Tipler pleads not guilty to plotting to kill prosecutor
September 19, 2012 8:40 PM
TOM McLAUGHLIN / Daily News
CRESTVIEW — James "Harvey" Tipler has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and conspiracy to attempt murder. A trial date is set for Dec. 3.
Tipler, a disbarred local attorney, is accused of plotting to kill Assistant State Attorney Russ Edgar, who was prosecuting three racketeering cases against him.
Assistant State Attorney Bobby Elmore is prosecuting Tipler on the attempted murder charges and State Attorney Bill Eddins has taken over the racketeering cases, which are scheduled for trial in January.
A public defender assigned to defend Tipler in the attempted murder case recused himself soon after being assigned, according to Elmore.
Timothy Weekley with the Office of Regional Counsel was assigned to the case Tuesday when Tipler entered his not guilty plea.
Tipler’s alleged plot to kill Edgar was revealed to authorities by Scott Whitehead, another disbarred attorney who was being held with Tipler at the Okaloosa County Jail, according to law officers.
Whitehead was also facing racketeering charges with Edgar as the prosecutor. He told criminal investigators that Tipler had tried to talk him into splitting the cost of hiring someone to kill Edgar.
In a charging affidavit, authorities say Tipler had managed to find two people willing to carry out the killing for hire. A former cellmate of Tipler who had been released from jail was arrested after he accepted a $1,500 cash payment from undercover agents.
The former cellmate, Dion Lowe, later told investigators he never intended to carry out the plot and was only "blowing smoke," the affidavit said.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Charges Count Description
1 RICO ACT / RACKETEERING VIOLATION (895.03) F
2 AGGRAVATED WHITE COLLAR CRIME (775.0844(3)) F NOLLE PROSSED
| 3/18/2013 8:30 AM | CRIMINAL JURY TRIAL FELONY | FLOWERS, MICHAEL A | COURTROOM "A" | CANC |
| 3/11/2013 1:30 PM | SENTENCING | FLOWERS, MICHAEL A | COURTROOM "A" | |
| 3/6/2013 9:00 AM | DOCKET DAY FELONY | FLOWERS, MICHAEL A | COURTROOM "A" | CANC |
| 2/28/2013 9:00 AM | CALENDAR STATUS DATE | FLOWERS, MICHAEL A | JUDGE FLOWER'S CHAMBERS | CANC |
| 10/22/2012 8:30 AM | CRIMINAL JURY TRIAL FELONY | FLOWERS, MICHAEL A | COURTROOM "A" | CANC |
| 10/17/2012 9:00 AM | DOCKET DAY FELONY | FLOWERS, MICHAEL A | COURTROOM "A" | COP |
| 10/15/2012 8:30 AM | CRIMINAL JURY TRIAL FELONY | BROWN, JOHN T | COURTHOUSE ANNEX EXTENSION | RSCH |
| 10/11/2012 9:00 AM | DOCKET DAY FELONY | BROWN, JOHN T | COURTHOUSE ANNEX EXTENSION | RSCH |
| 10/4/2012 9:00 AM | CALENDAR STATUS DATE | FLOWERS, MICHAEL A | JUDGE FLOWER'S CHAMBERS | HH |
| 9/28/2012 9:00 AM | CALENDAR STATUS DATE | BROWN, JOHN T | JUDGE BROWN'S CHAMBERS | RSCH |
| 7/17/2012 1:30 PM | BOND HEARING | FLOWERS, MICHAEL A | COURTROOM "B" | HH |
| 4/23/2012 8:30 AM | CRIMINAL JURY TRIAL FELONY | FLOWERS, MICHAEL A | COURTROOM "A" | CONT |
| 4/18/2012 9:00 AM | DOCKET DAY FELONY | FLOWERS, MICHAEL A | COURTROOM "A" | CONT |
| 4/5/2012 9:00 AM | CALENDAR STATUS DATE | FLOWERS, MICHAEL A | JUDGE FLOWER'S CHAMBERS | CONT |
| 3/30/2012 9:00 AM | CALENDAR STATUS DATE | BROWN, JOHN T | JUDGE BROWN'S CHAMBERS | RSCH |
| 3/26/2012 8:30 AM | CRIMINAL JURY TRIAL FELONY | FLOWERS, MICHAEL A | COURTROOM "A" | CONT |
| 3/21/2012 9:00 AM | DOCKET DAY FELONY | FLOWERS, MICHAEL A | COURTROOM "A" | CONT |
| 3/8/2012 9:00 AM | CALENDAR STATUS DATE | FLOWERS, MICHAEL A | JUDGE FLOWER'S CHAMBERS | CONT |
| 3/5/2012 8:30 AM | CRIMINAL JURY TRIAL FELONY | STONE, WILLIAM F | COURTHOUSE ANNEX EXTENSION | RSCH |
| 3/1/2012 9:00 AM | DOCKET DAY FELONY | STONE, WILLIAM F | COURTHOUSE ANNEX EXTENSION | RSCH |
| 2/16/2012 9:00 AM | CALENDAR STATUS DATE | STONE, WILLIAM F | JUDGE STONE'S CHAMBERS | RSCH |
| 1/17/2012 8:30 AM | CRIMINAL JURY TRIAL FELONY | BROWN, JOHN T | COURTHOUSE ANNEX EXTENSION | CONT |
| 1/12/2012 9:00 AM | DOCKET DAY FELONY | BROWN, JOHN T | COURTHOUSE ANNEX EXTENSION | CONT |
| 12/27/2011 9:00 AM | CALENDAR STATUS DATE | BROWN, JOHN T | JUDGE BROWN'S CHAMBERS | HH |
| 12/19/2011 8:30 AM | CRIMINAL JURY TRIAL FELONY | BROWN, JOHN T | COURTROOM "D" | CPTC |
| 12/15/2011 9:00 AM | DOCKET DAY FELONY | BROWN, JOHN T | COURTROOM "D" | CPTC |
| 11/30/2011 1:30 PM | STATUS CALL DATE | BROWN, JOHN T | COURTROOM "D" | CANC |
| 11/21/2011 8:30 AM | CRIMINAL JURY TRIAL FELONY | BROWN, JOHN T | COURTROOM "D" | CONT |
| 11/17/2011 9:00 AM | DOCKET DAY FELONY | BROWN, JOHN T | COURTROOM "D" | CONT |
| 10/17/2011 8:30 AM | CRIMINAL JURY TRIAL FELONY | BROWN, JOHN T | COURTROOM "D" | CPTC |
| 10/13/2011 9:00 AM | DOCKET DAY FELONY | BROWN, JOHN T | COURTROOM "D" | CPTC |
| 9/19/2011 8:30 AM | CRIMINAL JURY TRIAL FELONY | BROWN, JOHN T | COURTROOM "D" | CPTC |
| 9/15/2011 9:00 AM | DOCKET DAY FELONY | BROWN, JOHN T | COURTROOM "D" | CPTC |
| 8/15/2011 8:30 AM | CRIMINAL JURY TRIAL FELONY | BROWN, JOHN T | COURTROOM "D" | CONT |
| 8/11/2011 9:00 AM | DOCKET DAY FELONY | BROWN, JOHN T | COURTROOM "D" | CONT |
| 8/2/2011 3:30 PM | FELONY PLEA | WARD, JIM | COURTROOM "C" | CONT |
| 7/19/2011 3:30 PM | FELONY PLEA | WARD, JIM | COURTROOM "C" | CONT |
| 7/18/2011 8:30 AM | CRIMINAL JURY TRIAL FELONY | BROWN, JOHN T | COURTROOM "D" | CPTC |
| 7/14/2011 9:00 AM | DOCKET DAY FELONY | BROWN, JOHN T | COURTROOM "D" | CPTC |
| 7/5/2011 3:30 PM | FELONY PLEA | WARD, JIM | COURTROOM "C" | CONT |
| 6/21/2011 3:30 PM | FELONY PLEA | WARD, JIM | COURTROOM "C" | CONT |
Monday, July 16, 2012
Arrested On: 7/11/2012
Alias1: ROBERT WHITEHEAD
Alias2: ROBERT S WHITEHEAD
Booking ID:2012003937
Charge: DRIVE WHILE LIC suspended 1ST offense
DOB: 11/24/1970 Age: 41
Address: 171 Shadow Moss Dr, Eufaula, AL 36027
Sex: MALE Race: white Height: 5'09 Weight: 170
Hair Color: Brown Eye Color: Blue
Friday, July 13, 2012
Former attorney in trouble again
July 12, 2012 7:43 PM
FORT WALTON BEACH — Even with an October trial date on a racketeering charge looming, former Okaloosa County attorney R. Scott Whitehead continues to find ways to get in trouble.
Whitehead, who has been arrested twice in recent years on DUI charges and twice more on other alcohol-related violations, was taken into custody Wednesday for driving on a suspended or revoked license.
The arrest followed the investigation of an incident June 20 in the gated community of Magnolia Plantation in Bluewater Bay.
Okaloosa County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the scene of a car fire and arrived to find Whitehead, who denied having driven the burning black Lexus that belonged to his mother.
The investigation turned up videotape of Whitehead driving his mother’s car and a witness, a woman Whitehead had come from Alabama to visit.
Assistant State Attorney Russ Edgar, who is leading the prosecution in the racketeering case against Whitehead, showed up at a first appearance hearing Thursday in Fort Walton Beach.
He asked County Judge Patricia Grinsted to hold Whitehead until a motion he had filed to revoke his pre-trial release order could be heard by Circuit Judge Michael Flowers in Crestview.
Edgar labeled Whitehead “a public safety risk.”
“We’re concerned if this is allowed to continue he’s going to kill somebody in the community or himself,” Edgar said. “We believe there is something going on with this defendant. We believe it is substance abuse.”
Attorney David Oberliesen, who is representing Whitehead, argued that his client was entitled to a bond on the misdemeanor charge he faces in Grinsted’s court.
He said Whitehead “would like a few days to address some affairs” and would report to custody if Flowers revokes his pre-trial release.
Grinsted agreed to allow bond, but ordered Whitehead fitted with a GPS monitor. Whitehead himself, who has been living in Alabama, agreed not to leave Okaloosa County until the motion before Flowers is heard.
Whitehead has been in and out of jail since October 2010, when County Judge T. Patterson Maney added nine months to a 12-month sentence because probation officers reported Whitehead had failed to submit to an alcohol test.
Whitehead’s legal problems started with two arrests in an eight-day period in 2009. The first charge was for leaving the scene of an accident. The second was for speeding, driving with a suspended license and DUI.
He was twice charged with alcohol-related probation violations of those charges. In May 2011, shortly before his release from jail, the state attorney’s office charged Whitehead with racketeering.
Charging documents alleged “aggravated white-collar crime and racketeering” — both first-degree felonies.
The documents said that from 2005 through 2010 Whitehead “illegally obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars from dozens of his former clients.”
Whitehead cheated at least 27 clients by billing them for services he didn't perform and making unauthorized charges on their credit cards, the charging documents said.
Whitehead, who has been arrested twice in recent years on DUI charges and twice more on other alcohol-related violations, was taken into custody Wednesday for driving on a suspended or revoked license.
The arrest followed the investigation of an incident June 20 in the gated community of Magnolia Plantation in Bluewater Bay.
Okaloosa County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the scene of a car fire and arrived to find Whitehead, who denied having driven the burning black Lexus that belonged to his mother.
The investigation turned up videotape of Whitehead driving his mother’s car and a witness, a woman Whitehead had come from Alabama to visit.
Assistant State Attorney Russ Edgar, who is leading the prosecution in the racketeering case against Whitehead, showed up at a first appearance hearing Thursday in Fort Walton Beach.
He asked County Judge Patricia Grinsted to hold Whitehead until a motion he had filed to revoke his pre-trial release order could be heard by Circuit Judge Michael Flowers in Crestview.
Edgar labeled Whitehead “a public safety risk.”
“We’re concerned if this is allowed to continue he’s going to kill somebody in the community or himself,” Edgar said. “We believe there is something going on with this defendant. We believe it is substance abuse.”
Attorney David Oberliesen, who is representing Whitehead, argued that his client was entitled to a bond on the misdemeanor charge he faces in Grinsted’s court.
He said Whitehead “would like a few days to address some affairs” and would report to custody if Flowers revokes his pre-trial release.
Grinsted agreed to allow bond, but ordered Whitehead fitted with a GPS monitor. Whitehead himself, who has been living in Alabama, agreed not to leave Okaloosa County until the motion before Flowers is heard.
Whitehead has been in and out of jail since October 2010, when County Judge T. Patterson Maney added nine months to a 12-month sentence because probation officers reported Whitehead had failed to submit to an alcohol test.
Whitehead’s legal problems started with two arrests in an eight-day period in 2009. The first charge was for leaving the scene of an accident. The second was for speeding, driving with a suspended license and DUI.
He was twice charged with alcohol-related probation violations of those charges. In May 2011, shortly before his release from jail, the state attorney’s office charged Whitehead with racketeering.
Charging documents alleged “aggravated white-collar crime and racketeering” — both first-degree felonies.
The documents said that from 2005 through 2010 Whitehead “illegally obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars from dozens of his former clients.”
Whitehead cheated at least 27 clients by billing them for services he didn't perform and making unauthorized charges on their credit cards, the charging documents said.
Article at: http://www.nwfdailynews.com/articles/whitehead-50995--.html#ixzz20Z9YonwP
The entire 7 page Police Report is available at:
http://www.nwfdailynews.com/articles/whitehead-50995--.html
For larger image right click and 'open in new window'
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Something to consider:
The State Bar can provide reimbursement to those who have problems with their lawyers and end up wasting money on representation that was not up to standard. It takes a long time to get anything and there are various qualifications. In my case I put in my application about 3 years ago and long after I had forgotten about it the check showed up.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Trial Set For October 2012
RICO ACT / RACKETEERING VIOLATION (895.03)
AGGRAVATED WHITE COLLAR CRIME (775.0844(3)
For case details see the Okaloose County Clerk site at:
http://www.clerkofcourts.cc/benchmarkweb2/CourtCase.aspx/Search
For larger image right click and open in new window:
Case Dockets (extract from above)
Date Entry
5/03/12 RETURNED MAIL - NO OTHER ADDRESS ON FILE
5/02/12 NOTICE OF TAKING DEPOSITIONS
4/24/12 NOTICE/FORM CREATED ISSUED
4/11/12 NOTICE/FORM CREATED ISSUED
4/10/12 ORDER ON DEFENSE MOTION TO CONTINUE - CSD 10/4, 10/17 & JT 10/22
4/05/12 COURT RESULT: CONTINUED
4/05/12 COURT RESULT: CONTINUED
4/05/12 COURT RESULT: CONTINUED (CASE CONT TO OCTOBER TRIAL DOCKET AT CALENDAR STATUS (DEFENSE)
4/05/12 CALENDAR STATUS DATE SET FOR 10/04/12 AT 9:00 AM IN JDFC, JDG: FLOWERS, MICHAEL
4/05/12 DOCKET DAY FELONY SET FOR 10/17/12 AT 9:00 AM IN A, JDG: FLOWERS, MICHAEL A
4/05/12 CRIMINAL JURY TRIAL FELONY SET FOR 10/22/12 AT 8:30 AM IN A, JDG: FLOWERS, MICHAEL
- - - - - - - - - - - - - Earlier - - - - - - - - - - -
5/17/2011 JUDGE BROWN, JOHN T: ASSIGNED
5/17/2011 CASE FILED 05/17/2011 CASE NUMBER 2011 CF 000908 S
5/17/2011 DEFENSE ATTORNEY: PUBLIC DEFENDER ASSIGNED
5/16/2011 ARREST CHRG: 1 - (775.0844(3)) AGGRAVATED WHITE COLLAR CRIME
5/16/2011 ARREST CHRG: 2 - (895.03) RICO ACT / RACKETEERING VIOLATION
Other Whitehead cases in Okaloosa County Court are:
AGGRAVATED WHITE COLLAR CRIME (775.0844(3)
For case details see the Okaloose County Clerk site at:
http://www.clerkofcourts.cc/benchmarkweb2/CourtCase.aspx/Search
For larger image right click and open in new window:
Case Dockets (extract from above)
Date Entry
5/03/12 RETURNED MAIL - NO OTHER ADDRESS ON FILE
5/02/12 NOTICE OF TAKING DEPOSITIONS
4/24/12 NOTICE/FORM CREATED ISSUED
4/11/12 NOTICE/FORM CREATED ISSUED
4/10/12 ORDER ON DEFENSE MOTION TO CONTINUE - CSD 10/4, 10/17 & JT 10/22
4/05/12 COURT RESULT: CONTINUED
4/05/12 COURT RESULT: CONTINUED
4/05/12 COURT RESULT: CONTINUED (CASE CONT TO OCTOBER TRIAL DOCKET AT CALENDAR STATUS (DEFENSE)
4/05/12 CALENDAR STATUS DATE SET FOR 10/04/12 AT 9:00 AM IN JDFC, JDG: FLOWERS, MICHAEL
4/05/12 DOCKET DAY FELONY SET FOR 10/17/12 AT 9:00 AM IN A, JDG: FLOWERS, MICHAEL A
4/05/12 CRIMINAL JURY TRIAL FELONY SET FOR 10/22/12 AT 8:30 AM IN A, JDG: FLOWERS, MICHAEL
- - - - - - - - - - - - - Earlier - - - - - - - - - - -
5/17/2011 JUDGE BROWN, JOHN T: ASSIGNED
5/17/2011 CASE FILED 05/17/2011 CASE NUMBER 2011 CF 000908 S
5/17/2011 DEFENSE ATTORNEY: PUBLIC DEFENDER ASSIGNED
5/16/2011 ARREST CHRG: 1 - (775.0844(3)) AGGRAVATED WHITE COLLAR CRIME
5/16/2011 ARREST CHRG: 2 - (895.03) RICO ACT / RACKETEERING VIOLATION
Other Whitehead cases in Okaloosa County Court are:
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Supreme Court Disbars Whitehead
R. Scott Whitehead of Destin, Florida, now disbarred by Florida Supreme Court.
On 8/22/11 Judge Allen E. Register, acting as Referee in the procedings issued a 56 page "Report of the Referee Accepting Consent Judgment". Effective 8/30/11 Whitehead was disbarred.
Here are the 2 1/2 pages regarding my own complaint about Whitehead. There were 56 pages in total submitted by Judge Register to the Supreme Court. Too long a job to scan in, so just my little part of the problem is here FYI.
Date set for Whitehead Bar Hearing
May 16, 2011 10:47 PM
By: Tom McLaughlin - Daily News
Destin attorney R. Scott Whitehead, who is serving a 21-month sentence for several alcohol-related violations, was charged Monday with racketeering.
Assistant State Attorney Russ Edgar said Whitehead was due to be released May 26.
“If we’d waited too long, who’s to say we would have found him,” Edgar said.
A news release sent out by the State Attorney’s Office said Whitehead was charged with “aggravated white collar crime and racketeering” — both first-degree felonies.
It said that from 2005 through 2010, Whitehead “illegally obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars from dozens of his former clients.”
It said Whitehead lied to clients, billed them for services he didn’t render and made unauthorized charges on their credit cards.
An addendum of probable cause for the arrest indicates investigators found at least 27 people who claimed to be victims of Whitehead’s crimes.
One woman claimed she lost custody of her child due to Whitehead’s lack of attention to her case. Kye Lin, owner of The Shanghai restaurant in Niceville, claims to have lost more than $50,000.
Summer Suggs told authorities she hired Whitehead to assist her in a child custody case. The probable cause affidavit states she paid the attorney $8,000 and he “promised that custody would be reversed.”
Suggs told investigators that Whitehead failed to return phone calls and “appeared high, sweating and belligerent” at court appearances and meetings.
When Suggs told Whitehead she wanted a new attorney, the report said, he requested two more weeks to work out the case. He was arrested two days later and never returned the funds he’d accepted or the “personal folder” he’d obtained from Suggs.
“Ms. Suggs and Ms. Lawhon (Suggs’ mother) believe that as a result of Mr. Whitehead’s actions Ms. Suggs lost custody of her daughter,” the report states.
Lin, the restaurateur, hired Whitehead to defend her in a personal injury suit, the probable cause affidavit said. The attorney collected a $5,000 retainer fee paid with a credit card, the report said.
• Read the probable cause affidavit. » http://richmedia.onset.freedom.com/nwfdn/llbmr5-17whitehead.pdf
“As her case progressed, Ms. Lin noticed numerous credit card charges were transacted on from her credit card accounts by Mr. Whitehead … the total unauthorized charges exceed $50,000,” the report said.
Lin said the charges on her card were unauthorized and, when she asked Whitehead for reimbursement, he told her “the insurance company would reimburse her.”
In the criminal case of Shawn McDonald, investigators say, Whitehead informed Circuit Court Judge William Stone of his intention to turn his client’s reimbursement check for $15,000 over to the clerk of courts.
The state attorney trying the case in question vouched for Whitehead’s character, the affidavit stated. “To this date Mr. Whitehead has never paid any amount into the clerk in this case,” the probable cause affidavit said.
Whitehead has been in jail since October 2010, when County Judge T. Patterson Maney added an additional nine months to a 12-month sentence because probation officers reported he’d failed to submit to an alcohol test.
By that time, Whitehead had racked up several alcohol-related arrests. It started when he was arrested twice in an eight-day period in 2009 for leaving the scene of an accident, speeding, driving with a suspended license and DUI.
He violated his probation on those charges when he was arrested for criminal mischief in August 2009.
He was arrested again in May 2010 for violating his probation. He entered the home of man who didn't know him and asked about a woman named “Becky” or “Barbara.”
A sheriff's deputy reported at the time of the last arrest that Whitehead appeared intoxicated and urinated on himself.
If convicted of the racketeering and aggravated white collar crime charges, Whitehead faces up to 60 years in prison, the State Attorney’s Office news release states.
The release also states the investigation in Whitehead’s case is ongoing, and “persons with information” are asked to call Edgar at (850) 595-4253.
See the additional 10 pages at:
http://richmedia.onset.freedom.com/nwfdn/llbmr5-17whitehead.pdf
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