Prosecutors will not support a Gulfport man’s bid for an alternative adjudication path in a case involving an alleged battery against a law enforcement officer.
Jesse Lee, 38, faces a felony battery charge for allegedly throwing a compact disk at a Gulfport Police officer in July. The CD struck the officer and police arrested Lee earlier this year.
Lee has pleaded not guilty to the charge and requested a Pre-Trial Intervention (PTI) in the case. That is an alternative path to a traditional trial and sentencing offered by Florida courts.
Defendants who qualify for PTI can avoid having a criminal record and can perform community service and receive counseling for their offenses. It is akin to probation, but with the arrest and criminal record potentially expunged.
Prosecutors, crime victims and presiding courts must agree to PTI. A Jan. 31 hearing is set for Lee on the PTI matter. Prosecutors say they will not support Lee’s request.
“I can tell you that a PTI application was submitted for Mr. Lee’s case, however, the State will not be referring him to the PTI program at this time. His case will continue to take its normal course,” said Courtney Sullivan, division director and assistant state attorney.
Sullivan said she could not comment on additional details of the case.
Lee’s attorney in the case, Rick Fletcher, did not respond to a request for comment.
Lee allegedly threw the CD at the Gulfport officer in front of city hall in July. He was upset for the disk allegedly being corrupted after submitting a public records request, according to the criminal complaint filed by police.
