...a mother's heartbreak
Kevin Watkins was sabotaged by an egregious plot to steal his pension and discontinue his disability pay; the theft of his identity to file his IRS returns and steal the refunds; and the alienation of his daughter by obstruction of legally entitled visitation.
Watkins was imprisoned on March 3, 2009 and is 48 years old. His mother has repeatedly requested that he at least be moved interimly to a location closer to her, so she can visit her son and help work on his release. Can you help? Expertise, donations, helping with getting the message out -- everything is appreciated! Please see donations button, as well as a form to get in touch with us in the bottom footer.
A Letter from Shirley Watkins Pratt
Kevin Watkins is a 48 year old Black Retired U.S. Navy Chief with 21 years of active duty in the Navy. I am his mother, Shirley Watkins Pratt and I live in Daphne, Alabama.
Kevin is currently incarcerated at Baker Correctional Institution in Sanderson, Florida, and has been in prison since March 3, 2009. Kevin was married for 12 years to his wife Michelle before she left him for another man. They had one daughter together, Devan, and Kevin adopted Michelle's daughter, Holly and gave her his name.
Kevin and Michelle were given joint custody of their daughter, Devan, and when Michelle refused to allow Kevin visitation of Devan, he filed a petition in Court. Then Michelle filed a petition for additional child support. Her petition was denied. Kevin's petition was granted.
The weekend Kevin was to have their daughter Devan for his weekend visit, Michelle filed charges against Kevin alleging "inappropriate touching" by Kevin of his adopted step-daughter, Holly Watkins. Holly was 24 years old when these charges were filed, but Michelle said that the inappropriate touching happened 10 years ago.
Michelle filed the charges with the Navy. On June 3, 2008, Kevin's oldest sister, Geniece passed away from a battle with cancer. Kevin got permission to attend his sister's funeral in Alabama which took place on June 7, 2008. Michelle had Kevin arrested on June 9, 2008, when he returned to the Navy Base in MayPort, Florida for duty. She told the NCIS Navy Agent that Kevin was a flight risk, and had planned to escape the charges, when actually Kevin had driven to Alabama to attend his sister's funeral. The NCIS Agent had the proof of Kevin's whereabouts.
{Editors Note: A Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) agent works for the Marines and the Navy -- it is not a requirement that they enlist.}
Kevin was arrested at Duval County Jail with a Bond of $150.000. Kevin spent 5 days in jail. Upon his release, Kevin's Navy Captain advised him to retire to save his career. He told Kevin, "Your ex-wife is out to destroy you." Kevin did retire in January 2009 with full Military Honors as a U.S. Navy Senior Chief with 21 years of active service.
Michelle, NCIS Navy Agent Griffin, and Holly then filed charges with DFC in Florida with the same allegations, but they would not allow DFC conduct the investigation. Instead NCIS Agent Griffin conducted the investigation. They put together an email that was not computer generated and pretended to have sent it to Kevin. NCIS Agent Griffin presented Holly with written notes listing questions to ask Kevin; seeking an admission to wrong doings.
Then they set up a Controlled Phone Call from Michelle's house 'between Kevin and Holly' for which Griffin, Michelle, and Holly were present. The recorded call was not that successful for the outcome intended -- however, the fabricated email and the Controlled Phone Call were both used in Court to convict Kevin.
Judge Linda F. McCallum convicted Kevin to 15 years in prison, and 10 years probation. Once the 15 years are served, Kevin must register as a Sexual Offender, pay thousands of dollars to the Crime Victims Fund, and the list goes on and on. Kevin began serving his sentence on March 3, 2009.
Kevin and I hired an appellate Attorney, William Kent from Jacksonville, Florida. Attorney Kent was able to get the inappropriate touching charge dismissed. He also felt like the email was fraudulent because of the contents, and it appeared to be "cut and pasted." Attorney Kent spoke with a Mr. K. 'Gus' Dimitrelo, retired Secret Service and Cyber Forensic computer expert regarding the email, and sent him Kevin's personal computer for an investigation.
Gus Dimitrelos conducted a full investigation and found that the email that was used in court to convict Kevin was indeed fraudulent. He also verified that 'the email' was never sent to Kevin. Kevin had no idea of what the questions being asked of him during the Controlled Phone Call were about. He had however, received another email in the past from Holly stating "what a good Dad" he was and answered that he had received the email.
After five years of waiting for Mr. Kent to move forward with Kevin's case, and having paid him thousands of dollars, I received a phone call from Mr. Kent stating that he was dropping the case.
I was able to retain another attorney from Coral Springs, Florida, Attorney Nicole DiPrima. Attorney DiPrima had to do a lot of work in order to get the case back on track. She filed appeals and took the case to the Florida Supreme Court -- only to be denied an evidentary hearing to get Mr. Dimitrelos' Forensic Report into court.
Attorney DiPrima filed a Federal Habeas Petition on September 18, 2017, with the Federal Court. The Federal Judge Toomey requested the State Attorney General to respond, as to why Kevin had not been released or given an evidentary hearing? The State Attorney General requested a 90 day extension to respond. When the 90 days were up, they requested another extension, and two more, making a total of four (4) extensions.
Sadly, in January 2018, Attorney DiPrima, age 31 years old became ill with double pneumonia, was hospitalized, and died four days later. This was the one attorney that was committed to getting Kevin freed through an evidentiary hearing and presenting Gus Dimitrelos' Forensic Report.
We had to sell Kevin's house in Atlantic Beach, Florida because we could not afford to pay the mortgage and insurance. The house sold for the balance owed, with nothing left to help with legal expenses. Kevin's sports car was also sold to help pay Attorney Kent's fees. I have had to hire an accountant to assist with an identity theft; someone has been filing Kevin’s taxes and collecting the refunds.
After DiPrima's passing, I had to go forward and hire another legal representative, and retained Attorney Alyson Sommers from Florida with a $5,000.00 payment.
The State Attorney General sent in their response to the Federal Judge on May 29 2018 stating that the Habaes Petition filed by Attorney DiPrima was filed untimely -- that the petition should have been filed in April 2018, instead of September 2018. This is the same State AG who requested four (4) extensions before giving a response to the Federal Courts. (From Oct. 2017 until May 29, 2018.) Attorney Sommers has done nothing on Kevin's case to this date, and has stated that she is not willing to do research for a legal argument, or write a motion or anything else.
Judge Toomey Federal Court Judge has not made a ruling as of June 9, 2018.
Kevin remains in prison at Baker Correctional Institution in Sanderson, Florida. This is approximately 7 hours away from me. Because of the distance and the expenses involved, I cannot visit with him as often as I would like to. Kevin and I would greatly appreciate any assistance you may be able to offer.
Thank you kindly,
Shirley Watkins Pratt
Kevin is currently incarcerated at Baker Correctional Institution in Sanderson, Florida, and has been in prison since March 3, 2009. Kevin was married for 12 years to his wife Michelle before she left him for another man. They had one daughter together, Devan, and Kevin adopted Michelle's daughter, Holly and gave her his name.
Kevin and Michelle were given joint custody of their daughter, Devan, and when Michelle refused to allow Kevin visitation of Devan, he filed a petition in Court. Then Michelle filed a petition for additional child support. Her petition was denied. Kevin's petition was granted.
The weekend Kevin was to have their daughter Devan for his weekend visit, Michelle filed charges against Kevin alleging "inappropriate touching" by Kevin of his adopted step-daughter, Holly Watkins. Holly was 24 years old when these charges were filed, but Michelle said that the inappropriate touching happened 10 years ago.
Michelle filed the charges with the Navy. On June 3, 2008, Kevin's oldest sister, Geniece passed away from a battle with cancer. Kevin got permission to attend his sister's funeral in Alabama which took place on June 7, 2008. Michelle had Kevin arrested on June 9, 2008, when he returned to the Navy Base in MayPort, Florida for duty. She told the NCIS Navy Agent that Kevin was a flight risk, and had planned to escape the charges, when actually Kevin had driven to Alabama to attend his sister's funeral. The NCIS Agent had the proof of Kevin's whereabouts.
{Editors Note: A Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) agent works for the Marines and the Navy -- it is not a requirement that they enlist.}
Kevin was arrested at Duval County Jail with a Bond of $150.000. Kevin spent 5 days in jail. Upon his release, Kevin's Navy Captain advised him to retire to save his career. He told Kevin, "Your ex-wife is out to destroy you." Kevin did retire in January 2009 with full Military Honors as a U.S. Navy Senior Chief with 21 years of active service.
Michelle, NCIS Navy Agent Griffin, and Holly then filed charges with DFC in Florida with the same allegations, but they would not allow DFC conduct the investigation. Instead NCIS Agent Griffin conducted the investigation. They put together an email that was not computer generated and pretended to have sent it to Kevin. NCIS Agent Griffin presented Holly with written notes listing questions to ask Kevin; seeking an admission to wrong doings.
Then they set up a Controlled Phone Call from Michelle's house 'between Kevin and Holly' for which Griffin, Michelle, and Holly were present. The recorded call was not that successful for the outcome intended -- however, the fabricated email and the Controlled Phone Call were both used in Court to convict Kevin.
Judge Linda F. McCallum convicted Kevin to 15 years in prison, and 10 years probation. Once the 15 years are served, Kevin must register as a Sexual Offender, pay thousands of dollars to the Crime Victims Fund, and the list goes on and on. Kevin began serving his sentence on March 3, 2009.
Kevin and I hired an appellate Attorney, William Kent from Jacksonville, Florida. Attorney Kent was able to get the inappropriate touching charge dismissed. He also felt like the email was fraudulent because of the contents, and it appeared to be "cut and pasted." Attorney Kent spoke with a Mr. K. 'Gus' Dimitrelo, retired Secret Service and Cyber Forensic computer expert regarding the email, and sent him Kevin's personal computer for an investigation.
Gus Dimitrelos conducted a full investigation and found that the email that was used in court to convict Kevin was indeed fraudulent. He also verified that 'the email' was never sent to Kevin. Kevin had no idea of what the questions being asked of him during the Controlled Phone Call were about. He had however, received another email in the past from Holly stating "what a good Dad" he was and answered that he had received the email.
After five years of waiting for Mr. Kent to move forward with Kevin's case, and having paid him thousands of dollars, I received a phone call from Mr. Kent stating that he was dropping the case.
I was able to retain another attorney from Coral Springs, Florida, Attorney Nicole DiPrima. Attorney DiPrima had to do a lot of work in order to get the case back on track. She filed appeals and took the case to the Florida Supreme Court -- only to be denied an evidentary hearing to get Mr. Dimitrelos' Forensic Report into court.
Attorney DiPrima filed a Federal Habeas Petition on September 18, 2017, with the Federal Court. The Federal Judge Toomey requested the State Attorney General to respond, as to why Kevin had not been released or given an evidentary hearing? The State Attorney General requested a 90 day extension to respond. When the 90 days were up, they requested another extension, and two more, making a total of four (4) extensions.
Sadly, in January 2018, Attorney DiPrima, age 31 years old became ill with double pneumonia, was hospitalized, and died four days later. This was the one attorney that was committed to getting Kevin freed through an evidentiary hearing and presenting Gus Dimitrelos' Forensic Report.
We had to sell Kevin's house in Atlantic Beach, Florida because we could not afford to pay the mortgage and insurance. The house sold for the balance owed, with nothing left to help with legal expenses. Kevin's sports car was also sold to help pay Attorney Kent's fees. I have had to hire an accountant to assist with an identity theft; someone has been filing Kevin’s taxes and collecting the refunds.
After DiPrima's passing, I had to go forward and hire another legal representative, and retained Attorney Alyson Sommers from Florida with a $5,000.00 payment.
The State Attorney General sent in their response to the Federal Judge on May 29 2018 stating that the Habaes Petition filed by Attorney DiPrima was filed untimely -- that the petition should have been filed in April 2018, instead of September 2018. This is the same State AG who requested four (4) extensions before giving a response to the Federal Courts. (From Oct. 2017 until May 29, 2018.) Attorney Sommers has done nothing on Kevin's case to this date, and has stated that she is not willing to do research for a legal argument, or write a motion or anything else.
Judge Toomey Federal Court Judge has not made a ruling as of June 9, 2018.
Kevin remains in prison at Baker Correctional Institution in Sanderson, Florida. This is approximately 7 hours away from me. Because of the distance and the expenses involved, I cannot visit with him as often as I would like to. Kevin and I would greatly appreciate any assistance you may be able to offer.
Thank you kindly,
Shirley Watkins Pratt
