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Hernando Today

One Guilty, One Not In First Leg Of 'Johns' Trials

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By KYLE MARTIN

Hernando Today

Published: November 18, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - Jurors were of two opinions Monday about the weight of the evidence against men accused of propositioning a prostitute.

It started with the conviction of William Wood, 27, who was arrested Sept. 11 in the midst of the Brooksville Police Department's prostitution sting - Operation Working Woman. The day ended with the acquittal of Isac Fuentes-Figueroa, 25.

Monday marked the beginning of a round of trials for 10 men who decided to challenge the strength of the Brooksville Police Department's evidence. Trial resumes today for two more defendants and is expected to last through the week.

Defense attorney Laura Drake spent Monday picking apart arrest affidavits and questioning the motives of officers. She implied that the reason for the "sloppy" paperwork was so that police could capitalize on a $200 vehicle impound fee.

It's a "fill-in-the-blank assembly line they put these people through," she said.

Prosecutor Matthew Pila downplayed the errors, characterizing the police as "only human" and emphasizing that the suspects' intent was what mattered.

"Look at the totality of the circumstances," he countered.

After opening statements around 11 a.m., Officer Krystal Nix took the stand to recreate the scene behind the BP station at the corner of Ponce De Leon Boulevard and W. Jefferson Street. A blown-up aerial photo and a die-cast car were employed to give a better picture for the six men in the jury box.

It was the morning of Sept. 11, around 11 a.m., when Wood circled the BP station and pulled over to chat. Wood complimented her, saying she was "fine" and that he just had to turn around and talk with her.

He asked if she was a cop. She turned the question back on him, "Are you a cop?" Wood removed the battery from his cell phone, saying, "I know how you girls get with these phones."

They bantered back and forth, bandying around a certain subject. Then Wood asked, "How much?" Nix gave him two prices: $40 for sex, $20 for oral sex.

In the prosecution's opinion, that was ample evidence that Wood was soliciting a prostitute. Drake argued, though, that it was Nix who first used the word "sex."

The entire exchange was captured on a wireless bug worn by Nix. Monday, jurors leaned forward in their seats to listen to the recording as it played from Pila's laptop. But a wash of ambient noise drowned out all but a few words.

Another officer involved in the sting, Shawn Terry, called the recording's quality "poor" while on the stand. But he added that the problems were mostly due to the high volume of traffic at that intersection. There's nothing extra that could be done to improve the quality of the tape, he said.

When Drake quizzed him on why they didn't choose a quieter spot, Terry said that it was out of his hands. The prostitutes decided that's the place they wanted to gather, he said, "and we had to go where the complaints are."

Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com.

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