11-14-2008, 03:41 AM
Haines City Police Captain Indicted, Chief Resigns
By Kevin Bouffard & Jeremy Maready
THE LEDGER
Published: Thursday, November 13, 2008 at 5:27 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, November 13, 2008 at 8:37 p.m.
By KEVIN BOUFFARD & JEREMY MAREADY
THE LEDGER
BARTOW | A grand jury Thursday indicted Haines City police Capt. Mervin Stewart on two counts of perjury, and police Chief Morris West has resigned in return for unrelated prostitution charges being dropped against him.
Stewart, the second in command of the department, faces two felony counts of perjury stemming from investigations into sexual conduct with two police officers under his command.
West resigned his position and relinquished his police credentials in an Oct. 31 settlement with the State Attorney’s Office, according to a grand jury report released Thursday. His resignation was not made public until Thursday.
In return, the state attorney dropped an Oct. 24 indictment on three misdemeanor counts of soliciting prostitution.
Polk County sheriff’s Maj. Larry “Mike” Pruitt was appointed acting police chief after West was suspended on the day of his indictment.
Pruitt suspended Stewart, 43, with pay, from his $57,995-a-year job on Nov. 7.
Stewart was arrested in Haines City on Thursday, shortly after the State Attorney’s Office released the indictment charging him with two counts of perjury in an official proceeding. Both counts were based on the captain’s Nov. 6 testimony before a grand jury investigating the police department.
Escorted by a Polk County sheriff’s deputy and wearing a Haines City High School Hornet’s T-shirt, shorts and handcuffs, Stewart was asked what he thought about the charges against him.
“They’re racially motivated, and I’ll prove it in court,” he replied.
He was released from the Polk County jail Thursday night on $50,000 bail.
PERJURY CHARGES
In the first count against him, Stewart is charged with lying about a sexual harassment complaint filed by Haines City police Officer Nicole Gusaeff over an April 12 incident at a Winter Haven bar in which she said he put his arm around her shoulders and groped her, the indictment states.
He told the grand jury he didn’t inappropriately touch her or sexually harass her.
In the second count, he is accused of lying to the grand jury when he denied he told two other Haines City officers, Cpl. Terry Giffin and Sgt. Thomas Grant, that he had a sexual relationship with police Cpl. Emelynda Hernandez, who also was suspended Nov. 7.
Hernandez resigned Monday.
State Attorney Jerry Hill said the Stewart and West indictments conclude the grand jury’s investigation, which began in August.
Gusaeff filed her sexual harassment complaint Aug. 23.
She alleged Stewart engaged in repeated sexual comments and actions that began one week after Feb. 18, when he was promoted from a patrol sergeant to captain, bypassing the rank of lieutenant.
Gusaeff complained there were incidents at the Policeman’s Ball at a Winter Haven hotel and a subsequent gathering of Haines City officers at Tanner’s Pub in downtown Winter Haven, according to Haines City records and a Winter Have Police report.
At the pub, Gusaeff’s complaint states, Stewart “pulled me to an empty corner and stated that he wanted to touch me in a sexual manner, and he started closing in on me from behind.”
She charged he touched her left breast and buttocks.
Gusaeff detailed several other incidents over the following weeks in which Stewart would call her on her cell phone to ask her out for drinks or a date, the complaint states.
On two occasions, Stewart offered to “pat me down,” Gusaeff charged.
Gusaeff said she reported several incidents to other officers, and they became well known around the department.
She said she filed the sexual harassment complaint because “at that point I felt that I was being targeted by Capt. Stewart because of the past incidents.”
City Manager Ann Toney-Deal investigated Gusaeff’s complaint and told The Ledger she could not sustain the allegations.
The second perjury count against Stewart stems from an April 19, 2006, incident and subsequent internal affairs investigation.
In that incident, Stewart’s wife at the time, Cpl. Angela Stewart, reported he had been missing for 24 hours, and she could not locate him after contacting friends and family.
The city destroyed the official internal affairs report, but acting Chief Pruitt on Wednesday released an unofficial copy of it to The Ledger.
After learning of Angela Stewart’s report, West found Mervin Stewart’s truck parked outside Hernandez’s Poinciana home, the report said.
Sgt. James Babers and Lt. Michael Green then interviewed Hernandez, according to the report, and she gave conflicting accounts of the incident but denied any sexual relationship with Stewart or that he had stayed the night.
Hernandez and Stewart told investigators he had dropped some fruit off to her after her recent release from the hospital.
Some neighbors of Hernandez, however, told investigators they’d seen Stewart at Hernandez’s home once or twice a week for the past several months, the report said.
His visits lasted for eight to 10 hours, they said.
The internal affairs investigative report did not sustain charges of untruthfulness in an official proceeding against Stewart and Hernandez. Chief West approved the report.
ALLEGATIONS AGAINST WEST
In the police chief’s case, West’s indictment accused him of soliciting prostitution from Kimberly Latrice Willis Ambrose, 31, of Haines City last year.
The first incident is supposed to have occurred Nov. 22, 2007, while subsequent incidents allegedly occurred between Nov. 23, 2007, and Dec. 10, 2007, and between Dec. 11, 2007, and Dec. 25, 2007, the indictment states.
All three counts charge that West, who is married, solicited Ambrose for prostitution, purchased her services, entered a building for the purpose of prostitution or aided and abetted in those acts.
Ambrose has a lengthy arrest record, mostly involving theft charges, according to court, jail and prison information.
Records show Ambrose was serving a sentence on a probation violation between Oct. 10 and Dec. 7 — the time period of two of the alleged prostitution incidents involving West. That sentence required her to do work at the Haines City Parks and Recreation Department, but she spent no time in jail, said Sheriff’s spokeswoman Carrie Eleazer.
West is the brother of Haines City Commissioner Horace West.
OFFICERS RECEIVED HIGH MARKS, PROMOTIONS
According to his personnel file, West is a Haines City native who joined the Police Department in December 1986 as a patrol officer after working for three years at the Polk County Correctional Institution, a state prison.
He graduated from Haines City High School in 1979 and from Bethune Cookman College with a degree in criminology in 1983.
He got regular promotions at the Police Department and became chief in July 2003, succeeding retired Chief Tom Wheeler. The chief is paid $74,694 a year.
After suspending West, Toney-Deal bypassed Stewart and hired Pruitt on a 30-day contract to manage the department. She said she would re-evaluate the contract before it expires.
Stewart, who also is a Haines City native, joined the Police Department in March 1991 after completing the criminal justice program at Polk Community College, according to his personnel file.
He received positive evaluations during his career while working as a patrol officer, detective, on the narcotics squad and as a school officer.
Stewart was He had received “outstanding” evaluations, the highest grade, for the past two years.
In February, West promoted Stewart, who was a sergeant at the time, to captain over the heads of the department’s lieutenants.
He went from overseeing the Crime Reduction Unit to being second in command in the department.
West promoted him despite the fact that the department’s review board, comprised of outside law enforcement officers, did not include him on the list of recommended candidates.
At the time, West said he reconsidered the internal candidates because he did not want to hire anyone on the board’s short list.
[ Kevin Bouffard can be reached at kevin.bouffard@theledger.com or at 863-422-6800. Visit his blog, Northeast Polk Pickins, at talesofthreecities.theledger.com. ]
By Kevin Bouffard & Jeremy Maready
THE LEDGER
Published: Thursday, November 13, 2008 at 5:27 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, November 13, 2008 at 8:37 p.m.
By KEVIN BOUFFARD & JEREMY MAREADY
THE LEDGER
BARTOW | A grand jury Thursday indicted Haines City police Capt. Mervin Stewart on two counts of perjury, and police Chief Morris West has resigned in return for unrelated prostitution charges being dropped against him.
Stewart, the second in command of the department, faces two felony counts of perjury stemming from investigations into sexual conduct with two police officers under his command.
West resigned his position and relinquished his police credentials in an Oct. 31 settlement with the State Attorney’s Office, according to a grand jury report released Thursday. His resignation was not made public until Thursday.
In return, the state attorney dropped an Oct. 24 indictment on three misdemeanor counts of soliciting prostitution.
Polk County sheriff’s Maj. Larry “Mike” Pruitt was appointed acting police chief after West was suspended on the day of his indictment.
Pruitt suspended Stewart, 43, with pay, from his $57,995-a-year job on Nov. 7.
Stewart was arrested in Haines City on Thursday, shortly after the State Attorney’s Office released the indictment charging him with two counts of perjury in an official proceeding. Both counts were based on the captain’s Nov. 6 testimony before a grand jury investigating the police department.
Escorted by a Polk County sheriff’s deputy and wearing a Haines City High School Hornet’s T-shirt, shorts and handcuffs, Stewart was asked what he thought about the charges against him.
“They’re racially motivated, and I’ll prove it in court,” he replied.
He was released from the Polk County jail Thursday night on $50,000 bail.
PERJURY CHARGES
In the first count against him, Stewart is charged with lying about a sexual harassment complaint filed by Haines City police Officer Nicole Gusaeff over an April 12 incident at a Winter Haven bar in which she said he put his arm around her shoulders and groped her, the indictment states.
He told the grand jury he didn’t inappropriately touch her or sexually harass her.
In the second count, he is accused of lying to the grand jury when he denied he told two other Haines City officers, Cpl. Terry Giffin and Sgt. Thomas Grant, that he had a sexual relationship with police Cpl. Emelynda Hernandez, who also was suspended Nov. 7.
Hernandez resigned Monday.
State Attorney Jerry Hill said the Stewart and West indictments conclude the grand jury’s investigation, which began in August.
Gusaeff filed her sexual harassment complaint Aug. 23.
She alleged Stewart engaged in repeated sexual comments and actions that began one week after Feb. 18, when he was promoted from a patrol sergeant to captain, bypassing the rank of lieutenant.
Gusaeff complained there were incidents at the Policeman’s Ball at a Winter Haven hotel and a subsequent gathering of Haines City officers at Tanner’s Pub in downtown Winter Haven, according to Haines City records and a Winter Have Police report.
At the pub, Gusaeff’s complaint states, Stewart “pulled me to an empty corner and stated that he wanted to touch me in a sexual manner, and he started closing in on me from behind.”
She charged he touched her left breast and buttocks.
Gusaeff detailed several other incidents over the following weeks in which Stewart would call her on her cell phone to ask her out for drinks or a date, the complaint states.
On two occasions, Stewart offered to “pat me down,” Gusaeff charged.
Gusaeff said she reported several incidents to other officers, and they became well known around the department.
She said she filed the sexual harassment complaint because “at that point I felt that I was being targeted by Capt. Stewart because of the past incidents.”
City Manager Ann Toney-Deal investigated Gusaeff’s complaint and told The Ledger she could not sustain the allegations.
The second perjury count against Stewart stems from an April 19, 2006, incident and subsequent internal affairs investigation.
In that incident, Stewart’s wife at the time, Cpl. Angela Stewart, reported he had been missing for 24 hours, and she could not locate him after contacting friends and family.
The city destroyed the official internal affairs report, but acting Chief Pruitt on Wednesday released an unofficial copy of it to The Ledger.
After learning of Angela Stewart’s report, West found Mervin Stewart’s truck parked outside Hernandez’s Poinciana home, the report said.
Sgt. James Babers and Lt. Michael Green then interviewed Hernandez, according to the report, and she gave conflicting accounts of the incident but denied any sexual relationship with Stewart or that he had stayed the night.
Hernandez and Stewart told investigators he had dropped some fruit off to her after her recent release from the hospital.
Some neighbors of Hernandez, however, told investigators they’d seen Stewart at Hernandez’s home once or twice a week for the past several months, the report said.
His visits lasted for eight to 10 hours, they said.
The internal affairs investigative report did not sustain charges of untruthfulness in an official proceeding against Stewart and Hernandez. Chief West approved the report.
ALLEGATIONS AGAINST WEST
In the police chief’s case, West’s indictment accused him of soliciting prostitution from Kimberly Latrice Willis Ambrose, 31, of Haines City last year.
The first incident is supposed to have occurred Nov. 22, 2007, while subsequent incidents allegedly occurred between Nov. 23, 2007, and Dec. 10, 2007, and between Dec. 11, 2007, and Dec. 25, 2007, the indictment states.
All three counts charge that West, who is married, solicited Ambrose for prostitution, purchased her services, entered a building for the purpose of prostitution or aided and abetted in those acts.
Ambrose has a lengthy arrest record, mostly involving theft charges, according to court, jail and prison information.
Records show Ambrose was serving a sentence on a probation violation between Oct. 10 and Dec. 7 — the time period of two of the alleged prostitution incidents involving West. That sentence required her to do work at the Haines City Parks and Recreation Department, but she spent no time in jail, said Sheriff’s spokeswoman Carrie Eleazer.
West is the brother of Haines City Commissioner Horace West.
OFFICERS RECEIVED HIGH MARKS, PROMOTIONS
According to his personnel file, West is a Haines City native who joined the Police Department in December 1986 as a patrol officer after working for three years at the Polk County Correctional Institution, a state prison.
He graduated from Haines City High School in 1979 and from Bethune Cookman College with a degree in criminology in 1983.
He got regular promotions at the Police Department and became chief in July 2003, succeeding retired Chief Tom Wheeler. The chief is paid $74,694 a year.
After suspending West, Toney-Deal bypassed Stewart and hired Pruitt on a 30-day contract to manage the department. She said she would re-evaluate the contract before it expires.
Stewart, who also is a Haines City native, joined the Police Department in March 1991 after completing the criminal justice program at Polk Community College, according to his personnel file.
He received positive evaluations during his career while working as a patrol officer, detective, on the narcotics squad and as a school officer.
Stewart was He had received “outstanding” evaluations, the highest grade, for the past two years.
In February, West promoted Stewart, who was a sergeant at the time, to captain over the heads of the department’s lieutenants.
He went from overseeing the Crime Reduction Unit to being second in command in the department.
West promoted him despite the fact that the department’s review board, comprised of outside law enforcement officers, did not include him on the list of recommended candidates.
At the time, West said he reconsidered the internal candidates because he did not want to hire anyone on the board’s short list.
[ Kevin Bouffard can be reached at kevin.bouffard@theledger.com or at 863-422-6800. Visit his blog, Northeast Polk Pickins, at talesofthreecities.theledger.com. ]