Hope Sykes arrested 1/20/2010

[dodie20]

Tommy's lawyer is basing his optimism on the amount of drugs involved in the arrests. Tommy was charged with more than 4 grams but less than 14 grams. Mandatory minimum is 3 years. Hope was charged with more than 14 grams but less than 28 grams. Mandatory minimum is 15 years.

Florida Drug Trafficking Statutes 893.135(3)
(c)1. Any person who knowingly sells, purchases, manufactures, delivers, or brings into this state, or who is knowingly in actual or constructive possession of, 4 grams or more of any morphine, opium, oxycodone, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, or any salt, derivative, isomer, or salt of an isomer thereof, including heroin, as described in s. 893.03(1)(b), (2)(a), (3)(c)3., or (3)(c)4., or 4 grams or more of any mixture containing any such substance, but less than 30 kilograms of such substance or mixture, commits a felony of the first degree, which felony shall be known as "trafficking in illegal drugs," punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. If the quantity involved:
a. Is 4 grams or more, but less than 14 grams, such person shall be sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 3 years, and the defendant shall be ordered to pay a fine of $50,000.
b. Is 14 grams or more, but less than 28 grams, such person shall be sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years, and the defendant shall be ordered to pay a fine of $100,000.
c. Is 28 grams or more, but less than 30 kilograms, such person shall be sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 25 calendar years and pay a fine of $500,000.

http://www.flsenate.gov/statutes/in...arch_String=trafficking&URL=Ch0893/Sec135.HTM

If 3 years is the minimum for Tommy's offense, I hope the judge throws the book @ him & gives him the max. He has gone on with his life for over a year, knowing what he does about Haleigh. If her death & whatever part he played, didn't make a changed man out of him, nothing will. That should've scared him straight & made him a better father & husband. But it didn't. He turned around & got busted for drugs again & again. But now that he's looking @ some prison time, he's ready to straighten up. ummmm hmmmm. He'll serve his time & then be back out on the streets in no time.

 

[impatientredhead]

No one should miss post #272 by grandmaj listing Hope's other drug arrests. 4 within 7 months. Thank you grandmaj for posting that information. I too think the judge got it right.

I think the judge absolutely did his job.
Hope's attitude, her priors, putting herself in the orbit of the Haleigh case, and then making a no contest plea to a charge with a minimum sentence she sealed her own fate. My previous post was only to say if it wasn't for Ron and Misty I don't think the state would have charged her with trafficking and if she were more educated/affluent she wouldn't have done the no contest plea. I have zero criticism for the judge and really none for the prosecutors office either.

 

[raisincharlie]

Drug sentencing is a joke- molesters do less time.

Seems to me, molester sentencing is the joke.

 

[Nixie]

I think who she was involved with had a lot to do with her sentence. She had priors, then the phone call, but on top of all of that they knew it would be all over T.V. and the web. I think the courts were sending a message, not just to Misty and Ron, but to the whole state. If the judge were lenient it would be all over that Fl was letting a drug dealer get off easy.

 

[bessie]

I think the judge absolutely did his job.
Hope's attitude, her priors, putting herself in the orbit of the Haleigh case, and then making a no contest plea to a charge with a minimum sentence she sealed her own fate. My previous post was only to say if it wasn't for Ron and Misty I don't think the state would have charged her with trafficking and if she were more educated/affluent she wouldn't have done the no contest plea. I have zero criticism for the judge and really none for the prosecutors office either.

If it weren't for Haleigh, I highly doubt Ron and Misty would've found themselves in the predicament they are in regarding the drug charges. As for Hope, her case makes a good argument for the opposition of the conflict counsel system in Florida, which many defense attorneys and others view as a bargain basement supplement to the state's public defenders program.

 

[grace60]

I was thinking this too...if Ron and Misty get 25 yrs. they may think thats enough punishment and at that point like you said legalmania, there is no incentive to tell the truth.

Murder has no statute of limitations. With the technology we have today can you imagine what it will be in the next 25 years? So if Misty and Ron are in jail for 25 years it gives LE a lot of time to get it solved if it's not solved soon.

 

[BellaCouture]

Murder has no statute of limitations. With the technology we have today can you imagine what it will be in the next 25 years? So if Misty and Ron are in jail for 25 years it gives LE a lot of time to get it solved if it's not solved soon.

Didn't even think of it that way!! Great point!! :woohoo: there is some hope and justice afterall, for lil Haleigh

 

[Maven2379]

Seems to me, molester sentencing is the joke.

ITA!!! and I don't think a great injustice was done to Hope by her sentence, I think she deserved it, and I think molesters/rapist, and murders deserve more. I don't think anything is accomplished by trying to protest Hope's sentence, IMO she deserved what she got. She had been in and out of the jail system ....and she's only 19 ..... how many times have we looked at the booking log and thought ...... oh he/she is back AGAIN!?!?!

I think the anger should be focused on what is broken in the justice system, like molesters getting so little time, not on the amount of time Hope got.

She was not going to change, we heard the call with her mom, she didn't want "bootcamp" and/or a program, I think jail is the best place for her right now.

Be careful what you wish for.

~jmo of course :angel:

 

[B4igo2it]

What shocked me most about Hope's sentencing is the LARGE fine, wow! I love the idea of a large fine to assist in costs for incarceration. I would like to see more sentences like this for ALL cases.
If it's true about Hope's line of work being a stripper, we know that atmosphere is drug infested, again the possibility of more victims of her crime. Can U imagine the number of people she possibly supplied?

 

[azwriter]

I think who she was involved with had a lot to do with her sentence. She had priors, then the phone call, but on top of all of that they knew it would be all over T.V. and the web. I think the courts were sending a message, not just to Misty and Ron, but to the whole state. If the judge were lenient it would be all over that Fl was letting a drug dealer get off easy.

Hope's sentence was based on a mandatory. The judge had no choice to be easy on her. When a law is passed for a particular charge to have a mandatory sentence that's what handed down to the supect And they have to serve the entire time, no getting out early.
JMO, but who else was involved or what type of coverage the sentencing would get had nothing to do with Hope's sentencing.
Mandatory sentencings are in place for just what you said - send a message to those breaking those particular laws.

 

[azwriter]

ITA!!! and I don't think a great injustice was done to Hope by her sentence, I think she deserved it, and I think molesters/rapist, and murders deserve more. I don't think anything is accomplished by trying to protest Hope's sentence, IMO she deserved what she got. She had been in and out of the jail system ....and she's only 19 ..... how many times have we looked at the booking log and thought ...... oh he/she is back AGAIN!?!?!

I think the anger should be focused on what is broken in the justice system, like molesters getting so little time, not on the amount of time Hope got.

She was not going to change, we heard the call with her mom, she didn't want "bootcamp" and/or a program, I think jail is the best place for her right now.

Be careful what you wish for.

~jmo of course :angel:

Good post Maven. I too am troubled with the sentences for wife beaters, crimes against children and rapists. But our court system is made up of laws, not justice. To change that people need to lobby their legislature to pass tougher mandatory sentences for the other crimes.
The mandatory sentences given are not something made up by a judge but set by the elected law makers in the state.

 

[Kimster]

I think Tommy will get more than 3 years because he has priors.

 

[nnglas]

No one should miss post #272 by grandmaj listing Hope's other arrests. 5 within 7 months. Thank you grandmaj for posting that information. I too think the judge got it right.

Anybody know how many arrest she had after Haleigh went missing?

 

[Donjeta]

This was Hope's 4th drug arrest. This isn't a youthful offender the way I see it. She has had now a total of 5 arrests in just 7 months.

1/20/2010

893.135-1c1 DRUGS-TRAFFIC 4 GRAMS LESS 30 KG OTHER CNTRL SUBST

1/3/2010

893.13-6a DRUGS-POSSESS CNTRL SUB WO PRESCRIPTION

7/29/2009

893.13-1a2 MARIJUANA-POSSESS WITH INTENT TO SELL MFG OR DELIVER
893.147-1 NARCOTIC EQUIP-POSSESS AND OR USE M
812.015-2 LARC PETIT FROM TRANSIT AGENCY 2ND OR SUBSQ OFF
810.08-2b TRESPASSING OCCUPIED STRUCTURE OR CONVEYANCE

6/26/2009

893.13-1a2 MARIJUANA-POSSESS WITH INTENT TO SELL MFG OR DELIVER
893.147-1 NARCOTIC EQUIP-POSSESS AND OR USE

6/10/2009

812.015-2 SHOPLIFTING PETIT FROM MERCHANT 2ND OR SUBSQ OFF M
810.08-2b TRESPASSING OCCUPIED STRUCTURE OR CONVEYANCE

This was a barely 19 year old girl living the life of drugs. I believe the judge got it right.

http://public.pcso.us/jail/history.aspx

BBM. 2nd or subsequent offence looks like she's also made a habit of shoplifting. To pay for drugs maybe? Is there a record of the first shoplifting offence available? Would the arrest record mention 2nd offence if the first one was a juvie arrest?

NNGLAS, it looks to me like all these arrests are from after Haleigh went missing. Her DOB is 3/24/1991 so anything before February 2009 she'd have been a juvenile offender.

 

[scrabble]

Any thoughts about the sentence that Ron & Misty will get? Poor little Haleigh. I pray for a good life for Ron Jr.

 

[rotterdam]

I am really on the fence with the 15 year prison term. It sounds draconian to me when compared to drunken drivers for example, wiping out entire families.
I also wonder what was the outcome of her previous drug arrests. Sounds like one of those should have landed her in boot camp for some years. Guess those previous arrests gave her a false sense of security since she still was running around doing the same thing, she was nabbed for earlier. Plus the various similar offenses that Ron skated away from.
Am in eager anticipation what Donna Brocks sentence will be( not a public defender) and the rest of the gang.
Only then can we determine if Hope's sentence was fair IMO.

 

[Skully]

I know we have to get tough on drug traffickers, but I don't think Hope was a big time dealer. I think she was in the wrong place with the wrong people and she needed to be in a very serious drug rehab program. She will only get worse in jail. I think 15 yrs for her was too hard a sentence. If you are buying and selling like others we saw in the video that is one thing, but she looked like she was just tagging along with them. I could be wrong, JMO here. I knew a guy who killed another guy, both were high on drugs, one shot the other one over a dollar. Yep, one man borrowed a dollar and they got into a fight. The man who shot the other man got 15yrs for manslaughter. He did 5 and got out. :waitasec:

 

[GRANNYL]

BBM. 2nd or subsequent offence looks like she's also made a habit of shoplifting. To pay for drugs maybe? Is there a record of the first shoplifting offence available? Would the arrest record mention 2nd offence if the first one was a juvie arrest?

NNGLAS, it looks to me like all these arrests are from after Haleigh went missing. Her DOB is 3/24/1991 so anything before February 2009 she'd have been a juvenile offender.

Originally Posted by grandmaj

What I find interesting are the charges: One Trafficing Drugs, One possess drugs, Two Intent to Sell, Mfg or Deliver, Two Shoplifting Selling Drugs was not new for her only difference the last time was prescription drugs. Wonder what she did before she turned 18??

1/20/2010

893.135-1c1 DRUGS-TRAFFIC 4 GRAMS LESS 30 KG OTHER CNTRL SUBST

1/3/2010

893.13-6a DRUGS-POSSESS CNTRL SUB WO PRESCRIPTION

7/29/2009

893.13-1a2 MARIJUANA-POSSESS WITH INTENT TO SELL MFG OR DELIVER 893.147-1 NARCOTIC EQUIP-POSSESS AND OR USE M 812.015-2 LARC PETIT FROM TRANSIT AGENCY 2ND OR SUBSQ OFF
810.08-2b TRESPASSING OCCUPIED STRUCTURE OR CONVEYANCE

6/26/2009

893.13-1a2 MARIJUANA-POSSESS WITH INTENT TO SELL MFG OR DELIVER
893.147-1 NARCOTIC EQUIP-POSSESS AND OR USE


812.015-2 SHOPLIFTING PETIT FROM MERCHANT 2ND OR SUBSQ OFF M
810.08-2b TRESPASSING OCCUPIED STRUCTURE OR CONVEYANCE

This was a barely 19 year old girl living the life of drugs. I believe the judge got it right.

 

[debs]

I know we have to get tough on drug traffickers, but I don't think Hope was a big time dealer. I think she was in the wrong place with the wrong people and she needed to be in a very serious drug rehab program. She will only get worse in jail. I think 15 yrs for her was too hard a sentence. If you are buying and selling like others we saw in the video that is one thing, but she looked like she was just tagging along with them. I could be wrong, JMO here. I knew a guy who killed another guy, both were high on drugs, one shot the other one over a dollar. Yep, one man borrowed a dollar and they got into a fight. The man who shot the other man got 15yrs for manslaughter. He did 5 and got out. :waitasec:

There were 155,246 adult drug arrests in Florida during 2007. During 2006, there were 153,667 adult drug arrests in the state.

Consequences of Use
During 2007, there was 1 child injured and an additional 21 children in Florida affected by methamphetamine laboratories.
During the first half of 2007, there were 1,008 deaths in Florida in which cocaine was found in the body of the deceased. During full year 2006, there were 2,052 reported deaths in which cocaine was found in the body of the deceased.

Number of Drug-Related Deaths, Florida, FY 2006-June 2007
Drug Found in Body
Full Year 2006/ Jan.-June 2007
Amphetamine
122/59
Methamphetamine
117/57
MDMA
67/33
MDA
42/13
Other methylated amphetamine
9/2
Benzodiazepines
1,987/1,167
Cannabinoids
990/530
Cocaine
2,052/1,008
Inhalants
8/4
GHB
4/4
Ketamine
2/2
Phencyclidine (PCP)
1/1
Heroin
96/45
Fentanyl
187/103
Hydrocodone
731/380
Methadone
974/533
Morphine
601/280
Oxycodone
923/568
Other opioids
318/183

I'm not saying Hope is responsible for these deaths. I'm saying that by throwing her into jail, where mandatory treatment is required IN JAIL, she's off the street and not trafficking drugs that will kill someone else. She gave up caring whether she died or whether what she was selling would kill someone else.

Fifteen years is the least she can do to consider the damage she could have done to someone else.

ETA: Source http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q...b8iW7y&sig=AHIEtbSvQWK8iVNnIzDjx0Gost4gNJeLKg

 

[GRANNYL]

From the Florida Department of Corrections:



Hope Sykes will cost me and the other taxpayers here in Florida, $284,700.00 over the next 15 years for the less than $4,000 worth of pills she and her co defendants sold.

As a citizen of Florida I agree with you to a point. I don't think she should have gotten 15 years. I think she should have several years of rehab plus jail.

The only catch to the $284,700.00 could be the price we pay to save one life or more, hers and anyone she could have killed while high on drugs like maybe one of our relatives in Florida. I'm glad she is off the streets. I have grandchildren within 50 miles of her I want them protected as best we can.