“We are engaged in aggressively litigating this case,”
Chestnut said in August. “We’re still committed to getting this case to trial as soon as
possible.”
But the results of the recent Orange County primary election
show that many potential jurors haven’t been moved by a key part of his media
strategy.
Back in May, Chestnut jumped in front of reporters to accuse
the Orange County Sheriff’s Office of leading an investigation that “was
botched from Day 1.”
“Because there wasn’t an aggressive investigation initially,
the case has been compromised,” he said.
Sheriff Jerry Demings defended the work of his detectives through
a statement released by his office.
“I know our deputies questioned everyone available,” Ginette
Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for Demings, said in quote published by CNN. “I can
assure you our detectives conducted a thorough and complete investigation, as
we do in every case.”
The majority of Orange County Democrats still believe that
Demings is doing a good job despite Chestnut’s mudslinging. Demings easily won
the Democratic primary on August 14 in his campaign for reelection. He received
81.21 percent of the vote.
Chestnut’s civil lawsuit against Fabulous Coach Lines has placed him at odds with Demings' office. The lawsuit claims that
driver Wendy Millette stood guard outside the bus on which Champion was being
hazed on Nov. 19, 2011. It also says she “forced” him back onto vehicle when he came
out the bus door to vomit. But despite Chestnut’s allegations, Demings has not placed Millette under arrest for any crime related to
Champion’s death.
Chestnut might be trying to gain the support of the many
conservative, potential Orlando-area civil court jurors by making his
allegations of a botched criminal investigation an issue in Demings’ reelection campaign and the current Congressional
campaign of Valdez Demings, the sheriff’s wife. She is the former Orlando chief
of police and is running as a Democrat to unseat incumbent Daniel Webster, a
former Republican speaker of the Florida House.
Jerry and Valdez Demings are proud FAMU parents even though
they both earned their undergraduate degrees from Florida State University.
Their two twin sons are FAMU alumni and their youngest son is currently
enrolled at the university.
If Chestnut can make the case that Jerry Demings isn’t
serious about pursuing criminals associated with the university his three
sons chose to attend, it could motivate Republican voters on a civil jury to view
any testimony from his detectives with skepticism.
Local Democrats aren’t alone in turning a deaf ear to Chestnut’s
claims concerning the quality of the work being done by the sheriff’s office.
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, a campaign surrogate for U.S. President
Barack Obama, praised the Demings family’s achievements in law enforcement during
a visit to one of Valdez Deming’s campaign rallies on Sept. 12.
“She had been married to 24 years, the man you elected
sheriff,” Clinton said after Valdez Demings introduced him. “You had 24 years of two police officers
married to each other, and nobody got shot.
I think that's a pretty good deal.”