SAB's Harassing "Stalking" Charge Dismissed

St. Augustine Beach stalking case to be dismissed
Posted: July 28, 2016 - 12:06am | Updated: July 28, 2016 - 4:48am

By SHELDON GARDNER
sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com


A 2015 stalking charge in a St. Augustine Beach case will be dismissed once a deferred prosecution agreement is completed, according to a court document.

The St. Augustine Beach Police Department arrested Bill Rosenstock in August 2015. According to the police report, someone said Rosenstock circulated false information about a man who sold food at St. Augustine Beach’s Pier Park events.

One person complained about Rosenstock spreading information about the man being a sexual offender, information that was not true, according to the police report. The man has a name similar to a registered sex offender but is a different person, the report said.

Also, Rosenstock said the man was in violation of his food-vending permit. State investigators didn’t find a violation with his operation.

Also, the vendor contacted the police after he saw Rosenstock at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre, and he said he thought Rosenstock was searching for him. While he didn’t feel threatened, he said he was aggravated by the situation.

The deferred prosecution agreement, signed on July 22, says that the case will be dismissed if Rosenstock has no direct or indirect with the “alleged victim” for 12 months.

A motion to dismiss the case was filed in April, which the judge denied. It said no criminal activity occurred in the case — and that the case “boils down to” Rosenstock making allegations to officials. It also says that “the decision to arrest Mr. Rosenstock for exercising Constitutionally protected activities such as these, was an error.”

The motion was filed by Rosentock’s attorney, Thomas Cushman, who declined to comment on the case.

Rosenstock appeared frequently at government meetings and spoke out in 2015 against the county’s use of a “free speech area” sign at Pier Park — an activity that is unrelated to the arrest. The sign was used to designate a space for protests or other First Amendment related activities should there not be enough space in the rest of the pier lot at busy times.

However, the sign was met with criticism from people who said it was unconstitutional. The County Commission voted to take it down.


COMMENTS
Thomas Francis Reynolds 07/28/16 - 09:16 am 00The definition of a Judicial False Arrest
This case is not over. It is now time to have all involved in this false arrest of a 74 year old man looked at. Starting with the Judge who signed the warrant down to false complainant. The Judicial Misconduct is what sickens me the most. The Florida State Supreme Court will thoroughly Investigate the Formal Complaint against the Judge. The other culprits are William "Bill" Jones, Robert "Booby" Samuels, and Andrea Samuels, who are all currently under criminal investigation for crimes commited at St Augustine Beach City Hall. Commissioner Andrea Samuels currently has three Florida Ethics Commission Complaints and a First Degree Misdemeanor charges pending. I do not fault the Police Department for doing their job. The PD had to take the complaint and turn it over to the State Attorneys Office. The misconduct and false charge starts with the Beach Civic Assocation and the dislike they have for anyone who dares ask them to obey the laws. The Police had to bring the case to the State Attorney because of the allege accusation. That is where the 2nd half of misconduct starts. The next steps to clear the False Charge has begun and as we all know, TRUE JUSTICE IS SLOW !