PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — A terrible chain of events on Aug. 18 led to a falsely accused man's death after an altercation with a Pinellas County Sheriff's Sargeant.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said today in a news conference that the "deceased wasn't doing anything wrong, sadly."
A 911 call about an assault led Sgt. Noble Katzer to Baudilio Morales-Valasquez. The 31-year-old was riding his bike near the Southern Comfort Mobile home park off U.S. Hwy 19 in Clearwater where he lived.
The sheriff's office received a call from a man with a very similar name, Baudililo Menedez-Velasquez, who said that he'd been assaulted where he lived in the neighboring Capri mobile home park by a man fitting Morales-Valasquez's description. He said the man had taken off on a bike.
When a deputy arrived at the 911 caller's home he saw blood on a wall and on the ground. He also noted that the caller, Menedez-Velasquez was drunk. The Guatemalan man did not speak much English, but the deputy believed there had been some kind of fight, according to Sheriff Gualtieri.
The deputy radioed out about the blood as Sgt. Katzer was already talking to a man they thought could be the attacker -- Morales-Valasquez. The only identification the man had was his Guatemalan ID.
While Sgt. Katzer was trying to verify his identity, Morales-Valasquez ran, the sheriff said.
Sgt. Katzer chased him into the Southern Comfort mobile home park, and fired his taser when he caught up to him -- but missed.
He caught up with Morales-Valasquez again when he was banging on a door of a mobile home, yelling and trying to open the door. He thought he was trying to break in.
Sheriff Gualtieri says that the Sergeant had no way of knowing -- that's where Morales-Valasquez with his 14-year-old son.
When Morales-Valasquez refused to get on the ground, the sergeant fired his taser again.
This time, he didn't miss.
The shock caused Morales-Valasquez to fall from the 18-inch stoop -- and he hit his head.
The blow ultimately caused his death.
According to Sheriff Gualtieri, once Morales-Valasquez was on the ground, he resisted arrest. He "braced and tensed," the sheriff said -- even as the Sargeant put the tip of the stun gun directly on his skin and fired it.
He was finally able to put him in handcuffs.
Morales-Valasquez was taken to Bayfront Hospital where he died on Aug. 30. The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide by blunt force trauma.
An investigation by State Attorney's Office concluded with the homicide ruled as excusable because the actions taken were lawful and the death was accidental.
Back to the 911 call that set this all in motion --
It turns out, it was all a lie.
The sheriff says Baudililo Menedez-Velasquez made the call in an effort to cover up the blood outside the mobile home in case police came around again.
The night before, deputies were at the Capri mobile homes breaking up a "big melee," Sheriff Gualtieri said.
Menedez-Velasquez's was concerned about the blood being something that could make police suspicious, so Menedez-Velasquez made up the story to 911 dispatchers. The blood was actually from Menedez-Velasquez cutting himself on a bottle that night, according to Sheriff Gualtieri.
Baudilio Menedez-Velásquez is charged with felony misuse of the 911 system.
Both men were in the United States illegally. Sheriff Gualtieri says they did not know each other.
“The circumstances lined up just horrifically,” Gualtieri said. However, the Sheriff stands by the Sergeant's actions, saying he has "no problem" with what he did and that Sgt. Katzer acted as he was trained to do because he believed they were dealing with an assault suspect who ran and resisted arrest. They did not know if he had a weapon.
Sheriff Gualtieri added that the stun gun's electrical element did not cause the death, but concedes that when Morales-Valasquez was hit with the electrified prongs that it did cause the fall that ended his life.
Sheriff Gualtieri said that the fact that the men were in the country illegally likely played a part in their actions, but that the Sheriff's office has no authority over immigration.