Jeremy Dewitte GUILTY Sentencing - Full Hearing

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: sergeant i want everyone on this scene with their body cameras rolling anyways i know for a fact that wasn't me okay all i fucking know is that's what they're saying i'm doing i was staying in a hilton for two weeks so what the hell i had beautiful uh accommodations the pool everything had to register the vehicle did it that red that car has been registered since we've owned it for almost three years uh had to get a new tag for it uh went ahead and properly registered that um gave that information to osceola so we're a little confused on what the violation is again it's got to be technical because there's no new warrants for wait a minute they're on the record state of [00:00:56] Speaker 2: flora versus jeremy charles dewitt 2022 cf 3688. mr cinnamon uh did you send a message to mr commons good [00:01:06] Speaker 3: morning uh yes jennifer cinnamon um mr collins is still in judge beamer they are in the middle of a police bench apparently it has taken longer than anticipated so mr collins has said that he will be over as soon as it as it is done but it sounds like it's going to be probably 15 to 20 more minutes um his other request would be to reset this for this afternoon i don't he said that um he had made he had indicated that uh he had another obligation the court that's set this in an effort to accommodate mr [00:01:59] Speaker 2: ladan's request for a little bit more time to present a uh litigation presentation i'm going to send a word over to judge beamer to let him know that i am waiting on mr collins arrival i see that uh we have an online uh presence mr ladan i don't know if you're in contact with that person if you would let them know looks like we're going to be delayed perhaps about 15 minutes or so [00:02:31] Speaker 4: yes your honor i'll i'll make sure they're wherever there should be two uh folks like i can't see [00:02:37] Speaker 2: unless i join and i don't want to join to give them the impression that the hearing is going to start [00:02:43] Speaker 4: is there an id number for them to use or should they be able to just click and connect it looks like [00:02:48] Speaker 2: they're they're in the waiting room already let me there is a rania uh that is currently in the queue and uh that's the only person they should be able just to click on there should be another one too [00:03:02] Speaker 4: because his um his mom is in colorado so they're going to be preparing virtually too so they can't [00:03:09] Speaker 2: all right yeah mr witt apparently was able to connect so um we can i'll let her know we're only a couple minutes since the sounds good the hearing so all right thank you [00:03:26] Speaker 1: but that wasn't me [00:03:56] Speaker ?: so um so um [00:04:56] Speaker 2: i see that a miss ursula dewitt has also joined us all right i apologize for the delay we'll be in a 15 minutes sergeant would you contact your online witnesses they were present when i admitted them they're no [00:05:44] Speaker 4: longer i just texted them both judge and let them know where about thank you thank you for your patience [00:06:14] Speaker 5: thank you very much thank you very much thank you very much thank you very much thank you very much [00:06:42] Speaker ?: Thank you. [00:07:12] Speaker 2: Good afternoon, Ms. DeWitt. Can you hear the court? If you would try again, we did not hear. Can you hear the court, Ms. DeWitt? [00:07:35] Speaker 6: I do. [00:07:36] Speaker 2: All right. Thank you. We can hear you. Thank you. [00:07:42] Speaker 6: Okay. [00:07:50] Speaker 2: Ms. DeWitt, we can hear you loud and clear. We're waiting for another online participant, and then we'll get started. [00:07:57] Speaker ?: Okay. [00:08:09] Speaker 2: Mr. DeWitt, I don't know if you have video capability. If you wish, you may turn on your video. As soon as we have all the participants, I'm going to turn my computer around so you can see the courtroom. [00:08:26] Speaker 7: Okay. [00:08:27] Speaker 2: All right. Thank you. It's all. You're not required to show video if you choose not to. I just was going to offer that. [00:08:39] Speaker 4: And, Your Honor, I'm in communication with Jeremy's mom. She's indicating it's not connecting. It's just spinning. She says, I'm sorry. So that's a connectivity issue on her own. I would suggest that she disconnect and reconnect. [00:08:52] Speaker 2: I would suggest that she disconnect and reconnect. And I did see her briefly in the online queue. [00:08:58] Speaker 6: Is it okay to have my child in the background? [00:09:11] Speaker 1: Yes, you're more than welcome. [00:09:14] Speaker 2: We're going to be showing the courtroom, and Mr. DeWitt is in the jail uniform. Yes. All right. [00:09:21] Speaker 8: Okay. Okay. [00:09:50] Speaker 2: We're going to have a backup plan. Could be that we could give the courtroom telephone number to her, and she could observe. Mr. DeWitt, I'm going to unmute your microphone for the time being. And then, if you are called upon to testify, we'll unmute your microphone. All right. Ms. Ursula DeWitt has joined us. And as soon as I admitted her. Ms. Ursula DeWitt, are you with us? I saw her briefly. I admitted her into the queue, and she was gone. Here's her again. Let's try. We're joined by an online presence, Ursula DeWitt. Ms. DeWitt, you're... Ms. Ursula, okay. I see you've unmuted your microphone. Can you hear the court? [00:11:23] Speaker 9: We can, thank you. [00:11:24] Speaker 2: All right, thank you. I'm going to turn my computer around so you can see the courtroom. [00:11:29] Speaker 9: Okay. [00:11:34] Speaker 2: I'll ask the parties to let me know if that screen changes. Sometimes it does it by itself. Yes, sir. All right. Thank you. All right. We are here for sentencing. State of Florida v. Jeremy Charles DeWitt, 2022 CF3688. The sentencing follows a guilty verdict on October 30th, 2024, the allegation being failure of a sexual offender to comply with registration requirements, failure to provide motor vehicle information changes to the 2013 black Dodge Charger. It was found guilty unanimously by a jury selected from members of the community. I have been provided with a score sheet in 2022 CF3688. Mr. LaDame, have you had an opportunity to review that score sheet? [00:12:28] Speaker 4: I've had an opportunity to look it over, Judge. What I haven't had an opportunity to do is to go through and parse out whether there's anything on there that I can specify is not, in fact, a scoreable charge. And so, I've reviewed with Mr. DeWitt, I just haven't had the bandwidth to go through every one of those prior classes to see whether anything's improperly scored. [00:12:50] Speaker 2: All right. So, at this point, you are unaware of any errors, corrections, or omissions on his rather voluminous score sheet? [00:12:58] Speaker 4: That's correct. [00:12:59] Speaker 2: All right. Thank you. All right, Mr. LaDame, I did receive the emergency motion to continue the sentencing hearing. The court denied that request. However, the court did grant the remote appearance of two witnesses that it was represented were unable to attend. Do you anticipate presenting any mitigation testimony? [00:13:30] Speaker 4: Your Honor, my testimony will be presented by Mrs. DeWitt, my client's mother, and my client. [00:13:38] Speaker 2: All right. Thank you. So, you're calling my first? [00:13:45] Speaker 4: We can, yes, Your Honor. [00:13:47] Speaker 2: I'll do it in whatever order you'd like, Mr. LaDame. [00:13:49] Speaker 4: We can call Mr. DeWitt first. She's got a sick child, so I'm sure being able to take care of that would be best. [00:13:55] Speaker 2: All right. Thank you. Mr. DeWitt, I appointed you over to the court clerk. If you would please raise your right hand, be sworn. [00:14:03] Speaker 5: Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to enter into this case is to be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God. [00:14:13] Speaker 2: Ms. Ronia DeWitt, your microphone is muted. I think you muted her, Judge. You might have to unmute her. I think she can do it. [00:14:25] Speaker 6: Okay. So, I'll mute it now. [00:14:27] Speaker 2: All right. Thank you. Did you hear the clerk's instructions? [00:14:31] Speaker 6: Yes. [00:14:32] Speaker 2: All right. And do you swear to tell the truth in these proceedings? [00:14:36] Speaker 6: Yes. [00:14:36] Speaker 2: All right. Thank you. I'm going to turn you back around to Mr. LaDame. [00:14:45] Speaker 4: Good morning, Mr. DeWitt. Can you hear me okay? [00:14:50] Speaker 8: Yes. [00:14:52] Speaker 4: You and I had a brief opportunity to speak about this yesterday. You're aware of why you're here today. What is it that you would like the court to consider as it relates to Jeremy's sentence in this case? [00:15:10] Speaker 6: Well, we need him home. He plays a big role in his daughter's life, and she really misses him so much, and he's supporting my family. He's my only family here in the United States. I have no family but him and my daughter, and he's my best friend as well, and we really missed him so much. And I never imagined that my daughter, I would have a daughter or a child that is going to grow up without her father. It hurts so much, and it hurts. Her words hurt me when she asked me about her father ten times a day, and that's all. [00:16:02] Speaker 4: Okay. When Jeremy was home, was he working and employed? [00:16:08] Speaker 6: Yes. [00:16:09] Speaker 4: Okay. Was he providing for the family, paying the mortgage, paying the bills for your child's needs and your needs? [00:16:18] Speaker 6: Absolutely. We were both paying for everything, and it was a big help. Okay. [00:16:25] Speaker 4: I know this is a personal question, but we're only afforded this opportunity once. I understand that at one point, or maybe more than one point, the home was in your closure, and there were some financial difficulties that you were going through, is that true? [00:16:44] Speaker 6: That's true, because I only can work part-time right now, so I can support my child and take care of her, and due to Jeremy not being home, our help's in Jeopardy. [00:17:06] Speaker 4: Okay. I appreciate that. Are you aware of the sentence that Jeremy was given in Orange County that required him to divest himself of Metro State? [00:17:27] Speaker 6: No. Okay. [00:17:29] Speaker 4: Do you know what I mean by divest himself of that? Are you aware that he had to get rid of Metro State as a business? [00:17:39] Speaker 6: Yes. [00:17:40] Speaker 4: Okay. And as part of that, he had to get rid of anything that said Metro State on it, like the vehicles, other... [00:17:49] Speaker 6: Everything. [00:17:50] Speaker 4: Are you familiar with that? [00:17:52] Speaker 6: Yes. [00:17:53] Speaker 4: Okay. [00:17:54] Speaker 6: He was trying to sell everything, get rid of everything, and not even leave a sticker or anything that has Metro State on it. And I was with him, and his family as well, and he was trying his best. Okay. [00:18:12] Speaker 4: Um, was there a 2013 Dodge Charger that was at your residence, at your family home, that was a Metro State vehicle at one point? Yes. [00:18:27] Speaker 6: Okay. [00:18:28] Speaker 4: Um, are you aware of that vehicle getting, um, stripped of all of the Metro State, um, insignias and various, uh, trappings of the business? [00:18:40] Speaker 6: It was. [00:18:41] Speaker 4: Okay. Do you know what, do you know when that was done? [00:18:47] Speaker 6: When that court advised him to do so. [00:18:50] Speaker 4: There's a screen just popped up with a gray box. I can still see in the background other things, but I don't know how that affects it. [00:19:03] Speaker ?: Thank you. [00:19:04] Speaker 6: Can you hear me? [00:19:05] Speaker 4: Yes, ma'am. Can you hear me? [00:19:07] Speaker 6: Yes. [00:19:08] Speaker 4: Okay. Can you repeat your answer? [00:19:10] Speaker 6: When he was, when he was advised to do so, he stripped everything out of the car. Okay. [00:19:18] Speaker 4: Um, was he getting assistance, um, with that? Um, was Ursula helping him with that because he was incarcerated for a period of time? [00:19:29] Speaker 6: Yes. Okay. [00:19:31] Speaker 4: Um, when the, when the 2013 Charger was stripped, was it also painted? [00:19:41] Speaker 6: Correct. Correct. [00:19:43] Speaker 4: What color was it painted? [00:19:46] Speaker 6: All black. [00:19:48] Speaker ?: Okay. [00:19:49] Speaker 4: Um, do you know who, um, James Woods is? [00:20:01] Speaker 6: Can you repeat the name again? Yes, ma'am. [00:20:04] Speaker 4: James Woods. Do you know? Yes. [00:20:07] Speaker 6: I know. Okay. I know him. [00:20:10] Speaker 4: Yeah, he was. Was, was Mr. Woods coming out to the property to ensure compliance with the court order in the Orange County sentence? [00:20:18] Speaker ?: Yes. [00:20:19] Speaker 4: Uh, was Mr. Woods aware that the, um, Metro State Dodge Charger was on your property at some point? [00:20:28] Speaker 6: He was, and he was the one that informed, informed me this car wasn't supposed to be here because it was white and had black and white in it. And for that reason, I told Jeremy and we got it painted black. And he was aware that this is his car. We told him multiple times. Okay. [00:20:52] Speaker 4: Um, I'm going to approach the witness with some photographs, Your Honor. Um. [00:20:59] Speaker ?: Okay. [00:21:00] Speaker 4: I'm going to try to hold this up in a way where you can see it. Can you, can you see the picture that I'm holding up? [00:21:05] Speaker ?: Yes. [00:21:06] Speaker 6: Okay. [00:21:07] Speaker 4: Do you recognize, uh, the vehicle in this picture that we were speaking of? [00:21:12] Speaker 6: Yes. [00:21:13] Speaker 4: Okay. And, and is this the one I'm pointing to here with my finger? Is that the? [00:21:17] Speaker 6: Correct. [00:21:18] Speaker 4: Okay. And I'm going to show you a, I'm going to show you a picture of it by itself. Is that the same vehicle? [00:21:25] Speaker 6: That's the same vehicle. [00:21:26] Speaker 4: Okay. And that's the vehicle that you had, uh, repainted all black? [00:21:32] Speaker 6: Correct. [00:21:34] Speaker 4: Correct. He said he cannot come home with this vehicle, uh, black and white, and we had to repaint it. [00:21:49] Speaker 6: We had to do all that with the help of his family, and he came home and he saw the vehicle and he saw everything and he agreed that he can come home. So he's aware of everything. Okay. Okay. [00:22:10] Speaker 4: Um, is, is this the vehicle being delivered back to your property after it was painted all black? Yes. [00:22:16] Speaker 6: Okay. [00:22:17] Speaker 4: Okay. And same thing, this is the vehicle parked in the front yard after it was painted all black? [00:22:21] Speaker 6: Yes. Yes. Same vehicle. [00:22:25] Speaker 4: Thank you, ma'am. So, until, um, until that vehicle came into compliance, was Mr. DeWitt being required to stay at different hotels away from the family house? [00:22:40] Speaker 6: Uh, he was staying in a hotel, uh, that was approved and he couldn't come home until, um, Mr. Woods came home and approved everything. Okay. And. [00:22:57] Speaker 4: When the, when the vehicle was on property in the metro state, uh, kind of trappings condition, did it have a license tag on it, a Florida tag on it? [00:23:09] Speaker 6: I'm sure it has, yes, it has. Okay. [00:23:15] Speaker 4: And, and did it, did it also maintain a tag on it when it was painted all black? [00:23:21] Speaker 6: Correct. Okay. [00:23:23] Speaker 4: All right. Um, okay. Other than the, other than the financial hardship, uh, and the emotional hardship that, um, this causes you by not having Jeremy home, is there anything else you'd like the court to consider? Yeah. [00:23:39] Speaker 6: I would love for them to consider that, um, my daughter needs her father, um, and me as her mom, um, I'm pregnant every day, um, to see her grown without her father and looking at other children and seeing them with her dad, with their dad, uh, watching TV and see that rule. And, and, and the movie or, and, and the movie or a show and her dad is not here. Um, even though he hasn't been home for a few months now, she remembers everything. He's a really great father. Um, he's a good husband. He's a good friend. He's a good husband. He's a good friend. Uh, he has a good heart. Um, and that's all what I need him to consider. [00:24:26] Speaker 5: Thank you, Mrs. Wood, I appreciate it. [00:24:27] Speaker 6: Thank you. Mr. Collins, the cinnamon cross-examination. No, Your Honor. [00:24:30] Speaker 5: Thank you. Let me call your next witness. Yes, Your Honor. [00:24:33] Speaker 2: And I'm going to approach real quick and see if I can clear out just a little box that popped up. You're welcome. Two. [00:24:37] Speaker 4: I think this is where the cursor might have landed or something. [00:24:38] Speaker 2: There we go. Okay. [00:24:40] Speaker 4: Uh, your Honor, the next witness we call is Ursula DeWitt. That's my, um, my client's mom. Thank you. Ms. DeWitt, I'm going to point you over to Madam Cliff. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. DeWitt, I'm going to point you over to Madam Cliff. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. DeWitt, I'm going to point you over to Madam Cliff. Thank you. Mr. DeWitt, I'll ask that you please follow their instructions. Please raise your right hand. [00:24:56] Speaker 2: Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to enter into this case is to [00:25:09] Speaker 5: be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God. I do. [00:25:14] Speaker ?: All right. [00:25:15] Speaker 2: And for purposes of the record, I observed both witnesses. Raise your right hand and take the up. Mr. LeDen. When you're ready. Good morning, or excuse me, well, I guess it's morning in Colorado, but good afternoon, [00:25:25] Speaker 4: Mr. DeWitt. Good afternoon. Are you there with Leanda? I am. Okay. Judge, I don't know. So my client has two moms. They're together on the screen. Would it be possible to have them both sworn in, or do we do it one at a time? Why don't we do it one at a time for purposes of the record? Yes, sure. So I misspoke earlier then. I mean, I have both of them as moms. Would it be possible to have them both sworn in, or do we do it one at a time? [00:25:44] Speaker 2: Why don't we do it one at a time for purposes of the record? [00:25:47] Speaker 4: Yes, sure. I misspoke earlier then. I mean, I have both of his moms testify. Got you. So as it relates to Ursula DeWitt, I know that you and I have talked again briefly yesterday. You know why Jeremy's before the court for sentencing today, right? [00:26:04] Speaker 9: Yes, I do. [00:26:05] Speaker 4: And you're well aware of the cases that he's had? Yes, I am. Okay. What is it that you would like the court to know from your perspective about sentencing? [00:26:18] Speaker 9: Yes, just the same as, you know, as Rania and, you know, in reference to our granddaughter. You know, we do our best to keep the relationship, you know, that he has with her, you know, alive. But it's very hard just, you know, on a couple of phone calls a week. She's four years old, so, you know, she asks a lot of questions. And, you know, we try and, you know, let her know that, you know, her dad loves her. We send dad lots of pictures. But really that's the only, you know, connection that they have right now. And that's just, you know, very hard. [00:26:57] Speaker 4: Yes, ma'am. You typically reside in Florida, correct? [00:27:03] Speaker 9: Yes. [00:27:05] Speaker 4: And if Jeremy was sentenced in a way or whenever he's released, I should say, you have contact with him? Absolutely, yes. And you have a close relationship with him? Yes, I do. Would you be in a position to assure the court that during the period of his sentence, should he be on some type of community-based supervision, that you would assist him in making sure that he abides by any special requirements that the court might impose or that the statute might require of him as a registered sex offender? [00:27:39] Speaker 9: Yes, I would do my very best, yes. [00:27:41] Speaker 4: Okay. I appreciate it. Is there anything else you'd like the court to consider? [00:27:46] Speaker 9: Just in relationship to the black Dodger, the Charger, sorry. I was actually the one that, you know, arranged for him to be towed. We took it to Mako over there on Mercy Drive. We had it painted black. It was the same car the entire time and had it brought back to the house. We were complying all the time with Mr. Woods's conditions. Okay. [00:28:15] Speaker 4: And I appreciate why you're saying Mr. Woods's conditions because he was the one that was ensuring compliance, but it's really the conditions of the plea agreement that Jeremy entered into, correct? I agree, yes. [00:28:26] Speaker 9: I agree, yes. We worked with them side by side. We shut down the business. We emptied, you know, the location. Yes. But, yeah, definitely in regards to the black Charger, I was the one that helped him get it towed and painted, paid for the painting, and had it re-delivered back to his house so he could go home. [00:28:51] Speaker 4: I'm going to show you an invoice that I was provided. Does this look familiar to you? Can you see that? [00:28:59] Speaker 9: Mako's, yes. Uh-huh. [00:29:01] Speaker 4: Yes, ma'am. And was it the Mako here on Mercy Drive in Orlando that you took, or had it towed to, rather? [00:29:09] Speaker 9: Yes, because I had to go there to make the payment, yes. [00:29:12] Speaker 4: Okay. And that was to bring the vehicle in compliance? [00:29:15] Speaker 9: Yes. [00:29:16] Speaker 4: According to this invoice, the total was nearly $1,600. Is that correct? Can you see that? [00:29:22] Speaker 9: That is correct, yes. Okay. [00:29:24] Speaker 4: All right. I appreciate it. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you. All right. Other questions for Ursula DeWitt, Your Honor? [00:29:32] Speaker 2: Thank you. Cross-examination for Ursula DeWitt. No, Your Honor. Thank you. All right. Your last witness, Mr. Lennon. [00:29:49] Speaker 4: Mr. DeWitt's other mom is Mrs. McMurtry, Leandra McMurtry. [00:29:59] Speaker 2: Are you Mrs. McMurtry? Yes, I am. All right. Thank you. I've pointed you over to Madam Clerk. If you would please follow the instructions. [00:30:06] Speaker 5: Please raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to enter into this case is to be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? [00:30:15] Speaker 2: I do. Thank you. [00:30:17] Speaker ?: Thank you. [00:30:17] Speaker 2: Mr. McMurtry, I'm going to spin you back around so you can see the courtroom and Mr. Lennon. [00:30:23] Speaker 4: Good morning, ma'am. Good morning. Everything we're saying is being recorded and so that I don't misspell your name, if you could please spell your first and last name for the record, please. And you're Mr. DeWitt's mom? Yes, step mom. [00:30:37] Speaker ?: Step mom. [00:30:38] Speaker 7: Yes, step mom. Yes, ma'am. [00:30:40] Speaker 4: Could you detail for the court, I know personally how involved you were with assisting Mr. DeWitt of divesting himself of Metro State as a business. Can you detail for the court the steps that you had to take to help facilitate that while he was incarcerated serving the sentence related to that plea agreement? [00:31:02] Speaker 7: Yes, I had to strip all of the vehicles that he had in motorcycles, cars, trucks, he had to take all the decals off of them, removing lights out of the vehicles, taking lights off of them, assisted his mother with selling the motorcycles and cars and trucks, going to his home and helping his wife and his mother remove anything that was even remotely related to Metro State. Decals, stickers, flyers, little packets, just anything that said Metro State, I helped them move it out of the home, dispose of it, trash, you know, whatever we had to do to get rid of it. [00:31:50] Speaker 4: Okay. And I know that was a pretty Herculean task for you guys. There were some difficulties getting some of the things done. Can you explain to the court the impact that that had on being able to reunite Jeremy with the family? [00:32:05] Speaker 7: Just, you know, to give an idea, you know, there, he had a vehicle fleet, we had to get those out of the home, out of his house, out of his yard, out of the business, we had shut down the location that he was storing them at, because that was all in his name and Metro State's name. So we had to move all of that into, you know, storage that his mother or I only had access to, so that we could get rid of all of that merchandise, the materials, the stuff that his people used on the S boards. It was, it was a 20 by 30 foot storage that we had to move everything to, so that it was not in his home, so that we could get rid of it. He had no access to it while we had it in the storage. We had, you know, sell it, trash it, give it away. It was just a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot of work. [00:33:11] Speaker 4: Right, I understand. And until that came into compliance, Mr. DeWitt wasn't being permitted to live at the house, correct? Or stay? That's correct. Go ahead. No, I'm sorry, go ahead. [00:33:25] Speaker 7: I was just going to say, yes, that there were different things that we weren't aware of. For instance, the black and white charger, you know, we took off the decals, we thought that that was, you know, we took out lights, took out the decals, and then his officer pointed out, his probation officer pointed out, that the seat that was in the back of the car was a police seat, and that that was not allowed, so we worked to get rid of that. There was like, on this sticker on the trunk, you know, we'd go back and take care of that, because it was a huge task, and small things might have been overlooked, but as soon as his officer pointed it out, we took care of it. Our goal was to get him home to his family. [00:34:10] Speaker 4: Do you remember whether that black and white charger, and ultimately the charger that was repainted all black, had a vehicle tag on it? [00:34:19] Speaker 7: It did have a tag. I couldn't tell you what it said or anything. [00:34:23] Speaker 4: Sure. I couldn't tell you with my tag numbers, that's okay. But you know it had a tag on it? [00:34:30] Speaker 7: It did have a tag, because it had a Metro State frame around it, and I had to take the frame off in order to, because it said Metro State on it. [00:34:41] Speaker 4: Sure. Okay. I appreciate it. And was that vehicle ever something that was kept hidden away or under cover of any time? [00:34:51] Speaker 7: No, it was in the driveway of their house. [00:34:54] Speaker 4: Okay. All right. Is there anything else that you would like the court to consider as it relates to sentencing, other than the Metro State piece of this? [00:35:05] Speaker 7: Just that his daughter does love him. She misses him. She talks to him on the phone whenever, you know, we get the opportunity to connect. You know, her first things are, "Hi, Daddy!" You know, she can't see him when she's talking to him, but she still looks forward to talking to him. And I would say that, you know, outside of, you know, the financial support that his wife needs, you know, his daughter needs him home as soon as possible. [00:35:37] Speaker 4: Yes, ma'am. I appreciate it. Thank you for being present. [00:35:41] Speaker 2: Cross-examination? [00:35:42] Speaker 4: None from the State Department. [00:35:44] Speaker 2: Thank you. Additional witnesses or evidence? [00:35:46] Speaker 4: Just my argument, Judge, in my time I'd like to make a statement to the court whenever it's appropriate. [00:35:50] Speaker 2: I'm ready whenever you want. [00:35:51] Speaker 4: Would you like him to stand? [00:35:53] Speaker 2: He's welcome to stand. He's welcome to remain seated in front of the microphone. I do need him in front of the microphone, just to make sure that he's recording your proceedings. Yes, sir. That's not working, Your Honor? I can hear you just fine. And the court reporters will give us a call if they can hear me. All right. Ready? [00:36:12] Speaker 8: Your Honor, first I want to say, you know, thank you for letting me speak, and I apologize that I've wasted so much of your time in the sports times. [00:36:27] Speaker 1: You hear from my family that the car was there. I apologize 100% for my overlook. At one point in time before my business was ordered to be shut down, I had 46 vehicles. I know that doesn't make it right or wrong, but 46 vehicles to show up. [00:37:06] Speaker ?: Sure. [00:37:07] Speaker 2: Does he need to be swore? [00:37:09] Speaker 10: I would ask for it to be your Honor's testimony. Oh, sorry. [00:37:12] Speaker 2: Yeah, I forgot. I neglected to swear you. [00:37:14] Speaker 5: So only swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to enter into this case is to be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So help me God. Yes, ma'am. [00:37:23] Speaker 2: To be with everything, you filled me up to this point when I neglected to swear you. Is that true and correct? Yes, sir. All right. You may continue. Sorry for the interruption. [00:37:30] Speaker 1: No. You have more things going on than I do. So, like I said, at one point I had 46 vehicles, you know, between motorcycles and ambulances and tow trucks. Saying that it was a major mission just to get the vehicles right is not even in comparison to the reality. And on top of that, I couldn't even really go and help. I had to stay outside of Osceola County. And I had to use my mom to take care of my vehicles. You know, I know that I screwed up and I'm very sorry. I'm not sorry that I got caught. I'm sorry that I overlooked something like this. I have been doing this for so long, as you've been able to see and Mr. Ladan has said. But one thing that I would like for your honor to understand is, and Mr. Ladan brought that up the other day during the trial too, is. When I was registering the vehicles in Orange County, a lot of times, all the time, when I would go there, all they would ever ask for was year, make, and model. Year, make, and model. They never asked for bins. They never asked for tags. I've even tried to supply tags. And they would always advise me, year, make, and model. That was it. That's why the Rhymes tag was never on there to begin with. And that's why, if you look at this one registration, most of them are missing. The only reason why those motorcycles have tags was because in 2019, Sergeant Bidler added those tags. Because they weren't there before then either. And when I registered in Osceola County in October of 2020, I, Ana Rivera, and I, we went over my vehicles. There was no tags and, and, and, and she told me that that was fine. We didn't even actually fix the tags until February of this year, when me and Ana started talking. She said that I, they had approached Ms. Rivera and said that she needed to go ahead and correct the tags on my paperwork. Um, so, I truly apologize that the tags weren't added. I, I was only, I was, from 2016, I've been doing the same thing. Never put in a tag, just a year-making model in Orange County. I moved here because it put us closer to our son in our, in his cemetery, the cemetery where my son is at. That's why we moved here. And I wouldn't be in front of you apologizing. I'm not, if, if I stayed in Orange County, I don't believe this ever would have happened because I would, I was following status quo with Orange County. I'm sorry. I really am sorry. Again, I'm not sorry for getting caught. I'm sorry for overlooking it and not having to follow through for these vehicles. You know, I, again, I had 46. And, while I, while I've been in custody, um, the eight months that I've been in, I, I've, I've, uh, gone through multiple, multiple classes. From, from, from OSHA for, uh, for offender corrections so that way I don't, I guess, relapse on, on things and I make sure that I, I go through and do the proper things that are needed. Um, I, I took, um, a class for, uh, preparation for, for, felon re, you know, relapse, uh, making mistakes as a felon. I went through a parenting class, um, from my, cool. Um, I, I took the, I took the violence class. Um, I took the second part of offender corrections, which is a, a, a deeper in look in, in, in, in the, the subconscious of a, a felon, you know, and, and, and the mistakes he's made. Um, and then I, I took a, a, a class in reference to release to make sure that I follow the proper steps and releases in case I were to be able to come home. And then I also took an anger management class. I also have a, a letter from the chaplain, um, if your honor would like to read it, that says that I, I'm very dedicated in my religion and I've helped other Muslims in the, in the jail. Um. [00:42:35] Speaker 4: Judge, I'm gonna ask if you made part of the, uh, the record. I've got it, uh, I'm gonna present the states with what we've, uh, just reviewed with the court orally. Um, and then I'll provide a supplemental, uh, to the state with, uh, an email to follow from today's hearing. Let me get the state's permission. [00:42:56] Speaker 2: Any objection to the certificates being made part of the record? No, Your Honor. [00:43:01] Speaker 10: Thank you. Sir, upload a case, man. Then tomorrow I'll just download them there. [00:43:05] Speaker 2: Uh, I'll be reviewing you, Mr. D. [00:43:10] Speaker ?: Yes. [00:43:11] Speaker 1: Uh, wait a minute. Uh, wait a minute. [00:43:30] Speaker ?: Thank you. I have one of you. Yeah. Certificates. Do you want a procedural? Do you want me to admit the photographs and the makeover? into the record for any purpose? I was just using as demonstrative aids for the witnesses. I don't know, uh, what the evidence supports as far as sentence mitigation. but I, I'm not going to. Uh, I'm not going to. [00:43:48] Speaker 2: I'm not going to. curtail you from putting in the record for any purpose. I don't know, uh, what the evidence supports as far as sentence mitigation, but I, I'm not going to curtail you from putting in the record for any purpose that I was just using as demonstrative [00:43:56] Speaker ?: aids for the witnesses. [00:43:57] Speaker 4: I don't know, uh, what the evidence supports as far as sentence mitigation, but I, I'm not going to curtail you from putting in the record whatever you wish to, to elicit. [00:44:08] Speaker 2: So, uh, you're welcome to have those marked. evidence supports as far as sentence mitigation but I'm not going to curtail you from putting in the record whatever you wish to elicit. So you're welcome to have those more. [00:44:30] Speaker 10: I have no objection, Your Honor. All right. Thank you. [00:44:33] Speaker 8: I want to say two more things before I wrap it up. I started a business to prove that I'm not this horrible sex offender. [00:44:58] Speaker 1: I want to do the right thing. I started a business. I tried to do it. It grew faster than I thought it was. And while it was that big, I still did everything I could to make sure I was in line or following the FDLE. I'm sorry. I screwed up. I believed and trusted the TAG situation. The other thing I want to say, and I know this is, I don't know. The other day, Your Honor, when you did the juveniles, the first three or four of them, I was crying while I was sitting here. Because a lot of the mothers were saying that their fathers weren't there and things of that nature. And I...I know it's silly, but I pitched for my daughter. You know? I don't want...I don't want that kind of thing to ever be. I'm truly sorry. I corrected all the TAGs in February when Anna called me. I corrected everything with Anna. We spent three days on the phone and emails back and forth. And I was hoping she was going to be in here in trial so we here could address them. I screwed up. I'm an idiot. The bug stops with me. I understand that at the end of the day, it's my responsibility to tell the clerks at the Osceola County Sheriff's Office that they were supposed to take my...I understand that. I...I don't want to say that word. I screwed up. And I'm very sorry. I am. I just...I want to be home with my daughter and my wife. I understand that I made a mistake. But my family and my daughter and my wife shouldn't suffer for when we went through... We went through so many steps to do the right thing. And you heard Leanda and my wife both say that the tag had a thing on it. The tag was on the car. The car always had a tag. It was an oversight that I made while I was trying to just get back home with my family. Because I was stuck living in a hotel that I couldn't afford because I just got out of prison. And I...and we were rushing things and it was an overlook, an oversight, and I screwed up. [00:47:47] Speaker 2: I'm...I'm severely sorry. I'm sorry. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. DeWitt. Additional presentation from the defense? [00:47:56] Speaker 4: It's just an argument, Judge. I don't have any witnesses. Thank you. [00:47:59] Speaker 2: Thanks. State sentencing recommendation? [00:48:04] Speaker 10: Your Honor. Mr. DeWitt is no newbie to the criminal justice system. He has 19 felony convictions. In 2020, I was a prosecutor for your honor with his false impersonated law enforcement officer. At that chance, the state attorney's office drafted a multi-deal across Orange County. And I know you were aware of it, Your Honor. Where we gave Mr. DeWitt a significant break. And we gave him a chance, basically, to hopefully curtail his actions. Not even a month or two later, after kind of starting the probation on that, he's back before the court, violating new cases, basically. Particularly the case we're here today for, Your Honor. I don't believe Mr. DeWitt is sorry. I believe he's sorry that he got caught. I believe he's sorry that his shenanigans have been, basically, there at the end of the line. I think Mr. DeWitt's been given multiple chances, more than significant, and, broadly, most people that have treped through your court, basically, in honor. And based on that, the state's recommending the maximum of criminal penalties, which is 82.73 months. The state's also recommending to the court that that sentence be consecutive to any other sentence. Mr. DeWitt has gotten numerous breaks from the court. Numerous sentences to run concurrent. It's time that Mr. DeWitt realizes no more. [00:49:29] Speaker 2: Is he currently serving a sentence? He's not in honor. So, the request to run in consecutive to a sentence that he's currently serving is outside the bounds of what the court can consider. I also have a question about the score sheet. Because the lowest permissible prison sentence in months exceeds the statutory maximum for a third degree felony, case law indicates that that becomes the floor and the ceiling for sentencing considerations, absent a downer departure. Correct. [00:50:00] Speaker 10: Thank you. [00:50:01] Speaker 2: Mr. LeDan, final word for the sentencing recommendation? [00:50:07] Speaker 4: Yes, Your Honor. Thank you. I appreciate the court's time. We're asking for a downer departure predicated upon a mitigation circumstance that's articulated within the statute, namely, that the offense was committed in an unsophisticated manner. It was an isolated incident for which the defendant has shown remorse. The information that I would point to, Judge, would be, well, several things. One, when the detective first initiated this case, he put together a sworn affidavit requesting an arrest warrant that Judge Bigney signed off on prior to his execution. And in that, he referenced several things that I think are noteworthy to my request. One, he highlighted in there on page two of the affidavit for arrest warrant, which is dated December 8th of 2022. On the top of page two, it says, "Per the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Parent FDLE, Jeremy has been registering as a sexual offender in the state of Florida as of January 17, 2008. Jeremy last reported in person on September 22, 2022, to conduct an information update and that he began registering in Osceola County on August 24th of 2020." I think that's probative to my request, Judge, because as Mr. DeWitt indicated, he's been reporting for many, many years and has gone to a number of different compliance officers to facilitate those reports both in-person and virtually during the COVID years. He goes on to state in that same sworn affidavit that, pursuant to paragraph nine of the sex offender requirements, that he's to report any changes in vehicle loan within 48 hours in-person to the Sheriff's Office, and it cites the Florida statute that he's prosecuted under in this information, and that failure to report that information is a third-degree felony. But he also testified in open court during his direct that they're also able to help cure those things. And in fact, my client did jury in February this year when he was asked to provide those tag numbers. The vehicle has been continuously tagged, insured, and registered. It has always been out in the open. It's never been secreted away. It's never been something that he's used to go and try to do nefarious things that we concern ourselves with, which is why the sex offender statute exists to begin with, is to safeguard the interests of the public and to make sure that he's not doing anything of that sort. In the years that I've represented Metro State and Mr. DeWitt, and in the years prior to that, Mr. DeWitt has not been accused at any point of doing anything sexual in nature while either on probation or not. Every one of his violations that had to do with other non-compliance issues. So the notion that by not having this tag number, the public at large is at risk is fallacious, and it's not supported by any evidence whatsoever that's ever been presented, either to this court, in this jurisdiction, or in Orange County. He's not a threat sexually to anyone. There's been no allegation that he's a threat to the community, which would justify not being the beneficiary of a downward departure. And so going on to a quote from the affidavit, it indicates in here that the vehicle on the 29th of 2022 was observed on property when this affidavit, the detective, went to the property. And he says, "During this incident, I observed a black Dodge Charger backed into the driveway of the residence. I spoke with Jeremy's probation officer, Officer Jay Woods, whom advised that the vehicle was Jeremy's and that he does in fact drive the vehicle." In that statement, he goes on to provide a tag number that he says Mr. Woods provided to him. Again, the purpose of me saying that, Judge, is this is a vehicle that was known about by the law enforcement officer that was responsible for supervising my client. And in no time did he tell Mr. DeWitt, "Hey, you're missing this tag number. Go down and fix this. This needs to be corrected." And while that definitely stops with him, I do think it is probative to the notion that this is done in an unsophisticated manner, meaning Mr. DeWitt wasn't trying to be secretive about it. He wasn't doing something surreptitious. But it was in fact unsophisticated inasmuch as if you look through the extensive records that show all of his registrations, you'll see that there are a number of tags missing from various vehicles. Now, obviously those vehicles are not on his property as home, but because those vehicles are belonging to Metro State, if he is a sole proprietor, he nonetheless has that obligation to maintain those requirements. And so I think what's happened here is Mr. DeWitt has certainly of his own accord put a rather large target on his back. And that target has been repeatedly punched as often as possible by law enforcement. I think that anyone else having been in Mr. DeWitt's position, but Mr. DeWitt would have probably been afforded an opportunity to cure that defect and not be sentenced to what amounts to seven and a half or so years in prison over a missing tag. It's absolutely an unjust and absurd punishment to require that he serve that time. It does not serve any meaningful purpose. The curative action in February has resolved the lack of tag on that record. And we believe that the best kind of step moving forward would be to give Mr. DeWitt a sentence that's fair and just. He's been incarcerated on this case for 424 days as of today's date, both from the original arrest and from his remand. So he served about a year and a half of time in jail as a result of not having a tag number on the registry. And again, there having been no showing of any kind of nefarious conduct on his part that he's threatening society in any way whatsoever, we think that a sentence that's a guideline sentence is truly unjust and is not warranted. Thank you. Thank you. [00:56:40] Speaker 2: All right, the court has done its best to unimpassionately afford Mr. DeWitt his due process rights and respect his presumption of innocence. Pursuant to the jury verdict, that presumption of innocence has now ended. The court is charged with fulfilling its obligation to sentence Mr. DeWitt according to a number of factors. One of those is the criminal punishment code score sheet. The court agrees on some level with the defense that reasonable minds can debate as to registration requirements are draconian or on the other hand appropriate. The court agrees that reasonable minds can debate whether a violation of this type is an offense level seven scoring prison time itself. The court's sentencing authority comes from the legislature and the statutes contained in and passed in the state of Florida. Pursuant to the score sheet, Mr. DeWitt has a prior record that is in excess of 82.3 points. Itself, this being a level seven offense, scores 56 points. The math is tabulated. Criminal punishment code score sheet indicates that the lowest permissible prison sentence in months should be 82.73 months. The defense has made a cogent argument that the defendant has shown remorse, that the offense was committed in an unsophisticated manner and was an isolated incident. The court has heard the defendant's statements this afternoon. The court has sat through the jury trial which unanimously found him guilty of a criminal offense as alleged in the information. The court has reviewed the score sheet and notes that he has previously been convicted of failing to a registration requirement of failing to report an email address in 2019 CF12733. Another failure to report a driver's license to a driver's license office for a renewal in 2020 CF3570, another failure to comply with registration requirements. In 2020 CF1977, there is an allegation that he failed to register a motor vehicle information, a similar offense to this. The court cannot find that this offense is isolated and the court does not find that the statutory downer departure has either been proven or would be appropriate in this case. It's going to follow through with this obligation pursuant to its oath and sentence Mr. DeWitt to 82.73 months in the Department of Corrections. He will get credit for the time that he has already served. [01:00:28] Speaker 5: 204 days. [01:00:30] Speaker 2: There's going to be some court costs that are imposed. [01:00:33] Speaker ?: 604 days. 606 dollars. [01:00:35] Speaker 2: The costs will be waiting for Mr. DeWitt upon his release. Mr. DeWitt, those costs need to be paid off within the next nine years. I'll give you a chance to get out and land on your feet. You will let the clerk's office know what you can afford on a monthly basis. Stick to that. You won't have an issue with them. If you don't pay court costs, they could request to suspend driving privileges. You have a right to appeal the judgment. Sentence the court. If you wish to appeal, you must do so in writing. If you can't afford an attorney, it won't be appointed for you. Mr. LeDan, do you know if Mr. DeWitt is going to be requesting consideration as an indigent defendant for appellate purposes? [01:01:23] Speaker 4: I believe he will be, Your Honor, yes. I'd also like to comment. I don't believe that the time served computation is accurate. I'll work on that and if I can submit to the court the correction. Of course. [01:01:35] Speaker 2: I definitely want to give Mr. DeWitt accurate credit for time that he has actually served on those terms. [01:01:40] Speaker 4: And finally, I anticipate what your answer is going to be, but knowing that Mr. DeWitt's entered a plea to a federal matter, does the court have any opposition to a sentence being run concurrently, should he be sentenced to another sentence? [01:01:57] Speaker 2: I don't believe I've got the jurisdiction to impose or object to what a federal sentence is, so I will defer to either the magistrate or the federal judge to make a determination as to whether it's appropriate to run that sentence consecutive to this sentence. This sentence is running neither concurrent nor consecutive to any current sentence because it doesn't appear that there is a current sentence. [01:02:26] Speaker 4: There is not judgment. Finally, for appellate purposes, I don't know if I need to renew my judgment of acquittal, but for the record purposes, I would like to reiterate that we've moved for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict in this case based on the arguments we've previously made regarding the reasonable hypothesis of innocence, client's conduct, and the evidence before the court. [01:02:48] Speaker 2: Noted and denied on the same basis. Thank you, Judge. Mr. Collins, have I omitted anything? No, Mr. Collins, Your Honor. [01:02:56] Speaker 10: All right. [01:02:57] Speaker 2: Thank you. Not approved. Mr. DeWitt, I am uncertain as to where you would be transported next. Does he have additional cases in Osceola County? He does, Your Honor. [01:03:08] Speaker 10: There's two additional cases in front of Your Honor. All right. Thank you. [01:03:12] Speaker 2: Is Mr. DeWitt currently set for pretrial with us? [01:03:15] Speaker 10: He is, Your Honor. Those cases are with the public defender's office. I believe they are coming up in November. All right. [01:03:22] Speaker 2: Thank you. I don't know whether the federal agencies will collect Mr. DeWitt for sentencing, but our next date is on November 20th with a potential trial period that begins December 3rd. [01:03:36] Speaker 10: My understanding is federal case is set for December, possibly the end of December if I remember correctly. All right. [01:03:42] Speaker 2: Thanks. And we're going to then hold on to Mr. DeWitt in the Osceola County Jail pending our resolution of his remaining cases. We're going to see them on November 19th. [01:03:58] Speaker 4: And Judge, you may have already said it, but since Mr. DeWitt's previously been found indigent, does he need to do anything in order to be found indigent for the purposes of the bill? [01:04:05] Speaker 2: There's usually a separate form that we fill out. I'll fill through here. Can I do that while he's here, Judge? No, of course. I'll stay. Thank you. [01:04:15] Speaker ?: Thank you. [01:04:30] Speaker 2: All right. That will conclude our sentencing here. Thank you for joining us remotely. [01:04:35] Speaker ?: What? [01:04:36] Speaker 1: I have the registration for that vehicle, Sergeant. That's because the officer that I currently have right now said I was in violation of my deal because the car, one of my cars in the front yard was a Metro State car. So we ended up stripping the car, moving the car, stripping my house, cleaning everything out of my house because he walked through my house not once, but twice, but three times. He went to my house three times to approve the address and he kept denying the address, which is funny because everything was out of there. Um, but then he was nitpicking things like the back seat and the charger was hard plastic. Well, um, you know, how does that make it a police car? Um, obviously the stickers and the lights totally get that. But when we start talking about a back seat that has nothing to do with one or the other, I think we're grasping at straws, but we went ahead and obliged. I was staying in a Hilton for two weeks. So what the hell? I had beautiful, uh, accommodations, the pool, everything. Had to register the vehicle. Did it. Had that red, that car has been registered since we've owned it for almost three years. Uh, had to get a new tag for it. Uh, other than that, guys, uh, if you don't hear from me sometime soon, probably sitting in jail. And I'm sure you'll see all that all over the place. Oh, guess who's back? Who violated? Yeah. So, uh, there's the drama that you guys have been waiting for. Oh, Sergeant. Well, I hear what you're saying, but the statute says we can facilitate the movement of the funeral. And I've had four judges that said the same thing. No, no, that's not what the judge says. And if you pull back those transcripts, Corporal, you'll hear that.