Ex-MacDill sergeant wants murder arrest records destroyed

A former MacDill Air Force Base sergeant once charged with murdering his wife will not have records of the arrest destroyed - at least not now.

Charles P. Harman, who now works as an air traffic controller, asked Hillsborough Circuit Judge Manuel Lopez to order records of his 2005 arrest and the investigation that led to it expunged, or destroyed.

Harman was accused of fatally shooting his wife, Emily Suzanne Rykwalder, during a domestic dispute in their Town 'N Country home. But the second-degree murder charge was dropped after the medical examiner could not determine whether her death was a suicide, homicide or accident.

Harman claimed his wife's death was a suicide.

He has sued the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and Detective Francis M. Losat, alleging Losat arrested him without an adequate investigation, leading to his incarceration for more than 60 days.

The sheriff's office has filed a response stating Losat had a reasonable belief that Harman committed the crime.

A judge last year declined to expunge Harman's records based on the seriousness of the charge and an assertion by the prosecution that Harman had been involved in a prior domestic violence incident. Authorities said he choked his first wife, Amber, and threatened her with a knife, telling her he could kill her and make it look like self-defense.

An appeals court overturned the judge's ruling because the prosecution had not provided evidence of the prior domestic violence incident.

Assistant State Attorney Michelle Doherty today presented Lopez with a transcript of Amber Harman's testimony about that incident to satisfy the appeals court finding.

The prosecution maintains it dropped the murder charge because of the lack of evidence, not because it believes Harman is innocent.

Doherty and sheriff's office attorney A. Michael Perotti argued that requiring the destruction of all records related to the investigation would make it impossible for the sheriff's office to defend itself in the civil suit.

Perotti also argued that it is possible that during the exchange of evidence and investigation related to the civil suit, officials may find a new lead that would warrant further investigation.

Harman's attorney, Richard A. Harrison, said his client has met all the statutory requirements to have his records expunged. He said Losat acted in bad faith when he arrested Harman and lied to the medical examiner about an admission Harman allegedly made about firing the gun at Rykwalder.

The lie, Harrison argued, caused the medical examiner to rule the death a homicide. The medical examiner later changed his conclusion after the detective backed away from his statement, Harrison said.

Doherty said Harrison was not giving an accurate description of what occurred. She said Losat was unclear as to whether the statement Harman made was during a recorded interview or a prior unrecorded interview. It turned out the statement was not recorded.

Harrison asked Lopez to order that the judicial records of Harman's arrest be expunged, allowing sheriff's officials and the state attorney's office to keep a controlled set of records to be destroyed when the civil suit is concluded.

Lopez reserved a decision until the civil suit concludes.