Deputy sheriff being fired for failing to properly investigate Caylee tip

Meter reader who reported possible body in woods in August said deputy who responded was rude to him
By Bianca Prieto |Sentinel Staff Writer9:27 PM EDT, April 10, 2009
An Orange County deputy sheriff accused of improperly investigating a tip
that might have led investigators earlier to the body of missing Caylee
Marie Anthony was told Friday that the Sheriff's Office plans to fire
him.

An internal investigation found Deputy Richard Cain negligent. He intends to appeal, a sheriff's spokesman said.

Roy Kronk, an Orange County meter reader who found Caylee's remains on
Dec. 11, told investigators he'd had called the tip in several times
months before the discovery but the deputy who responded -- Cain -- was
rude to him.

Click here to see a copy of Cain's interview with sheriff's investigators.
And this is a copy of the sheriff's final finding on the Cain investigation.

Cain did not immediately tell investigators he checked out Kronk's tip
in August. Deputies found out about Cain's role only after Kronk
alerted authorities. Cain was transferred in January to the supply
division, where he will continue to work until the appeal is resolved,
sheriff's spokesman Jim Solomons said.

He was forced to turn in his sworn credentials and agency-issued
equipment, including badges, gun, patrol car and radio and is no longer
allowed to represent himself as a deputy.

An internal investigation completed March 26 found Cain to have
violated Sheriff's Office standards: His performance was deemed
unsatisfactory for failing to thoroughly investigate, and he was found
to have been untruthful when questioned about the case.

The State Attorney's Office recently released transcripts of taped
interviews investigators conducted with Cain a week after the discovery
of Caylee's remains in the wooded lot near the Anthony family home in
east Orange County.

Cain told investigators different varying versions about what happened
in August when he checked out a tip about something suspicious in the
woods near the girl's home, the documents show.

In one interview, Cain told investigators he found a couple of trash
bags and when he picked up one of the bags, leaves and sticks fell out.

In a different interview a few hours later, Cain said he didn't pick up
a bag and he didn't touch anything. He used his baton to poke around
what he said he had found: sticks, twigs and "something the size of a
leaf."

He said he could have found a piece of something like a garbage bag or a piece of dark clothing.

Kronk waited nearby as Cain checked out the woods.

According to the internal investigation, Kronk told Cain that the bag
contained what appeared to be a skull, and Cain admitted that Kronk
said he saw a bag he thought might contain bones.

When Cain emerged from the woods, he told Kronk: "I found some stuff in
there, but there's nothing in it," according to his deposition.

The investigators, Cpl. Yuri Melich and Sgt. John Allen, asked why he
didn't have Kronk lead him to what the meter reader had found.

Cain said he didn't and he acknowledged under questioning that doing so would have been a reasonable thing to do.

The deputy said he called or e-mailed someone, probably Crimeline, about how he checked out the tip in August.

But when asked why he didn't contact investigators after the remains
were found Dec. 11, Cain said he thought detectives already had that
information because he "thought all this stuff was kind of connected"
by computers.http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/orl-caylee-anthony-investigator-fired-091009,0,2152264.story

Deputy Cain Refuses To Accept Firing Over Response To Call


mom_in_il Yesterday at 1:34 am

Deputy Refuses To Accept Firing Over Response To Call

Posted: 4:56 pm EDT April 10, 2009
Updated: 6:39 pm EDT April 10, 2009

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- The deputy who investigated a call for service from the man who ended up finding Caylee Anthony's remains was fired by the Orange County Sheriff's Office, but he refused the termination and will keep his job until an appeal is heard.

VIDEO REPORT: Cain Refuses To Be Fired
CAIN INTERVIEWS: December 18 2008 | January 14 2009
DOCUMENT: Deputy Spent 25 Minutes At Scene
KRONK 911 CALLS: Aug. 11 | Aug. 12 | Aug. 13 | Dec. 11

An investigation of Deputy Richard Cain, regarding his response and investigation of a call for service from Roy Kronk on August 13, 2008, found his response to be "unsatisfactory" and "additional effort should have been expended by him to exhaust the findings of the call," the report released from revealed.

Deputy Cain testified on December 18, 2008 and again on January 14, 2009 and the investigation deemed his testimony to be "untruthful.

"The resulting punishment for his actions is two-fold, according to the sheriff's office. Cain is to receive 160 hours suspension without pay for "Unsatisfactory Performance" and termination for being untruthful.

However, Cain didn't accept the termination and is fighting the recommendation. He gets two appeals. If he loses the first appeal, he'll be fired immediately. A second appeal would be heard after his termination.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office told Eyewitness News it could be weeks before a ruling on the first appeal in Cain asks for an extension. If he doesn't, it could be a week or two before a ruling.

Deputy Cain was assigned to the supply section by the sheriff's office pending the appeal he has requested and has no law enforcement powers during that time.

"The information that Deputy Cain lied about the most critical piece of evidence in the case played second fiddle all week. Instead, most people focused on analyzing Casey Anthony’s behavior at various junctures in this tragic case," Marti Mackenzie, spokesperson for Jose Baez, wrote in a statement released early Friday evening. "The defense knows what's relevant, and we are concentrating on that."

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