Sen. Scott bashes prosecutor for past cases against shooter
Suspect in Wednesday’s deadly shootings had extensive juvenile arrest record
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott on Friday assailed Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell over her office’s handling of past cases involving the man accused of killing three people in Pine Hills on Wednesday, including a News 13 journalist and a 9-year-old girl, as well as injuring a photojournalist and the child’s mother.
Scott accused Worrell and her office of “turning a blind eye” to 19-year-old Keith Melvin Moses, who prior to his arrest in the deadly shootings had an extensive criminal history as a juvenile, including arrests on charges of domestic battery, burglary, grand theft and drug possession.
“Every prosecutor that chose to give this young criminal a pass should be fired TODAY,” Scott said in a statement Friday, “and State Attorney Worrell must immediately account for how her office failed to protect the community from a violent criminal and outline what she’s changing to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”
Worrell was not immediately available for comment on Scott’s statement. On Thursday, however, she addressed Moses’ previous arrests and convictions in a press conference, saying that the Department of Juvenile Justice has jurisdiction when a minor is sentenced, not the State Attorney’s Office.
“Juvenile dispositions are not qualified as convictions,” she said. “That means the court nor the State Attorney’s Office has a say in what ultimately is the program or the length of time that a child is kept in a program.”
Moses’ only offense as an adult was possession of 4.5 grams of marijuana in November of 2021, she said.
“When you have a quantity that low, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement does not test, and that means the State Attorney’s Office can’t prosecute the case,” she said, explaining why her office dropped the case.
“The State Attorney’s Office can only respond to hold violent offenders accountable, which we do,” Worrell added. “As a community, we must stand and work together to prevent these horrific occurrences from taking place in advance.”
A Florida Department of Law Enforcement criminal history for Moses shows nearly all of his alleged juvenile offenses were committed before Worrell took office in January 2021.
In his statement, Scott said, “I urge state officials to look at every option available to force accountability on this office.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis in August suspended former Hillsborough County State
Attorney Andrew Warren, a Democrat, after he signed a joint statement pledging he would not charge those who seek or provide abortions or gender transition treatments, in addition to policies about not prosecuting people with some minor crimes.
In early January, a Tallahassee judge found that the governor violated Warren’s First Amendment rights, but also determined the federal courts lacked the authority to reinstate him.
Last week, Warren filed a lawsuit at the state level against DeSantis.