Orange-Osceola Public Defender Robert Wesley said Wednesday that his office must review more than 1,675 criminal cases to determine whether any clients were harmed by an Orange County Sheriff’s Office fingerprint expert who since last week has been barred from testifying for the state.
“We have an obligation to every one of those clients,” Wesley said.
Last week, Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala banned Marco Palacio, an 18-year Sheriff’s Office employee, from testifying in any active cases after learning the Sheriff’s Office was reworking more than 100 of his cases and had begun an internal investigation because of his mistakes.
Sheriff’s Office spokesman Capt. Angelo Nieves said he did not know of anyone who had been wrongly convicted because of Palacio’s work but would not answer other questions, saying the investigation had not been concluded.
It’s not clear how much damage – if any – has been done.
Ayala’s office has sent out more than 2,600 letters, warning defense attorneys that Palacio had been listed as a witness or potential witness in their clients’ cases and had “performance issues” that consisted of “clerical errors, failure to identify prints of value and the mislabeling of print cards.”
On Wednesday, Wesley blasted Palacio as arrogant. The Public Defender sent reporters audio of a sworn statement Palacio made in 2013 in a burglary case.
“Almost 15 years of working with fingerprints I would say I have not gotten anything wrong yet,” Palacio said.
When an attorney asked, “So you are saying you have never made a mistake in 15 years?” he answered, “Doing fingerprints, never.”
Palacio did not respond to requests for comment.
According to Eryka Washington, a spokeswoman for Ayala, in 2014 Palacio got a new boss who noticed problems and put him on a plan designed to improve his job performance. In October, he was prohibited from analyzing prints and shifted to another job at the Sheriff’s Office.
Wesley asked any clients or former clients whose case involved Palacio to contact the Public Defender’s Office.
rstutzman@orlandosentinel.com or 407-650-6394
Markeith Loyd's niece, Lakensha Smith-Loyd, is no long facing charges of aiding the accused copy killer. Prosecutors have also agreed to lower the bonds for two others arrested during the manhunt.
Markeith Loyd's niece, Lakensha Smith-Loyd, is no long facing charges of aiding the accused copy killer. Prosecutors have also agreed to lower the bonds for two others arrested during the manhunt.
Markeith Loyd's niece, Lakensha Smith-Loyd, is no long facing charges of aiding the accused copy killer. Prosecutors have also agreed to lower the bonds for two others arrested during the manhunt.
Markeith Loyd's niece, Lakensha Smith-Loyd, is no long facing charges of aiding the accused copy killer. Prosecutors have also agreed to lower the bonds for two others arrested during the manhunt.
Jancarlo Ortiz plead guilty and was sentenced to a 15-year prison sentence after running over an Orange County sheriff's deputy.
Jancarlo Ortiz plead guilty and was sentenced to a 15-year prison sentence after running over an Orange County sheriff's deputy.
An Orange County public defender pulled over for a DUI last week asked the trooper not to take him to jail because he was a good person, video shows.
An Orange County public defender pulled over for a DUI last week asked the trooper not to take him to jail because he was a good person, video shows.
An ongoing battle to stop sex trafficking ads on a classified ad website called Backpage has landed in Orlando federal court.
An ongoing battle to stop sex trafficking ads on a classified ad website called Backpage has landed in Orlando federal court.
Two men were arrested in Winter Garden after a $50 bet on Sunday's Super Bowl ended in a brawl.
Two men were arrested in Winter Garden after a $50 bet on Sunday's Super Bowl ended in a brawl.
rstutzman@orlandosentinel.com or 407-650-6394
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