April 12, 2010 CASE NO.

EI-14-0091

Florida Department of Law Enforcement

OFFICE OF EXECUTIVE INVESTIGATIONS

Review of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office

Miles White Death Investigation

INVESTIGATIVE SUMMARY

INVESTIGATIVE PREDICATE

On January 7, 2009, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) received

documentation provided by Gary and Jaime White relating to the events surrounding the death
of their son, Miles White. The Whites alleged that on May 31, 2002, Miles White was a
passenger in a vehicle being driven by Adam Jacoby that was chased by Sergeant (Sgt.) Scott
Lawson of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. Sgt. Lawson was alleged to have chased Jacoby for
fifteen miles before striking the rear of Jacoby’s vehicle causing Jacoby to lose control and
crash, resulting in the death of Miles White.

The documentation provided included a letter to FDLE Assistant Commissioner Mark Zadra
dated December 30, 2008, which attached the following information:

• Letter dated 12/30/2008 to Governor Charlie Crist.

• Letter dated 09/24/2007 to Governor Charlie Crist.
• Letter from the Office of the Governor dated 10/18/2007.
• St. Petersburg Times newspaper article dated 08/31/2008.
• St. Petersburg Times newspaper article dated 10/26/2008.
• St. Petersburg Times newspaper editorial dated 11/02/2008.

On January 22, 2009, FDLE received a letter from the Office of the Governor which advised that
on December 30, 2008, Governor Crist received a letter from Jaime and Gary White that
detailed the incident involving former Polk County Sheriff's Sgt. Scott Lawson. According to the
letter, there appeared to be continued questions surrounding the accident and the possible
liability of former Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) Sgt. Scott Lawson. Therefore, FDLE was
requested to conduct a preliminary investigation to gather facts and evaluate the possibility of
any illegal or improper actions.

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INVESTIGATIVE NARRATIVE

On January 26, 2009, FDLE met with Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) Chief of Staff, Gary
W. Hester. Chief Hester presented a brief overview of the investigations conducted by PCSO
and provided a box of documents related to the investigation and subsequent litigation
regarding the traffic crash that resulted in the death of Miles White. Additionally, FDLE
requested and received a commitment of assistance from State Attorney Jerry Hill’s Office,
Tenth Judicial Circuit of Florida.

After a review of the documents provided by Jaime and Gary White, including articles from the
St. Petersburg Times, the following issues were identified for additional inquiry to determine
whether there was any criminal misconduct on the part of PCSO or former Sgt. Scott Lawson:

1. Was the PCSO aware of allegations of sexual misconduct by Sgt. Scott Lawson prior to
the traffic crash?

2. Did Sgt. Lawson’s vehicle strike the vehicle driven by Adam Jacoby, forcing Jacoby’s
vehicle off the road?

3. Where was Sgt. Lawson’s vehicle taken after the accident?

4. Who ordered deputies to refrain from speaking to Sgt. Lawson after the traffic crash?

As a part of the review process, voluntary sworn recorded statements were obtained from the
following persons:

Deputy Sheriff Heather Mundell Adam Jacoby

Retired Polk County Detective Tom Page Cameron White
Lake Hamilton Police, Officer Robert Platts Mr. Miles Moss
Former Fleet Supervisor Eric Marlow Deputy Larry Davis
Deputy Gloria Steffen Deputy David Hooyman
Deputy Kathy Thompson Berry Mr. Robert Moruzzi
Retired Sgt. Andrew Williams Deputy Jacob Vogt
Private Investigator Wayne Tucci Deputy Christopher Colson
Deputy Theresa Edmiston Inspector Katherine Watson
Deputy Steven Hearth Chief Deputy Gary Hester

Voluntary non-sworn interviews were conducted with the following persons:

Jaime White
Gary White
Retired Deputy Sergeant Andrew Williams

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ISSUE # 1
Was the PCSO aware of allegations of sexual misconduct by Sgt. Scott
Lawson prior to the traffic crash?

One of the unanswered questions referenced by the White family was the concern that PCSO
was investigating an allegation of sexual misconduct by Sgt. Lawson weeks prior to the traffic
crash. The suggestion that PCSO was aware of allegations of sexual misconduct was based
upon handwritten investigative notes authored by PCSO Deputy Heather Mundell. FDLE
retrieved the referenced notes and found that there was potential confusion regarding the
specific date when Deputy Mundell interviewed juvenile Shawn Myers.

Deputy Mundell provided a sworn recorded statement to FDLE and explained the sequence of
events with Myers. Deputy Mundell explained that she was dispatched to two separate
complaints involving Myers, once on May 16, 2002 and later on June 12, 2002. Deputy
Mundell explained that she was not able to locate or interview Myers during the May 16, 2002
complaint. Deputy Mundell stated that on June 12, 2002, she was dispatched to a separate
complaint involving Myers and at that time interviewed him. Although not related to the
interview, Sgt. Lawson’s name was introduced by Myers and subsequent conversation revealed
information that was immediately provided to the investigators tasked with investigating the
sexual misconduct allegations against Sgt. Lawson.

Deputy Mundell’s clarification of the dates is supported by her official reports indicating that she
could not locate Myers on May 16, 2002, and radio dispatch logs which document her
transporting Myers to the Sheriff’s Office substation to be interviewed on June 12, 2002.
Additionally, FDLE obtained a sworn recorded statement of Deputy Gloria Blackwelder Steffen,
who assisted Deputy Mundell on the June 12, 2002 complaint and participated with Deputy
Mundell in the interview of Myers at the substation. FDLE also obtained the sworn recorded
statement of now-retired Detective Tom Page who served as the lead investigator for the Sgt.
Lawson sexual misconduct investigation. Det. Page recalled that Myers was brought to him for
an interview the morning of June 13, 2002, based on the information Myers had recently
provided to Deputy Mundell and Steffen regarding Sgt Lawson.

The confusion associated with the dates on the reports authored by Deputy Mundell regarding
her first contact with Shawn Myers and when Myers’ report of a strip search by Sgt Lawson was
documented by PCSO personnel has been resolved by multiple interviews and separate
Sheriff’s Office record keeping systems. There does not appear to be any evidence that the
Sheriff’s Office was aware of allegations of sexual misconduct by Sgt. Lawson until after the
traffic crash. PCSO subsequently launched a criminal investigation, separate from the crash
investigation, which resulted in Sgt Lawson’s arrest and subsequent prison sentence.

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ISSUE # 2
Did Sgt. Lawson’s vehicle strike the vehicle driven by Adam Jacoby, forcing
Jacoby’s vehicle off the road?

Media outlets have published stories including quotes from traffic accident reconstruction
experts stating that the car driven by Adam Jacoby was struck by the vehicle driven by Sgt.
Lawson and that the impact was responsible for the subsequent traffic crash and death of Miles
White.

FDLE conducted interviews of those who were quoted in the media as having determined that
the vehicles did make contact and interviewed both PCSO and non-law enforcement individuals
who inspected the vehicles. The FDLE interviews included the following:

Lake Hamilton Police Officer Robert Platts who was the first law enforcement officer to arrive at
the crash scene after Sgt. Lawson. Although Officer Platts acknowledged that he did not
specifically inspect Sgt. Lawson’s vehicle after the crash, he did retrieve items from the trunk of
Sgt. Lawson’s vehicle and stated that he did not notice any damage to Lawson’s vehicle.

Deputy Christopher Colson stated that he drove Sgt. Lawson’s vehicle from the traffic crash
scene to the PCSO substation and did not observe any damage to the vehicle.

Private Investigator Wayne Tucci was working for the Adam Jacoby defense team when he
inspected Sgt. Lawson’s vehicle. Tucci stated that based upon a theory that Sgt. Lawson’s
vehicle may have hit Jacoby’s vehicle, Tucci was hired to inspect Sgt. Lawson’s vehicle. Tucci
stated that he met Chief Gary Hester, accompanied by an unknown male, at the PCSO
substation shortly after the traffic crash and inspected Sgt. Lawson’s car. Tucci found no
evidence of damage and photographed the vehicle from different angles to memorialize the
vehicle’s condition. Tucci also provided that he later participated in a discussion with Jacoby,
and Jacoby’s attorney, regarding the circumstances of the traffic crash and Tucci does not recall
Jacoby saying that Sgt. Lawson struck his vehicle.

Chief Hester confirmed the inspection of Sgt. Lawson’s vehicle with private Investigator Wayne
Tucci and Chief Hester stated that he did not observe any damage to the vehicle.

Former PCSO Fleet Supervisor and Chief Mechanic Eric Marlow stated that he was never
asked to examine Sgt. Lawson’s vehicle after the traffic crash and was never aware of any
reason to believe that Sgt. Lawson’s vehicle was involved. Marlow did not recall ever seeing or
repairing any damage to Sgt. Lawson’s vehicle. Marlow denied making the statement that was
reported in the newspaper concerning the fact that he always wondered where Lawson’s car
went after the accident, “but I knew better than to ask.”

Private traffic crash reconstruction expert Miles Moss stated that he was contacted by a
newspaper reporter sometime near the middle of 2008. The reporter later sent various reports
and photographs of the accident scene to Moss for review and requested his assessment.
Moss never inspected either vehicle and acknowledged that he would have preferred to inspect
the vehicles and to have travelled to the crash scene.

Moss acknowledged that some of the quotes attributed to him in the newspaper were imprecise
and that his opinions of the traffic crash could change if he were to view all of the photographs
available and actually inspect the vehicles. Moss also acknowledged that his opinions

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regarding Sgt. Lawson’s injuries were based upon the newspaper reporter’s hypothetical
information that Sgt. Lawson received knee and chest injuries as a result of this accident.

Private Investigator Robert Moruzzi stated that he and business associate John Bell travelled to
Polk County to determine if there had been an impact between Sgt. Lawson’s vehicle and
Jacoby’s vehicle. Moruzzi and Bell were working for the Adam Jacoby defense team. Moruzzi
and Bell physically examined both vehicles and did not find any indication that Sgt. Lawson’s
vehicle had contact with Jacoby’s vehicle. Moruzzi and Bell were not able to determine if an
impact had occurred.

Moruzzi denied making some of the comments attributed to him in the newspaper. Moruzzi
stated that there was nothing conclusive in their investigation that would suggest a cover-up by
PCSO.

Deputy David Hooyman was the lead investigator for the referenced traffic crash. Deputy
Hooyman stated that the facts he identified during his preliminary investigation were
inconsistent with the facts later included in Sgt. Lawson’s report. Deputy Hooyman stated that
he conducted a thorough inspection of Sgt. Lawson’s vehicle and was aware that
representatives from insurance companies also inspected Sgt. Lawson’s vehicle. The
inspections did not reveal any evidence of a frontal impact.

Deputy Hooyman later requested an outside agency review his findings. The Florida Highway
Patrol reviewed Deputy Hooyman’s findings and confirmed a range for the critical speed of the
curve, immediately preceding the crash scene, as between 74 and 84 miles per hour (MPH).

Deputy Hooyman stated that by calculating the times documented by Sgt. Lawson’s recorded
radio transmissions and the known distances travelled, the average speed for the first 6.7 miles
travelled would be 104 MPH. The average speed for the final portion travelled was calculated to
be 115 MPH.

Adam Jacoby acknowledged driving at speeds nearing 130 to 135 MPH on Hatchineha Road
and described that Sgt. Lawson’s vehicle stayed approximately 20 to 50 yards behind him the
whole time. Jacoby does not recall if Sgt. Lawson’s vehicle ever struck his vehicle and does not
recall entering the curve immediately before the accident occurred.

There does not appear to be compelling evidence suggesting that the vehicle driven by Sgt.
Lawson struck the vehicle driven by Adam Jacoby. The crash investigation conducted by
PCSO concluded that the vehicle driven by Jacoby was travelling in excess of the calculated
critical speed for the curve preceding the crash scene. The results of the same investigation
suggest that the crash incident report later authored by Sgt. Lawson, prior to his arrest for the
sexual misconduct, was inaccurate and untruthful. Sgt. Lawson did not provide an interview
regarding the crash investigation and was not able to later be compelled to provide a statement
during the PCSO administrative investigation since his employment had been terminated
immediately prior to his arrest.

The opinions documented by the independent or outside traffic crash reconstruction experts
were found to have been based upon limited information and all who were interviewed
acknowledged the limitation of the information they used to support their opinions.

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ISSUE # 3
Where was Sgt. Lawson’s vehicle taken after the accident?

The issue regarding the location of Sgt. Lawson’s vehicle, after the traffic crash occurred,
seems less significant as the number of both PCSO and non-PCSO personnel who inspected
the vehicle increases.

Deputy Steven Hearth stated that he found Lawson’s car at the crash scene and turned off
some of the vehicle’s emergency lights after the crash had occurred. Deputy Heath was
directed by Sgt. Lawson to call Deputy Chris Colson to retrieve Lawson’s car and take it to the
PCSO substation.

Deputy Christopher Colson stated that he was called by Deputy Hearth to get Sgt. Lawson’s
vehicle and take it to the PCSO substation. Deputy Colson travelled to a different PCSO
substation and met Deputy Jacob Vogt who drove Deputy Colson to the traffic crash scene.
Once on scene, Lieutenant Zimmerman pointed out Sgt. Lawson’s vehicle and directed Deputy
Colson to take the vehicle to the central substation and park it there. Deputy Colson drove Sgt.
Lawson’s vehicle to the substation and parked it there. Deputy Colson stated that as far as he
could recall, Sgt Lawson’s vehicle remained parked at the substation until Sgt. Lawson was
arrested on June 5, 2002.

Deputy Jacob Vogt confirmed that he transported Deputy Colson to the traffic crash scene to
pick up Sgt. Lawson’s vehicle and move it to the substation. Deputy Vogt followed Deputy
Colson to the substation and then transported Deputy Colson back to Deputy Colson’s vehicle
after Sgt. Lawson’s vehicle was parked.

Former PCSO Fleet Supervisor and Chief Mechanic Eric Marlow stated that he was never
asked to examine Sgt. Lawson’s vehicle after the traffic crash and was never aware of any
reason to believe that Sgt. Lawson’s vehicle was involved. Marlow did not recall ever seeing or
repairing any damage to Sgt Lawson’s vehicle.

Private Investigator Wayne Tucci, working for the Adam Jacoby defense team, met Chief Hester
at the substation shortly after the traffic crash and inspected Sgt. Lawson’s car. Tucci found no
evidence of damage and photographed the vehicle from different angles to memorialize the
vehicle’s condition. Although Tucci could not be sure of the exact date of the inspection, he
stated that he believed it was the day after the traffic crash.

Deputy Theresa Edmiston retrieved clothes for Sgt. Lawson from Sgt. Lawson’s vehicle which
she stated was parked at the substation.

The White family stated that they were told by a newspaper reporter that former PCSO Fleet
Supervisor and Chief Mechanic Eric Marlow had knowledge regarding repairs made to Sgt.
Lawson’s vehicle after the traffic crash. When interviewed by FDLE, Marlow denied knowledge
of any such repairs.

The White family also stated that the same newspaper reporter identified former PCSO Deputy
Sheriff Andrew Williams as the person who came forward with the information regarding repairs
made to Sgt. Lawson’s vehicle. When interviewed by FDLE, Williams denied knowledge of any
such repairs.

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There does not appear to be any evidence suggesting any effort to conceal the location of Sgt.
Lawson’s assigned vehicle after the crash occurred. Numerous PCSO personnel and others
not affiliated with law enforcement were aware of the location of the vehicle. Additionally, the
vehicle was inspected by a private investigator working for the Jacoby criminal defense team
and he did not observe any damage to the vehicle.

ISSUE # 4
Who ordered deputies to refrain from speaking to Sgt. Lawson after the traffic
crash?

The issue of PCSO members being ordered to refrain from speaking to Sgt. Lawson was
reported by the White family as one of their unanswered questions. FDLE conducted interviews
regarding this issue and found the following:

Deputy Theresa Edmiston acknowledged that Deputy Steve Hearth contacted her from the
accident scene and was trying to communicate with Sgt. Lawson to find out what had taken
place. Deputy Edmiston said she was relaying on behalf of Sgt. Lawson what had occurred.
Her understanding was that Deputy Hearth was relaying the information to the traffic crash
investigator at the traffic accident investigator’s request.

Internal Affairs Inspector Katherine Watson stated that at some point during her investigation,
she was directed by her Lieutenant not to interview Sgt. Lawson.

Deputy David Hooyman stated that he was not instructed to refrain from speaking to Sgt.
Lawson, however was told that Sgt. Lawson was out on medical leave for injuries sustained
during this incident and to allow him to complete the incident report before conducting any type
of interview with him.

Chief Hester did not recall telling anyone at the scene not to speak with Sgt. Lawson. He
acknowledged that at some point in time, there may have been some discussion about not
talking to Sgt. Lawson but it likely would have been after the criminal investigation regarding the
sexual misconduct allegations had surfaced.

Chief Hester also stated that he wanted to make sure that when Lawson was interviewed that
he would not be under medical care or on any kind of medication. Chief Hester was aware that
Lawson was going to write an incident report and because the report was a sworn document,
that would serve as his statement regarding the traffic crash.

Chief Hester said that he knew once the arrest was made in the sexual misconduct case they
probably would not get any information out of Sgt. Lawson related to the traffic crash. With that
in mind, he said they tried to time it so that the written statement on the traffic crash was
obtained prior to Sgt. Lawson being arrested.

The issue concerning PCSO’s order for deputies to refrain from speaking to Sgt. Lawson after
the traffic crash appears to be resolved. Chief Hester explained that initially it seemed
inappropriate for PCSO personnel to attempt to interview Sgt. Lawson while he was at the
hospital. Chief Hester noted that the crash investigation was underway and the crash
investigators would not be fully prepared to interview Sgt. Lawson until after they had processed
and evaluated the crash scene. Similarly, Chief Hester noted that the administrative
investigation was underway and consistent with state law, the interview of Sgt. Lawson would

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occur last. The allegations of sexual misconduct had not yet been reported and reasonably
could not have been anticipated.

In light of the multiple investigations being conducted by PCSO involving Sgt. Lawson, (Criminal
investigation of the traffic crash; administrative investigation of Sgt. Lawson’s actions preceding
the traffic crash; Criminal investigation regarding alleged sexual misconduct) it is important to
acknowledge that each of the referenced investigations pose their own differing investigative
strategies and/or techniques.

CONCLUSIONS

On January 7, 2009, FDLE received documentation provided by Gary and Jaime White relating
to the events surrounding the death of their son, Miles White. Additionally, on March 4, 2009,
FDLE met with the White family to discuss their concerns regarding questions they believe
remain unanswered following investigations conducted by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

Following review of the information collected and the results of the interviews conducted, there
is no identifiable criminal predicate that would warrant further investigation by the Office of
Executive Investigations.