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Bollea Moved Out Of Isolation

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 5, 2008

Updated: 06/05/2008 08:44 pm

CLEARWATER — Nick Bollea was moved today from an isolated cell to a special pod occupied by other teenage inmates where there is also a television, Pinellas County sheriff's spokeswoman Cecilia Barreda said.

The move comes after Bollea's attorneys spent days trying to persuade Sheriff Jim Coats, who operates the jail, to transfer the 17-year-old son of famed wrestler Hulk Hogan out of a solitary cell they equated with cruel and unusual punishment.

Coats had taken the position he had to isolate Bollea from the other inmates at the jail, the vast majority of whom are adults. When Bollea was sentenced May 9, there was only one other juvenile at the jail and like Bollea was kept in isolation.

Since then, however, the number of juvenile inmates sentenced as adults has apparently grown. Barreda said as of today there were four juvenile inmates being treated as adults, including Bollea, so a decision was made to put them together in the same pod.

The decision to transfer the inmates, she said, came as a result of routine and ongoing assessments of inmate population and classification, and "the opportunity" to house those juveniles who have been sentenced as adults to county time.

What she did not allude to was the legal action Bollea's attorneys had taken to change Bollea's accommodations and those they intimated they would take against Coats.

First, Bollea's attorneys filed a motion with Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Philip Federico, asking that Bollea be moved to a minimum-security pod with other inmates, or that he be sent home until he turns 18 next month, when Coats wouldn't have to keep him separated any more and could transfer him.

After Federico denied their request, Sandy Weinberg, one of Bollea's attorneys, said the teen's legal team was contemplating filing a write of habeas corpus against Coats, perhaps in the 2nd District Court of Appeals. Typically such a move is made to safeguard an individual's freedom against what is perceived to be arbitrary state action.

"It's pretty obvious whey they moved him," said Kevin Hayslett, another of Bollea's attorneys. "Whatever the reason is, we're pleased."

Bollea is serving an eight-month jail sentence after pleading no contest last month to a charge of reckless driving involving serious bodily injury. On Aug. 26, Bollea was involved in a car wreck that left his passenger, John Graziano, with severe brain damage.

Bollea was moved at about 4:30 p.m. into one of four six-person cells in the special pod, Barreda said. One deputy is supervising the pod at all times.

Bollea and two of the other three inmates were transferred ; the fourth was already there, Barreda said.

In the new accommodations, Bollea will continue his previously established schedule, including work in the inmate property section from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. His video visitations with his family will continue, from 3 to 4 p.m. on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. He will continue to have recreation time and access to a telephone.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

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