From Florida
BRADENTON -- Months ago, Jerry Camp told a jury about a morning when a man in slacks marched up to his house with court papers and said he was taking the Cadillac Escalade in the front yard.
Camp said he was terrified, puzzled why his luxury sport utility vehicle was being seized and unsure whether the man was a genuine Manatee County deputy sheriff. Camp held an unloaded gun over his head in the hope he could buy time until the police arrived.
But the jury could not decide whether Camp was guilty of improperly exhibiting a firearm, a misdemeanor, and the judge declared a mistrial. Camp, 73, then rejected a plea deal, wanting a new jury to decide his case.
On Thursday, when Camp returned to trial, taking the same seat on the stand as he did in January, a panel of five women and one man found consensus. They declared Camp guilty after about two hours of deliberations. Sentencing was deferred.
Central to the prosecution was the state's position that Camp knew there was a real officer in his yard and that Camp angrily and carelessly armed himself with a pistol that morning in January 2006.
"This didn't happen in 1850s' Wild West," Assistant State Attorney Tony Casoria said. Casoria said Camp put lives in danger that day.
But Camp's attorney, Mark Lipinski, presented a vastly different portrait, saying Camp was a frightened man who acted to defend his property.
Lipinski built a case rooted in Camp's reported fear that he was being robbed by a fake officer. The attorney presented newspaper articles about impersonation cases in Southwest Florida, and he spoke about the rise in violent crime in Manatee County.
Camp, his attorney said, did not point the gun at the man in his yard -- Kent Dodd, director of the sheriff's civil unit -- and he did not wave it around. Camp did not verbally threaten the officer.
"What he did may not have been the smartest thing in the world," Lipinski said in court. "But what he did was not criminal."
Dodd, a longtime officer, never met Camp before pulling up to his house, 5200 block 44th St. E. Dodd drove an unmarked, white Ford Crown Victoria sheriff's car.
Armed with court papers to seize Camp's Escalade because of an unpaid 13-year-old debt, Dodd approached the front door and knocked.
There was no answer. He taped the papers to the door. He called for a tow truck.
Camp soon stepped outside and demanded that Dodd prove he was an officer. Dodd was wearing a sheriff's jacket and had a gold badge around his neck. But he refused to show Camp identification.
Citing safety concerns, Dodd said he did not want to reach into his wallet to fish for his ID.
Camp called 911 twice during the dispute.
"If you have doubts about police officers, you phone 911," Lipinski said. "Jerry Camp wanted help. He wanted someone there."
Camp was up on his payments for the vehicle and said he could not understand why anyone was taking his car.
At one point, Dodd gave Camp an option: Pay $10,000 to satisfy a civil court judgment and avoid having the car towed.
Camp, who runs several day care centers, told jurors he thought he was the victim of a fraud.
"I started to get a very funny feeling that this guy was not a deputy sheriff," Camp said in court.
"I thought they were going to take my Escalade and put a bullet in my head besides."
Dodd walked away, turning his back on Camp. When he looked back, Camp stood in his door holding a gun over his head.
Camp said he intentionally unloaded the gun because he did not want a shoot-out. He said he hoped the appearance of the gun would force Dodd to stop the repossession.
But it only escalated the tension.
Dodd took cover and yelled at Camp, telling him to put the gun down. He called for backup.
Casoria, the prosecutor, said the standoff lasted less than a minute.
Camp walked outside with his hands up after a marked patrol car pulled up.
He was arrested at gunpoint on an assault charge, later reduced to improper exhibition of a firearm.
Longtime sheriff's Deputy Ned Foy testified Thursday that it is standard policy to show a photo ID when a person asks a deputy to see it. Foy was a backup deputy at Camp's house
Camp said he was terrified, puzzled why his luxury sport utility vehicle was being seized and unsure whether the man was a genuine Manatee County deputy sheriff. Camp held an unloaded gun over his head in the hope he could buy time until the police arrived.
But the jury could not decide whether Camp was guilty of improperly exhibiting a firearm, a misdemeanor, and the judge declared a mistrial. Camp, 73, then rejected a plea deal, wanting a new jury to decide his case.
On Thursday, when Camp returned to trial, taking the same seat on the stand as he did in January, a panel of five women and one man found consensus. They declared Camp guilty after about two hours of deliberations. Sentencing was deferred.
Central to the prosecution was the state's position that Camp knew there was a real officer in his yard and that Camp angrily and carelessly armed himself with a pistol that morning in January 2006.
"This didn't happen in 1850s' Wild West," Assistant State Attorney Tony Casoria said. Casoria said Camp put lives in danger that day.
But Camp's attorney, Mark Lipinski, presented a vastly different portrait, saying Camp was a frightened man who acted to defend his property.
Lipinski built a case rooted in Camp's reported fear that he was being robbed by a fake officer. The attorney presented newspaper articles about impersonation cases in Southwest Florida, and he spoke about the rise in violent crime in Manatee County.
Camp, his attorney said, did not point the gun at the man in his yard -- Kent Dodd, director of the sheriff's civil unit -- and he did not wave it around. Camp did not verbally threaten the officer.
"What he did may not have been the smartest thing in the world," Lipinski said in court. "But what he did was not criminal."
Dodd, a longtime officer, never met Camp before pulling up to his house, 5200 block 44th St. E. Dodd drove an unmarked, white Ford Crown Victoria sheriff's car.
Armed with court papers to seize Camp's Escalade because of an unpaid 13-year-old debt, Dodd approached the front door and knocked.
There was no answer. He taped the papers to the door. He called for a tow truck.
Camp soon stepped outside and demanded that Dodd prove he was an officer. Dodd was wearing a sheriff's jacket and had a gold badge around his neck. But he refused to show Camp identification.
Citing safety concerns, Dodd said he did not want to reach into his wallet to fish for his ID.
Camp called 911 twice during the dispute.
"If you have doubts about police officers, you phone 911," Lipinski said. "Jerry Camp wanted help. He wanted someone there."
Camp was up on his payments for the vehicle and said he could not understand why anyone was taking his car.
At one point, Dodd gave Camp an option: Pay $10,000 to satisfy a civil court judgment and avoid having the car towed.
Camp, who runs several day care centers, told jurors he thought he was the victim of a fraud.
"I started to get a very funny feeling that this guy was not a deputy sheriff," Camp said in court.
"I thought they were going to take my Escalade and put a bullet in my head besides."
Dodd walked away, turning his back on Camp. When he looked back, Camp stood in his door holding a gun over his head.
Camp said he intentionally unloaded the gun because he did not want a shoot-out. He said he hoped the appearance of the gun would force Dodd to stop the repossession.
But it only escalated the tension.
Dodd took cover and yelled at Camp, telling him to put the gun down. He called for backup.
Casoria, the prosecutor, said the standoff lasted less than a minute.
Camp walked outside with his hands up after a marked patrol car pulled up.
He was arrested at gunpoint on an assault charge, later reduced to improper exhibition of a firearm.
Longtime sheriff's Deputy Ned Foy testified Thursday that it is standard policy to show a photo ID when a person asks a deputy to see it. Foy was a backup deputy at Camp's house
posted by Dave at 2:30 PM
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