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Police Briefs 8/31/17

Clay County Sheriff's Office
Posted 8/30/17

2-year-old left in hot car placed in ICUDOCTORS INLET – A 2-year-old boy left alone locked in a vehicle was found dehydrated to a point he had seizures was placed in intensive care this week …

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Police Briefs 8/31/17


Posted

2-year-old left in hot car placed in ICU
DOCTORS INLET – A 2-year-old boy left alone locked in a vehicle was found dehydrated to a point he had seizures was placed in intensive care this week after an investigation by authorities.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrested the child’s father, Abraham David Martin, 28, on one count of child neglect with great bodily harm on Aug. 28 after going to the home in the 2000 block of Tickford Street in Orange Park South off County Road 220.
According to the arrest warrant, “The victim was found to be unresponsive and in severe medical duress. The victim was seizing and had expelled all of his bodily fluids.”
Police determined it was at least 88-degrees in the car that had been left unattended in a parking lot.
“The child was unsupervised and the vehicle was parked over 49 feet from the residence,” states the warrant.
At press time, Martin remained in the Clay County Jail with bond set at $50,003.

Child abuse charge for Keystone Heights man
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS – A Keystone Heights man is free from the Clay County Jail today after being booked on a count of child abuse without great bodily harm in which witnesses said they saw him pull a male juvenile out of a car window by his legs.
The Clay County Sheriff’s arrested Robert Conner Godwin, 25, of Keystone Heights on Aug. 27 at 9:06 p.m. after interviewing him and conducting an investigation.
According to the police report, the child’s mother had stopped her car at the intersection of S. Lawrence Boulevard and East Walker Drive when Godwin allegedly got out of his car, walked up to the woman’s car and pulled her child out of her car by the legs. The force was so great, it caused the vehicle’s window to shatter upon impact, police said.
The report said Godwin struck the juvenile in the face multiple times.
Police said Godwin was driven to the intersection by his girlfriend, Patricia Rodriguez. When the melee happened, she got out of the car and grabbed Godwin and fled the scene.
Rodriquez, police said, knew the adult victim who was driving the juvenile.
Police used a crime database to find Rodriguez’s phone number, so they could go to her home and interview her and Godwin. Godwin is also charged with one count of criminal mischief.
According to records from the Clay County Clerk of Court, this is Godwin’s first felony arrest. He has two previous arrests for criminal mischief and a third misdemeanor for marijuana possession.

Former clinic executive pleads guilty to fraud charges
JACKSONVILLE – A top former executive for a Jacksonville-based health services clinic has pleaded guilty to falsifying patient progress notes of children with autism and other behavioral health issues, in response to a federal audit.
Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow said John Christopher Walcutt, 40, of Jacksonville, faces a maximum term of five years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, Walcutt was the former managing member of Keystone Behavioral Pediatrics, a developmental center, where children with developmental, learning, and behavioral issues received counseling and therapy. In late 2011, Keystone received an audit request from the government for randomly selected patient files.
In submitting claims for reimbursement from TRICARE – a health care program for military personnel – Keystone certified that some of its pediatric patients had received “one on one” counseling and therapy. Some of the patients were also represented to have received therapy for autism from licensed and credentialed providers. In reality, many of the patients had not received “one on one” counseling or therapy from licensed and credentialed providers and, in some cases, had been left unsupervised in a small “play pen” area. Only some of the children had received therapy in a group setting. In most cases, non-credentialed employees, including graduate students, were treating the children.
Walcutt and others participated in the altering of patient files that were sent in response to the government’s audit request. As a result of the falsified patient records, TRICARE paid Keystone approximately $600,000 for claims that otherwise would not have been reimbursable.
This case was investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
Locally, Keystone Behavioral has a contract with the Clay County School District to provide services to students with intellectual disabilities. That contract is up for renewal at the Sept. 7 meeting and was discussed at length at the school board’s Aug. 29 agenda planning workshop. Board members asked Superintendent Addison Davis and staff to look into Walcutt’s plea agreement to determine if there are any impacts on the district or the services the clinic provides to Clay County students.

Crash injures Orange Park man
JACKSONVILLE – The Florida Highway Patrol reports that an Orange Park man was seriously injured in a two-vehicle crash in Jacksonville on Aug. 24.
According to the FHP, Brandon Scott Barfield, 31, of Jacksonville was driving southbound in a 2014 Chevrolet Camaro on Interstate 95 at mile marker 341 when his car crossed the center lane and sideswiped the left front quarter panel of a 2004 Ford Expedition driven by William Ortiz, 55, of Jacksonville. The crash occurred at 11:34 p.m.
The crash caused the Expedition to leave the roadway and crash into a utility pole on the grassy shoulder on the western side of the interstate. Police said the SUV then traveled back onto the highway in a southeasterly direction and collided into a metal guardrail in the median.
A passenger in the Expedition, Ivis Felipe, 49, of Orange Park, was seriously injured in the crash. He was transported to Memorial Hospital for treatment.
According to FHP, charges are pending.

‘Unresponsive’ teen gets auto theft charge
FLEMING ISLAND – Authorities arrested a Jacksonville teen last week on charges of grand theft auto and possession of a firearm or ammo by convicted felon and possession of more than 20 grams of cannabis.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office charged Matthew Payton Woodward, 19, on Aug. 23 after receiving a call about a “suspicious vehicle” at 1820 Town Center Blvd. on Fleming Island.
According to the police report, the responding deputy said Woodward was in the driver’s seat of a white Toyota f-Runner with the car running in the drive position on the gearshift.
After placing Woodward in handcuffs, officers search the SUV and found a handgun laying on the center console and 21.2 grams of marijuana in the glovebox. Police said several other undisclosed stolen items were found in the rear of the vehicle.
CCSO questioned Woodward at the Blanding Boulevard sub-station near Orange Park and then transported him to Orange Park Medical Center for clearance before booking him into the Clay County Jail. Police said he “was unresponsive to questioning.”
At press time, Woodward remained in jail with bond set at $25,755.