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Video testimony ruled out in Couey case

A detective who interviewed the defendant does not have to give taped testimony, the judge says.

By ABBIE VANSICKLE
Published August 31, 2005

INVERNESS - In a move that stunned prosecutors, Circuit Judge Ric Howard changed his mind early Tuesday and decided not to allow the videotaping of testimony by a key witness in the John Couey case.

The decision prompted the state to prepare an emergency appeal and seek a rehearing.

The witness at issue is Citrus County sheriff's Detective Scott Grace, a lead investigator who interviewed Couey when the 46-year-old sex offender was interviewed about the kidnapping, sexual assault and death of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford.

At a hearing Monday, the judge granted prosecutors' request that Grace be allowed to give a taped deposition and testimony before he goes abroad. Grace is leaving Florida in September to go to Kuwait and Iraq to work for Halliburton.

Prosecutors said they feared Grace, who plans to be out of the country for a year, won't be able to return to the United States to testify at Couey's trial.

Then Tuesday, during an unrelated hearing, Howard announced a change of heart.

The decision shocked the two lead prosecutors on the case, Assistant State Attorney Pete Magrino and Chief Assistant State Attorney Ric Ridgway, primarily because they had no clue the judge was going to revisit the issue and weren't in the courtroom at the time.

Couey has pleaded not guilty and is being held at the Citrus County jail. The trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 6.

Although prosecutors can subpoena Grace to testify at the trial, they can't force him to come back because he'll be out of their jurisdiction, Magrino explained.

"(Grace is) not giving us a difficult time, but he's working for Halliburton, and they might have something to say about whether he comes back or not," Ridgway said.

Also, Grace will be going to an extremely dangerous part of the world, Magrino pointed out.

"Somebody goes to a . . . war zone . . . when there's live rounds going off, there's live rounds and people are going to die. . . . A good prosecutor always plans for the worst and hopes for the best," he said. "If I don't do anything and his number gets called, I'm out of luck."

On Monday, Howard agreed with prosecutors.

But Tuesday morning, the matter came up again.

This time, Howard was asked whether Grace should tape testimony for other cases in which he's involved. That's when Howard changed his mind and ordered Grace would not have to give taped testimony in Couey's case.

Couey's attorney, assistant public defender Daniel M. Lewan, was in the room at the time, along with a couple of prosecutors, Ridgway said. But those prosecutors aren't assigned to Couey's case.

Coincidentally, Magrino and Ridgway, who don't usually work out of Citrus County, were in the Citrus County Courthouse when Howard made the decision. They were sitting in another part of the building, waiting for an administrative meeting to begin.

But the prosecutors in Howard's courtroom didn't know that, and neither did the judge, who announced he'd make the decision without Magrino or Ridgway present, Ridgway said.

When the pair discovered what happened, they asked for another hearing on the issue. Howard will be asked to make a third decision on the issue at 3 p.m. Thursday in his courtroom.

In the meantime, prosecutors have started an emergency appeal in case Howard again rules for the defense. That way, Ridgway said, the appeals court will be able to hear the matter before Grace leaves the country. His last day with the Sheriff's Office is Sept. 7.

Abbie VanSickle can be reached at 860-7312 or vansickle@sptimes.com

[Last modified August 31, 2005, 01:21:25]