Case Dismissed Against Suspected Patch Thief

BROOKSVILLE - Buford White's conviction that a former friend is guilty of stealing his police patch collection is unshakeable.

But it takes more than gut instincts to send a man to prison.

With nothing to prove her case but one person's dodgy testimony, prosecutor Sherry Byerly had no choice but to uphold a motion to dismiss the charges against Francis Harris in court on Thursday.

"Our case relied almost entirely on one witness and she has recanted twice," Byerly said.

After White had said his piece expressing frustration with the investigation, Circuit Judge Jack Springstead told him he sympathized with his plight.

But the case has to be proved "beyond the exclusion of every reasonable doubt" and that "makes it very difficult," he said.

Harris was accused by investigators of being the mastermind behind the theft of White's 40-year-old collection of more than 23,000 patches. He was arrested in January on charges of grand theft and dealing in stolen property when patches sold by his girlfriend in an online forum appeared to match White's.

But even White couldn't contest that Harris wasn't directly responsible. On the night of the theft, Sept. 22, Harris was swapping patches with White at a trade show in Orlando.

That's a central component of the 14 page motion to dismiss filed by Harris' attorney.

"The police have formulated an unsubstantiated theory that Mr. Harris put together a band of bandits to break into Mr. White's hobby shed and steal his patch collection while he was away," the motion reads. There's been no evidence to "...support such a wild conclusion."

White points to the unforced entry, meaning someone broke into his hobby shed built on the rear of his Brooksville property. Harris had visited several times and was given the key to lock up because he frequently stayed up until 3 a.m. or later poring over White's collection.

It's possible, White argues, that Harris went to one of the nearby Wal-Marts and made a copy while he was sleeping. But Harris hails from South Florida and scarcely knows his way around the area, so the likelihood of that scenario is slim, the memo reads.

As an avid collector, White keeps a "trading stock" and a permanent collection of patches. His prized first-issue Mascotte police patch was among the keepers, but after it was stolen, White found it up for sale on eBay.

Proof enough to him and a detective that Harris was behind the theft, but not airtight. Although rare enough, it cannot be discounted that Harris made a legitimate trade or sell to acquire the patch.

"At best, the State may be able to present the thinnest of thin circumstantial cases based on nothing more than pure speculation," the motion reads.

After the case was dismissed, a disappointed White and his wife, Cheryl, headed for the door. They seemed open to Springstead's suggestion that they seek civil action.

"This isn't over yet," said Cheryl White.