Post by CCADP on Aug 28, 2005 7:45:33 GMT -5
Man wants DNA tossed in Xbox slayings
The Associated Press
August 28. 2005 6:01AM
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DAYTONA BEACH - The man accused of orchestrating the beating deaths of six people over an Xbox video game console is claiming police violated his rights by forcing his mouth open for a DNA swab.
Circuit Judge William A. Parsons is considering whether the DNA can be used by prosecutors after attorneys for Troy Victorino, 28, filed a motion to exclude the evidence. Prosecutors said Victorino was cooperative with police and agreed to mouth swabs and fingernail scrapings during his Aug. 7, 2004, interrogation.
But during a hearing Friday, Victorino said he never consented to giving a DNA sample.
"He forced my mouth open," Victorino said of the investigator. "He took his fingers and jammed them in my jaw line. The pressure he applied with his hand on my face forced my mouth open."
Sheriff's investigators said that was untrue.
Despite the dispute, Parsons' ruling on the DNA could have little tangible effect because prosecutors can seek a new sample with a court order, which the judge and attorneys agreed is always granted in slaying cases.
"What's the big deal?" Parsons asked. "The state can come back and get new DNA."
"Right now we're talking about his Fourth Amendment rights were violated on Aug. 7," defense attorney Jeff Dowdy said.
Victorino, and 19-year-olds Jerone Hunter, Michael Salas and Robert Anthony Cannon are charged with six counts of murder and eight other felonies for the Aug. 6, 2004, baseball bat beating deaths of six friends in a Deltona home. The state is seeking the death penalty at their Jan. 3 trial.
Victorino has denied involvement in the slayings, saying he was drunk and passed out a bar when they took place.
The Associated Press
August 28. 2005 6:01AM
Font Size: 101112131415161718192021222324
DAYTONA BEACH - The man accused of orchestrating the beating deaths of six people over an Xbox video game console is claiming police violated his rights by forcing his mouth open for a DNA swab.
Circuit Judge William A. Parsons is considering whether the DNA can be used by prosecutors after attorneys for Troy Victorino, 28, filed a motion to exclude the evidence. Prosecutors said Victorino was cooperative with police and agreed to mouth swabs and fingernail scrapings during his Aug. 7, 2004, interrogation.
But during a hearing Friday, Victorino said he never consented to giving a DNA sample.
"He forced my mouth open," Victorino said of the investigator. "He took his fingers and jammed them in my jaw line. The pressure he applied with his hand on my face forced my mouth open."
Sheriff's investigators said that was untrue.
Despite the dispute, Parsons' ruling on the DNA could have little tangible effect because prosecutors can seek a new sample with a court order, which the judge and attorneys agreed is always granted in slaying cases.
"What's the big deal?" Parsons asked. "The state can come back and get new DNA."
"Right now we're talking about his Fourth Amendment rights were violated on Aug. 7," defense attorney Jeff Dowdy said.
Victorino, and 19-year-olds Jerone Hunter, Michael Salas and Robert Anthony Cannon are charged with six counts of murder and eight other felonies for the Aug. 6, 2004, baseball bat beating deaths of six friends in a Deltona home. The state is seeking the death penalty at their Jan. 3 trial.
Victorino has denied involvement in the slayings, saying he was drunk and passed out a bar when they took place.