The Refugees Unleashed

by **gwen** » Thu May 13, 2010 2:51 pm

PALATKA, Fla. -- The father of a missing Florida girl is negotiating a plea deal for a 15-year sentence on drug-trafficking charges in exchange for testimony against his ex-wife and her brother.

Attorney Terry Shoemaker said Thursday at a pretrial hearing that his client Ronald Cummings hopes to have the deal before trial begins July 19.

Shoemaker said surveillance evidence of five undercover drug deals with Cummings was a significant factor. He did not immediately return a phone message or an e-mail from The Associated Press.

Cummings, his ex-wife Misty Croslin and her brother were caught in a drug-trafficking sting that ended in January.

Eighteen-year-old Croslin was at home with Haleigh Cummings the night the 5-year-old disappeared in February 2009.

Putnam County Sheriff Jeff Hardy now considers the case a homicide investigation.

http://www.wftv.com/news/23544079/detail.html

by **gwen** » Thu May 13, 2010 2:54 pm

Hank Croslin Jr.: Relative Killed Haleigh
Croslin's Jailhouse Phone Call To Grandmother Released

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. -- In a jailhouse phone conversation released Thursday, Hank Croslin Jr. told his grandmother in Tennessee that his conscience has been eating away at him while sitting at the St. Johns County Jail on drug trafficking charges.

Croslin is the brother of Misty Cummings, the former stepmother of missing 6-year-old Satsuma girl Haleigh Cummings, who disappeared 15 months ago.

Last month, investigators said the case had become a homicide investigation.

In the call with his grandmother, Flora Hollars, Croslin said he's ready to come clean.

"Tell (my mom) I've got to do something that I should have done a long time ago," Croslin said. "I'm just scared and I don't want no one to hurt my kids."

"I know it. I know it. Oh my God," Hollars said.

Croslin told his grandmother and his mother, who can be heard in the background, that a relative is responsible for Haleigh's death. But Hollars had questions about Croslin and Misty Cummings' involvement.

"I was told (Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings,) come home, and Haleigh took one of those pills and she was dead, and then Ron called you to get you to come up there and help Misty clean the house up, while he disposed of Haleigh," Hollars said.

Croslin said that's not what happened at all. Instead, he said he was threatened to stay quiet about the relative responsible for Haleigh's death or risk being killed.

He said that being in jail, he feels out of harm's way. Croslin ended the conversation asking about his sister, Misty, and whether she's shared all she knows about Haleigh.

"Has my sister called you today?" Croslin asked.

"No, I haven't heard from her today," Hollars said. "I thought that was her, but it's you."

http://www.news4jax.com/news/23544564/detail.html

by **gwen** » Thu May 13, 2010 2:57 pm

Father of Haleigh Cummings Working on Plea Deal in Drug Case

PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. -- The father of Haleigh Cummings is trying to negotiate a deal to get him out of jail sooner rather than later.

Ronald Cummings was arrested in January, along with Misty Croslin, Cummings' ex-wife, and her brother Tommy, for drug trafficking.

Cummings faces five felony charges, all of which carry minimum mandatory sentences.

Today, Cummings' attorney, after a pre-trial hearing with Cummings, said they were trying to negotiate a plea deal in exchange for testimony against the other defendants.

On the table in the deal, according to Terry Shoemaker, are the two "upper level" trafficking charges, each of which carries a minimum mandatory sentence of 25 years.

By working with the three lesser charges, Shoemaker said he hopes Cummings would end up with a sentence of 15 to 30 years.

Shoemaker described Cummings as a "very realistic person" in explaining why he was willing to deal even though there is heavy evidence against him, including surveillance video of Cummings with drugs.

Shoemaker also clarified that the deal being worked out is in no way tied to the search for Cummings' daughter Haleigh, who has been missing since Feb. 2009 and is now presumed dead, according to Putnam County Sheriff Jeff Hardy.

Failing the deal, Cummings is scheduled to go to trial July 19.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/tops ... 90&catid=3

by **resigned** » Thu May 13, 2010 3:38 pm

gwen wrote:Hank Croslin Jr.: Relative Killed Haleigh
Croslin's Jailhouse Phone Call To Grandmother Released

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. -- In a jailhouse phone conversation released Thursday, Hank Croslin Jr. told his grandmother in Tennessee that his conscience has been eating away at him while sitting at the St. Johns County Jail on drug trafficking charges.

Croslin is the brother of Misty Cummings, the former stepmother of missing 6-year-old Satsuma girl Haleigh Cummings, who disappeared 15 months ago.

Last month, investigators said the case had become a homicide investigation.

In the call with his grandmother, Flora Hollars, Croslin said he's ready to come clean.

"Tell (my mom) I've got to do something that I should have done a long time ago," Croslin said. "I'm just scared and I don't want no one to hurt my kids."

"I know it. I know it. Oh my God," Hollars said.

Croslin told his grandmother and his mother, who can be heard in the background, that a relative is responsible for Haleigh's death. But Hollars had questions about Croslin and Misty Cummings' involvement.

"I was told (Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings,) come home, and Haleigh took one of those pills and she was dead, and then Ron called you to get you to come up there and help Misty clean the house up, while he disposed of Haleigh," Hollars said.

Croslin said that's not what happened at all. Instead, he said he was threatened to stay quiet about the relative responsible for Haleigh's death or risk being killed.

He said that being in jail, he feels out of harm's way. Croslin ended the conversation asking about his sister, Misty, and whether she's shared all she knows about Haleigh.

"Has my sister called you today?" Croslin asked.

"No, I haven't heard from her today," Hollars said. "I thought that was her, but it's you."

http://www.news4jax.com/news/23544564/detail.html

A "relative" doesn't narrow the suspect list down much.

by **PerryPeabody** » Thu May 13, 2010 3:41 pm

by **gwen** » Thu May 13, 2010 4:24 pm

Thanks, perry...OMG - how ignorant these people are!

by **Ber** » Thu May 13, 2010 4:58 pm

ignorant people have stories too. They may not be well spoken, but that doesn't mean they are not true. One of my favorite quote I heard was in the movie "Sweet Home Alabama" Where the Jake character looks at Melanie and says "Just cuz I talk slow, sweetheart, doesn't mean I'm stupid" Uneducated people may not be "stupid" either...they just don't know how to express themeselve. I am a grammar freak...so normally I get annoyed, but I know that this is the simple life these people have been taught...but just because they are simple, that doesn't mean they can not formulate a devious plan to frame someone...

by **LovelyPigeon** » Thu May 13, 2010 5:51 pm

Ber wrote:ignorant people have stories too. They may not be well spoken, but that doesn't mean they are not true. One of my favorite quote I heard was in the movie "Sweet Home Alabama" Where the Jake character looks at Melanie and says "Just cuz I talk slow, sweetheart, doesn't mean I'm stupid" Uneducated people may not be "stupid" either...they just don't know how to express themeselve. I am a grammar freak...so normally I get annoyed, but I know that this is the simple life these people have been taught...but just because they are simple, that doesn't mean they can not formulate a devious plan to frame someone...

Amen to that, Ber!

by **gwen** » Thu May 13, 2010 8:39 pm

Tommy Croslin Jail Phone Call Fingers Joe Overstreet in Disappearance of Haleigh Cummings

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. -- In a recently released jail recording, Tommy Croslin told his grandmother who he thinks is responsible for the disappearance of Haleigh Cummings.

Misty Croslin, Tommy Croslin's sister and then-girlfriend of Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings, put 5-year-old Haleigh to bed in February 2009. Haleigh hasn't been seen since.

Misty Croslin and Cummings married, then divorced, and both, along with Tommy Croslin, have been arrested on drug charges.

Tommy Croslin is being held in St. Johns County. In mid-April, the search for Haleigh intensified for three days based on a tip from him.

Investigators searched an area around a public boat ramp south of Satsuma, the town where Ronald Cummings lived and where Haleigh was last seen.

On April 11, he spoke to his grandmother, Flora Hollars, from jail, and that call has now been released.

HEAR THE ENTIRE PHONE CALL IN THE VIDEO ON THE RIGHT

In it, he tells Hollars to get his wife on the phone, asking for his lawyer.

"I need her to get my lawyer down here, it's important," Croslin said.

"I have to do something that I should have done a long time ago...just scared, don't want no one to hurt my kids." He has three children.

"Do you know, Tommy?" Hollars asked him.

"All I know is he's got to pay; he can't get to none of us so it don't matter," Croslin replied.

"It ain't me. No, it's not me, she (his wife, Lindsey) should know that...she's already heard the story," he continued.

"Is it the story that Misty said?" Hollars asked.

"Yeah, that's it."

"Joe?"

"Yep."

"Joe" is Joe Overstreet, a cousin who lives in Nashville, Tenn. As the investigation intensified at the boat ramp, investigators in Tennessee interviewed Overstreet, but did not arrest him.

"Okay, that's what I've been thinking all along," Hollars continued in the phone call. "I've said it all along."

"But he can't get to me, he can't get to them, so they'll take care of it," Croslin said.

Hollars offered her version of the story in the recording. "I was told that Ron come home, and Haleigh had took one, found one of his pills, and took it and was dead, and Ron called you to get you to come up there and help Misty..."

"That's bull****," Croslin interrupted.

"...Clean the house up while he disposed of Haleigh," Hollars finished.

"That's bull****," Croslin repeated.

"Okay, well I'm glad you're telling me the truth, baby, because I've been wanting to hear it for a long time, but I knowed it. I knowed it in my heart, all this time I've knowed it."

Croslin then told her that "Joe" is "crazy" and tried to kill them all, repeating frequently his concern for his children.

Croslin's attorney, James Werter, said in a statement today that Croslin is not culpable in the disappearance of Haleigh, and has been cooperating since April 11 despite threats to his family.

Werter says Croslin didn't come forward sooner because he was scared for his family.

"He's been living under a atmosphere of fear for almost a year and a half and you listen to the tape and he says what he was in fear of, the person, his children and wife," said Werter.

Werter also says Croslin was forced at gunpoint to go with Overstreet to the St. Johns River when Overstreet was disposing of Haleigh's body.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/loca ... 77&catid=3

by **resigned** » Thu May 13, 2010 9:19 pm

Lawyer says Tommy Croslin is cooperating in Haleigh case
By Cindy Swirko
Staff writer

Published: Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 8:13 p.m.

PALATKA -- Hank "Tommy" Croslin Jr., a figure in the disappearance of Haleigh Cummings, should not serve much jail time if convicted on a drug trafficking charge in part because of his cooperation with authorities in the Haleigh case, his attorney said Thursday.

A phone conversation with his grandmother in which Tommy Croslin implicated his cousin, Joseph Overstreet, as being involved in Haleigh's disappearance is an example of cooperation, attorney James Werter said. Croslin in the same call asked that his wife contact Werter because he wanted to tell authorities about the case.

Croslin faces a minimum mandatory sentence of three years on the trafficking charge, Werter said. That is less than the 15 years faced by co-defendants because Tommy Croslin's case involves a smaller amount of drugs.

Werter also said Croslin was the source of a tip to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement that led to an extensive search of the St. Johns River last month. Authorities said no human remains were found. Other items that were found are being analyzed.

"For the cooperation he has been giving over the Haleigh Cummings case, I would try to argue (his sentence) down...," Werter said. "We brought him to FDLE in Putnam County and that's how they ended up at the river -- through Tommy's help. Otherwise this case would still be in a quagmire. We have the dots, it's just connecting them."

Tommy Croslin is the brother of Misty Croslin, who was then the girlfriend of Haleigh's father, Ronald Cummings. Misty Croslin was home with Haleigh, age 5, when Haleigh disappeared the night of Feb. 9 2009. Authorities said they believe Haleigh is dead and have classified the case a homicide

Werter spoke Thursday after a court hearing on the status of Tommy Croslin's case. He said Croslin had outlined for authorities what happened the night Haleigh disappeared "and he was able to take them to that final destination."

Asked to clarify what he meant by the destination, Werter replied, "For Haleigh, unfortunately." He would not give additional details.

Werter also released a recorded phone conversation that Tommy Croslin made from the St. Johns County Jail in April with his grandmother in Tennessee, Flora Hollars.

Hollars told various media outlets that Tommy Croslin told her that Overstreet took Haleigh from her Satsuma home. Hollars said the two men had earlier gone there to look for a machine gun they were going to steal. She said Overstreet threatened to kill Misty Croslin if she talked.

Hollars also said she was the person who told authorities to search a part of the St. Johns River between Satsuma and Welaka based on information she had gotten from another relative.

Tommy Croslin implicates Overstreet in the taped phone conversation released by Werter on Thursday. Hollars asks, "Is it the story Misty is saying -- Joe?" Croslin replies, "Yeah, that's it."

However, no other details about Haleigh were given.

The conversation starts with Croslin asking that his wife, Lindsy , get in contact with Werter.

"I need her to get my lawyer down here. It's very important. I got to do something that should have been done already," Tommy Croslin said. "I'm just scared. I don't want no one hurting my kids. He's got to pay. He's got to pay for it."

Overstreet, also from Tennessee, has denied the charges. His attorney could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Authorities earlier have said they had interviewed Overstreet. Putnam County Sheriff's Lt. Johnny Greenwood said Thursday the agency would not comment on the matter or discuss whether Overstreet is a suspect.

"We're not making any statements on who we are looking at," Greenwood said.

Werter said he would consider a plea deal for Tommy Croslin from prosecutors.

http://www.gainesville.com/article/2010 ... l&tc=pgall

Hard to know what to think - Werter zealously doing his job or is Croslin telling the truth?

April 11th was the phone conversation - today is May 13.

by **gwen** » Thu May 13, 2010 9:26 pm

Hmmm...this phone conversation is coming to light on the same day that Ronald is attempting to get a plea deal....hard to tell who in this group is actually telling the truth...

by **resigned** » Thu May 13, 2010 10:01 pm

gwen wrote:Hmmm...this phone conversation is coming to light on the same day that Ronald is attempting to get a plea deal....hard to tell who in this group is actually telling the truth...

You got that right.

Two more months and Ron's attorney hopes to work out a plea agreement - what's there to negotiate that wasn't there from the beginning. How many low level dealers/traffickers can he implicate.

by **resigned** » Fri May 14, 2010 1:53 am

Cummings seeks plea
If deal goes through, Cummings will testify against Misty Croslin, her brother

Ronald Cummings and his attorney Terry Shoemaker confer Thursday. By BOB SELF, Morris News Service

Posted: May 14, 2010 - 12:10am
By Dana Treen

PALATKA -- A Putnam County courtroom was steeped in HaLeigh Cummings' mystery Thursday as players in the case of the missing 5-year-old try to untangle themselves from prescription drug-trafficking charges that threaten to put them away for decades.

In exchange for testimony at possible drug trials of his former wife and her brother, Ronald Cummings is negotiating for a 15-year sentence on the charges, his attorney said after a court appearance that set a July 19 trial date.

Cummings, 26, faces five trafficking charges. In January he was arrested with Misty Croslin, Hank "Tommy" Croslin Jr., a cousin of Cummings' and a friend of Misty's in a monthlong drug sting.

Cummings is willing to testify in those cases, said his attorney, Terry Shoemaker of St. Augustine.

Shoemaker said he hopes to have a deal with prosecutors within two weeks or possibly within a week.

As part of the deal, the two most serious trafficking charges against Cummings would be dropped and the sentence would be for the three less serious charges, which are evaluated by the weight of the drugs involved, Shoemaker said.

Cummings wouldn't be sentenced until after the others charged in the case are tried.

The sentencing range would likely be a 15-year minimum mandatory with a possible 30-year maximum, Shoemaker said.

He said surveillance evidence of eight undercover drug deals, including five with Cummings, was a significant factor.

"It's a great case for the state," he said.

When Cummings was arrested, he was befriending Misty Croslin to draw out information about what happened when HaLeigh disappeared in February 2009, his family has said.
HaLeigh was home in Satsuma, along with Croslin and her younger brother, Ronald Jr., the night she disappeared.

Cummings married Croslin after the disappearance but the two soon divorced.

Croslin Jr., 23, also had a court appearance later Thursday. His attorney said while his client was jailed, he told detectives what he knows about HaLeigh's case and told them they should look at a cousin in Tennessee who was visiting Florida the night the kindergartner disappeared.

Attorney James Werter of St. Augustine, said it was Croslin Jr. who told investigators to look for HaLeigh's remains in the St. Johns River at a closed riverfront restaurant south of Satsuma.

"That's how they ended up at the river, because of Tommy's cooperation," he said.

Divers and other investigators scoured the river for three days last month but said they did not find HaLeigh's remains. The sheriff also conceded the case is being considered a homicide.

Werter said his client faces three years on the single trafficking charge but said he would argue for less due to his help with the HaLeigh case.

Chris Kelly, a spokesman for the State Attorney's Office, said prosecutors will not discuss plea negotiations outside court.

In another development in the case, Werter released a copy of Croslin Jr.'s April 11 phone call with his grandmother, Flora Hollars.

Werter said it confirms how Croslin Jr. came forward voluntarily to law enforcement despite threats toward him and his family. He starts off telling his grandmother to get his lawyer, that he has to do something that should have been done already.

He doesn't mention HaLeigh or his cousin Joe Overstreet's names or specific details. But he does respond yes to Hollars' question is it the story Misty's saying about "Joe."

"He's got to pay for it," Croslin Jr. says.

Overstreet, 20, who lives in Tennessee, was questioned back when HaLeigh went missing and again in light of recent information. He has not been charged.

Hollars and Overstreet's attorney could not be reached Thursday afternoon for comment.

In court Thursday, Croslin Jr. was given a June 21 trial date on the trafficking charge. He also faces unrelated charges, one for drug possession and one for grand theft of a gun. Those are being handled separately.

For now the main player remaining to be given a trial date is Misty Croslin.

The 18-year-old faces eight counts of trafficking, including seven in Putnam County and one in St. Johns.

Misty Croslin, who was the last to see HaLeigh before making the 911 call to the Putnam County Sheriff's Office early on Feb. 10, 2009, has already told detectives all she can, said her attorney, Robert Fields.

Fields said he has not negotiated with prosecutors but is not surprised that others have been making deals.

"Misty's position is she's told law enforcement what happened and it's their decision to act on the information," he said.

Fields said the drug charges create pressure on everyone to cooperate with detectives. After the arrests, investigators said they intended to use the opportunity to discuss HaLeigh's case.

"Any reasonable person could come to the conclusion that the cases are linked," Fields said.

One person in the case has already been sentenced. Hope Sykes, 19, a cousin of Cummings, was given 15 years in prison on April 27 for a no-contest plea on one trafficking charge.

http://staugustine.com/news/local-news/ ... eks-plea-0

He was just seeking info on the case - five times on drug surveillance videos :lol:

by **resigned** » Fri May 14, 2010 1:57 am

Hank 'Tommy' Croslin Jr. takes a seat in the courtroom with other inmates Thursday morning after being brought to Putnam County from the jail in St. Johns County. By BOB SELF, Morris News Service

by **Arubalover** » Fri May 14, 2010 12:51 pm

Tommy Croslin is one ugly dude.

by **gwen** » Fri May 14, 2010 6:12 pm

This clarifies when Hank's phone call was made. His call was what initiated the last search for Haleigh...

Hank Croslin Jailhouse Tapes Release

http://www.news4jax.com/video/23547034/index.html

by **resigned** » Fri May 14, 2010 8:40 pm

Thanks, Gwen.

And according to that they are still analyzing the findings of the search.

by **gwen** » Fri May 14, 2010 8:48 pm

Y/W, pat. Those people need to tell the truth for once in their sorry lives...

by **chance** » Sat May 15, 2010 1:09 pm

Arubalover wrote:Tommy Croslin is one ugly dude.

Not just ugly. He is downright FUGLY.

by **Arubalover** » Sun May 16, 2010 4:00 pm

unless Ron is willing to testify against Misty in the disappearance of Haleigh, the prosecutors need to ignore him. They have Misty and Tommy on tape in the drug deals, so why do they need Ron?

by **Heli** » Sun May 16, 2010 7:35 pm

Arubalover wrote:unless Ron is willing to testify against Misty in the disappearance of Haleigh, the prosecutors need to ignore him. They have Misty and Tommy on tape in the drug deals, so why do they need Ron?

I don't see that they need to make any deals with any of them. They have the undercover operator, they have the videotape of them selling hundreds of oxys -- so do tell, why do they need any one of them to testify against the other to get convictions?

All the evidence necessary for convictions comes in through the undercover and the video of them trafficking.

As far as reduction in sentences on the trafficking charges for testimony in the Haleigh case, all of them are proven liars so what good is a story from any of them? I'd sure hate to be an investigator on that case.

by **gwen** » Mon May 17, 2010 10:31 pm

Father of Haleigh Cummings Working on Plea Deal in Drug Case

PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. -- The father of Haleigh Cummings is trying to negotiate a deal to get him out of jail sooner rather than later.

Ronald Cummings was arrested in January, along with Misty Croslin, Cummings' ex-wife, and her brother Tommy, for drug trafficking.

Cummings faces five felony charges, all of which carry minimum mandatory sentences.

Today, the state attorney's office confirmed what Cummings' attorney, Terry Shoemaker, said last week.

Shoemaker, after a pre-trial hearing with Cummings Thursday, said they were trying to negotiate a plea deal in exchange for testimony against the other defendants.

On the table in the deal, according to Shoemaker, are the two "upper level" trafficking charges, each of which carries a minimum mandatory sentence of 25 years.

By working with the three lesser charges, Shoemaker said he hopes Cummings would end up with a sentence of 15 to 30 years.

Shoemaker described Cummings as a "very realistic person" in explaining why he was willing to deal even though there is heavy evidence against him, including surveillance video of Cummings with drugs.

Shoemaker also clarified that the deal being worked out is in no way tied to the search for Cummings' daughter Haleigh, who has been missing since Feb. 2009 and is now presumed dead, according to Putnam County Sheriff Jeff Hardy.

Failing the deal, Cummings is scheduled to go to trial July 19.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/loca ... 90&catid=3

by **gwen** » Tue May 18, 2010 8:04 am

by **Siddalee** » Thu Jun 03, 2010 7:32 pm

Hank Croslin Jr., a player in missing Haleigh Cummings case, pleads no contest to drug charges

Trial date set for his sister, Misty
Posted: June 3, 2010 - 10:28am

PALATKA — Misty Croslin, a central figure in the case of missing Haleigh Cummings, was told Thursday in Putnam County court that she has until mid-August to make a deal with prosecutors in seven drug-trafficking cases that could send her to prison for decades.

Croslin, who called authorities the night the 5-year-old went missing, appeared before Judge Terry LaRue ahead of her brother. Hank “Tommy” Croslin Jr., 23, pleaded no contest to trafficking and possession and will be sentenced this summer.

After four months in jail, the siblings are now closer to prison terms that are governed by minimum-mandatory sentences.

While the drug cases are not connected to Haleigh’s disappearance, investigators have said they would take advantage of the drug arrests to ask about the high-profile mystery.

One of the few ways for judges to deviate from minimum-mandatory sentences is when a defendant gives substantial assistance in another case.

The seven trafficking prescription drug charges faced by Misty Croslin, 18, come with minimum sentences from five to 25 years, depending on the amount of drugs sold, if she is found guilty. She also faces an eighth trafficking charge in St. Johns County.

Thursday, the judge set a trial for Aug. 23 on the Putnam cases. Croslin has a “last chance plea date” of Aug. 16 to work out an agreement with prosecutors, LaRue said.

In a dark blue jail jumpsuit and with her hair braided tightly to her head, she spoke softly to the judge and signed notices for each of the seven counts. Her parents sat in the courtroom and later said it was upsetting to see the two brought into court.

“I about went into a panic attack,” their father, Hank Croslin Sr., said.

He said he doesn’t think Misty deserved all that.

Her attorney, Robert Fields, said recently that a plea deal was not being considered.

“We’re not in the business of giving up,” he said.

Fields has said Misty Croslin has been cooperating with detectives about Haleigh and said it is reasonable to believe pressure to resolve that case will affect the drug outcomes. The Satsuma kindergartner disappeared while in the care of Croslin, who was dating Haleigh’s father Ronald Cummings.

Minimum-mandatory sentences give prosecutors significant clout, said Deborah Fleischaker of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, a national organization working to repeal the measures.

Selling pills with a total weight of half a Hershey’s bar is enough to mandate a 25-year sentence, Fleischaker said.

“It shifts the balance of power away from the courts to the prosecutor,” she said.

Prosecutors not only have discretion in picking charges but also are able to set the terms of the sentence, she said.

“The minimum-mandatory brings an enormous amount of pressure to bear on the defendant because they have huge sentences looming,” Fleischaker said.

Information in one case can be used in a sentencing deal in another, she said.

Along with the Croslins, others arrested in the undercover operation include Cummings, his cousin Hope Sykes, 19, who has already been sentenced to 15 years in prison, and Croslin’s friend Donna Brock, who was involved in the search for Haleigh after she disappeared in February 2009.

At Cummings’ most recent court appearance, his attorney said they are negotiating for a 15-year sentence.
Evidence in all the cases include dashboard recordings in an undercover detective’s car that provide audio and visual images of drug transactions involving hydrocodone pills.

Croslin’s brother was charged with possession of hydrocodone in November when he was found passed out in a van. He was later arrested in the undercover operation with the others.

He pleaded no contest to those charges Thursday and under sentencing guidelines faces a minimum of three years in prison. The judge could up that to 44 months or sentence him to a maximum of 30 years. By July 6, a date will be set for a sentencing hearing.

James Werter, the attorney for Croslin Jr., said his client has not agreed to testify for the state when his sister goes to trial.

“There’s no deals on the table,” he said.

Werter said prosecutors have been using the possibility of maximum sentences to shake those involved in the case.

“They just want to hang everybody and blast everybody,” he said.

The State Attorney’s Office would not comment directly on the cases, but prosecutors do use sentencing guidelines, State Attorney R.J. Larizza said in a statement from his office.

“Minimum mandatory sentences are the law and my office will enforce those laws as necessary to protect the citizens from dangerous, violent and career criminals,” the statement said. dana.treen@jacksonville.com,(904) 359-4091

http://tinyurl.com/37ruykx

by **gwen** » Thu Jun 03, 2010 8:33 pm

Thanks, sid!

The Refugees Unleashed

Haleigh's Father Wants Deal In Drug Case

Haleigh's Father Wants Deal In Drug Case

Tommy Croslin Jail Phone Call to Flora Hollars(Audio Only)

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