My son was on felony probation, and has been arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The new charge was based on an argument with a neighbor. After the verbal argument, the neighbor went home, and returned with a piece of pipe, and chased my son down the street trying to hit him with it. My son went home. After a while, another friend came over, and my son left with him. As they were driving down the street, the neighbor started to approach the vehicle, making threatening gestures. My son reached down, picked up a screwdriver, wrapped it in a sweatshirt, and stuck it out the window telling the neighbor, "Back the F up now." The neighbor called the police and my son was arrested for aggravated assault with a firearm. The charge was later changed to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was also charged with two VOP's because he was on probation for two charges. They violated him twice.
We cannot afford a private attorney. The state offered my son 366 days, and he turned it down. Now the state has revoked the 366, and want to sentence him to 22 months instead. The PD says that the state believes that my son had a firearm, and that is why they revoked the 366. The state is basing this on testimony from the neighbor, and his girlfriend who was not even there to witness what happened. She is just saying what her boyfriend told her to say. However, my son says that in Florida, if the state has two witnesses you can be found guilty without any other evidence. Is this true?
To add insult to injury, the state is now going to take him to court on the VOPs before they even settle the new charge. I asked th PD why they were doing this, and she said, " It is less bothersome to handle the VOP first." What? Don't they have to convict you of a new charge before they can charge you with a VOP?
Also, I spoke to the arresting officer at the time of the arrest, and asked him if there was a weapon. He told me, "No Mam, we can't find a gun, or even the screwdriver your son says he had." HELP!!

Prior felon, witness testify that there was a gun, just because the police could not find one latter, what do you think the jury will believe ?

Was the 366 days to include any and all revolking of the probation.

That is his largest worry, he could do a lot more than a year if they revolk his probation on the first charge.

And in Florida you can be found guility with just one witness if the jury believes them, no need for two. And if there are two, and they say they saw a gun,

Well maybe he should have took the 366 days.

First while the neighbor did a lot, you son, did do the crime from what you said, he did threaten them with a screw driver and it can be considered a weapon.

Most likely if he had taken the 366 days, he would have been out in 4 to 6 months

Time to take to his attorney and see about a new deal.

Does he have an assigned Attorney? It's not how many witnesses there are; it's how believable the witnesses are.

If the girlfriend has testified that she never saw anything why is her testimony even being considered? If he was told to stay out of trouble and didn't stay out of trouble (for whatever reason) he violated.

The girlfriend is testifying that she was there and saw everything, which is a lie.

Thank you for your timely reply. I know that he is in trouble. He is only 21, and this is his first violation. One can only hope that he will come out of this all right. Thank again.

She is just saying what her boyfriend told her to say.

This is not a fact? This is your opinion? I took this as a fact.

Why was he on felony probation? That will enter into what the Judge will and will not believe. I would not take particular pride because this is "only" his first violation. I'd be more concerned about the felony that put him on probation.

Your son threatened a neighbor with a screwdriver wrapped in a sweatshirt. That's an attempted assault WITH a deadly weapon. Making excuses for him will only make the situation worse.

And FrChuck knows the system.

When the neighbor chased him were their any witnesses? Did your son call the police? Your son is a convicted felon, he should know better to get into altercations.

A conviction requires a jury. There are no rules about how much evidence results in a conviction. Its what the jury believes. If his lawyer can prove the girlfriend wasn't there, that can impugn her testimony and the her boyfriends.

By the way, please use the Answer options for follow-up questions or info, not the Comments.

Hello E:

Couple things. You say your son turned down the deal, and then the state revoked it. So what? It wasn't a deal your son wanted anyway. I don't know why he turned it down. Now, the state is making a new offer of 22 months based on a corroborating witness... He can turn that down too and go to trial. I suspect that was his decision when he turned down the first deal.

But, if your son says she wasn't there, all you have to do is prove that at trial, and her testimony is going to be invalid... In any case, your son DID do what they say he did, so he probably should have taken the first offer.

Now, that he didn't, I'm not sure what help you're looking for.

excon

Ok, here is clarification. My son did not do what they say he did because he did not attack anyone, or have a firearm. In the state of Florida, if he had not been on felony probation he would have been able to stand his ground when the neighbor tried to attack him. According to his PD the prosecutor is pursuing this because they "believe" that my son had a gun. They are not concerned about the screwdriver, they are trying to prove that he had a gun based on testimony. Again, he did not touch the neighbor. This was a verbal threat, which he did not know was illegal to do. I did not know that a verbal threat was a felony either. That means that if you are stopped in traffic, and someone does something to you, and you make any type of verbal threat, you can be charged with assault. That is insane to me. Half the drivers in Miami should be in jail based on that logic.

First, ignorance of the law is no excuse. Second, trying to make a case and proving that case to a jury are two different things.

Hello again, E:

There's an awful lot of stuff I don't think you understand...

In the first place, I don't believe a person on probation has fewer rights than a person NOT on probation in THIS circumstance. Oh, I believe the prosecutor will TELL you that stuff, but I'm not buying it...

You SAY it was verbal, but you also say it was accompanied with the brandishment of a weapon. That's certainly MORE than verbal.. Plus, from a legal standpoint, it makes NO difference whether it was a screwdriver or a gun, so I'm having trouble with that part of the story... Besides, if there was NO gun, a prosecutor isn't going to base his case on the HOPE that they'll find one. So, that's troubling too.

All of this confusion won't really help your son, but it may clarify things for you.

excon

He was on probation because I called the police on him after he stole something from my best friend. She did not want to call the police, so I called them myself and turned him in. I don't make excuses for him. I just want him treated fairly. It is not fair for him to go to prison based on the prosecutor believing that he had a gun.

His attorney told him not to take the first offer because the state had no proof. I spoke to her myself.

I have never been arrersted, so I assumed that you are innocent until proven guilty. However, once you are booked, you are guilty until proven innocent. However, I thank God that it is not worse. Jails are much worse in thid world countries.

If he tried to make them believe he had one, "screw driver under a jacket" then he has to take ownership of his stupid mistake. But a screw driver is and has often been used as a weapon, so it by itself can still be used or considered a weapon.

Next they don't have to find a gun, if he had shot them, and killed them, they don't need to find the gun to convict him, it makes it easier, but can be done without it.

If the victims state there was a gun, the jury will believe there was a gun.

How can a screwdriver be the same as a gun? Why did they not charge the neighbor for brandishing a lead pipe? I don't know why they are saying that he had a gun, other than the testimony of the neighbor who started the entire problem. Originally they charged my son with possession of a firearm by a convicted felo, and agg assault with a deadly weapon. They dropped the possession charge, and filed info on the agg assault with a deadly weapon. I am praying that they drop it down to simple assault. Is this a possibility at all?

Even if the victim is also a convicted felon with a history of Domestic Violence, and drug arrests?

I have never been arrersted, so I assumed that you are innocent until proven guilty. However, once you are booked, you are guilty until proven innocent. However, I thank God that it is not worse. Jails are much worse in thid world countries.

One IS innocent until proven guilty. That's my point. That making a case and proving it to a jury are two different things.

But its also not unusual for someone with a record to be considered more likely to repeat offend.

And I will ask you again. Use the Answer options NOT comments when posting follow-up info or questions.

I just want you to understand that my son did not start the altercation. Also, the "victim" is a convicted felon himself. He has conviction for Domestic Battery against his former girlfriend who ended up leaving him for his repeated violence. He had been taking anger management classes, and was on drug offender probation for several years. We are not talking about a model citizen here.

I want to thank everyone for their feedback. You have all been very helpful. If you have anything else to add, I would love to hear it. One thing that has been nagging at me is, do you think that he would have a better chance with a private attorney? I know the PD is doing her best, but she has like 200 cases to handle. What do you all think?

Hello again, E:

Public Defenders are some of the BETTER defense lawyers in the country. You can also find very good private attorney's. But, in the final analysis, somebody has to manage them, no matter whether they're paid or appointed. If a PD is managed properly, a PD can be the best. If not, a client can hope for 1/200th of a defense.

I say managed in the same way you manage your landscaper (if you had one). You wouldn't just let him trim where HE wanted. Lawyers can be managed like that. Of course, it takes a person on the outside WILLING to do it, and it looks like that's you. You have to strike a balance between being a good manager, and a pest.

excon

First stop using that stupid comment feature, and actually answer the question to add your follow up,

That is a small case load in many places, even paid attorneys may have 100's of cases in various levels of work. It is not like TV where they only do one case. Since cases can often go months between hearings and/or even before it goes to trail.

Next the issue, I know you see a difference in a gun and a screw driver and one is more dangerous than the other, but when I was a officer, if someone pointed a screw driver at me like a weapon and was within 10 feet of me, I would have been allowed to shoot them, it was and can be considered a weapon

If they had it hide and make it appear to be a gun, guess what if he was robbing someone that would be armed robbery.

The reason the other person was not arrested is most likely instead of calling the police, your son, did nothing or decided to threaten them back instead.
Had he called the police when the person chased him with a pipe it may have been different.

Since if he has already confessed ( and I hope he has not) that he pointed a screw driver at the person, since that in and of itself is enough to convict of at least the lesser of the crimes. Then he needs the best attorney to make a plea deal and that is almost always the PD.

But the other issue is how much money he has to allow his attorney to investigate, since finding other witnesses. Or other info that may apply to this. Which is often more what effects the case, not as much who the attorney is, but how much money is there for expert witness, how much money is there for independent investigators and so on.

I go back to the OJ example, had he been a broke factor worker, he would be doing 20 years now, but he has the money not as much for the attorneys, but for all sorts of tests, for 100's of legal motions, for lab tests and more.

Comments on this post
Edy020 does not find this helpful : Because this person is too judgemental. I think that if you have nothing positive to add, then don't say anything at all. I have enough stress already.

First, may I call your attention to the guidelines for using the comments feature found here:

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/feedback/using-comments-feature-24951.html

You really need to learn the rules here. Because you have been blundering around annoying several members here, including me. A negative comment is to be used ONLY for a post that is inaccurate or not factual. The response you rated was neither. Nor was it being judgmental. It was simply stating facts that you didn't seem to understand. As such I'm going to have the rating removed.

I'm going to repeat here, things that have been said to you elsewhere. You started posting with this thread yesterday, by 10 PM you had posted over 60 responses to other threads. Many of those responses just repeated what others had previously answered. Several posted inaccurate or wrong information. It is nice that you want to help. Many members here started with asking questions and stayed to help. We welcome anyone who wants to help. But that help needs to meet the standards we have set for this site in terms of accuracy and quality. Instead of blitzing the site, make sure your answers are accurate and well researched.