Abraham Shakespeare 43' Lakeland,FL.

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Investigators: Bullets Match Moore's Gun

Dee Dee Moore Charged With First-Degree Murder

POSTED: 4:46 pm EST February 22, 2010

PLANT CITY, Fla.--Dorice "Dee Dee" Moore appeared before a Hillsborough County judge Saturday morning and was charged with first-degree murder and is being held without bond.

Investigators believe they have substantial evidence against Moore in connection with the homicide of a Florida Lottery winner.

Hillsborough County detectives said two bullets found in Abraham Shakespeare's body were fired from Moore's gun.

Investigators said Moore offered bribes to people to say they had seen Shakespeare alive or even pretend to be him over the phone well after his death.

Moore shot and uploaded a video to YouTube that investigators said depicts Shakespeare's frustration with people who ask him for money.

In the video, Moore can be heard suggesting far-off places Shakespeare might go to get away.

Investigators claim to have video of Moore buying items to conceal Shakespeare's killing.

According to detectives, Moore was controlling all of Shakespeare's lottery winnings he had not already lost or given away.

Shakespeare's body was found on Jan. 29 buried beneath a slab of concrete behind a home Moore owns with her boyfriend. Court records said Shakespeare was likely killed on April 6 or 7.

According to an arrest report, Moore provided several accounts as to how Shakespeare was killed. She admitted to being present in each account.

Detectives said Moore also paid someone$50,000 to take the blame for Abraham's death. The report said Moore had financial motive to kill Shakespeare and conceal the truth concerning his death and disappearance.

Moore had previously been charged as an accessory to Shakespeare's murder.

Moore, who is being held at the Hillsborough County Jail, had previously said she did not kill Shakespeare. No one else has been charged in connection with the death.

Shakespeare initially told Shakespeare she wanted to write a book about his life. There is no evidence that Moore has been a writer in the past.

http://www.wesh.com/news/22636523/detail.html

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Police: Ballistics could pin woman to murder

Dee Dee Moore: "I'm not running anywhere"

Updated: Tuesday, 23 Feb 2010, 10:21 PM EST
Published : Tuesday, 23 Feb 2010

LAKELAND, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - "Are you a murderer?" asked reporters of Dorice "Dee Dee" Moore outside the Hillsborough County Jail on February 2. "Absolutely not," she yelled back. At the time, Moore was charged with accessory after the fact first degree murder. On February 19, she was charged with first degree murder in the death of former lottery winner, Abraham Shakespeare.

The "smoking gun," investigators say, may be Moore's words and literally a gun belonging to the suspect. According to new arrest affidavit, ballistics tests reveal that, "two .38 caliber bullets found within the body... reveal that the bullets displayed similar class characteristics to bullets test fired from Ms. Moore's gun."

Those tests were performed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement . The report also details how Moore enlisted the help of one of Shakespeare's friends to find a convict to take the murder rap in exchange for $50,000. That friend became an informant.

"She took me to the spot where he was and I immediately told authorities that," Gregory Smith told FOX 35 during an interview after Moore's first arrest.

Investigators say Moore had a mountain of tall tales as to how Shakespeare was killed ranging from self defense to a drug dealer named "Ronald." At one point she detectives, if she could keep all of her things if she told the truth? Then investigators say she went on to blame her attorney and then even her 14 year old son for pulling the trigger.

In every story Moore told police, she said she was there when Shakespeare was murdered and that he was shot twice.

The motive isn't spelled out in the reports, but police outline how Moore gained full control of Shakespeare's assets including his home, cars and cash before he was killed. Added up, investigators say it was enough to charge Dee Dee Moore with murder.

FOX 35 asked DeeDee Moore to tell her side of the story from jail, she denied our interview request.

WATCH VIDEO REPORTS FROM FOX 35>>>
Moore's arrest is another twist in the monthslong, bizarre case.

Detectives said Shakespeare was killed on April 6 or 7, 2009, at a home in a rural town east of Tampa.

He was buried, officials said, at the home next door, which according to property records, was purchased by Moore and listed in the name of her boyfriend.

Around the same time a few weeks ago, she told an unnamed witness -- it's not clear if it was the same witness -- to dig up the body and move it to another location, according to the affidavit.

Authorities said she showed the person where the body was buried on Jan. 25 and provided a pickup truck to transport it, along with bleach and plastic sheeting. Police began digging up her backyard the next day.

Shakespeare was last seen in April, and officials in Polk County -- where he lived and was reported missing -- have long thought he was slain. Investigators had announced earlier Tuesday that an autopsy showed the Lakeland resident died of "homicidal violence" but would not give specifics.

In January, Polk officials named Moore a "person of interest" in Shakespeare's disappearance.

She befriended him after he claimed the $30 million winning ticket in 2006 and took a $17 million lump sum payment.

Moore said she wanted to write a book about Shakespeare, but officials said she actually scammed him out of money. Property records show she bought a $1 million home from Shakespeare for $655,000 and she acknowledged moving $2 million of his money into her bank account.

• Dorice Moore talks about why her involvement might look suspicious>>>
• Dorice Moore talks about her intentions when she first met Abraham Shakespeare>>>
• Dorice Moore talks about how she is holding up emotionally>>>
• Dorice Moore talks about what impression of herself she wants to leave with the public>>>
• Dorice Moore says focus should be on the victim's family>>>
• Dorice Moore responds to why anyone should believe her story>>>

http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news...oman-to-murder

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We want to know: Did you know Abraham Shakespeare?

Highlands Today
Published: February 27, 2010

Abraham Shakespeare, the 6-foot-4-inch man who won $17 million from the lottery and was murdered, was born in Sebring and attended school here. He was arrested for battery, criminal mischief, retail theft, speeding and not paying child support.

Did you know Abraham Shakespeare? Reporter Gary Pinnell is writing about the man who worked odd jobs before he bought a winning ticket a convenience store on U.S. 27 in Frostproof, spent most of the money in less than three years, and then was killed

http://www2.highlandstoday.com/conte...-want-to-know/

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Teen knew players in Shakespeare drama

By HOWARD ALTMAN
haltman@tampatrib.com
Published: February 27, 2010

Kala Gunn spent hours and hours with Dee Dee Moore.

She also spent a lot of time with Howard Stitzel - a lawyer who did work for Moore and Abraham Shakespeare.

She also spent some time with Shakespeare, even taking care of the Florida Lottery winner's niece.

Kala is 15. Moore's son R.J. was her second boyfriend.

Stitzel's son Bogan was her first.

What's it like for a young teen when parents of her first two boyfriends are caught up in an infamous murder case? And to get to the know the players?

"Weird," says Kala Gunn. "Awkward."

Kala Gunn was 13 when she met a boy named Howard Bogan Stitzel at an evening church program, said Kala's mother, Shannon Gunn. It was shortly after Valentine's Day 2008, and the two soon started dating.

Bogan Stitzel, as Kala liked to call him, was also 13.

"She was head over heels for him," says Gunn. "He had a great personality, very creative and funny to be around."

It was during this time that Shannon Gunn got to know Howard Stitzel.

"It was my daughter's first boyfriend," says Gunn. "You kind of want to know what kind of people these people are."

She described the lawyer as successful.

Even after the teens broke up in early October of that year, Shannon Gunn says, she maintained a friendship with Stitzel.

"We got wrapped up in their family," she says. "I will never do that again."

A few weeks later, Kala and some friends were riding around in golf carts in Walden Lakes, a Plant City gated community.

Gunn says when she came to pick up her daughter, there were two boys with her. One was Robert James "R.J" Moore.

The next day, Kala and R.J. went to the Brandon Ice Skating rink.

Afterward, R.J. invited Kala and her mom to come to their house in Walden Lakes.

"That's when I met Dee Dee," says Gunn. "She was very nice."
Soon Kala and R.J. started dating, says Gunn.

Gunn says she and Moore would hang out watching "chick flicks.".

One day in December, Kala and her mom went to the Moore's house for lunch.
When they arrived, there was a guest, a tall black man in dreadlocks.

Kala says the man admonished her for downing so many energy drinks.

"He was downloading music and watching me and said, 'Girl, you better slow down. You could have a heart attack.'"

Later, Gunn says, Moore told her that the man she and her daughter met was Abraham Shakespeare, who won a lot of money in the Florida Lottery.

People were ripping Shakespeare off, Moore told her. Then, Gunn says, Moore asked her if she knew a good lawyer.

So Gunn says she introduced Moore to Stitzel.

A short while after Gunn introduced Stizel and Moore, R.J. Moore broke up with Kala. Gunn says her friendship with Moore temporarily ended, but they eventually rekindled their friendship.

Later, news about Abraham Shakespeare began hitting the front pages and newscasts.

First he was reported missing, then his body was found, then Moore was arrested, first accused of covering up the murder, then charged with first degree murder.

Investigators would later say that Stitzel - who has not been charged with anything - prepared some of the paperwork allowing Moore to transfer Shakespeare's property over to her.

Stitzel denies any wrongdoing.

When her mom told her Shakespeare was killed, Kala says "I was freaking out."

"I had been over to the house" where investigators say Shakespeare was killed, she says. "It's weird. It scares me. I never want to go over there again."

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/feb...espeare-drama/

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Suspect in Lakeland Lottery Winner Killing Says She's Broke

Public Defender Appointed for Dorice "DeeDee" Moore, Accused Killer of Abraham Shakespeare

Published: Monday, March 8, 2010
Last Modified: Monday, March 8, 2010

TAMPA | The woman accused of killing Lakeland lottery winner Abraham Shakespeare now claims to be broke and has been appointed a public defender.

“Now they took everything, said I can't use any of it,” wrote Dorice “DeeDee” Moore in court paperwork in which she claims to have access to only one bank account containing $100.

Moore, 37, previously had two private attorneys representing her. She has claimed to be a successful business woman who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars buying Shakespeare's sprawling North Lakeland home and other assets.

Since then, investigators have said they suspect Moore first bilked Shakespeare, 43, of what money he had left and then killed him.

Moore is being held without bail in Hillsborough County on a first-degree murder charge. Shakespeare's body, with two .38-caliber bullet wounds to the chest, was found buried behind a Plant City house Jan. 28.

Moore was arrested Feb. 3. Late last year, she had told The Ledger and Polk County sheriff's investigators that she had helped Shakespeare disappear so he could avoid people who were constantly asking him for money. Shakespeare won a $17 million lump-sum payment from the lottery in 2006.

About the time Shakespeare's body was found, Moore changed her story to say someone had killed him. She told several versions and named several people as having pulled the trigger, including one version in which she said she killed him in self defense.

Check back for more information as it becomes available.

http://www.theledger.com/article/201...ys-She-s-Broke

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Indictment Expected Today in Abraham Shakespeare Case

Ledger Staff Report

Published: Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 11:43 a.m.

TAMPA | A grand jury is expected today to indict Dorice "DeeDee" Moore who is accused of killing Lakeland lottery winner Abraham Shakespeare.

During a brief hearing this morning in Tampa, prosecutors confirmed that an indictment is underway.

Moore, 37, was also told she now faces an additional charge of illegal wiretapping.

Circuit Judge Walter R. Heinrich said he did not have any more information regarding the charge: interception of wire or oral communication.

“That’s usually something like wiretapping a phone when you don’t have the legal authority to do so,” he said.

Jail records show the charge is a third-degree felony, which is punishable by up to five years in prison.

Moore was previously arrested on a charge accessory after the fact to murder and then for first-degree murder.

She remains without bail in the Orient Road Jail in Hillsborough County on the first-degree murder charge.

Shakespeare had won a $17 million lump-sum payment from the lottery in 2006.

In October 2008, Moore arranged to meet Shakespeare "ostensibly to write a book about his life story" and soon became his primary financial advisor, according to an arrest affidavit.

She is accused of swindling what money Shakespeare had left and killing him, according to an arrest affidavit.

The 43-year-old man’s body was found Jan. 28 buried under a concrete slab behind a Plant City house at 5802 State Road 60. He had two .38-caliber bullet wounds to the chest.

The affidavit states Moore told different stories about who killed Shakespeare, including one version in which she said she killed him in self-defense.

http://www.theledger.com/article/201...akespeare-Case

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Woman pleads not guilty in death of lottery winner

March 16, 2010

(CNN) -- A Florida woman accused in the death of a lottery millionaire pleaded not guilty at a court hearing Monday in Hillsborough County, CNN affiliate Bay News 9 reported.

Dorice "Dee Dee" Moore is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Abraham Shakespeare, a truck driver turned lottery millionaire. She was arrested in February.

Police said she befriended Shakespeare after he won a $31 million Florida lottery prize in 2006. She was named a person of interest after Shakespeare, 43, went missing.

Deputies found his body outside a home in Plant City in late January after receiving a tip from an associate of Moore's.

Moore might have committed fraud to obtain parts of Shakespeare's fortune, and she bought lime to deal with his body and was trying to find someone to move the corpse before authorities could find it, police said.

Shakespeare was killed on April 6 or April 7, and Moore has admitted trying to convince Shakespeare's family members that he was still alive, Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee has said.

Her attempts included writing a letter to Shakespeare's mother, claiming to be him, and getting people to call his family members, using his cell phone and claiming they were Shakespeare, Gee said.

Moore proclaimed her innocence before her arrest.

She told reporters said she was planning to help Shakespeare write a book about the challenges of winning millions and that she was helping him manage the money.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/03/16/....death/?hpt=T2

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Accused Killer of Lakeland Lottery Winner Hears New Charges

Prosecutors Still Undecided on Seeking Death Penalty Against Dorice "DeeDee" Moore.

Ledger staff report

Published: Monday, March 15, 2010 at 9:25 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, March 15, 2010 at 9:25 a.m.

TAMPA | Dorice "DeeDee" Moore today heard new charges against her in the killing of Lakeland lottery winner Abraham Shakespeare, and she received a new lawyer.

Moore, 37, had been scheduled for an arraignment today on charges in an indictment returned by a Hillsborough County grand jury Thursday. She is charged with first-degree premeditated murder in Shakespeare's slaying.

But the hearing was taken up with a need for her to change attorneys.

Moore had been represented by the Hillsborough County public defenders office, but it withdrew from her case citing an unspecified conflict of interest.

Circuit Judge Daniel H. Sleet appointed a lawyer from the Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel. That group represents indigent defendants when the public defenders office cannot because of a conflict, such as if a witness in the case is being represented by the public defender.

Prosecutors haven't decided whether to pursue the death penalty against Moore, they indicated today.

Moore also is charged with illegal wiretapping over allegations she secretly recorded an interview between Polk County investigators and two confidential informants on Dec. 11. She remains in the Orient Road Jail in Hillsborough County, where she is being held without bail on the murder charge.

Last year, Moore told The Ledger and Polk sheriff's investigators that she had helped Shakespeare disappear so he could avoid people who were constantly asking him for money.

Shakespeare had won a $17 million lump-sum payment from the lottery in 2006.

An arrest affidavit says Moore arranged to meet Shakespeare in October 2008 "ostensibly to write a book about his life story" and soon became his primary financial advisor.

Moore is accused of swindling what money Shakespeare had left and killing him, according to the affidavit.

The 43-year-old man's body was found Jan. 28 buried under a concrete slab behind a Plant City house at 5802 State Road 60. He had two .38-caliber bullet wounds to the chest.

The affidavit states Moore told different stories about who killed Shakespeare, including one version in which she said she killed him in self-defense.


http://www.theledger.com/article/201...rs-New-Charges

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DeeDee Moore gets new lawyer in Lotto winner murder case

By Alexandra Zayas, Times Staff Writer

Posted: Mar 15, 2010 09:33 AM

TAMPA — DeeDee Moore, the woman accused of killing Lotto winner Abraham Shakespeare, appeared in court Monday and was assigned a state-appointed defense attorney after the public defender declared a conflict of interest.

It was unclear what the conflict was, but a lawyer from the regional conflict counsel office was named to represent Moore. She will enter a plea after meeting with her new attorney.

Moore is charged with first-degree murder and interception of wire or oral communication. Prosecutors said they have not decided whether they will seek the death penalty if Moore is convicted.

Shakespeare collected about $12.7 million after he won the Lotto in 2006. He had $1.5 million left in cash and $3 million left in assets when Moore entered his life in 2008, saying she wanted to write a book about him. Authorities say Moore was in "virtually complete control of his money" when he was killed last April.

Shakespeare's body was found under a concrete slab in Plant City earlier this year.

A probable cause document used to support the charge against Moore said she provided several accounts of how Shakespeare was killed, but that the common thread was she was present each time. She also identified her own .38-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver as the weapon used to kill Shakespeare with two gunshot wounds to the chest.
A grand jury indicted Moore Thursday.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/...r-case/1079965

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Letter from jail: Suspect writes on Shakespeare's death, innocence, God

By HOWARD ALTMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 19, 2010

TAMPA - She is innocent.

She would never hurt Abraham.

She has been unfairly portrayed in the media and prays that the "person guilty of this crime" is caught.

These are the words of Dorice Donegan "Dee Dee" in a four-page letter sent to The Tampa Tribune.

Postmarked March 17 and titled "Moore Speaking Out," Moore talks about her relationship with Abraham Shakespeare – the Florida Lottery winner she is accused of killing – the hard life behind bars and her desire to improve the lot of her fellow inmates through education.

Moore is accused of siphoning off $3.5 million of Shakespeare's remaining lottery winnings, then killing him, burying him on property she owns and setting up an elaborate scheme to cover up the killing.

In her letter, Moore says she is being unfairly portrayed.

"I have an impetuous notion to let my voice be heard," she writes, "because there's got to be a reason for this life-altering trauma happening to me. I inwardly chastises (sic) myself for opening up so please don't criticize me. The picture you paint of me in the news, I would not want to hang around myself."

The media, she writes, has treated her harshly.

"You twist and alter one bad situations (sic) that happened in my life," she writes. "You don't emphasize all the things I've done to make a difference in the world."

Several pages later, she explains that, "I have helped people since I was 18 years old. I've paid peoples (sic) light bills, house payments, phone bills, car payments and etc."

Moore writes that she has a message for whoever killed Shakespeare, who investigators say was shot twice in the chest in April, then buried on property registered to Moore's boyfriend that Moore says she bought.

"God knows the truth, let him be the judge," she writes. "If you pray for me and I had something to do with it, God will punish me for that. I know it sounds crazy but something compels me to speak out to him. Anyone who knows him I beg of you to let him know how wrong this is. You know you are going to get caught. There is to (sic) much media."

God is a big theme of Moore's statement.

"I know I did not have anything to do with Abraham's death and God will not let me be convicted of anything. I did so much for so many people for my life to end this way. Abraham was good to me and I did what he ask (sic) of me. I had no reason to hurt him."

The Orient Road Jail, where Moore is an inmate with no bail set, is not a nice place, she writes. It's cold. The food is bad.

"Jail is the worst place on earth ever to be," Moore writes. "I sleep on concrete with a hard plastic mat. Some people go to jail that are really innocent, like all the people finding out that their DNA does not match. No amount of money replaces their time spent in jail."

Moore is not being singled out for harsh treatment, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Debbie Carter said.

"Ms. Moore is treated like all of the other inmates within our Hillsborough County jail system," Carter said.

Moore closes her letter by asking people to send her books.

"They already have Bibles and love stories," she writes. "They need learning books to help them improve their skills. How to improve your grammar, words you need to know, sign language, how to learn Spanish, new NIV (New International Version) Bibles to help them understand the Bible more and any learning or skills books."

Carter would not comment about Moore's proclamation of innocence. Prosecutor Jay Pruner did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Shakespeare's brother Robert Brown, who in a previous interview said he hoped Moore would get the death penalty, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/mar...no/news-metro/

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Dee Dee Moore waives court appearance

Updated: Monday, 10 May 2010

TAMPA - A woman accused of killing a Lakeland lottery winner waived her Monday morning court appearance.

Dee Dee Moore was expected to appear before a judge in downtown Tampa and enter a plea, but her new representation, a court-appointed special counsel, waived the appearance.

Moore's previous lawyer was removed from the case due to a conflict of interest. Moore's new attorney was appointed in March.

All along, Moore has claimed innocence in the murder of Abraham Shakespeare. She said she befriended Shakespeare after he won the lottery in 2006 so that she could write a book about him.

Detectives, however, say they have built a strong case against Moore, believing money, greed, and lies led to Shakespeare's death.

Shakespeare collected about $12.5 million in his lottery win and disappeared last year. His body was found buried under a concrete slab on the property of a home in eastern Hillsborough County in February, and investigators say Shakespeare had been shot to death.

Moore was arrested soon after. She entered a not guilty plea in court in March.

"I have never hurt that man," Moore said in February.

"Absolutely not," she added when asked outright if she had murdered Shakespeare.

But according to investigators, Moore swindled millions of dollars from the lottery winner and has told police various stories about someone else pulling the trigger.

Since her arrest, detectives say Moore has blamed everyone from drug dealers to her then-14-year-old son for Shakespeare's murder.

Moore has been charged with first degree murder. She is also facing a charge of intercepting oral or wire communications.
There have been no other arrests in the case.

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/new...re-plea-051010

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Moore's Lawyers To See Records Before Public Does

Judge: Suspect's legal team can review reports up to 20 days before they go public.

By Jason Geary
THE LEDGER

Published: Thursday, July 8, 2010

TAMPA | Lawyers for Dorice "DeeDee" Moore, who is accused of killing Lakeland lottery winner Abraham Shakespeare, will get to see records in her case before they become available to the public.

At a Thursday hearing in Tampa, Circuit Judge Daniel H. Sleet ruled Moore's lawyers could have up to 20 days to review investigative reports and other records.

Typically, records become public record when they are released to defense lawyers.

Moore is being represented by the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel.

In March, the Hillsborough County Public Defender withdrew from Moore's case, citing an unspecified conflict of interest.

The material in Moore's case includes investigative reports as well as about 30 hours of video and audio recordings.

Her lawyers will be able to object to anything they feel should not be released to the public.

Gregg Thomas, a lawyer for The Ledger, said prosecutors would be notified what records aren't objectionable so that material can be released as soon as possible.

Thomas has been advocating for greater access to information in the case, including that records be posted online.

Moore, 37, has pleaded not guilty to charges she killed Shakespeare, who won a $17 million lump-sum payment in 2006.

Moore met Shakespeare in October 2008, and she "offered her assistance" with his financial affairs, according to a search warrant filed in March.

The warrant was for a removable "thumb drive" electronic storage device that investigators think could have financial data on it.

Investigators accuse Moore of taking control of what cash, property and assets Shakespeare had left before killing him, the search warrant states.

He was last seen in April 2009 and was reported missing by a family member in November.

The 43-year-old Lakeland man's body was discovered Jan. 28, buried under a concrete slab behind a Plant City house at 5802 State Road 60. Shakespeare had been shot twice.

Moore has provided several accounts of how Shakespeare died, including that she killed him in self-defense, the search warrant states.

He was last seen in April 2009 and was reported missing by a family member in November.

The 43-year-old Lakeland man's body was discovered Jan. 28, buried under a concrete slab behind a Plant City house at 5802 State Road 60. Shakespeare had been shot twice.

Moore has provided several accounts of how Shakespeare died, including that she killed him in self-defense, the search warrant states.

http://www.theledger.com/article/201...5062?p=1&tc=pg

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Should authorities need a warrant to put a GPS tracking device on your car?

By Jamal Thalji, Times Staff Writer

Posted: Oct 17, 2010 08:51 PM

---

She bought Clorox Bleach, duct tape, Lysol disinfectant, two pairs of gloves, two rolls of plastic sheeting and a canvas sheet.

Dorice "DeeDee" Moore was a suspect in a missing man's murder, and investigators said she wanted to move the body before they could find it. But how did they find out about her Jan. 24 shopping trip to the Brandon Walmart Supercenter?

Undercover detectives didn't tail her to the store. They weren't watching her every move.

They secretly placed a GPS tracking device onto her vehicle.

The same technologies we use every day — cell phones, social networking, GPS — also are used by law enforcement to investigate, track and arrest criminals. The problem, critics say, is when these technologies are used without oversight — and to erode privacy.

A judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently called out his fellow judges on both counts.

His rebuke came after the court ruled that federal agents could not only plant a GPS tracking device on a vehicle without getting a warrant, but they could go onto private property to do so.

That was too much for Chief Judge Alex Kozinski.

"The needs of law enforcement, to which my colleagues seem inclined to refuse nothing, are quickly making personal privacy a distant memory," he wrote in a widely-read dissent.

• • •

The Global Positioning System of satellites in orbit have become ubiquitous in modern life. The private sector uses it to keep tabs on employees. The public uses it to keep from getting lost. Florida uses it to track of sex offenders.

But how often is it used in criminal investigations?

None of the Tampa Bay area's major law enforcement agencies would discuss the issue. Their investigative techniques are exempt from public records law.

"We do utilize GPS for investigations and we do have a policy that addresses the usage," wrote Hillsborough sheriff's spokesman Debbie Carter in an e-mail. "But we can not release the policy due to the fact that it reveals investigative techniques."

The Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office would only confirm that it has obtained judicial approval to track suspects using GPS.

Defense attorneys say they're encountering the technology more frequently. But no one can say for sure how often it's used.

"In speaking to law enforcement, I understand that it is being used more and more often in their investigations," said Tampa defense attorney Richard Escobar. "It's an easier way to track individuals than doing mobile surveillance."

• • •

How GPS tracking is used in Florida depends on which agency is using it. Local, state and federal officers follow different rules.

According to Florida law, local and state agencies need a judge's approval to use GPS tracking. But the standard they have to meet isn't as high as the standard for obtaining a search warrant.

To search someone's home or business, officers must have a reasonable belief that the person committed a crime.

To use GPS tracking, they simply must convince a judge that it's "relevant" to their investigation, said University of Florida law professor Michael L. Seigel.

"It's a much lower standard," he said. "It's not requiring them to show any suspicion about an individual's guilt."

There's also an easy way around state law. Local agencies could just ask the federal government for help.

Federal agents operating in Florida don't need a warrant to use GPS tracking devices, the professor said.

"Everybody's working in a joint task force these days," said Escobar, the defense attorney "They can ask the federal government to do things they can't do in the state system."

• • •

Lottery winner Abraham Shakespeare had been missing for a year when Polk County detectives placed a GPS tracking device on a vehicle driven by DeeDee Moore for three days in January.

That's how they were able to re-trace her steps and discover that $104.90 Walmart shopping trip, according to court records. Shakespeare's body was found four days later.

Moore was soon charged with shooting Shakespeare in April 2009, hiding his body and taking control of his millions. Now she sits in a Hillsborough jail, awaiting trial for first-degree murder.

It's unclear if a judge approved using GPS in this case. When asked if a judge signed off on it, the Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office and the Polk County Sheriff's Office both declined to comment because it's an open criminal case.

• • •

The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects "persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures." Furthermore, case law has established an "expectation of privacy."

But courts have ruled that there's no such expectation in public spaces.

There's nothing unreasonable about following someone on a public road or sidewalk.

That's why officers don't need a warrant to physically surveil someone. Many consider GPS tracking no different.

"We expect that other people will see us when we walk outside, our movements on the street are open to the public," said Stetson law professor Robert Batey. "It's not an intrusion upon a reasonable expectation of privacy for the police to tail someone."

But it is getting harder to tail someone, Escobar said.

"One of the problems they have is that the people they're tracking have become pretty savvy to these surveillance techniques," the attorney said. "Even when you use multiple cars to track someone, it's a risk that you can be spotted.

"But with GPS tracking, there's no negative. You're going to be able to track that person and you can keep your distance."

Well, there's one negative: people are finding the devices.

In a recent case this month, a 20-year-old California student of Egyptian descent, Yasir Afifi, discovered a tracking device on his car when he took it for an oil change, according to Wired.com.

A friend posted pictures on the Internet, which led to a visit from FBI agents, who questioned Afifi and took the device back.

"We have encountered a good number of clients that have found them attached to their cars," Escobar said. "I've had other lawyers tell me they had law enforcement agents come looking for them."

• • •

GPS tracking isn't the only issue to Chief Judge Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit.

He wrote in August that there seems to be no limit to what technologies the government can use to violate privacy.

In the case Kozinski was writing about, the Ninth Circuit ruled that it was okay for federal agents to plant a GPS tracking device on a suspected drug trafficker without a warrant and to do so on a private driveway.

The judge also noted that in 2009 a Sprint Nextel official revealed that the company gave its customers' cell phone locations to the government more than 8 million times that year. The company said it was all done legally, and that wasn't the number of customers affected.

"By holding that this kind of surveillance doesn't impair an individual's reasonable expectation of privacy," wrote the judge, "the panel hands the government the power to track the movements of every one of us, every day of our lives ...

"There is something creepy and un-American about such clandestine and underhanded behavior."

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publics...ur-car/1128724

[MADeline]

Jailed murder suspect 'Dee Dee' Moore fighting over assets



Jailed on charges of murdering lottery winner Abraham Shakespeare, Dorice "Dee Dee" Moore is fighting to keep the slain man's north Lakeland home.

Last Updated: Friday, February 18, 2011

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• Previous stories on this case

LAKELAND -- The battle over the home of a murdered lottery winner has continued behind bars.
Jailed on charges of murdering lottery winner Abraham Shakespeare, Dorice "Dee Dee" Moore is fighting to keep the slain man's north Lakeland home.
Shakespeare's estate is working to reclaim his assets, including the home, for Shakespeare's 9-year-old and 2-year-old sons.
However, Moore has filed a dispute claiming she paid for the home and it belongs to her.
She wants a judge to wait until after her murder trial before making a decision on ownership of the home.
Investigators believe Moore killed the lottery winner in 2009 to collect the rest of his winnings and assets.
However, Moore denied killing Shakespeare on the recordings and blamed it on drug dealers. She told the undercover cop drug dealers were threatening her and her 14-year-old son and that's why she needed him to take the blame.
Eventually, Shakespeare's body was found under a concrete slab at Moore's home.
If found guilty, Moore could spend life in prison. The prosecution is not seeking the death penalty in this case.
http://www.baynews9.com/article/news...ng-over-assets

[MADeline]

Woman accused of killing lottery winner wants items returned

• 
  By JOSH POLTILOVE, THE TAMPA TRIBUNE
  Published: August 22, 2011
  Updated: August 22, 2011 - 1:08 PM

TAMPA -- The woman accused of killing Florida Lottery millionaire Abraham Shakespeare wants back some of the items deputies seized from her home – including jewelry, electronics and cash.
Attorneys for Dorice Donegan "Dee Dee" Moore asked a judge today to help them reclaim the property.
Hillsborough Circuit Court Judge Daniel Sleet wouldn't hear the request, saying he hadn't received a copy of the motion and that he wasn't the correct judge to hear it.
After the hearing, Moore's attorney said he plans to appeal.
"We're just asking them to return everything that's not going to be used as evidence," Randall O. Reder said.
Also today, Sleet scheduled Moore's trial for March 19.
Moore is charged in the death of Shakespeare, a Lakeland man who won a $30 million lottery jackpot in November 2006.
Between April 6 and 7, 2009, Shakespeare, 43, was shot twice in the chest inside a home near Plant City, investigators said. His body was buried under a concrete slab on the property next door owned by Moore and her boyfriend, Shar Krasniqi, investigators said.
Shakespeare's body was found in January 2010, and Moore was arrested days later and eventually charged with first-degree murder.
Moore, who is being held without bail, has maintained her innocence.
http://www2.tbo.com/news/news/2011/a...s-r-ar-252124/