Daniel Riley & Derek Galbraith & Jessica Sullivan
Quote:
Originally Posted by “Carlos R. Munoz”
SPD detectives Jessica Sullivan and Sgt. Derek Galbraith met with attorney Varinia Van Ness and her client – at her law firm – at the client’s request.
Van Ness stopped the meeting after about 10 minutes because Galbraith had activated a recording device without notifying anyone. Van Ness told Galbraith to either stop the illegal recording – or get out of her office. When Galbraith refused to turn off the recorder, Van Ness called 911 to get the officers removed for trespassing. The detectives eventually left.
On the same day, Det. Daniel Riley submitted a warrant to arrest Van Ness for obstructing the officers. The local SAO had a conflict-of-interest and sent the request to the 20th Judicial Circuit SAO, which denied the request to arrest Van Ness. Another request was sent to FDLE, which also declined to arrest Van Ness.
Sarasota attorney Jeff Young, a former prosecutor, experienced a similar incident a year ago. He said that police efforts to prosecute attorneys for providing counsel is a cause for concern.
Van Ness said, “It’s disappointing that these detectives would… attempt to neutralize a defendant by arresting the defendant’s attorney.”
Police Chief Bernadette DiPino said, “Our priority is to bring justice to a sexual battery victim.”
A criminal and IA investigation into Galbraith and Sullivan has been initiated to determine if...
Full story:
https://www.heraldtribune.com/news/2...in-retaliation
