A man seen on video punching an undercover Brevard County sheriff's deputy during an alleged drug deal walked out of a courtroom a free man on Wednesday even though he was found guilty by a jury, Local 6 News reported. Brandon Tyrone Reynolds, 23, was freed after the judge in the case overruled the jury's verdict, reduced the conviction to theft and sentenced him to time served. http://www.local6.com/news/13455912/detail.html Watch the video, you'll be stunned. Who the heck is this damn judge?
I can't tell what the jury convicted him of. I saw evidence of simple assault and theft of $20. What other crime did he commit? It's not assault on a police officer unless he had some way to know the guy was a police officer; since he was undercover, I'd guess that was not apparent. I didn't see any drugs change hands. The deputy tried to make a drug buy, and the defendant took his $20 and punched him in the face. I also can't tell from the story how much time the defendant served. The judge sentenced him to time served. If he's been locked up since his arrest in March of last year, that's a pretty long sentence for simple assault and theft of $20. What I don't understand is why any other issue went to the jury in the first place.
They also did not state any comments given by the judge. Looks like a cheap attempt to get the gullible to watch their TV show.
Care to elaborate? I believe one of the elements of assault on a law enforcement officer is the requirement that the perpetrator know or have reason to know that the person is a law enforcement officer. An undercover cop would not be very effective if he gave the guy reason to know he was an officer, would he?
That is exactly the basis. An undercover officer is offered the same protection as if he is not undercover, is he not?
Not to my knowledge, as to the charge of assault on a law officer. Can you cite me a statute to the contrary?
