Meet Patricia Ann Jamison. Ms. Jamison was recently accused of the odd act of pooping in a courthouse elevator and subsequently arrested for the same event. According to a Huffington Post story, on March 7, 2013 security staff at the St. Lucie County Courthouse was notified that there was a mysterious pile of poop located in the corner area of a public elevator. When Security investigated this crime scene, to their dismay lay a steaming pile of pew poo thought to be left by a human animal. Security staff consulted security video of individuals coming in and out of the elevator in question and noticed that Ms. Jamison was the last to enter the elevator prior to the poo appearing and first to leave. Specifically and possibly the damning piece of the puzzle for her criminal lawyer to deal with, Jamison was witnessed before the elevator doors closed to “pull her pants down and back up toward the interior elevator buttons consistent with someone using the bathroom.” Ultimately when the elevator arrived on the first floor of the courthouse Ms. Jamison was witnessed “fixing her pants and pulling her shirt out of her pants as if she pulled her pants up over her shirt.” After she was alleged to have pooped in the elevator Ms. Jamison then made her way to her criminal defense attorney‘s office where she was ultimately identified based on her signing in to her attorney’s office.
As a Tampa criminal lawyer I can tell you without reservation, some cases just stink. Though literally this one does, Ms. Jamison ultimately pled to a 60-day jail sentence based on circumstantial evidence. Though the case for her criminal defense attorney certainly wasn’t a good one, it would have been a heck of a lot worse had she actually been seen delivering the package. Ultimately it may have been hard for a jury to legitimately find reasonable doubt in this case considering the circumstantial evidence, however stranger things have happened in our criminal courts. Considering the Judge imposed a 60-day sentence, the maximum penalty for a second-degree misdemeanor, she really had nothing to lose by trying her case and giving it a shot. She was ultimately charged with causing a nuisance injurious to health under Florida Statute 386.051. Florida Statute 386.041 states that one who causes untreated or improperly treated human waste has created a nuisance injurious to health. Clearly an allegation that one defecated on a public elevator has caused human wasted to be placed in an area and obviously that human waste is untreated. The only triable issue available to her defense attorney is the age old “who dunnit” defense since there is no eyewitness. The Statute is clear. There is no legitimate doubt as to what the substance steaming on the floor was. That leaves the issue of who. Realistically that issue would have been lost considering the premature pants drop and shirt adjustment when the elevator was exited.
In my time as a Tampa criminal attorney I have been amazed over and over again with the actions and alleged actions of people. There is truly never a dull moment. As is often the case with a criminal allegation, there is very likely some wiggle room in each case with which to work either in mitigation of a charge or in an effort for acquittal. Chances are you didn’t poop in an elevator. That said, if you have been accused of a criminal offense, contact Jason Mayberry at 813-444-7435 or at 727-771-3847 for a free consultation today.