The public defender for Alfredie Steele Jr., accused in the shooting of a sheriff's deputy, says the witness tried to persuade his client to record a confession.
By CHASE SQUIRES
Published November 13, 2003
DADE CITY - An attorney representing the teenager accused of killing a Pasco County sheriff's deputy in June said Wednesday he will ask that a key witness be arrested because he has dodged a mandatory interview and might be out to taint his client.
Public defender Tom Hanlon, who represents Alfredie Steele Jr. in the fatal June 1 sniper attack on Lt. Charles "Bo" Harrison, entered a court document claiming Steele's cousin, Nathaniel Daniel Vanzant, has refused to appear for a deposition and tried to persuade Steele to record a confession.
The recorded message, which Hanlon described as a message Vanzant told Steele he should leave for Harrison's family, has not been made public. Hanlon said Vanzant, 23, delivered a compact disc with Steele's voice on it to his own attorney, Bill Eble, in October. Eble surrendered it to prosecutors and the defense, Hanlon said.
"The facts herein clearly show that (Vanzant) is doing everything he can to hurt defendant and get him convicted at any cost," Hanlon alleges in a court document.
Hanlon pointed out Wednesday that it was Vanzant who went to investigators a day after the shooting outside a Trilacoochee nightclub and implicated Steele. And Hanlon said he can be heard on the compact disc recording, made hours before Steele was arrested.
On the recording, Hanlon said, Vanzant can be heard encouraging Steele to make a recorded confession, saying, "Don't you remember you've told me this before?"
Steele, Hanlon said, is heard weeping on the recording.
"From listening to the CD, it is clear that witness Vanzant is encouraging the defendant to take the blame for Lt. Harrison's death and record same on the CD," Hanlon wrote in his motion.
Hanlon said the recording is being enhanced and transcribed before he makes it public.
Vanzant could not be reached for comment Wednesday at the telephone number listed for him in court records.
No date had been set by late Wednesday afternoon for a hearing on Hanlon's request to have Vanzant arrested. His motion states he wants Vanzant held until he answers questions from the defense team, something the court system requires of potential witnesses in criminal cases.
Hanlon said he has been unable to locate Vanzant in recent weeks and said he never showed up to talk with prosecuting and defense attorneys when summoned by subpoena Oct. 9.
Steele is charged with first-degree murder and has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors have announced they will seek the death penalty if Steele is convicted.
