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on Thursday, August 25, 2005<BR> in the St. Petersburg Times <BR><BR> <h3 align="center"> One chase, but two different stories </h3><em>In an incident involving officers who crashed, a man's lawyer admits he fled, but not with the intent prosecutors allege. </em> <p align="justify">INVERNESS - Before the jury began its deliberations Wednesday afternoon in the trial of Gregory Hampton Platt, jurors heard two versions of the same high-speed chase. <p align="justify">The difference between the prosecutor's version of the two-county chase and Platt's attorney's version hinged on a single point: intent. <p align="justify">Yes, Platt was on the run from law enforcement and didn't want to be caught, said his defense attorney, Robert Christensen. But he argued that Platt didn't intentionally back into a Citrus County sheriff's deputy's patrol car or deliberately harm anyone else on the road that day. <p align="justify">He was just trying to get away, the attorney said. <p align="justify">"(The prosecution's) brought in a whole lot of charges, throwing it up at the wall and hoping some of it sticks," he said. <p align="justify">Assistant State Attorney Richard Buxman disagreed. <p align="justify">"The evidence is clear that he knew what he was doing," Buxman said. <p align="justify">Platt, 32, of Naples is accused of leading law enforcement on a chase through parts of Levy and Citrus counties on April 27, 2004, after a Columbia County crash that killed Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. George A. "Andy" Brown III, 54. <p align="justify">Platt has pleaded not guilty to 10 charges, including aggravated battery on an officer, fleeing and eluding a law enforcement officer with lights and sirens active, driving with a suspended license and possession of cocaine and marijuana, according to court records. <p align="justify">The six-person jury began its deliberations at 4:25 p.m. The second day of the trial focused on more testimony by law enforcement officers, as well as physical evidence, including drugs, taken from the car. Platt's passenger also testified. <p align="justify">Authorities say Platt led the trooper on a chase after Brown tried to stop him for speeding in Lake City. Brown's cruiser spun off the road and hit a tree, killing Brown. <p align="justify">Hours later, a trooper spotted Platt's purple Dodge Neon near Inglis. The trooper turned on his sport utility vehicle's lights, but Platt didn't stop and drove across the Citrus County line. <p align="justify">Citrus County sheriff's deputies joined in the pursuit, which ended after Platt turned off U.S. 19 and headed east on State Road 44, crashing into a car waiting at a stoplight at the intersection of County Road 486. Platt then backed into a sheriff's patrol car, deputies and witnesses testified. <p align="justify">He then got out of the car and ran. Deputies shot him with Tasers and captured him. <p align="justify">Platt, who is facing a second-degree murder charge in Columbia County, decided not to testify at the Citrus County trial. The defense did not present any witnesses. <p align="justify">Kelly Jean Smith, 25, was Platt's girlfriend at the time and the only passenger in the car. Smith wore a jail-issued orange jumpsuit when she testified Wednesday morning. <p align="justify">Smith initially faced drug charges in connection with the chase, but the charges were dropped in exchange for her testimony against Platt. She now faces other charges in Collier County. <p align="justify">Smith's story on the stand contradicted much of what she'd told investigators in earlier conversations. <p align="justify">Smith described that morning as a road trip gone wrong. She was using marijuana and cocaine and had taken some drugs five to 10 minutes before Brown tried to pull over the car. <p align="justify">Previously, she had told investigators Platt pulled the emergency brake as the couple sped away, forcing Brown to swerve to avoid a collision. <p align="justify">But Wednesday, Smith testified Platt didn't pull the brake. She had lied to investigators about that, she said. <p align="justify">"They threatened me with a lot of different things," she said. She also said she was under the influence of drugs during one of her depositions. <p align="justify">At the time of the chase, she didn't know the trooper had wrecked, she said, which was another contradiction. <p align="justify">Once the couple got to Citrus County, she said, they were going "very fast and I was high on cocaine." <p align="justify">As to whether Platt intended to back into the deputy's car on SR 44, Smith said she believed the deputy had hit their car, not the other way around. <p align="justify">After they left Columbia County, they used more drugs, she said. The second chase started when they saw another law enforcement vehicle try to stop them. <p align="justify">When they were arrested, they were put into the same patrol car, she said. In the back of the car, Platt told her to tell authorities another man had been driving the car in Columbia County that morning. <p align="justify">Their conversation was recorded and used as evidence in the trial. When that story collapsed - investigators say both could describe the other man only as someone named "Josh" from Wildwood - Smith agreed to cooperate with deputies. <p align="justify">Prosecutors also presented evidence taken from the Neon, including glass pipes with cocaine residue, syringe caps and more than 20 grams of marijuana. <p align="justify">That evidence didn't prove Platt used the drugs or knew they were in the car, which was registered to Smith, Christensen said. <p align="justify">Prosecutors also showed a taped interview Platt gave with investigators. He admitted to the Citrus chase, though, and bragged to the investigators that his Neon went up to 110 mph. <p align="justify">In closing arguments, Christensen didn't dispute Platt's involvement in the chase. But he took issue with the drug charges and the charges of aggravated battery against a law enforcement officer, saying his client didn't mean to hurt anyone. <p align="justify">"Quite frankly, Mr. Platt was doing everything he could to get away," he said. <p align="justify">But Buxman told the jury Platt did hurt others in trying to outrun the law. <p align="justify">"I'm going to ask you to stop the defendant's running," he said. </td></tr></table> <P><hr width="90%" align="center"></p> <p align="center"> <a class="link4" href="http://www.flhsmv.gov/fhp/misc/News/Related/Aug2005.htm"> FHP In The News August 2005</a> </p> <p align="center"> <a class="link4" href="http://www.flhsmv.gov/fhp/misc/News/Related/"> FHP Related News Articles</a> </p> <p align="center"> <a class="link4" href="http://www.flhsmv.gov/fhp/misc/News/"> FHP In The News</a> </p> <!--END PAGE--> <center> </td> </tr> </table> <!--END FHP CONTENT TABLE--> <!-- END FHP CONTENT --> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center" bgcolor="#eeeeee"> <tr> <td bgcolor="#333366"><img src="p3_spacer.gif" alt="" width="1" height="2"></td> </tr> </td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#6b79a5"> <!--BEGIN FHP FOOTER TABLE--> <table class="dark" width="100%"> <tr> <td align="left"> <a class="FHPfooterlink" href="http://www.flhsmv.gov/fhp/misc/fhpstations.htm"> FHP Station Address & Phone Numbers</a>&nbsp;&nbsp; </td> <td align="right"> <a class="FHPfooterlink" href="http://www.flhsmv.gov/fhp/misc/Mission.htm"> Mission</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a class="FHPfooterlink" href="http://www.flhsmv.gov/fhp/misc/SiteMap.htm"> Site Map</a>&nbsp;&nbsp; </td></tr></table> <hr width="100%" class="HR1"> <!--END FHP FOOTER TABLE--> <!-- Begin Footer Table --> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2"> <tr> <td width="156">&nbsp;</td> <td align="center" class="footer"><a href="http://www.flhsmv.gov/html/overview.html" class="footerlink" title="Link to About Us">About Us</a> | <a href="http://www.flhsmv.gov/html/privacy_policy.html" class="footerlink" title="Link to Privacy Statement">Privacy Statement</a> | <a href="http://www.flhsmv.gov/html/Disclaimer.htm" class="footerlink" title="Link to Disclaimer">Disclaimer</a> | <a href="http://www.flhsmv.gov/offices/" class="footerlink" title="Link to Office Locations">Office Locations</a> | <a href="http://www.flhsmv.gov/html/contact.html" class="footerlink" title="Link to Contact Us">Contact Us</a><br> Copyright &copy;2005 State of Florida <br> </td> <td width="156"></td> </tr> </table> <a href="#top"><img src="images/p3_spacer.gif" alt="Return to Top" width="2" height="2" border="0"></a><!-- End Footer Table --></td> </tr> </table> </body> </html>