FORT MYERS Miracle Moment: Shaina, Chris, and Cristobal Shaina Petit-Homme thought she was going to Golisano Children’s Hospital for an appointment.
ESTERO One lane blocked due to crash on Corkscrew and TPI Rd. Estero Fire Rescue is on the scene of a car crash at Corkscrew Road and TPI Road.
FORT MYERS ‘We see about 15,000 patient visits a year’ Gulf Coast Humane Society plans to build new veterinary clinic At a workshop Monday afternoon, the Fort Myers city council approved the Gulf Coast Humane Society’s request for additional land for future expansion.
ESTERO Attorneys meeting with landowners over BERT fallout If a railroad-turned bike path was cutting through your backyard, would you be concerned? Neighbors voiced their specific concerns Monday.
Solar tech dos and don’ts: How to avoid solar trouble Investing in solar power can save you big bucks on your energy bill, but con artists and unlicensed sales reps can leave customers high and dry.
Voters react to Glades Commissioner not living in his district Glades County District 1 Commissioner, Tony Whidden, doesn’t live in his district; and voters are not happy.
FGCU FGCU softball returns to NCAA Tournament after ASUN title FGCU softball wins the ASUN Tournament title and are back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 12 years.
NAPLES Naples police and fire rescue departments ask city council about hiring more staff The city of Naples Police and Fire-Rescue chiefs talked about the past, present, and future of their departments.
New Lee County teacher contract still doesn’t compete Last week, we told you how teachers and Lee County settled on contracts. Next, teachers will vote to approve the contract.
CAPE CORAL Well digging in Cape Coral soars amid water concerns A city’s water issue is coming to a head, and authorities said they are digging four times more than usual to keep the water flowing.
ESTERO Brush fire shuts down portion of Corkscrew Road in Estero Authorities are on the scene of a 15-acre brush fire in Estero, which is affecting traffic.
CAPE CORAL Skull discovered in Cape Coral canal, forensic testing underway A skull has been found in a canal in Southwest Florida’s largest city, leading to an investigation and testing.
NORTH FORT MYERS Deputies searching for endangered North Fort Myers woman Deputies are asking for the public’s assistance in locating a missing woman from North Fort Myers who they believe could be endangered.
ESTERO Motorcyclist speaks out about road rage attack in Estero A man is in jail for ramming a motorcyclist with his SUV.
CAPE CORAL ‘I’m done with Cape Coral;’ Water shortage continues to frustrate residents Why are the people in Cape Coral having such a hard time getting any? The answer? The 2008 housing crisis. Help from a water treatment facility that never came.
FORT MYERS Miracle Moment: Shaina, Chris, and Cristobal Shaina Petit-Homme thought she was going to Golisano Children’s Hospital for an appointment.
ESTERO One lane blocked due to crash on Corkscrew and TPI Rd. Estero Fire Rescue is on the scene of a car crash at Corkscrew Road and TPI Road.
FORT MYERS ‘We see about 15,000 patient visits a year’ Gulf Coast Humane Society plans to build new veterinary clinic At a workshop Monday afternoon, the Fort Myers city council approved the Gulf Coast Humane Society’s request for additional land for future expansion.
ESTERO Attorneys meeting with landowners over BERT fallout If a railroad-turned bike path was cutting through your backyard, would you be concerned? Neighbors voiced their specific concerns Monday.
Solar tech dos and don’ts: How to avoid solar trouble Investing in solar power can save you big bucks on your energy bill, but con artists and unlicensed sales reps can leave customers high and dry.
Voters react to Glades Commissioner not living in his district Glades County District 1 Commissioner, Tony Whidden, doesn’t live in his district; and voters are not happy.
FGCU FGCU softball returns to NCAA Tournament after ASUN title FGCU softball wins the ASUN Tournament title and are back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 12 years.
NAPLES Naples police and fire rescue departments ask city council about hiring more staff The city of Naples Police and Fire-Rescue chiefs talked about the past, present, and future of their departments.
New Lee County teacher contract still doesn’t compete Last week, we told you how teachers and Lee County settled on contracts. Next, teachers will vote to approve the contract.
CAPE CORAL Well digging in Cape Coral soars amid water concerns A city’s water issue is coming to a head, and authorities said they are digging four times more than usual to keep the water flowing.
ESTERO Brush fire shuts down portion of Corkscrew Road in Estero Authorities are on the scene of a 15-acre brush fire in Estero, which is affecting traffic.
CAPE CORAL Skull discovered in Cape Coral canal, forensic testing underway A skull has been found in a canal in Southwest Florida’s largest city, leading to an investigation and testing.
NORTH FORT MYERS Deputies searching for endangered North Fort Myers woman Deputies are asking for the public’s assistance in locating a missing woman from North Fort Myers who they believe could be endangered.
ESTERO Motorcyclist speaks out about road rage attack in Estero A man is in jail for ramming a motorcyclist with his SUV.
CAPE CORAL ‘I’m done with Cape Coral;’ Water shortage continues to frustrate residents Why are the people in Cape Coral having such a hard time getting any? The answer? The 2008 housing crisis. Help from a water treatment facility that never came.
We’re keeping a close eye on the United States Supreme Court. The Justices are expected to hand down a decision on a criminal case that could impact the trial of a Cape Coral boy accused of threatening violence at a school event. That opinion is expected before the nine Justices go into recess at the end of June or early July. Credit: Fred Schilling, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States That would be just days before Daniel Marquez goes back to court. As we’ve been reporting for the past year, Daniel sent private texts to a friend, texts he described as a joke about a scam involving money and guns, followed by a reference to a school event. Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said he “felt” the 10-year-old was really texting a school threat. Daniel was locked up and charged with a second-degree felony. The case the U.S. Supreme Court is weighing in on is Counterman v. Colorado.In short, a man named Billy Ray Counterman was sent to prison in 2017 for stalking a woman through Facebook messenger for years. The two had never met. Everything he communicated was through social media. The woman said those messages scared her. Counterman said he didn’t intend to threaten her and was exercising free speech. The circumstances are much different than 10-year-old Daniel Marquez and the joke he said he texted his ten-year-old friend last May. However, both cases deal with an issue the high court deemed worthy of hearing: Can a “true threat” be words, void of intent? “Criminalizing misunderstanding is especially dangerous in an age when so much communication occurs on social media, which brings together strangers and an environment that removes much of the context that gives words meaning,” says John Elwood, Counterman’s Attorney, during the oral arguments. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor: “The speaker’s intent should be part of the presentation the jury gets, because that’s part of the circumstances. But here, the court and the prosecutor argued that the intent was irrelevant, that he couldn’t present any evidence about his intent, correct?” Attorney John Elwood: “That is exactly right… they said it doesn’t matter what he thinks.” In Colorado, what matters is if a “reasonable person” viewed those messages as threats.Under Florida Statute 836.10, written or electronic threats to kill, do bodily injury, or conduct a mass shooting or act of terrorism, it matters what “another person” views as a threat. During the oral arguments, Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch question those standards. Justice Barrett asks, “Who is the reasonable person?” “We live in a world in which people are sensitive, and maybe increasingly sensitive,” says Justice Gorsuch. “What do we do in a world in which reasonable people may deem things harmful, hurtful, threatening, and we’re going to hold people liable willy nilly for that?” University of Florida Levin College of Law Professor Lyrissa Lidsky explains words also have different contexts among children, like Daniel and his friend. “How do children interpret these things? It’s not even a teenager. It’s a 10 year year old, which to me is a different standard than you might have for a 16-year-old who might understand how it could be misconstrued in the light of our current social context,” says Lidsky. Daniel, who was 10 at the time, explained to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office his words were a private joke. In a sworn deposition obtained exclusively by WINK News, Deputy Tyler Mackereth admit he arrested Daniel because of the content of the texts—alone. “It was the fact that there was pictures of firearms, and then a quick reply of saying, ‘get ready for water day.’ Put those two closely together. In that context, made me believe there’s a threat there,” says Mackereth. During that deposition, Daniel’s attorney Alex Saiz asks Mackereth about what he learned from Daniel. Saiz: “When you then interviewed Daniel, did he say orally to you that he was going to shoot anybody at the school on Water Day?”LCSO Deputy Mackereth: “No.”Saiz: “When he spoke to you orally, did he ever say he was going to commit an act of violence on Water Day?”LCSO Deputy Mackereth: “No.”Saiz: “Have you spoken to any officials at Daniel’s either current of any other schools he attends?”LCSO Deputy Mackereth: “No.”Saiz: “Is there a reason you didn’t speak to any officials there?”LCSO Deputy Mackereth: “Uhm. I didn’t think it had bearing on whether he sent the messages that violated the statute.” Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno and Deputy Tyler Mackereth LCSO won’t talk to WINK News about the case. Harvard Law Professor Emeritus and Civil Rights Attorney Alan Dershowitz argues the accused should also have some knowledge that what they’re doing, or in Daniel’s case, what they’re texting is a crime in order to be convicted. “The essence of tyranny is prosecuting people who didn’t know, weren’t given fair warning as to what their crime actually would be,” says Dershowitz. Ken Paulson is the Director of the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University.He wrote a guest column about Daniel Marquez’s arrest for an online news outlet last summer. “Just on the face of it, it’s it’s outrageous,” says Paulson. And if a child’s future wasn’t at stake, Paulson’s analysis of the texts would be comical. “You’ve got your first text, in which he explains that he has scammed a friend and made a trillion dollars. Wow, that’s a significant amount of money if you’re 10! “So, what could law enforcement have done with that? He engaged in trillions of dollars worth of fraud. So, clearly, let’s get a Grand Jury. Well, obviously, they didn’t do that.” “Then you move to the next text,” Paulson continues, “knowing full well that he never really secured trillions of dollars. And he says he used those trillions of dollars to buy AK 47 assault weapons—multiple ones. Well, he’s 10. He’s not allowed to buy multiple assault weapons. Surely, law enforcement again, taking his text very seriously, (says) we charged him with illegal purchase of a gun.” “So, now move to the third text, in which he posts that he’s looking forward to a party at school,” says Paulson. “They charged him with that. They tie together two texts they know are ridiculous, but decided that somehow bundled with this excitement about an upcoming school event, together, they constitute a very serious crime.” Paulson argues the law is on Daniel’s side. “The Supreme Court has made clear that it has to be very specific, very definite and imminent,” says Paulson. “And there’s nothing specific in terms of a threat from this young man.” The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to share its opinion by the end of June.Regardless of the decision, our legal experts say the case brings attention to the fact that mens rea, which translates to “guilty mind,” is a fundamental principle of American law. That’s something the prosecution in Daniel’s case will have to demonstrate and Judge Carolyn Swift will have to rule on at his trial in July. I will be there. Email: Celine.McArthur@winknews.com 1: Exclusive: 10-year-old arrested, accused of threatening mass school shooting speaks out 2: Cape Coral 10-year-old accused of threatening a mass shooting officially charged 3: 10-year-old accused of mass shooting threat declines plea deal, says not guilty 4: Alan Dershowitz gives case analysis of SWFL 10-year-old accused of threatening mass shooting 5: Law enforcement weighs in on 10-year-old accused of threatening mass shooting 6: ‘She should be euthanized’; Experts weigh in on Lee sheriff’s commentary on suspects 7: Family of 10-year-old charged with mass shooting threat requests DOJ investigation into LCSO 8: Hear the last conversation LCSO had with Daniel Marquez, 10, before he was handcuffed 9: More twists: Lawyer quits Daniel Marquez case; new text messages revealed 10: New attorney for 5th grader accused of threatening mass school shooting discusses the case 11: Could Sheriff Carmine Marceno be charged under Florida Statute used to arrest Daniel Marquez? 12: Inappropriate vs. Threat: New twist in battle over Florida law following 10-year-old’s arrest by Lee County Sheriff’s Office 13: EXCLUSIVE: Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputy deposed after arresting Cape Coral 10-year-old 14: EXCLUSIVE: 10-year-old Cape Coral boy accused of making school threat headed to trial