Whatever happened to . . . ? #19

Orange County

Tommy Lee Knight
2010-MM-002269-A-O
Resist Officer w/o Violence (2 counts)
See previous blogs for details on this defendant.
   Defendant pled and was sentenced to 98 days in jail with credit 98 days time served. He is currently in custody and awaiting trial on three counts of Attempted 1st Degree Murder, Attempted Arson, Stalking and Violation of Pretrial Release Conditions on a DV Case.

Benji Nelson
2009-CF-016411-A-O
Derive Support Proceeds of Prostitution (2cts)
Defendant was found guilty by a jury of one count and sentenced by Judge Jeffrey Arnold to 12 years Department of Corrections.

Luis A Quinones
2008-CF-008099-A-O
Lewd/Lascivious Battery (4cts); Use of Child in Sexual Performance; Possess Material Depicting Sexual Performancy by Child (8cts)
Defendant allegedly met his 12-year old victim on MySpace (victim allegedly told him she was 19).
   The four Lewd/Lascivious Battery counts were dropped in exchange for a plea to all eight counts of Possess Material Depicting Sexual Performance by a Child. Defendant was sentenced to 3 days jail with credit 3 days time served, 10 years sex offender probation; 200 hours of community service; no unsupervised contact with minors; no contact with victim or her family; not permitted to possess a computer to access MySpace or other internet networking sites.

John Phillip Ramos
2009-CF-011708-A-O
L/L Molestation Vic<12 (2cts); L/L Conduct (2cts)
Defendant allegedly molested a young girl in a pool at their apartment complex.
   A jury found Ramos guilty of the lesser included offense of Battery in the first two counts. The other two counts were dismissed. Judge Bob LeBlanc sentenced Ramos to 305 days in jail with credit 305 days time served.

Bryan Deangelo Lee
2010-CF-000888-A-O
Aggravated Battery; Tamper w/Witness
See previous blog for details about this case.
   Defendant pled guilty and was sentenced to 270 days in jail with credit 138 days time served; 2 years probation; no hostile contact; complete a parenting class.

Fernando Lopez Hernandez
2009-CF-005991-A-O
Burglary of Dwelling w/Assault or Battery; Lewd/Lascivious Molestation Victim <12
Defendant allegedly snuck in to an apartment where he fondled an 11-year old in her bed. The burglary charge was dropped in exchange for a plea to Lewd/Lascivious Molestation.
   Defendant was sentenced to 10 years in prison; 10 years sex offender probation; no contact with victim or her mother.

Michael Russell Combs
2009-MM-015101-A-O
Battery (4 counts)
Defendant was an Orange Co jail Corrections Officer who allegedly inappropriately touched female inmates.
   Defendant pled no contest to all counts and was sentenced to 60 days in the Lake County jail with credit 1 day time served; 365 days probation; all counts consecutive; ordered to forfeit his certification as a corrections officer; undergo psychosexual evaluation; have no contact with victims.

Curtis Darrisaw
2010-MM-000100-A-E
Resist Officer w/o Violence
Defendant allegedly beat and held his girlfriend (a UCF student) hostage in her apartment for 14 hours - case was transferred from felony court to misdemeanor court because victim declined to participate. 
   Defendant was acquitted by a jury of the Resisting Officer w/o Violence charge.

Leon D Hankins
2009-CF-009975-A-O
Attempted 1st Degree Murder; Burglary; Arson of Dwelling; Aggravated Battery w/Deadly Weapon; Aggravated Assault w/Deadly Weapon
Defendant allegedly set fires outside victim's home when he found her there with another man, shot her when she came outside to extinguish them, and then pistol whipped her
   Defendant was found guilty by a jury of all counts and sentenced to LIFE in the Department of Corrections (a 25-year minimum mandatory sentence applies).


Seminole County

Ty Standley

2009-CF-003982-A

Video Voyeurism by person 24+ yrs old of a child <16 yrs old

Defendant was arrested at Altamonte Mall after being observed taking photos under the skirt of an unsuspecting girl. 
   Defendant was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to 18 months in prison, 2 years Community Control, ordered to undergo mental health evaluation & treatment, to have no unsupervised contact with minors, and to not go to the Sears store in Altamonte Mall.
NOTE: There is no mention on the Clerk's website that Standley's Community Control includes the standard sex offender provisions.

Antonio Alejandro Gonzalez

2009-CF-004654-A

Cruelty toward child promote sexual performance by child (34 counts); Obscene material possess photo of sexual perf (14 counts)
Defendant pled and was adjudicated guilty of all counts and sentenced to 2 years in prison + 10 years sex offender probation.

Arsonist/Stalker now in custody

In following up on the arsonist/stalker case from last month, I was delighted to learn that Tommy Lee Knight's charges were amended to 3 counts of Attempted Murder and he is now in custody. The State's Motion to Revoke Bond on March 5th was also granted by Judge Lubet.

This is one of those cases that haunted me after monitoring the February bond hearing. The fear that the victim exhibited, as she trembled during her testimony, was abundantly evident. Her mother expressed how helpless she felt in keeping her teenage daughter safe from the defendant.

Knight now has two new misdemeanor charges pending. In case 2010MM2269AO there are two counts of Resisting Officer w/o Violence and in 2010MM2250AO he is charged with one count of Violating Pretrial Release Conditions on a Domestic Violence case (both filed on 3/3/10).

Mr. Knight is now in custody. His trial is scheduled for next month.

Injunction Denied to Victim of Stalking - Stalker/Arsonist Granted Bond

With all the media attention focused on Judge Moxley's denial of an injunction request by Alissa Blanton and her subsequent murder earlier this month, I monitored a criminal case in Judge Marc Lubet's courtroom today that is equally frightening.

On December 1, 2009 19-yr old Tameka Hibbler requested an Injunction for Protection Against Domestic Violence against her ex-boyfriend, Tommy Lee Knight. Her petition noted five different instances of stalking behavior during the previous 4 days:

11/27/09: At her place of work, Mr. Knight was there from 7:00-9:45pm, crying and making a scene. He refused to leave after she asked him to leave her alone.

11/28/09: At the home she shares with her mother and 16-yr old brother, Mr. Knight repeatedly knocked and yelled  at the front door from 11:45pm until 2:00am.  When the Petitioner opened the door, he grabbed her by the arm and insisted she listen to him. He left after her mother threatened to call the police. Ms. Hibbler indicated that for the prior two days he had been repeatedly called her personal, as well as employer's, phone.

11/29/09: Mr. Knight followed her to her church and refused to leave her alone. She asked him to sit in another location, but he refused.

11/30/09: Mr. Knight waited at her place of employment for her to appear. Petitioner's co-workers advised her that he was there from 10:30am until 1:00pm.

11/30/09: Mr. Knight followed Petitioner to her friend's apartment and watched them from the bushes at the apartment complex. Her friend called the police to report Mr. Knight's behavior because they were concerned he might harm one or both of them.

On 12/1/09, Judge Theotis Bronson denied Ms. Hibbler's petition, stating "the allegations are not sufficient for a domestic violence injunction." They certainly seem sufficient to CourtWatch. Actual physical assault is not the sole thing that can be considered when deciding whether or not to grant an injunction.

Click here for the Statute definition of stalking and tell me if you don't think the above allegations support a temporary injunction and a hearing.

It should be noted that Mr. Knight lived in the Petitioner's home with her mother and brother after his parents kicked him out of their home. Mr. Knight is 22-years old.

 

Mr. Knight was in Judge Lubet's courtroom today for a Bond Hearing.

The charges?

Arson 1st Degree of Dwelling/Building w/People Present (a felony) & Stalking (a misdemeanor).

Mr. Knight allegedly doused the doors and windows of the victims' home with gasoline and ignited a blaze at approximately 4:00am on December 2, 2009 - the day after Ms. Hibbler's injunction was denied.

Earlier that evening, some neighbors alerted the family to the defendant's presence in the neighborhood. His bike was seen nearby. The main breaker to their home had been turned off. According to the mother's testimony, the Orange County Sheriff's Department said there was nothing they could do unless someone witnessed a criminal act. This was not the first time they heard that from law enforcement.

Thankfully, Ms. Hibbler's younger brother was unable to sleep as a result of the events earlier in the day, heard and saw the defendant through the front door peephole with a gas can, and got the family out of the house safely when he realized it was on fire.

All three family members testified today that they are terrified that Mr. Knight will return to "finish the job" if he gets out of jail. The defendant's family and friends are allegedly pressuring the victim to drop the charges against him.

Judge Lubet commented that he was surprised that the State Attorney's Office had not filed 3 counts of Attempted Murder charges against Mr. Knight. Assistant State Attorney Shannon Corack indicated that it was being reviewed for possible upgrade. Had that been done, Judge Lubet indicated he probably would not have granted a bond at the hearing today. However, because Arson and Stalking are both bondable offenses, he was obligated to set a bond and conditions of release that accomplish two things:

1. Ensure the saftey of the community, particularly the victims.
2. Ensure the defendant's presence in court.

Considering the fact that Mr. Knight scores 46 months as a minimum in the Department of Corrections, with a maximum of 30 years, it is entirely possible that he would be tempted to flee. He has demonstrated by two earlier Violation of Probation charges that he has a problem with complying with court orders.

Ultimately a bond in the amount of $26,000 was set with the following conditions of release:

• Ankle monitor
• Home confinement - may only leave home go to work, school, meet with his attorney, or seek medical attention
• No contact with any of the victims - either directly or indirectly
• Stay 1000 feet away from the victims' home
• Possess no weapons or firearms
• Possess no flammable liquids

At this time, the family is in a confidential location. But my gut tells me they are far from safe, even with the conditions placed upon the defendant if he does manage to make bond.