Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney Blog
A man who works as a corrections officer for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, who was arrested last December on firearm charges in Nassau County, has been suspended. According to an article in The Florida Times Union, Bailey Wilkerson III has been suspended from his work at the Duval County Jail for five days because he was arrested for Discharging a Firearm in Public Within 1000 Feet of Any Person and Using a Firearm While Under the Influence of Alcohol. Discharging a Firearm near another person is a second degree felony punishable by up to fifteen years in prison. Using a firearm while drunk is a second degree misdemeanor in Florida punishable by up to 60 days in jail.
In his Nassau County criminal case, Wilkerson was placed in the Felony Pretrial Intervention Program, also referred to as PTI. This is a diversion program that is offered in Duval County, Clay County and Nassau County. Typically, people who have no record and are arrested for a non-violent crime qualify for it. It is a type of unofficial probation. You are not technically on probation, but you must report on a regular basis, pay a fee and complete specific conditions. Once all conditions are met, all Florida criminal charges will be DROPPED.
To prove the crime of Discharging a Firearm in Public Within 1000 Feet of any Person in Nassau County, the state attorney must prove the following elements:
1. The suspect knowingly discharged the gun in a public place. OR
2. The suspect knowingly discharged the gun on the right of way of a paved road, street, or highway. OR
3. The suspect knowingly fired the bun over a public paved road, street, highway, or occupied place.
The term, public place, is any place intended to be visited by the public. Knowingly means you did it intentionally.
To prove the crime of Using a Firearm While Under the Influence, the state attorney must prove these elements:
1. The suspect used a gun.
2. The suspect was under the influence of alcohol or drugs and was affected to the extent his or her normal faculties were impaired while using the firearm.