Judge denies misconduct charge, refuses to remove state prosecutor from 2020 murder case
A judge declined to remove a state prosecutor this week from a murder trial, saying it appeared to be a “crazy” coincidence that the prosecutor showed up while a defense investigator was interviewing a key witness in front of an apartment complex.
Assistant Miami-Dade Public Defender Natalie Ender argued that Miami-Dade Assistant State Attorney Shawn Abuhoff attempted to intimidate the witness last week, with a police officer at his side. She said the two knocked on the car window of investigator Pedro Fernandez’s vehicle as he interviewed the witness. The defense attorney said she listened in on the conversation because she was on a cellphone speaking with the witness and her investigator, when they were interrupted.
But Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Andrea Ricker Wolfson denied the motion to remove Abuhoff, who told the judge that Fernandez was knocking on doors flashing a badge as if he were pretending to be a cop, while showing people a booking photo of the witness and referring to that person as a “rat” for expected testimony.
“I’m going to deny the request without prejudice,” the judge said, adding that Abuhoff and the officer finding the investigator with the witness “led to a chain of events that otherwise would have been innocuous.”
Misconduct charge in case involving fight, gunfire death
The witness is scheduled to testify at the trial of Jamal Pratt, 37, who was charged with second-degree murder after a fight he was involved in escalated to gunfire in early January 2020. According to Pratt’s arrest warrant, he shot and killed a man named Demetrius Batts after getting into a fight with him just outside Brewton’s Market, 7000 NW 15th Ave., in Liberty City.
A witness told police that during the fight, Batts pulled off a hoodie that was covering Pratt’s face. Then Pratt shot him. The witness said Pratt fired and struck Batts twice more as he ran inside the market. The trial, which was set to begin this week, will likely be pushed back to the end of July.
Prosecutorial misconduct claims escalate
Though it’s not unheard of for defense attorneys to try and have prosecutors removed, there has been an uptick since the very same judge ordered the removal of one of the longest-tenured prosecutors in the state from a particularly high-profile case in March.
READ MORE: State Attorney Fernandez Rundle faces mounting criticism over prosecutor conduct
Wolfson, overseeing the re-sentencing of convicted murderer and gang leader Corey Smith, sided with his defense attorneys and said Assistant Miami-Dade prosecutor Michael Von Zamft overstepped boundaries during a jailhouse phone call in which he appeared to be trying to get potential witnesses to align with each other.
She booted Von Zamft from the case and also dismissed prosecutor Stephen Mitchell, saying he “emphatically argued” that Von Zamft’s conduct was not unethical.
The judge’s order likely prompted defense attorneys for OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney to fight to dismiss the case led by prosecutor Khalil Quinan. Clenney is charged with the 2022 stabbing death of her boyfriend Christian Obumseli inside their Miami bayfront apartment.
Defense lawyers filed a motion saying charges brought against Clenney’s parents for attempting to hack into Obumseli’s laptop were unnecessary and vindictive. Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Laura Shearon Cruz is expected to rule on the motion by the end of the month.
The attacks on state prosecutors are also seen as an attempt at reform being pushed by the Miami chapter of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys. The group brought a thick book of gripes with them during a meeting with State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle and her new Chief Assistant Jose Arrojo, last month.
The group asked the state attorney to create a new unit that would be run by an outsider who has never worked in the office, which would examine convictions where misconduct has been alleged. It would also advise prosecutors on ethical issues in ongoing cases.
This story was originally published June 7, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
