In August of 2013, Gay Porn Star Josh Logan was arrested and charged with murder. Just this week, the Florida court case against John Snavely (real name) was thrown out by a Broward County judge.
The shocking death of Sam Del Brocco, the Alexandria marketing executive found fatally stabbed in Florida in 2010, took another bizarre turn Thursday when a Broward County judge threw out the murder case against the gay porn star who has been behind bars for three years awaiting trial.
Del Brocco, 60, co-owned the prosperous PCI Communications in Alexandria and in 2010 bought an $850,000 townhouse in Pompano Beach. He was found slain there in September 2010, pulling back the curtain on a secret life of gay bars and strippers that his friends in the D.C. area said they were fully unaware of.
Snavely’s defense lawyer, H. Dohn Williams, pointed out that DNA from hair on the knife used to kill Del Brocco was not Snavely’s, that DNA on a partially smoked marijuana joint was not Snavely’s, that bloody shoe prints in the house did not match Snavely, and that DNA and fingerprints in Del Brocco’s car came from someone else.
Williams filed a motion to dismiss the case, citing Florida case law which holds that circumstantial evidence cases “cannot be sustained unless the evidence is inconsistent with any reasonable hypothesis of innocence.”
Though courts in many states might allow prosecutors to at least present the evidence to a jury, Florida allows its judges to take a hard look at a case before trial. And for the murder charge against Snavely, Holmes concluded, “This evidence is not enough.”
In addition to Snavely’s DNA on the Coke can and his fingerprints on the outside of Del Brocco’s car, Broward assistant state’s attorney Will Sinclair pointed to the video of detectives interviewing Snavely in July 2013 where he exhibited “fits of rage,” and that Del Brocco’s gruesome murder was “a crime of rage.” Holmes said she could not “infer defendant’s guilt by his demeanor at the end of the four-hour DVD of his interview with the police.” – washingtonpost.com
The case was thrown out before it went in front of a jury, but it did go before a judge, does this mean that Josh Logan cannot be on trial again for the murder for it would be double jeopardy?
Looks like the police will have to go back to the evidence.
h/t: washingtonpost.com
I’d be beyond pissed if I had
I'd be beyond pissed if I had to spend four years of my life waiting for a murder trial for a crime I didn't commit just because the police were biased and lazy and couldn't be bothered to track down the person whose dna was all over the victim, the murder weapon, the blood trail, and everything else. They can't even act like they didn't understand how dna evidence worked only 4 years ago. Sloppy biased police work where they railroad someone for a crime just to get an arrest and a conviction fast, instead of actually following the evidence trail should come with penalties and obstruction of justice charges.
Law enforcement is famous for
Law enforcement is famous for Railroading people so they can close the case and get the promotion. Just follow the promotions.
Good. it’s time for you guys
Good. it's time for you guys who are on the Down Low to COME OUT.
Why did it take 3 yrs? I
Why did it take 3 yrs? I think it is horrifying that one could be held 3 yrs for a trial before anyone sees all this.
Double Jeopardy would only
Double Jeopardy would only apply had he been found innocent. You can't be charged for a crime a second time you've already been found innocent of. The judge didn't say he was innocent he just said their wasn't enough evidence to charge him. The cops have every right if after reopening the investigation to files the same charges again assuming they find new evidence that isn't circumstantial. A first year law school student could've poked holes in this case. Hell someone who's seen Legally blond could shut this case down. Even with out the DNA of someone other than the man charged the polices logic is very lacking in even the most basic common sense. Clearly the investigators were either lazy or biased or possibly both.