Video report
- For their own good
 Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
- More video reports
|
News
Fill out this form to email this article to a friend
'Absurd' case? Prosecutors think not
A retrial is planned despite a scathing appeals court ruling.
By CARRIE WEIMAR, Times Staff Writer
Published August 9, 2007
|
Mark O'Hara clutches his only belongings, his legal papers, as he uses a borrowed cell phone to try and get a ride home to Dunedin from the Orient Road Jail in Tampa after his release from from the system. Hillsborough prosecutors have agreed to release Mark O'Hara, a man who was granted a new trial on drug trafficking charges for having a prescription dose of Vicodin with him, until they decide whether to retry him. He will walk out of Orient Road Jail as free man for the first time in two years.
|
 |
|
[Ken Helle | Times]
|
TAMPA - An appeals court called the case against Mark O'Hara "absurd" and "ridiculous," but the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office is refusing to drop charges against the 45-year-old Dunedin man. O'Hara appeared before Hillsborough Circuit Judge Ronald Ficarrotta Wednesday morning, his first time in court since his release from prison July 25. During the brief hearing, prosecutor Darrell Dirks indicated his office plans to pursue a second trial for O'Hara, who was accused of drug trafficking after authorities found 58 Vicodin pills in his bread truck. He had legal prescriptions for the drugs. O'Hara's lawyer, Ira Berman, said he was stunned by the decision. He told Ficarrotta he planned to ask for a dismissal. Ficarrotta set a status conference for Sept. 18 and said a trial date may be scheduled then. O'Hara said he couldn't comment on the case. With Berman at his side, he left the courthouse after the hearing. He was released without bond pending his next court appearance. Assistant State Attorney Pam Bondi said no one from her office could comment because the case is pending. Berman said the State Attorney's Office offered his client a plea agreement of three years in prison if he agreed to cooperate with authorities, the same deal he was offered before his first trial. Berman said O'Hara refused. "What does he want to be a snitch for?" Berman said. "He's not criminally responsible." O'Hara spent two years of a 25-year sentence in prison after a jury found him guilty of trafficking in hydrocone. He was arrested by Tampa International Airport police in 2004 after they found the Vicodin and a small amount of marijuana in his illegally parked bread truck. O'Hara didn't contest the marijuana charge, which netted 67 days in jail. However, he swore he had a prescription for the pills. A doctor and a pharmacist backed him up at trial. But jurors weren't told that it is legal to possess the drug with a prescription. In July, the 2nd District Court of Appeal overturned O'Hara's conviction. Carrie Weimar can be reached at 813 226-3416 or cweimar@sptimes.com
[Last modified August 8, 2007, 23:04:48]
Share your thoughts on this story
Comments on this article
|
by James
|
09/12/07 04:11 PM
|
|
Plain and simple, HE GOT NIFONGED!!!!!
i would make a point of it by making a public uproar about this. I want to hear this uproar from my house in massachusetts. This stupid war on drugs is hurting innocents not to mention wasting tax our dollars
|
|
by Judy
|
09/12/07 03:42 PM
|
|
I hope he is awarded MILLIONS in damages to set a precedent that would make prosecutors think twice before their next malicious prosecution trial.
|
|
by Jen
|
08/16/07 10:45 AM
|
|
This looks rediculous, BUT...IF he was trying to illegally sell the controlled substance that he legally obtained, he is indeed guilty. I suspect there is more to this story, but given what little information we are given, we can not pass judgement.
|
|
by Denise
|
08/15/07 04:32 PM
|
|
Judge Ron Ficarrota only worked as an Assistant State Attorney before being appointed a Judge by the then Chief Judge Alvarez. It helps for a Judge to have balance,work both sides, defense and prosecution. 2nd DCA sent it back due to Judge's mistake.
|
|
by St. Pete Native
|
08/15/07 12:58 PM
|
|
prosecutor Darrell Dirks should be held personally responsible for all costs, emotional and financial, for this ridiculous crap perpetrated against a working class guy. What do you expect from Florida, where they will toss you in jail for marijuana?
|
|
by Hoshi
|
08/15/07 08:46 AM
|
|
Joe, it is not enough that this is stupid and a waste of our tax dollars but let's not tie up the courts any longer with stupid crap - unless you are a lawyer and looking for a client - sueing is not the cure all answer.
|
|
by Lew
|
08/15/07 05:34 AM
|
|
QUIT WASTING MY TAXES!!!!!!!
|
|
by Mira
|
08/14/07 10:14 PM
|
|
This is unbelievable..I have vicodin myself for migraine headaches & pain from neck spurs. And, of course, a prescription. I always take it along on a trip in case of extreme pain...are we living in Nazi Germany now??
|
|
by Teri
|
08/14/07 09:54 PM
|
|
It's the beginning of the end if this can be even tolerated by anyone bar none! It is ridiculous! I can hardly believe it! Where are the brains behind all this??? Just ineffable is what this is... What a shame & crime but not on O'Hara's part...
|
|
by Joe
|
08/14/07 09:32 PM
|
|
One word. {SUE}
|
|
by Jesus
|
08/14/07 09:25 PM
|
|
That's Florida - a judge refusing to let the jury know the guy had a prescription, and a prosecutor flogging every inch of advantage out of it. And things like this go on and on, year after year, because no one really gives a damn.
|
|
by Unbelievable
|
08/14/07 09:11 PM
|
|
Any local, state or federal law enforcement official found guilty of abuse of power regarding Legal medical treatments should be sentenced to no less than 30 years in prison.
|
|
by Mac
|
08/14/07 08:47 PM
|
|
This is just one more example of the idiocy of many of our 'duly' constitued legal extremes. We see them every day in every state. Just one more case of common sense on vaction.
|
|
by Dan
|
08/14/07 08:39 PM
|
|
Was he working in Rush Limbaugh's neighborhood. A definite repeat druggie who never served a day.
|
|
by AJ
|
08/14/07 06:20 PM
|
|
Did Nifong get a new job in Florida? If not this state attorney needs to join Nifong wherever he is. The people with power over our lives are out of control!
|
|
by Dan
|
08/14/07 05:19 PM
|
|
Juries can be kept from hearing evidence that could clear the defendant in spite of their lawyers best efforts--that is why you should never agree to 'follow the judges instructions' during jury selection or else 'Jurors Remorse' will surely follow.
|
|
by Marc
|
08/14/07 05:18 PM
|
|
What a joke! The appeals court calls it a joke and this idiot is still going to refile. The justice system in this country is well past corrupt, when will the American people stand up and say, NO MORE!
|
|
by W. A. Tomlinson
|
08/14/07 05:10 PM
|
|
We have checks and balances; people being the final check. "Jurors must judge both evidence and Law."-C.J. Joseph Story. If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never can be- T. Jefferson
|
|
by S.G.
|
08/14/07 05:04 PM
|
|
I am in chronic pain, I get generic Lortabs, a 3 month supply, 400 pills at a time. Does this make me a criminal? My prescription is reported to the FBI, each time I get them. I am on their radar screen. We should not have to live under this threat.
|
|
by Janet
|
08/14/07 05:04 PM
|
|
Sure glad these guys didn't come after me! After shoulder replacement surgery and having a "frozen shoulder" broken free, I was on 10 Vicodins per day for nearly a month. I was in TREMENDOUS pain and received the prescription from my surgeon.
|
|
by john
|
08/14/07 05:00 PM
|
|
Sounds like the DA has a personal problem with the accused.
|
|
by Jay
|
08/14/07 04:50 PM
|
|
A "CYA" prosecution if I've ever heard of one.
|
|
by Bret
|
08/14/07 03:44 PM
|
|
It looks like the State's Attorney and the Kangaroo Judge that allowed it to go to trial the first time should have to each serve a two-year prison sentence.
The State of Florida should to compensate the victim $100 an hour for every hour he spent.
|
|
by Cary
|
08/14/07 03:40 PM
|
|
What the heck did the guy's attorney do at the trial? Why didn't he tell the jury that he had a prescription? Didn't he have a defense attorney?
|
|
by lb
|
08/14/07 03:23 PM
|
|
To Kevin, you have to be charged and prosecuted to get a sentence. Limbaugh was neither charged nor prosecuted. If it's not a crime, why is he being prosecuted with taxpayer funds? What a bunch of incompetents in the FL legal system.
|
|
by Bob
|
08/14/07 02:44 PM
|
|
This guy is getting screwed by our wonderful justice system. I've been there. I got charged with burglary for being on a private parking lot. I had no choice but to plead, it was my word against the cops. I plead guilty to trespassing and got 90 days
|
|
by JBV
|
08/14/07 02:13 PM
|
|
Either the State Attorney is an idiot or he trying to make aname for himself.
I have a bottle of Vicodin right now, somewhere around 55 pills in it, would I be considered a drug dealer in Hillsborough County?
|
|
by KD
|
08/14/07 01:13 PM
|
|
If this man was, in fact, selling his prescription Vicodins to others, even one pill at a time, he is guilty of drug trafficking. This may be a detail that is not being disclosed at this time to protect others until all facts have been revealed.
|
|
by Bob
|
08/14/07 12:31 PM
|
|
I believe that the District Attorney should be charged with UNLAW HOLDING of a person against their will! In other words KIDNAPPING!
|
|
by John
|
08/14/07 12:08 PM
|
|
this is ridiculous, as an M.S. patient, I take six different prescription drugs, and any of them could net me the same sentence, as long as the jury is kept away from the fact they are prescribed. Just further proof of the evil of the war on drugs.
|
|
by Jade
|
08/14/07 11:36 AM
|
|
But jurors weren't told that it is legal to possess the drug with a prescription.
This is another case of keeping excupatory evidence from the jury.
|
|
by Kevin
|
08/14/07 11:34 AM
|
|
What prison sentence did Rush Limbaugh get?
Justice is a joke. Time to kill a few lawyers and start over again.
|
|
by Bob
|
08/14/07 11:33 AM
|
|
"Nifong" class stupidity is alive and well in Florida. County Persecutors are wildly out of contorl, are motivated by an insane desire to destroy as many men as they can, and have no respect for law and order. The County Persecutor should be hanged!
|
|
by Lee
|
08/14/07 10:55 AM
|
|
it surely looks like the same type of mentality of the prosecutor who went after Rush. He should be tar and feathered, that how they used to handle those types years ago. there is no sanity in this at all. just someone idiot trying to make a name.
|
|
by Mason
|
08/14/07 10:52 AM
|
|
The man is clearlya drug fiend. Throw the book at him...yeah the book.
|
|
Subscribe to the Times
Click here for daily delivery
of the St. Petersburg Times.
|
News
Print
Email story
Comment
Letter to the editor
