The Florida Keys Only Daily Newspaper, Est.
1876
Tampa Bay Rays Jose Lobaton Miami Marlins Jeff Mathis
Marlins face the Rays Page 1B
May 29, 2013 Vol. 137 No. 149 14 pages 50 Cents
Wednesday
WEATHER
Suspect sets strange stage for trial
Defendant: Prosecutor suffers internal tempest, victims wounds really makeup
BY ADAM LINHARDT
Citizen Staff
Dallas Slone, age 7 Sugarloaf School See forecast on Page 2A
FLORIDA
Scott signs ban on texting while driving
MIAMI; Gov. Rick Scott signed a statewide ban on texting while driving into law Scott Tuesday, making Florida the 40th state to enact a textingwhile-driving ban for all drivers. Page 3A
Christopher Farrell stood before jurors Tuesday and delivered a rambling and at times bizarre opening statement in his attempted seconddegree murder trial, expected to be brief but colorful. The 50-year-old former Old Town Key West resident, representing himself in the trial, is charged with attack-
ing a 3-year-old girl with a tree saw on Oct. 1, 2008, then attacking her mother and a bicyclist who stopped to help. Farrell, wearing a long, black leather jacket over his pale blue jail jumpsuit, leaned over the lectern and told jurors the wounds to the little girl were fake and done with makeup, and that justice in the case has been bought. He also singled out the lead prosecutor, Assistant State Attorney Colleen Dunne. As Dunne pointed at Farrell
during her opening statement, identifying him as the attacker, he pointed back at her, dropping his thumb like the hammer of a pistol. Farrell I have to say there is a storm raging in that girl right there, Farrell said, looking at Dunne. He told jurors that Dunne doesnt
want to deal with the internal tempest and that her only relief is to do what she does for a living. He also appeared to incriminate himself several times during his statement by referring to the blade I used, and to the white sneakers he wore that had blood on them that police didnt find or analyze for DNA.
See SAW, Page 3A
KILLER WHALE POD OFFSHORE
NATION
7 charged in $6B money laundering case
NEW YORK: Calling it perhaps the biggest money laundering scheme in U.S. history, federal prosecutors charged seven people Tuesday with running what amounted to an online, underworld bank that handled $6 billion for drug dealers, child pornographers, identity thieves and other criminals around the globe. Page 7A
School Board hires Lefere
BY TERRY SCHMIDA
Citizen Staff
Marijuana regulations signed into law Tues.
DENVER: A set of laws to govern how recreational marijuana should be grown, sold and taxed was signed into law Tuesday in Colorado, where Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper called the measures the states best attempt to navigate the uncharted territory of legalized recreational pot. Page 7A
Photo courtesy of Morgan Maynard
A pod of an estimated five to 15 killer whales is seen Saturday roughly 30 miles off Key West. Though the mammals prefer cold water, where they hunt seals, there is a population in the Gulf of Mexico that feeds on tuna and dolphin (fish). Scientists say there are anywhere from 50 to 500 over the area spanning Brownsville, Texas, to Key West.
Dozens of Keys firms join BP lawsuit
BY TIMOTHY OHARA
Citizen Staff
ON THE RADIO
At least two dozen Florida Keys businesses have joined a massive federal lawsuit against BP and Transocean for their roles in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The roughly 100 plaintiffs from across the state listed in the 105-page lawsuit include a whos who of Keys business-
es, including the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society, real estate agents Curtis Skomp and Terri Spottswood, Key West Seaplane Adventures, the Rusty Anchor and B.O.s Fish Wagon, according to court documents filed late last month. Plaintiffs also include the Marathon Veterinary Hospital. While we may not be directly supported by the ocean and tourism, many of our clients are, said veterinarian
Doug Mader. We took a huge hit. In the months following the spill, we were down tens of thousands of dollars a month. ... We were down 30 to 40 percent. The lawsuit is a not a class-action suit, as each of the plaintiffs has an individual case, said a representative of Fort Lauderdale attorney Robert McKee.
See BP, Page 3A
Soon-to-be former Naval Air Station Key West Commander Capt. Patrick Lefere is officially an employee of the Monroe County School District. The School Board, meeting Tuesday evening in Marathon, took Superintendent Mark Porters advice, voting 4-1 to bring Lefere Lefere on board as executive director of Operations and Planning. Lefere begins work on July 1. Before the vote that confirmed the career military man, Porter pronounced himself
See LEFERE, Page 5A
Tip leads to suspect truck
BY ADAM LINHARDT
Citizen Staff
Mayor Craig Cates talks about Tuesdays meeting with FDOT officials in Tallahassee.
STOCK ISLAND
Cates
Also on todays show: Ian Whitney, KW Innkeepers Assn. Rick Ramsay, county sheriff Roman Gastesi, county administrator Bob Vitas, KW city manager Jodi Weinhofer, Lodging Assn. Liz Young, Arts Council NEWS: 7:30, 8:30 a.m., noon, 5 & 6 p.m.
Consultant: Larger shelter wont attract more homeless
BY GWEN FILOSA
Citizen Staff
Opening a 24-hour fullservice homeless shelter in Key West would not attract even more men and women to the islands streets, said consultant Robert Marbut, an expert hired by the city this month to study the issue. First and foremost, peo-
ple come to places because of the weather, said Marbut on Tuesday, seated in a rental car as about a dozen homeless men tried to stay out of the afternoon rain along the 5200 block of College Road. They dont go to ROB ONEAL/The Citizen Minnesota to become home- Robert Marbut of San Antonio, Texas, inspects the former Easter less, said Marbut. They go Seals building on Stock Island Tuesday afternoon. Marbut was
A tip led state troopers to a pickup truck Monday that may have been involved in a fatal pedestrian hit-and-run Sunday on Stock Island, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The 1996 GMC Sonoma, registered to Joseph B. Symington of Big Coppitt Key, had damage consistent with the injuries of the dead man, FHP Lt. Kathleen McKinney wrote in an email to The Citizen. Symington, 33, has not been charged in connection with the wreck, which is being investiSee CRASHES, Page 3A
hired by the city as a consultant to help find a place for a new, 24See SHELTER, Page 8A hour homeless shelter.
GYNECOLOGY
Surgery with less pain and a quicker recovery?
YES, WITH THE ADVANCED SURGICAL TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE LOWER KEYS MEDICAL CENTER.
INDEX
CLASSIFIED ADS 4-6 B COMICS 6 A CRIME REPORT 2A
U Using the da Vinci robotic-assisted surgical system, our o skilled Gynecology surgeons are performing minimally m invasive procedures. And that means:
t t t t t Less pain and scarring Shorter hospital stays Faster recovery High-definition 3D imaging Unparalleled precision
Ask your doctor if da Vinci surgery is right for you. A
For more information, visit LKMC.com
361229
CROSSWORD 5 B
KEYS CALENDAR 2A
OPINION 4A
SPORTS 1B
KEYSWIDE CLASSIFIEDS keysnews.com/classifieds
FOR CLASSIFIEDS 305-292-7777, Option 3
