The letter to judges and prosecutors notes that felons' status is easily checked online. It follows slayings allegedly done by probationers who should have been in jail.
By Associated Press
Published August 12, 2004
TALLAHASSEE - Amid new concerns about violent criminals who are returned to the street after committing new crimes while on probation, state officials planned to send a letter today reminding judges and prosecutors to access information that could help determine which defendants should be sent back to jail.
Twice in the past year state officials have come under intense criticism because of slayings allegedly committed by people who should have been in jail after violating probation.
In the latest case, a man charged in the fatal bludgeoning and stabbing of six people in Deltona had been arrested a week earlier and accused of battery while on probation.
The state Corrections Department, which oversees probation, acknowledged it made a mistake in the case of Troy Victorino.
A probation officer should have quickly sent a judge papers that could have led to a warrant for Victorino's re-arrest for violating probation before the killings happened. Victorino's probation officer and three supervisors were fired over the misstep.
But a judge also released Victorino on bail after his battery arrest. The judge has said he didn't know Victorino had violated probation.
Corrections Secretary James Crosby planned to send a letter to the chief judge in each judicial circuit, the prosecutor in each area and each county sheriff reminding them they can check whether defendants have violent histories.
"We have seen recent tragic events highlight how having pertinent information on criminal offenders readily available may have helped persons involved in the process make better decisions," Crosby wrote in the letter.
He pointed to the Florida Crime Information Center, an online database accessible 24 hours a day that has information about people on probation. Corrections spokesman Sterling Ivey said the database is accessible by all prosecutors, who could then tell judges if a defendant is dangerous. In the letter, Crosby also pointed out that all probationers and the crimes for which they're on probation are listed on the Corrections Department Web site.
The release of violent criminals on probation also came under scrutiny earlier this year in the case of 11-year-old Carlie Brucia, whose abduction was caught on a surveillance camera. She was later killed. The man charged with her murder was on probation and could have been in jail because of drug use or other probation violations. Records released by the Volusia County Sheriff's Office Wednesday showed that another suspect in Friday's Deltona murders, 18-year-old Michael Salas, had a criminal complaint filed against him only three days before the murders.
Jed and Lynn Wilson accused Salas of assault during an Aug. 3 confrontation. Salas had come looking for their son, saying he had to settle a score. When Lynn Wilson told him to leave, he got in her face and told her, "I know where you live," according to the incident report.
"She is afraid of what Salas will do," the report said.
Deputies submitted an affidavit to the state attorney, but couldn't find Salas. He was arrested in the Deltona slayings days later.
Meanwhile, an attorney for another of Victorino's co-defendants said he will request a change of venue because remarks by the sheriff investigating the case "inflamed the community."
Attorney Grady Irvin, representing 18-year-old Jerone Hunter, cited remarks by Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson describing the crime and saying prosecutors should seek the death penalty.
Gary Davidson, a Sheriff's Office spokesman, said nothing Johnson said would justify a change of venue. "Anybody who saw what he saw ... would have the same feelings as he did," Davidson said.
