State
of Florida
Office of the State Attorney
16th Judicial Circuit
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Office of the State Attorney 16th Judicial Circuit
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Criminal Justice System Overview Employment Opportunities |
JANUARY 6, 2006 Key West Attorney, Three Others Found Guilty of Battery Four Key West men, including a local lawyer, were convicted on December 15 of misdemeanor battery on a Rhode Island firefighter. A jury found attorney Jedde Victor Regante, 35; Russell Thomas Cardwell, 26; Kenneth James Skaggs, 27 and Justin Curtis Kent guilty of kicking and stomping 28-year-old Michael Connors on a Duval Street sidewalk in the early morning hours of September 2. A fifth Key West man, Jesse Edward Grohol, 24, also involved in the incident, earlier pleaded guilty to the battery charge. Connors sustained a broken leg requiring a metal plate and seven screws to repair, two broken teeth, massive bruising and multiple lacerations to the face according to police reports. Connors says he has been unable to continue work at his Cumberland, Rhode Island fire station because of his broken leg. Grohol and Kent were each charged with two counts of battery. Grohol pleaded guilty to one of the counts and agreed to pay $2,000 in victim restitution; the second charge was dropped. Regante, Cardwell and Skaggs were charged with one count of battery each. The four convicted men exited the December 15 trial proceedings in an angry huff, slamming the bar gate and the courtroom door. A bailiff left court to silence the noisy disturbance they created outside. The State Attorney’s prosecutor arranged a police escort to accompany the victim back to his hotel. County Judge Peary Fowler is set to sentence the four on January 9. At about 2:00 AM the night of September 2 last year, Connors encountered Grohol and Kent in front of the old Strand Theater on Duval Street. All three men were intoxicated. A scuffle ensued. Two employees of local bars independently witnessed the fight. One of the witnesses, Robert Norder of Key West, observed “two guys beating the hell out of [Connors] in front of Walgreen’s” and then heading downtown on Duval Street. Connors – in a move that later proved unwise – followed them. “The two guys,” Grohol and Kent, encountered four friends at the intersection of Duval and Fleming Streets: Regante, Cardwell, Skaggs and an unidentified man. According to the witnesses, Grohol and Kent “shadowboxed,” apparently reenacting the scrap for their friends. As Connors neared the group both eyewitnesses, fearing a brawl, called 911 on their cellular phones. But Connors reached the group before the police did and, according to the other witness, Trent Norris of Oakland Park, the gang surrounded their victim and “took turns kicking, punching and stomping on [Connors]. Then they ran . . .” KWPD officers Malgrat and Sanchez caught up with five of the suspects fleeing the scene. Both witnesses positively identified the suspects as those assaulting Connors. In an apparent attempt to protect his friends, Grohol testified at the December 15 trial that he was the only person involved in the fight with Connors. One juror, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, found Grohol’s testimony “absolutely not credible” given the extent of Connors’ injuries. Joseph Spataro prosecuted the case for State Attorney Mark Kohl’s office. He credited cooperative witnesses and effective police work for the guilty verdict. “This conviction sends a clear message that this office won’t tolerate violent crime in our town,” Spataro said. |
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Last modified:
10/23/07
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