Judge reduces charges against dancer

The exotic dancer accused of battering and obstructing an officer at a Hudson strip club was sentenced to probation after pleading no contest.

By CHRISTOPHER GOFFARD

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 9, 2000

NEW PORT RICHEY -- Witnesses had testified, the prosecution had rested, and a jury was waiting to weigh the charges against exotic dancer Melissa Cockerham on Thursday when Judge Craig C. Villanti ruled the case was too flimsy to even send to the panel.

Cockerham, 24, of Clearwater, was arrested last July during a sting operation at Lollipops strip bar in Hudson, accused of harassing an undercover agent from the state Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco by pulling his hair and grabbing his shoulders. She was also accused of hurting the agent's cover by announcing that he was an officer.

She was charged with a felony count of battery on a law enforcement officer, as well as a misdemeanor count of obstructing an officer. At her trial Thursday, the prosecution had presented its evidence before a jury when Assistant Public Defender Don Anderson asked Villanti for a judgment of acquittal on the grounds the prosecution hadn't made its case.

For the first time in his seven years on the bench, Villanti granted one.

He ruled that the undercover agent, who was observing the scene inside the strip club when the event took place, was not performing official lawful duties at the time. The judge threw out the misdemeanor against Cockerham and bumped the felony battery count down to a misdemeanor, then gave Cockerham probation when she pleaded no contest to the charge.

"Obviously, we were hoping for more," said Assistant State Attorney Mike Halkitis. "The judge did what he thought he had to do by way of the law."

Cockerham could not be reached for comment.

Last month, the State Attorney's Office dropped charges against Matthew Iozzi, Cockerham's boyfriend, a former Pasco sheriff's deputy who was also accused of exposing an undercover agent's cover at the strip club. Prosecutors cited a key witness who failed to show up.

Christopher Goffard covers courts in west Pasco County. He can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6236 or (800) 333-7505, ext. 6236.

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