BY IRIS B. HOLTON
Sentinel City Editor
Earlier this week, a federal judge rendered Ms. Cortnee Brantley guilty of misprison. She will be sentenced on the charge on Monday, April 29th, at 8:45 a.m. The rarely used federal charge of misprision carries a maximum sentence of 3 years in federal prison.
In a 12-page written decision, federal Judge James Moody, Jr., said “the Court concludes that, by the thinnest of legal threads, the jury’s verdict is supported by the evidence.”
Judge Moody also denied or dismissed all pending motions filed by Ms. Brantley’s court appointed representative, Attorney Grady Irvin, Jr.
In response to the decision, Attorney Irvin said, “…The 12-page opinion by Judge Moody, in its entirety, is the best comment. … Therefore, we defer comment to Judge Moody’s order… because clearly this is one of those occasions where the judge, for the most part, said it best.”
Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor also issued a written comment. “The members of the Tampa Police Department are pleased to hear that Judge Moody has upheld the findings of the jury in the case against Courtnee Brantley.”
Murder Suspect’s Mother Calls Sentinel After Ruling
Mrs. Selecia Watson, the mother of Dontae Morris and Dwayne Calloway, contacted the Sentinel after the ruling.
Mrs. Watson, who has been a fixture at both the state and federal courtrooms during the last three years, said she was compelled to speak out about the ruling. She also wanted to establish the fact that she is not “an angry mother.”
“I feel I just had to speak out about the verdict and the judge upholding the ruling against Courtnee Brantley. It is unspeakable, awful because my son has not been found guilty of anything, he has been charged with. For Courtnee to be guilty of misprision is awful.
“I was at the trial and the jury convicted her on the text messages that came from a telephone. Angela Murphy testified under oath that when Dontae came to her house, he gave the phone to Angela and when Dontae called her phone from the phone he was using that day, someone else’s name appeared. It was not even his phone.
“So my question is, ‘who really sent those text messages?’
“When Jennifer Porter ran over those 4 kids and killed two of them, her parents washed her car and hid it for days. Her parents were never arrested and she never spent a day in jail.
“But all this girl did was give a ride to a friend. She gave the police her information and cooperated.
“The warrant was in the computer for Dontae, but he was in prison when his identity was stolen. That night she felt her life was in danger. Anyone in their right mind is going to take off when they hear gunshots. That’s just common sense.”
Mrs. Watson also posed another question: “My son has not been tried yet for anything. So how can she be found guilty? It seems that something is wrong with our system. It’s telling me that you don’t have what you need to convict the person you said killed 2 officers.”
Mrs. Watson said she has attended every court hearing since the two officers were killed on June 29, 2010.
She stated that her other son, Dwayne Calloway, was originally charged with theft by sudden snatching, but the charge was upgraded to robbery.
“During Dwayne’s trial they continually referred to him as Dontae’s brother. They sentenced Dwayne because he is Dontae’s brother and they had the opportunity to lock him up. But he did not score out for prison and they never found the chain he supposedly took. Everyone else in the case walked away, but they gave him 15 years in prison.”
Mrs. Watson said the murders of the two police officers happened right after Dontae was released from prison, but they did not start looking for her son until after the two officers were killed. She wondered, “had not these two officers been killed would he (Dontae) still have been sought for the other three murders?”
“I’m not an angry mother, I’m just in disbelief,” Mrs. Watson said.
U. S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida Responds
Mrs. Watson posed the question, ‘“My son has not been tried yet for anything. So how can she be found guilty?’
The Sentinel contacted the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida for an answer. Their response was:
“To obtain a conviction for Misprision of a Felony (Title 18, USC Section 4), the jury was required to find that: The federal crime of a felon in possession of a firearm was committed; The defendant knew of that crime; The defendant did not as soon as possible report the crime; and The defendant acted to conceal the crime.
“Dontae Morris’ guilt was not an issue or element. The government proved, and the jury clearly found, that Morris was a convicted felon who possessed a firearm.”
