On March 2, 2014, the following incident report was documented by Deputy Sheriff Mitchell:

Transcription

1 On March 2, 2014, the following incident report was documented by Deputy Sheriff Mitchell: On March 2, 2014, at 1420 hours, I, Deputy Sheriff Mitchell (EID #6673), responded to 9400 Turkey Lake Road Orlando, Florida (Dr. Phillips Hospital), in reference to battery. Through investigation, I determined a domestic battery occurred. On arrival, I met with the victim, Lolita Carson-Grayson (A/F 3/17/60), in the emergency room of the hospital, room 29. Lolita was lying on the bed, wearing a hospital gown. She appeared to be in pain and moaned as she struggled to sit up to speak with me. She advised the following regarding the incident: She and the suspect, Alan Grayson (W/M 3/13/58) have been married for the past 24 years, they own a residence together located at, Orlando, Florida, and they have five children in common Skye-18, Lolita explained that she and Alan have been having marital issues for an undisclosed period of time. He still has property and belongings at the aforementioned residence although he has not stayed the night there since December On March 1, 2014, at approximately 1630 hours, Alan arrived to their residence located at Orlando, Florida unannounced, demanding to see their children. Lolita advised she did not want Alan to see the children at that time because they had planned a play date with friends prior to his arrival. She stated if he had seen the children at that time it would have interfered with their schedule. As Alan approached the door to the residence, Lolita stood in the door way to prevent him from entering. A verbal argument ensued as she was standing in the door way. The argument escalated and Alan shoved Lolita and she went backwards into the door. Lolita defended herself by grabbing Alan in the jaw area and delivered a knee spike" in his abdomen area causing him to kneel down. Alan regained his balance and walked away towards his vehicle. As he walked away, he yelled obscenities at Lolita. Lolita stated she dialed 911 however while on the phone with the 911 operator, she cancelled the call because Alan left the residence. On March 2, 2014, Lolita woke up and stated she was sore as a result of the injuries she received on March 1, 2014 from Alan. She drove herself to the hospital and they notified Orange County Sheriff's Office due to the nature of the incident. Lolita stated Alan has both verbally and physically abused her for the entire duration of their relationship. She declined to notify law enforcement due to his title and fear of embarrassment. Lolita stated she was unsure if she is willing to testify or prosecute at this time. She declined to complete a sworn written statement although she completed the rest of the domestic related forms.

2 Photos were taken of Lolita and entered as evidence. Lolita suffered visible bruising on the upper left side of her back, near her left shoulder. I made contact with the Florida Department of Children and Families and spoke to Operator Crystal (#271) and she stated they will be taking a report. Alan did not have any prior battery convictions. INVESTIGATION REVEALED: On March 2, 2014, as the on-call Domestic Violence Detective, I, Detective Renee Fortinberry spoke to Sergeant Don Murphy in reference to an incident of Battery Domestic Violence. Victim Lolita Grayson self-transported to Dr. Phillips Hospital to be seen for an injury alleged to have been caused during an incident of Battery Domestic Violence. A nurse from Dr. Phillips Hospital called the Orange County Sheriff s Office Communications Center to report the incident. I responded and met with Sergeant Murphy and the primary unit, Deputy Ellis Mitchell. The information provided to this point indicated the incident occurred at Orlando, Florida on March 1, Deputy Mitchell advised me Victim Grayson was in room #29, and she was reporting her spouse, Alan Grayson, caused injury to her on March 1, She came to the hospital after realizing pain in, and noticing bruising to, her left shoulder. I was advised by Emergency Room Nurse Practitioner, Angela Ingram, Victim Grayson had some bruising on her left shoulder, left side of her back, and a bruise on the back of her upper left thigh. I then entered room 29, and introduced myself to Victim Grayson as a Detective with Orange County Sheriff s Office. My agency issued recorder was visible to Victim Grayson and I asked her to describe to me what took place at her residence on March 1, She stated at about 1600 hours, on March 1, 2014, she was getting her eight year old twin boys ready to have a play date with the neighbors. As she was getting them ready, her fifteen year old daughter,, asked her what she was doing and she stated she was taking the twins to a play date. told her mother their dad, Alan Grayson, would be there in a few minutes to pick them up. When Victim Grayson looked outside, she saw Alan Grayson with one of his staff members, Juan, outside the house near the roadway. Alan Grayson began walking towards the front door when Victim Grayson moved to block his path by standing in front of the door and told him he was not coming inside. Victim Grayson told Alan Grayson he had not called her or told her anything about taking or visiting with their children, as he had not called in several weeks. According to Victim Grayson, Alan Grayson has not resided in the residence since December 15, 2013, after Victim Grayson told him to leave because he was having multiple extramarital affairs. According to Victim Grayson, Alan Grayson shoved her to get inside the house, and her left shoulder and back struck the outside framing of the front door. She stated she immediately retaliated with grabbing his face with her hands, using her elbow to strike the side of his face and

3 striking him in the stomach area with her knee. She stated Alan Grayson was holding a bag of mail during this incident and she did not hit him very hard, as she is trained in the martial art form Tae Kwon Do. During the interview, both on and off audio, Victim Grayson alluded to multiple incidents of domestic violence committed on her by Alan Grayson; however, she had not reported any of them due to her embarrassment. The bruising to Victim Grayson s left shoulder was about the size of a softball and reddish in color, indicating it was a fresh bruise. There was a smaller, second bruise around her left shoulder blade in the shape of a small L, appearing as a light purplish color. Additionally, there was a circular reddish bruise on Victim Grayson left rear thigh, which was noted by the physician during her examination. Photographs of these injuries were taken. Photographs of Victim Grayson s written notes regarding the incident on her cellular telephone were also taken as this was the way she documented the incident. Victim Grayson stated she does not write well since she suffered a in 2005 and she declined to write a sworn statement at this time. Victim Grayson advised she does medication causes her to bruise easily. She stated she wanted to speak to her attorney about obtaining an injunction and also needed to discuss her desire to press charges against Alan Grayson with her attorney. Victim Grayson did raise her right hand and swore and affirmed the information she provided in this interview was true and correct to the best of her knowledge On March 2, 2014, I and Sergeant Keith Hubbard arrived at to photograph the residence and the specific location of the incident. I asked Victim Grayson to show me her position when the altercation took place between her and Alan Grayson. She stood to the left side of the doorway, not directly in front of the door, and stated this is where she was when Alan Grayson pushed her. She then asked if she could use me to demonstrate her actions during this incident. She grabbed my chin area, and used her right forearm area to demonstratively strike me in the left side of the face, and then followed up with a demonstrative knee strike to my abdomen area. Photographs of this specific location at the residence were taken with my agency issued Cannon Power Shot camera. Additionally, I took a number of photographs of Victim Grayson s shoulder. Since the qualities of photographs of Victim Grayson s injuries were not of high quality, Sergeant Hubbard asked her to come to the Sheriff s Central Operations Center on March 3, 2014 to be photographed by Forensics personnel using higher quality equipment. The audio recorded interview with Victim Grayson includes the following information as directly told by Victim Grayson: *She was trying to get the twins dressed to take them to a play date with approximately 1600 hours., the neighbor, at *At approximately hours, asked her where she was going, and she replied she was taking the twins to play. stated, No mommy, daddy is coming to pick us up. *When told her daddy was coming, she noticed her eighteen year old daughter, Skye, speaking on the telephone with whom she assumed was Alan Grayson.

4 *Victim Grayson then recalls seeing Alan Grayson outside by the car with Juan, a member of his staff. *Victim Grayson was upset because Alan Grayson does not ever call her and for weeks she had not heard from him regarding arrangements to pick up the children. *Victim Grayson stated she kicked Alan [Grayson] out on December 15, 2013 because she confronted him about having mistresses. *Victim Grayson advised Alan Grayson informed her, I am taking the children. Victim Grayson replied, Cheater, adulterer, why now? Alan Grayson stated, Let s talk about this inside. *Victim Grayson stated and Skye were trying to gather the twins to get them inside the residence away from this encounter, and their thirteen year old son,, was already inside the residence in his room. *Victim Grayson walked towards the front door, stating she, blocked him from coming inside. He pushed me, I don t recall his hands, but I grabbed his jaw, used my elbow and kneed him in the stomach. She stated this was her reaction to being pushed. She also advised they both kept their balance, and neither one of them fell to the ground. *Victim Grayson stated Alan Grayson walked away, while telling Victim Grayson to Go to hell and die! I ll make sure you will get nothing, you will be in the gutter! *Victim Grayson advised Alan Grayson left the property when he heard her speaking to the 911 operator. The rest of the audio recording reflects information concerning Victim Grayson stating her husband has been hitting her for years, but she has never filed any reports. She stated she has been a victim since 1999 and she did call 911 in (This can be referenced to OCSO case number ). After leaving the residence on March 2, 2014, at approximately1907 hours, I telephoned Alan Grayson from my agency issued cellular telephone. Alan Grayson s telephone number was obtained from Victim Grayson. Alan Grayson answered his cellular telephone and I asked him if we could meet and talk about what happened on Saturday March 1, 2014 at his residence. At first he inquired as to what I was speaking about, however, he also advised me he did not touch his wife. He stated Victim Grayson was a liar and is crazy. Alan Grayson was asking for specific information about the incident, and I advised him the meeting between us needed to be in person, not via telephone. Alan Grayson agreed to speak with his attorney and get back with me at a later date, as he advised he was not currently in Orlando. I then received a telephone call from a male identifying himself as Thomas Sadaka from the NeJame Law Firm regarding setting up a meeting concerning this incident. I was advised Alan Grayson could produce two witnesses and a video recording from the incident which occurred on

5 March 1, 2014 at the front door of the residence. Mr. Sadaka stated he had not viewed the video recording, but he advised he would call back with a specific meeting time to discuss Alan Grayson s testimony and involvement in this incident. I requested a copy of Victim Grayson s 911 telephone call on March 1, I made this request via electronic mail on Monday March 3, 2014, and the request was sent to Orange County Sheriff s Office Communications Recording Specialist, Luz Mercado. On March 4, 2014, I received and reviewed the 911 call recording, reflecting Victim Grayson s cellular telephone number. During the 911 call, Victim Grayson can be heard at 1619 hours on March 1, 2014 stating: My husband Alan Grayson is disturbing my peace because he is cheating so much with other women and I am scared he is going to hit me please come down and arrest him. The 911 call taker verifies the address with Victim Grayson, and the dispatcher is advised, He is leaving right now. He is disturbing my peace and he has been threatening me, telling me I need to stay in the gutter with his goons. The dispatcher asked the Victim Grayson if she was hurt, Has he physically hurt you? Victim Grayson responded, No. I pushed him because he is coming to the house and disturbing my peace. Victim Grayson stated, Now he is leaving. the dispatcher asked, You pushed him? Victim Grayson replied, I don t want him coming into the house because he has been so bad. Victim Grayson continued, Okay, he is leaving; don t send anyone, thank you my darling. The dispatcher asked, Are you sure? Victim Grayson then commented about how much Alan Grayson has been cheating, that he left his family, and the telephone call ends with the dispatcher stating, Please call back if anything changes. to which Victim Grayson agreed. On March 4, 2014, Detective Ricardo Lee and I went to NeJame Law Firm, located at 189 South Orange Avenue, suite 1800 to interview Alan Grayson. His attorney, Thomas Sadaka, was present during this non-custodial interview. The interview was audio recorded. Mr. Grayson advised the following events took place on March 1, 2014 at his residence, located at in Orlando. He prefaced his comments about this visit with the information he has not resided in this residence since mid-december He stated there are no pre-existing arrangements for him to get his children in order to visit them. He stated he usually calls one of his teenage daughters, either Skye or, to speak with them about visiting. He stated every time he attempts to speak to Victim Grayson, she does nothing but curse at him. He attempted to make arrangements with Skye on February 28, 2014, for her to bring all the children to him. Skye informed him her mother took her car keys so she could not leave or take the children to see him. Alan Grayson stated his younger daughter, told him the evening of March 1, 2014, her mother was acting crazy. Alan Grayson asked Witness Juan Lopez (one of his staff members) to come with him to the residence due to his past contacts with Victim Grayson. He expressed his fear she would basically act inappropriately towards him and told Witness Lopez he did not want to go there alone because Victim Grayson was so abusive toward him. Upon his arrival at the residence, Alan Grayson parked his vehicle on the roadway in front of the residence. He noticed Victim Grayson was trying to load the children into the van. He assumed

6 she was again trying to prevent him from seeing the younger children. He advised she began verbally abusing him in front of the children. Both of the eight year old boys, and were outside along with Skye. Alan Grayson stated after listening to Victim Grayson for several moments, he decided he was going to the front door of the residence, as the mail had been placed in a paper bag. When Victim Grayson noticed he was walking towards the front door, she put herself between the front door of the house and Alan Grayson. Alan Grayson advised me Victim Grayson had told him he was never coming back inside the house and he would never see the children again. Alan Grayson stated his intention after picking up the bag of mail was to go inside the house to retrieve some of his belonging, specifically, some vitamins. Alan Grayson stated Victim Grayson then began hitting and slapping him in the face. Alan Grayson stated he never touched, bumped or struck Victim Grayson. He stated he retreated to leave the residence and said, I did not touch her at all. Alan Grayson stated he just wants all this to stop. He stated Victim Grayson has made false statements and something needs to be done. He reiterated, I did not respond physically referring to this incident. Mr. Grayson was asked to raise his right hand, and he swore and affirmed the information provided during this interview was true and correct to the best of his knowledge. Additionally during this visit to the NeJame Law Firm, Witness Juan Lopez was interviewed. This interview was audio recorded and Attorney Thomas Sadaka was present during this noncustodial interview. Witness Lopez stated he was the Director of Constituents for Alan Grayson and advised the following events took place on March 1, 2014 at in Orlando: Witness Lopez advised Alan Grayson asked him to come with him and to please Juan, record by all means, I am not forcing you to, but please. Their discussion was regarding how Victim Grayson was becoming more and more unpredictable. Alan Grayson stated he was afraid she was going to hit herself with a frying pan and blame me. Witness Lopez stated Alan Grayson did not want to go to the residence alone without somebody else being there. Witness Lopez stated they arrived in separate vehicles. Alan Grayson parked on the street in front of the residence, and Witness Lopez parked facing the direction to leave the residence, (which would have been east). Alan Grayson had informed Witness Lopez he needed to pick up the mail, and get whatever children Victim Grayson would allow him to see this time. Witness Lopez stated after he exited his vehicle, he began video recording the incident on his cellular telephone. Witness Lopez recalled seeing both the twins playing outside, one holding a basketball and one riding a scooter. He stated he heard someone shouting and noticed Victim Grayson was shouting from beside the van in the driveway. There is a circular drive in the front of the residence just south of the front door, and a separate driveway to the west of the residence. This is where the van was parked. He stated she came out shouting at Alan Grayson, "All you are doing is sleeping around with black and white women you are never going to see the kids again! Get out of here!

7 Witness Lopez stated one of the children noticed he was video recording and she then tried to gather the younger ones up away from all the commotion. (This child was later properly identified as the eldest daughter, Skye.) Witness Lopez stated Alan Grayson was walking towards the front door, picked up the bag of mail and started to enter the residence. Victim Grayson began running towards the door, as Alan Grayson was trying to enter inside, telling him, No, No, No, You are never going inside the house! Witness Lopez saw Alan Grayson pause and Victim Grayson lunged towards him, hitting him. Witness Lopez stated he is one hundred percent sure Alan Grayson never laid a hand on Victim Grayson, and did not bump, shove, push or strike her. The front door was open when Alan Grayson and Victim Grayson were standing in front of it. Skye is seen standing behind her mother to her right side. Witness Lopez raised his right hand, and swore and affirmed the information he provided in this interview was true and correct to the best of his knowledge. He advised the only other person he spoke to about the incident was Susanna Randolph, the Office Director of Alan Grayson s Office. On March 4, 2014, I sent an electronic mail message to Skye Grayson asking her to call and or return my message as soon as possible. I then followed up on March 5, 2014, to Attorney Thomas Sadaka regarding the need to speak with Skye about what she witnessed on March 1, I was advised by Captain Dennis Leonard, The NeJame Law Firm requested an Investigative Subpoena to obtain the video recording captured on Witness Lopez cellular telephone. The investigative subpoena was completed and delivered to both the NeJame Law Firm and Witness Lopez on March 5, 2014 at the NeJame Law Firm. A compact disk containing the video recording was provided by the NeJame Law Firm and Witness Lopez later came to the Sheriff s Central Operations Center to download the video recording directly from his cellular telephone. On March 5, 2014, I received an electronic mail message forwarded to me from Thomas Sadaka of the NeJame Law Firm, originating from Skye Grayson. The following is the forwarded message in its entirety: From: Skye Grayson Date: March 5, 2014 at 12:41:47 PM EST To: <tom@nejamelaw.com> Subject: Statement My name is Skye Grayson and I am 18 years old. On Saturday, March 1, 2014, around 4:00 pm, I was at my home when my father, came to the house to see my brothers, sister and me. I had told my mother, that my father was coming over and she rushed to put my siblings in the van to take them away from the house before my father arrived. When my father arrived, my mother became very angry and started yelling profanities at my father. She was being very aggressive and confrontational. When my father went to the front door to pick-up the mail, my mother charged the front door and yelled to my father that she would not allow him to enter the house. She ran to

8 the front door and put herself between the door and my father. She continued to yell at my father, pushed him and slapped him in the face. At no time did my father hit or push my mother. In fact, my father backed away from my mother when she became physically aggressive. -Skye Grayson On March 6, 2014, I received a copy of the petition for the domestic violence injunction against Alan Grayson by Victim Grayson. The petition specifically reads: The Respondent (Alan Grayson) then deliberately and with force pushed the Petitioner, (Lolita Grayson) very hard against the front door, causing her, the Petitioner to fall to the ground as a result. This is part of the allegation of the battery which allegedly caused injury to Victim Grayson s left shoulder. This statement is in contrast from Victim Grayson s account of the incident in which she advised me during my initial interview she did not fall to the ground, and she never lost her balance. Her specific account of grabbing Alan Grayson by the face, using her forearm to his face, and knee strike to his abdomen, are not depicted in the video recording of the encounter. During Victim Grayson s re-enactment of the encounter with Alan Grayson, she placed her body to the left of the doorway (left is referring to when you would exit the doorway from the inside of the residence). The video recording clearly shows the front door open during the entire altercation, and the only person standing to the left of the doorway was Alan Grayson. The review of the 911 call recording dated March 1, 2014, when Victim Grayson is asked about being physically hurt or injured, she replied No. In review of the video recording submitted into evidence, the front door was open and Alan Grayson s hands were seen hanging down by his side or holding the bag of mail. His body posture is in more of a retreating posture, turning away from the strikes delivered by Victim Grayson. The video recording reflects Victim Grayson pushing, shoving, and possibly slapping Alan Grayson in the face, as he reported to me in his statement. Witness Lopez and Witness Skye Grayson both advised Alan Grayson never touched, pushed, bumped or intentionally struck Victim Grayson during the incident. IN CONCLUSION: After reviewing the requirement for Probable Cause, in that it.exist where the facts and circumstances with the arresting officers knowledge and of which they had reasonable trustworthy information are sufficient in themselves to warrant a man of reasonable caution in

9 the belief that an offense has been or is being committed. Draper V. U.S>, 307 (1959), probable cause is not present in this case.