CRESTVIEW — Former Police Maj. Joseph Floyd was found guilty Thursday evening of racketeering.
A jury of four men and two women deliberated for about two hours before returning a verdict. That was a relatively short time, considering the volumes of evidence presented during the nearly two-week trial.
Okaloosa County Circuit Judge Michael Flowers ordered Floyd remanded immediately to custody, and he left the courtroom quietly in handcuffs while his wife sobbed uncontrollably from the seat she had occupied the entire trial.
Floyd will be sentenced Oct. 2 at 1:30 p.m. A pre-sentencing investigation will be conducted before the sentencing date
Assistant State Attorney Russ Edgar, who prosecuted the case, said the people of Crestview “deserved better than they got” with Floyd heading the Police Department‘s Street Crime Unit. He said crimes like those Floyd committed as a police officer pervert the American criminal justice system as it was designed to function.
Edgar said the minimum sentence under state guidelines for racketeering is 34 months in prison. Floyd could be sentenced to a maximum of 30 years. Edgar said he would seek a prison sentence but did not specify what length sentence.
Defense attorney Barry Beroset said he will concentrate first on preparing for the sentencing hearing and look over the trial transcripts to see what possible appeal options Floyd might have.
Crestview Police Chief Tony Taylor has labored under the weight of the scandal since he took over the job in September 2012 following the firing of then-Chief Brian Mitchell.
“My tasks are just beginning,” Taylor said after the verdict was announced. “We’re putting a bad chapter behind us and looking forward to a new beginning.”
Taylor will hold a press conference 11 a.m. Friday at Warriors Hall at 201 Stillwell Blvd. to discuss the direction of the Police Department.
Edgar’s cross-examination of Floyd on Wednesday exposed gaping holes in the defense’s case by forcing Floyd to contradict the testimony of numerous witnesses, acknowledge fudging information on a job application and admit to overstepping his authority. Edgar strengthened his case for a guilty verdict Thursday with a strong closing argument.
He carefully explained to the jury that he had presented them with more than 30 incidents in which Floyd broke the law as a police officer and supervisor. Edgar said the crimes included assault, battery, bribery, extortion, official misconduct, falsifying official statements, tampering with witnesses and tampering with evidence.
“Control is the overarching theme of this case, his control over others,” Edgar said of Floyd.
Much of what Floyd illegally accomplished was abetted by Mitchell, Edgar said.
He said Floyd seemed to enjoy the brutality, intimidation and harassment he was inflicting, as evidenced by his bragging about his actions or laughing after committing some heinous act.
Finding that Floyd committed just two of the offenses he was charged with under Florida’s racketeering statute was enough to convict, Edgar told the jury. The evidence presented had proved numerous violations beyond a reasonable doubt, he said.
“What we have shown in this case are multiple instances of the type of racketeering activity this defendant was involved in,” he said. “To fail to find that is basically to say every witness in this case was not telling the truth and he was,” Edgar said.
In his closing argument, Beroset questioned the state attorney’s office’s motive for even bringing charges against Floyd.
“Is this a case of character assassination or racketeering?” he asked.
Beroset accused investigators of cherry picking from 160 search warrants and hundreds of criminals arrested during Floyd’s five-year career to build a case against him.
“Over a five-year period the state picked out certain items and charged my client with certain items. There is no correlation,” Beroset said. “Some are embarrassing, some are offensive, but they’re not racketeering. Mr. Floyd is not guilty of racketeering. He may be guilty of being a boorish, abrupt son of a gun, but he is not guilty of racketeering.”
The jury saw things differently.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Tom McLaughlin at 850-315-4435 or tmclaughlin@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomMnwfdn.