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New Prosecutor Sought In St. Pete Shooting Inquiry

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 8, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - ST. PETERSBURG - The attorney representing the family of a teenager fatally shot by a St. Petersburg police officer is asking the governor's office to assign a new prosecutor to investigate the incident.

Initially, Maura Kiefer, the attorney for the family of 17-year-old Javon Dawson, wanted a circuit judge to disqualify Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe from continuing his investigation into the June 7 shooting. A hearing was set for this week.

Kiefer is apparently abandoning that tactic, however, and instead asking Gov. Charlie Crist to assign a different prosecutor to investigate.

Kiefer's argument is that because Officer Terrence Nemeth has testified in cases handled by McCabe's office, there is a conflict of interest in McCabe looking into the shooting.

Through a spokesman, McCabe's office last week rejected the notion there was a conflict by virtue of Nemeth's earlier testimony in cases his office handled.

Chief Assistant State Attorney Bruce Bartlett said if that argument held, McCabe's office would be unable to pursue crimes investigated by local police.

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