Why are so many cases against felons accused of gun possession being dropped?

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — 9 Investigates dug through months of arrest records finding that many felons who were caught with a gun were simply let go.

Records show as many as 70% of these cases are being dropped.

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An encounter with Orlando police in December 2021 put Willie Shade behind bars.

Police said the convicted felon, still on probation, had a gun, which is a charge that could have put him away for three years.

Department of Corrections records show Shade was released from prison in 2020 after being sentenced to 10 years for attempted second-degree murder.

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Court records show the state attorney’s office dropped the charges for allegedly having that gun in December 2021two months later.

9 Investigates asked the state attorney’s office on multiple occasions why that 2021 gun charge was dropped but didn’t get a specific answer.

In January 2023, Orlando police arrested Shade again for allegedly killing 26-year-old Zedekiah Lafayette.

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Chief Eric Smith said a look into his department’s arrests of convicted felons caught with a firearm showed about 70% of the cases were not being prosecuted by the state. He met with State Attorney Monique Worrell to talk about the problem in January.

“It’s not a matter of whose doing something wrong, it’s how we can work together to build better cases how can I help law enforcement build better cases? How can I help law enforcement to understand that they need to look beyond probable cause?” Worrell said.

Orange County Sheriff John Mina said the same thing is happening in his agency.

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Worrell said of 139 cases where a convicted felon had a firearm in Orange County, 66 either had no charges filed or were dismissed and 22 are still pending.

Mina said his deputies are doing good work, and that the state needs more follow-through.

“They need to be arrested, which we do, but they need to face minimum mandatory sentences and be behind bars not only for the safety of community but for their safety as well,” Mina said.

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