service disruptions, inflated billing, and concerns about water quality.' The city is asking for emergency funding to repair and modernize the infrastructure to 'ensure equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all residents of Prichard.' 'Other cities facing similar crises have received substantial federal support, and Prichard deserves no less,' the release stated. 'Like Jackson, Miss., which secured nearly $800 million in federal and state funding, we call for a similar commitment to Prichard to ensure our residents receive safe, clean, and affordable water.' Federally, the city is asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice to intervene and provide financial relief and infrastructure funding, including grants under the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Mobile woman faces murder charge in Mardi Gras queen's death City officials are asking the Alabama State Legislature and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management to prioritize Prichard in state allocations for water infrastructure repair and oversight, and calling for an independent audit and oversight of the Prichard Water and Sewer Board to 'ensure financial accountability, prevent mismanagement and restore public trust.' This story is developing. News 5 will update this article as more information becomes available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
