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Highlands Today

Andrews case leads busy felony docket

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By BRAD DICKERSON

Highlands Today

Published: May 22, 2009

SEBRING - The case against former Sebring City Councilman and former chamber executive director Dan Andrews led a busy felony docket on Thursday.

Andrews' attorney, William Fletcher, told special Judge Jeff McKibben that he and special prosecutor Robert Bunn were cooperating and dealing with issues in the case.

Fletcher said a meeting was scheduled for Thursday morning after the pretrial conference to go over all allegations, but the investigator had to leave due to an emergency.

"I don't want to be asking every witness, 'What do you know about this case?'" Fletcher said.

Andrews was arrested Nov. 24, 2008, and charged with grand theft, scheming to defraud and embezzlement by making false entries on the books of a corporation, stemming from his position as executive director of the Greater Sebring Chamber of Commerce.

He allegedly used his corporate credit card to pay his wife's cell phone bills, buy her a Tiffany necklace, charge gasoline, landscape his house and buy an expensive set of golf clubs.

Another pretrial conference was scheduled for July 9 to see where both sides stand as to whether a resolution may be possible or if a trial date should be set.

"We are moving along and making good progress on this case," said Bunn.

Germaine case pushed to June 4

Linda Rodriguez-Torrent, attorney for Dustin Germaine, asked Thursday for a continuance in the case, and he will next be in court on June 4.

Germaine, the son of Highlands County Clerk of Courts Bob Germaine, is charged with producing methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The defendant was one of five individuals arrested in late February in connection with an alleged meth lab that was found at 1108 Denise Ave., in Sebring.

Status conference scheduled for murder suspect

An Aug. 20 status conference was scheduled in the case of James Barnes, who is accused of killing his wife and leaving her body in a Lorida citrus grove.

Debra Goins, who stood in for defense attorney Peter Mills, told Judge Peter Estrada that depositions are set for four different dates in August.

"So, discovery is on going," Goins said.

She added that Mills would be available for a Nov. 30 trial date if that would work for the court and the prosecution. Assistant State Attorney Steve Houchin said he would not be available on that date and the status conference was scheduled instead.

On Oct. 13, 2008, the body of Virginia Navarro Barnes, 62, was found in a citrus grove near Buckhorn Road in Lorida with multiple gunshot wounds.

Following several days of gathering information to identify the victim, Barnes reportedly called the Highlands County Sheriff's Office and admitted to killing his wife because he did not want her to live with her, "current state of dementia." Family members said she was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty for Barnes.

Shooting suspect set for Oct. 12 trial

One of the suspects charged with the June 2008 killing of a Lake Placid man is scheduled to go before a jury in October.

Andrew John Kalinowski is charged with first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder. A second suspect, Shane Ryan Fannin, faces the same counts.

The two men reportedly got into a fight with others while at the Hideaway Lounge in Lake Placid. Later, authorities were dispatched to 242 E. Phoenix St., in reference to a shooting.

Two victims, Walter Enrique Vilchez and Jose Franklin Escalante, were found on the front porch, each with a single gunshot wound to the face.

Vilchez was pronounced dead at the scene and Escalante was transported via Aeromed to Lakeland Regional Medical Center for life-threatening injuries.

Fannin has a pretrial conference set for Aug. 19.

Highlands Today reporter Brad Dickerson can be reached at 863-386-5838 or bdickerson@highlandstoday.com.

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