Filing # 153242171 E-Filed 07/13/2022 12: IN THE CIRCUIT COURT, FOURTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN AND FOR DUVAL COUNTY, FLORIDA CASE NO.: 16-2022-CF-002291-AXXX-MA DIVISION: CR-E STATE OF FLORIDA v. PAUL DYAL, Defendant. ! MOTION TO RECONSIDER PRETRIAL RELEASE Defendant, PAUL DYAL, through his undersigned attorney, pursuant to Rules 3.131 Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, Chapter 903 Florida Statutes, the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Florida hereby requests this Court reconsider the issue of pretrial release in the above case and set conditions of bond. As grounds, Defendant states: CASE (1) On March 9, 2022, Defendant was arrested and charged with one count of Sexual Battery on a person less than 12 Years of Age, Florida Statute 794.011(2). Bond ‘was set at None on the arrest warrant signed by Judge Adrian Soud. Q) In the affidavit signed by Detective D.L. McLennon of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office it is alleged that Defendant committed the acts of digital and object penetration on I from when II was I ond continued until IJ was | ACCEPTED: DUVAL COUNTY, JODY PHILI IPS, CLERK. 07/14/2022 02:36:35 PM.(3) The affidavit further indicates that “sexual battery incidents” were reported on August 13, 2003, but law enforcement did not follow up.! (4) __Itisalso stated that on June 11, 2019, a law firm sent a demand letter to Defendant and the church where he is pastor for money based on allegations of sexual abuse.? However, the law firm received no response to the demand from Defendant or the Church. There is no explanation as to why the law firm did not follow up by filing a lawsuit to pursue a case against Defendant in civil court as, the demand letter set forth, (5) On March 24, 2022, the State filed an Information alleging two (2) counts of Sexual Battery on a person less than 12 years of age. One count alleges digital penetration and the other object penetration to land no other person. The charged offenses do not contain an actual date of offense. The State alleges only that the offenses occurred at some date and time during an 1826-day period between March 23, 1979, and March 22, 1984.3 (© On April 6, 2022, Defendant's prior counsel filed a motion to set bond. On April 7, 2022, the State filed a response along with a motion for pretrial detention. On April 25, 2022, a hearing was conducted on the issue of pretrial release and on April 27, 2022, this Court denied Defendant bond and granted the State’s motion for pretrial detention. " No explanation is made as to why the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, other law enforcement agency or State Attorney's Office did not follow up on the report. ? Although not stated specifically, the law firm represented fin this effort secking financial gain from Defendant andthe Church where he was pastor. date of birth is IEEE Therefore, the offenses are alleged to have occurred on a day between when a the day before she turned MI which equates to 1826 days.M FACTS PERTAINANT TO RECONSIDERATION Defendant is 78years old with various ailments and medical conditions that can be critical and can affect his mental health if left untreated and that are not able to be treated regularly by the medical staff at the Duval County Jail. Therefore, Defendant's health is potentially at risk if he is not granted conditions of pretrial release. The medical conditions that exist are as follows: b. Defendant had open-heart surgery in 2018. ©. Defendant currently suffers from a leaking heart valve, which requires surgical intervention that was delayed due to COVID. 4. Those conditions require Defendant's cholesterol be controlled by Repatha. The jail medical staff has not administered Repatha to Defendant after several requests. The jail has provided Defendant a generic statin instead. However, Defendant's physiology makes him resistant to the effects of statins which is why he is prescribed Repatha. €. Defendant had knee replacement surgery, which makes walking moderate distances extremely painful and difficult. Defendant has requested the use of a wheelchair, but such requests have been repeatedly denied. Defendant has a foot condition that requires specific regular care or results in bleeding and infection. However, he cannot care for his feet as necessary in jail due to the restrictions on inmates possessing sharp objects. This has resulted in bleeding from the feet and open sores which can lead to infection that can become dire and result in permanent injury since Defendant also suffers from diabetes.(8) 0) (10) g. Defendant suffers from macular degeneration to his eyes, which could result in blindness without regular medication. Such medication has not been regularly provided to Defendant in jail. h. Ifa person has medical conditions that are untreated or not treated properly it can lead to the deterioration of mental health which could impact Defindant’s ‘mental health in the future and impact issues of competency to stand trial. Defendant has been a resident of Jacksonville for 78 years and has strong family and community ties in Jacksonville. Defendant has no prior criminal record and.has never failed to appear in court when required. He has in faet appropriately addressed the following cases in Duval County that concern him: 1996 Traffic ~ Speeding 1997 Traffic —Fail to Yield 2005 Traffic No Proof of Insurance 2009 Traffic ~ Driving in a no passing zone 2011 Traffic - Carless Driving 2011 Parking Violation 2019 Traffic — Carless Driving Bre pose The following locations are available to house Defendant pretrial while awaiting tri a. Jennifer & Roddrick Thomas, Jr.’s residence at 6125 Kenny Road, Jacksonville, FL 32254 (no minors will reside in the home if Defendant is released and permitted to reside at that residence). b. Rhonda & Roddrick Thomas, Sr.’s residence at 6238 Kenny Road, Jacksonville, FL 32254 (no minors reside in the residence). c, Cheryl & John Laureano’s residence at 1244 Jones Road, Jacksonville, FL 322220. (No minors reside in the home)a) (12) (13) (14) (15) 4d. Shawn Dyal’s residence at 1310 South Highway 100, Bowdon, GA 30108. Although this residence is not in Duval County, Florida, Shawn Dyal, Defendant’s son, will ensure Defendant complies with all conditions of release and ensure he appears in court as required. (No minors reside in the residence). LEGAL BASIS FOR PRETRIAL RELEASE Currently, Defendant is being held under no bond. Although permitted by Florida law under certain limited circumstances, no bond in the instant case is unreasonable and violates Defendant’s Florida Constitutional right to pretrial release and the 8th Amendment to the United States Constitution. The charges in this case stem from accusations that are alleged to have occurred over 36- 43 years ago. Since that time, Defendant has lived and worked in Duval County and there are no more recent allegations of any similar law violations. Although notified by the threat of lawsuit in 2019 concerning such allegations, Defendant has not attempted to flee the jurisdiction, he has not changed his identity or otherwise attempted to secrete himself from law enforcement. In that regard there is nothing the State can point out to establish Defendant is a flight risk. Defendant has been evaluated by a forensic psychologist who has verified there is nothing in his psychological profile to suggest Defendant is a danger to the community or a flight risk. Defendant’s medical conditions and age make it even less likely Defendant is a danger to the community or a flight risk. In that respect, studies prove that elderly defendants are low risk as to committing law violations and are not a flight risk for reasons pertaining to age and infirmity.(16) a7) The State and Defense agree that due to the nature of the allegations, the number of potential witnesses and the requirement of counsel having to travel to complete discovery, this case could remain in the pretrial stage for over 18-24 months before it can be tried. There are conditions of pretrial release that can be set to ensure Defendant receives the medical care and attention he requires, that his health is not at risk, that his mental health does not deteriorate, that he has no contact with minors and that he appears in court if necessary while the case is being litigated. MEMORANDUM OF LAW Our criminal justice system is based on the presumption that every person charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. See, e.g., Coffin v. United States, 156 U.S. 432, 453, 15 S.Ct, 394, 39 L.Ed. 481 (1895). Article I, section 14 of Florida's Constitution gives effect to the presumption of innocence and addresses pretrial detention and release. State v. Blair, 39 $o.3d 1190 (Fla. 2010). Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.131, states in relevant portion: (a) Right to Pretrial Release. Unless charged with a capital offense or an offense punishable by life imprisonment and the proof of guilt is evident or the presumption is great, every person charged with a crime or violation of municipal or county ordinance shall be entitled to pretrial release on reasonable conditions... If no conditions of release can reasonably protect the community from risk of physical harm to persons, assure the presence of the accused at trial, or assure the integrity of the judicial process, the accused may be detained. Itis settled law that to justify pretrial detention without bond on a capital offense or offense punishable by life in prison, “ he state is held to a degree of proof greater than that required to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Furthermore, where the state's evidence is arguably sufficient to convict, but is contradicted in material respects such that substantialquestions of fact are raised as to the guilt or innocence ofa defendant, then a trial court may properly find that the proof of guilt is not evident, or the presumption of guilt is not great...” (emphasis supplied). Seymour v. State, 132 So. 34 300 (Fla. App. 2014). Additionally, the court's authority to deny bond pending trial pursuant to Florida Statute section 907.041 is limited and must be balanced by the constitutionally guaranteed right to bail. Paul v. Jenne, 728 So.24 1167 (Fla. App. 1999). In fact, “...under Art. I, § 14, Fla, Const, every accused has a constitutional right to pretrial release on reasonable conditions, with two—and only two—exceptions. First, a person charged with a capital offense or an offense punishable by life imprisonment has no right to pretrial release if the proof of the accused's guilt evident or the presumption that he or she committed the crime is great. Second, any accused may be detained if no conditions of release can reasonably protect the community from physical harm to persons, ensure the accused's presence at trial, or ensure the integrity of the judicial process.” (Emphasis supplied). Casiano v. SI , 241 So.3d 219 (Fla. App. 2018). CONCLUSION Here, there are conditions of pretrial release this Court can fashion to ensure Defendant is not a danger to the community or flight risk. Defendant has resided in Duval County Florida and has been employed for most of his adult life. He has family who resides in Duval County. He has no criminal history. He has never before been arrested for a felony crime much less a crime involving a sexually related offense. He has availed himself to the court system every time it was, necessary. He became aware of the allegations in 2019 when a law firm sent a demand letter but he never attempted to flee the jurisdiction, change his identity or appearance or otherwise done anything to contact or harm [lj He has cooperated with law enforcement whenever required. The accusations here followed an attempt to “settle” a civil case pre-suit suggesting a financial motive to fabricate these accusations. The accusations are alleged to have occurreddecades ago and there is no physical or forensic evidence to support the accusations against Defendant. Simply put, there is not sufficient evidence under the law to allow for Defendant to be held without bond. The State cannot satisfy the burden of proof to establish the requirement of proof evident, presumption great. There is no other legal basis to detain Defendant without bond. There are, in fact, reasonable conditions of pretrial release available to ensure the community is protected if that is a concem, Certainly, had Defendant posed a threat such a danger would have manifested itself over those past 40 plus years. There is no basis to believe Defendant is a flight risk as set forth above. In fact, there are reasonable conditions this Court can set to allow for pretrial release to ensure the community is protected and Defendant appears in court as required. Defendant's health is at risk if he is required to remain in jail awaiting trial due to his age and infirmity. Holding Defendant without bond is unreasonable, excessive, and unconstitutional. WHEREFORE, Defendant respectflly requests this Court reconsider the order granting pretrial detention and denying Defendant bond and set conditions of pretrial release that will satisfy the concer to protect the community and ensure Defendant appears in court when necessary. THEREBY CERTIFY that a true and correct copy of the foregoing has been furnished to the Office of the State Attorney, via electronic delivery this 13! day of July, 2022. MITCHELL A. STONE, P.A. Js! Mitchell A. Stone MITCHELL A. STONE, ESQUIRE Florida Bar No.: 797121 1830 Atlantic Boulevard Jacksonville, Florida 32207 904-396-3335 Attomey for Defendant Email: mitch@jacksonvilledefense.com