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Judge Rejects Onstott's Request To Move Trial

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By THOMAS W. KRAUSE and ELAINE SILVESTRINI, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 18, 2007

TAMPA - David Lee Onstott cannot get a fair trial in Tampa next week on charges of escape and failure to register as a sex offender because of publicity over a charge he murdered a 13-year-old girl, his attorney argued today.

But Circuit Judge Ronald Ficarrotta refused to move the trials to another county, saying he will do his best to pick impartial juries.

Onstott faces a first-degree murder charge related to the death of Sarah Michelle Lunde in 2005.

Onstott's murder charge is on hold while prosecutors appeal a judge's ruling.

Earlier this year, Ficarrotta ruled that statements Onstott made to Hillsborough County sheriff's detectives could not be used in court.

Onstott had requested an attorney but was not provided one, Ficarrotta determined.

The appeal of Ficarrotta's decision could take months.

In the meantime, prosecutors are moving forward on the other charges and expect to have two trials next week.

When Onstott was named a suspect in Sarah's disappearance, he was arrested on the failure-to-register charge. The charge stemmed from a previous rape conviction.

While Onstott was in jail, deputies found he had been scratching a hole in the wall of his cell. He was charged with escape.

Defense attorney John Skye urged Ficarrotta to reconsider a ruling in which he said statements Onstott made to guards about the escape could be introduced in the trial.

Skye argued that when Onstott invoked his right to an attorney while being questioned about the slaying, that invocation was in force when he was questioned a month later about the escape charge.
Assistant State Attorney Megan Newcomb said it's not logical to allow defendants to invoke rights relating to crimes that have not yet been committed.

Ficarrotta said he would review the case law and have a ruling on the issue within the next 48 hours.

David Parry, a defense lawyer who is not affiliated with Onstott's case, said prosecutors probably are moving forward on the two other charges because, with Onstott's criminal record, convictions almost certainly would send him to state prison, and prosecutors could continue to work on the murder case without time concerns.

If, in the future, Onstott gets close to release from prison, prosecutors can attempt to hold him under Florida's Jimmy Ryce Act, Parry said.

The act allows prosecutors to file a civil action against a sex offender to prove he or she is likely to offend again. If that is proven, the offender can be held indefinitely in a secure facility for sex-offender treatment.

Skye said prosecutors have not filed any legal papers suggesting they would try to use the act.

'I'm not predicting,' Skye said. 'I'm not ruling anything out.'

Reporter Thomas W. Krause can be reached at (813) 259-7698 or tkrause@tampatrib.com.

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