 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Jury scornfully calls case a waste of time
By WILLIAM R. LEVESQUE CORRECTION (8/7/01): A St. Petersburg police officer stopped Marcellus P. Morris on Dec. 14 because a tailight was out on his car. © St. Petersburg Times, LARGO -- Marcellus P. Morris was driving a short distance from his St. Petersburg home on Dec. 14 when he noticed a police cruiser behind him with its emergency lights on. He didn't stop immediately. Morris, 44, said he didn't feel safe. It was 6 p.m. and already getting dark. He slowed his 1989 Volvo and turned onto Juanita Way S. He drove by five houses at about 10 mph before pulling into his own driveway and halting. To St. Petersburg police and Pinellas prosecutors, Morris committed a felony: fleeing and eluding, punishable by up to five years in prison. On Thursday, a jury deliberated 15 minutes before acquitting Morris. Afterward, jurors criticized prosecutors for bringing the case to trial. "We're sorry it ever went this far," said juror Len Dahlvik. "It was bad judgment on both sides. But I think the state shouldn't have taken it to trial." Said juror Ken Hill, "This case was a waste of time and money." Morris, an air-conditioning repairman for the University of South Florida, said, "I would have to be perfectly insane to flee a cop I know is behind me." Morris said he simply thought it more convenient and safer to bring his car to a stop in his own driveway, where there is more light. After the traffic stop, St. Petersburg Officer Meri Andrews testified that Morris needlessly escalated matters. She said Morris yelled at her and accused her of wanting to shoot him. Morris yelled that Andrews, who is white, was only stopping him because he is black. Andrews said Morris resisted handing over his wallet. Then he refused to hand over his insurance card and registration. Morris' wife, Ola, got them for officers. Andrews accused Morris of hitting her hand as he tried to grab his license back. He denied doing so. Finally, the officer told Morris to get out of his car. He refused. Andrews and another officer reached in to pull him out. Andrews said Morris tried to move away from them. During a scuffle, Andrews said, she sprayed him with Mace. Assistant Public Defender Robert Tager said officers overreacted. "This law is about people willfully fleeing from officers," Tager said. "He did none of that. He drove 10 mph. That's his crime. . . . What kind of country is this that you can't drive five extra houses without being arrested and Maced?" Prosecutor Rob McLaughin said the refusal to immediately stop was a "criminally unacceptable delay." "No, he wasn't going 40 or 50 mph," the prosecutor said. "But what he did was cross the line. The officer was just trying to do her job."
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
|
