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Mechanic Charged in Slaying of Fla. Girl
AP
| 2/07/04
| MITCH STACY
Posted on 02/06/2004 11:51:18 PM PST by kattracks
SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) - A tattooed mechanic with a long rap sheet was charged with murder Friday after authorities found the body of an 11-year-old girl whose kidnapping was captured on a carwash surveillance camera. Police said Joseph P. Smith told a witness that he had kidnapped and killed Carlie Brucia, and authorities used that information to find the sixth-grader's body in a church parking lot a few miles from the carwash.
Investigators refused to say how the girl was killed or whether she had been raped. The arrest report said only that she died "as a result of homicidal violence."
"He will pay the ultimate price for what he did to her," sheriff's Capt. Jeff Bell said. Investigators would not give details on the witness who helped them.
Smith, 37, is believed to be the man seen on the surveillance video in a mechanic's shirt with a name patch, leading Carlie away by the arm Sunday as she walked home from a slumber party. Investigators said the man on the tape had tattoos on both forearms; Smith has many tattoos on his arms.
The police report said "numerous phone calls were received identifying the defendant as the subject depicted in the video."
The kidnapping set off a frantic search for the former Girl Scout, and the tape was beamed across the nation as Carlie's family and authorities pleaded for her safe return.
Investigators were led to Smith after a tipster identified him as the man in the video. Authorities said he had a Buick station wagon that was seen in the surveillance footage shortly before the kidnapping.
Investigators had called on NASA to sharpen and enlarge images of the abduction, but they said the quality wasn't much better than what they already had.
Smith was charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping, and could face the death penalty if convicted. His public defender, Adam Tebrugge, did not immediately return calls for comment.
Carlie's body was found beneath thick underbrush near the Central Church of Christ. While investigators in white coveralls searched the area for evidence, Carlie's friends and family gathered outside the church. Her stepfather, Steven Kansler, and some friends knelt in a prayer circle.
"She's in a better place. She got there in a horrific manner, but now she's watching me all the time," said her father, Joe Brucia.
Smith has been arrested at least 13 times in Florida since 1993.
He served 17 months in prison in 2001 and 2002 for heroin possession and prescription drug fraud. Eight days after he got out, he was arrested for cocaine possession and placed on probation for three years. He also got probation for aggravated battery in 1993 and heroin charges in 1999.
A state correction official, Joe Papy, said that a probation officer had asked a judge on Dec. 30 to declare Smith in violation of his probation because he had not paid all his fines and court costs.
Papy said Circuit Judge Harry Rapkin declined to find Smith in violation, which could have returned him to jail. The judge defended his decision Friday, saying the probation officer never sent him the evidence he requested that Smith had willfully refused to pay.
Carlie's family questioned why Smith was allowed to be free.
"In my opinion he should have never been out on the street," Carlie's father said.
Neighbors said Smith and his wife had separated recently and he had moved out of the house.
Linda Thompson, who lives next door to the Smith family, described Smith as a good father to his three daughters. She remembered him playing with them in the yard, buying them a puppy and building a goldfish pond for them in the front of the house.
"That's the Joe we saw, so when this started it was hard to believe that there's a different side," Thompson said.
A small group of supporters kept up a vigil outside Carlie's ranch-style house, which is decorated with banners and posters reading, "We love you, Carlie."
Carlie's friends said the blonde, blue-eyed girl idolized Jennifer Lopez and enjoyed going to the mall and hanging out with friends. She had a cat named Charlie and a 6-year-old half brother and a 10-year-old stepbrother.
"She was loving and caring. She doesn't like to see other people hurt. She'd be really crying if this was one of us or someone else she knows," said Tiffany Meeks, a friend at school who placed flowers along a memorial at the car wash. "It's just hard to talk about."
TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; News/Current Events; US: Florida
KEYWORDS: brucia; carlie; kidnap; sarasota
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1
posted on
02/06/2004 11:51:19 PM PST
by
kattracks
To: kattracks
A tattooed mechanic with a long rap sheet was charged with murder Friday
Is the AP going to start smearing tatooed mechanics now? What in the world does him being a person with tatoos and a mechanic have to do with his crime?
I guess if he was a tatooed computer programmer they wouldn`t have mentioned it.
These people at the AP are something else.
2
posted on
02/07/2004 12:09:24 AM PST
by
Bud Krieger
( Who is Bud Krieger?)
To: kattracks
Smith, 37, is believed to be the man seen on the surveillance video in a mechanic's shirt with a name patch, leading Carlie away by the arm Sunday as she walked home from a slumber party. Investigators said the man on the tape had tattoos on both forearms; Smith has many tattoos on his arms.
This is okay, but the headline and the first paragragh are truly odd. I guess you just have to think a certain way to read their stories.
3
posted on
02/07/2004 12:13:21 AM PST
by
Bud Krieger
( Who is Bud Krieger?)
To: Bud Krieger
True... the AP will slant a story any way that they like.
The fact-of-the-matter is this POS tattooed mechanic shouldn't have been walking the streets. Once again, the pathetic state of our criminal justice system has aided and abetted a career criminal in the killing of another innocent child.
When, oh Lord, will you make this madness cease?
4
posted on
02/07/2004 12:16:08 AM PST
by
clee1
(Where's the beef???)
To: clee1
Once again, the pathetic state of our criminal justice system has aided and abetted a career criminal in the killing of another innocent child.
Yep. We need to build more prisons to house these animals. Our over crowded prisons are keeping scum like this guy out on the streets. To bad illegal aliens , who shouldn`t be here to begin with , are also contributing to this madness.
It`s all just sickening.
5
posted on
02/07/2004 12:23:57 AM PST
by
Bud Krieger
( Who is Bud Krieger?)
To: Bud Krieger
Yep. We need to build more prisons to house these animals. No we don't. We need to execute them quickly!
6
posted on
02/07/2004 12:26:43 AM PST
by
Paleo Conservative
(Do not remove this tag under penalty of law.)
To: Paleo Conservative
No we don't. We need to execute them quickly!
Wishful thinking. If only.......(sigh)
I would just like to see them locked up, because it sure isn`t happening right now.
7
posted on
02/07/2004 12:32:18 AM PST
by
Bud Krieger
( Who is Bud Krieger?)
To: Bud Krieger
Sounds like a call for a major policy initiative to address the growing problem of tattoo violence!
Are your children safe with a tattoo in the house?
8
posted on
02/07/2004 12:36:54 AM PST
by
thoughtomator
("What do I know? I'm just the President." - George W. Bush, Superbowl XXXVIII halftime statement)
To: Bud Krieger
We need to build more prisons to house these animals. I say execute the capital criminals (like the aforementioned POS mechanic) and house the rest in PRISONS, not Holiday Inns w/ bars.
Joe Arpaio a Sheriff (in Arizona??) has the right idea: Tents, cots, and barbed-wire fences - no schools, phones, A/C, cable, weight rooms, etc. Top it all off with a bare subsistence diet, and somehow his county's recidivism rate is amazingly low.
The crime rate would be much lower if criminals were truely punished.
9
posted on
02/07/2004 12:40:02 AM PST
by
clee1
(Where's the beef???)
To: kattracks
It's interesting that this AP story skips over the time in 1997 when Smith tried to kidnap a young woman, but a jury acquitted him.
O'Reilly did a great job on Fox News Channel last night absolutely ripping the jury from the 1997 incident, as well as the judge from this latest probation case.
I know from experience what it's like to be sitting on a jury of pathetic liberals. Although my case was a lot less serious than this one, I couldn't believe it when we all got back to the deliberation room and the first two jurors to speak wanted to go easy on the punk who had kicked in a patrol car and caused significant damage. Luckily, I was able to persuade them to render a guilty verdict on the higher count, but I think the punk might've gotten the lesser charge if I hadn't been there.
In murder cases like this one, I say Mr. Smith ought to be turned into a lab rat. Innocent animals shouldn't have to suffer and die when we do testing. Let's reserve that pain and punishment for guilty criminals, especially when we have video and DNA proof to go along with a confession to a witness. When the evidence is compiled on this case, we'll all be certain that Smith is the guy. Heck, even that RINO former governor in Illinois will be certain.
Convict the child-killing bastard. Don't allow appeals. Try out some vaccines or other experimental products on the evil coward. We'll learn more from testing humans than we will animals, anyway.
Or, as Dennis Miller suggested the other night on his entertaining CNBC show, let's strap him up to an electric chair - with a dimmer switch.
To: clee1
Joe Arpaio a Sheriff (in Arizona??)
I think I know who you are talking about. I love that guy !!! I have seen a few TV shows on him. He has the right idea to reform these crooks, that is for sure.
11
posted on
02/07/2004 12:58:14 AM PST
by
Bud Krieger
( Who is Bud Krieger?)
To: clee1
somehow his county's recidivism rate is amazingly low. No, actually it's not. Tent City is at capacity all the time. He just moves the prisoners around, so how would you know if your above statement was true? From reading Sheriff Joke's website maybe? Don't waste your time -- the guy's a media whore who embellishes his accomplishments whenever possible. I live here, and I know.
To: billclintonwillrotinhell
Luckily, I was able to persuade them to render a guilty verdict on the higher count, but I think the punk might've gotten the lesser charge if I hadn't been there.
It is amazing how one logical person can change people minds. I had a friend who served on a jury in a civil suit. He said it was basically two crooks trying to swindle eachother. After everyone agreed to side with the plaintiff, almost everyone wanted to award him some insane amount of money. My friend said after some lengthy debate, they all agreed to give the guy "one single dollar" in damages !! LOL !! I wish I could remember the entire story, it is a riot when he tells it.
13
posted on
02/07/2004 1:07:27 AM PST
by
Bud Krieger
( Who is Bud Krieger?)
To: IrishRainy
Tent City is at capacity all the time. That's the wonderful thing about "Tent City"; if you need more capacity, you buy 10 (or 100) more surplus Army tents, a few cots, a truckload of barbed wire and - TA DA!!!! - more uncomfortable prison space. I also am convinced that standing in a two-hour line to use a porta-john keeps one from having much time to cause mischief.
Works for me, media whore or not. BTW, does "Sheriff Joke" have to run for election? If so, his way is very popular - unless you happen to be a soft-on-the-criminal, hankie-stomping, snot-slinging liberal.
I know this much for a iron-clad fact: Joe Arpiao's way costs a hell of a lot less than any other method of incarceration. I say that is a good enough reason, all by itself.
14
posted on
02/07/2004 1:17:00 AM PST
by
clee1
(Where's the beef???)
To: Bud Krieger
Please read my above post. The guy is a major pain. He is costing us a fortune in wrongful death lawsuits in which his department has been found negligent. Some of these victims were prisoners who hadn't even been to trial yet, so we have to presume they were innocent.
Frankly, a lot of Arizonans are getting sick of his antics and think it's maybe time for ole Joe to go.
To: Bud Krieger
Reform? I call it: irritated straight.
Jail isn't any fun in Sheriff Joe's lockup, that's for sure.
16
posted on
02/07/2004 1:25:06 AM PST
by
clee1
(Where's the beef???)
To: IrishRainy
What county? It is Arizona, right?
17
posted on
02/07/2004 1:26:11 AM PST
by
clee1
(Where's the beef???)
To: IrishRainy
Yeah, I have heard about some of the problems there. But you know, alot of this is caused because the prison system in general is just broken. So what the heck is this guy suppose to do? What is the state doing about the problem?
If it is broken and nobody wants to fix it, then this is what happens.
Like I said earlier, we just need to build more prisons. But it isn`t happening, so we have what we have.
18
posted on
02/07/2004 1:30:41 AM PST
by
Bud Krieger
( Who is Bud Krieger?)
To: clee1
Then your comment about "his way seems to be working," has no basis in fact. And standing two hours in line for a porta potty seems rather excessive, especially when the tents are 120 degrees.
And yes, Joe does have to run for reelection. However, since a lot of folks are beginning to see through him, his poll numbers are starting to slide, so he may decide to turn in the old badge soon.
Maybe we could get someone here who actually knows a thing or two about running a jail. That would be refreshing.
To: clee1
Yes, Phoenix in Maricopa County.
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