A homeless man found guilty for wielding a knife and making threats on Bridge Street is appealing his conviction.
Earlier this fall, a jury found Terry W. Walker, 54, guilty on a charge of aggravated assault for threatening an employee outside the Drift-In, 120 Bridge St., Bradenton Beach.
Walker had asked to assist in his own defense prior to his Sept. 30 trial, but 12th Judicial Circuit Judge Edward Nicholas denied his motion, indicating Walker had not provided a reason to serve as co-counsel.
After the jury’s verdict, Nicholas sentenced Walker to 40 months in the Florida Department of Corrections, with credit for time served. Walker had served 136 days as of Sept. 30.
In an Oct. 9 notice to the 2nd District Court of Appeals, Walker alleges the nature of his appeal was ineffective assistance of counsel, a discovery violation, misleading comments from a prosecutor and a probable cause affidavit inconsistency.
On Oct. 14, the appellate court acknowledged Walker’s appeal of the September judgment and sentence.
On Oct. 15, the trial court recognized Walker as insolvent and ordered his continued representation by a public defender, providing for a possible transition to the 10th Circuit, which typically covers Highlands, Hardee and Polk counties.
At trial, Assistant Public Defender David Ehlers represented Walker and Assistant State Attorneys Alexandra Crittenden and Michael Manning represented the state.
The homeless man’s legal troubles began when, after being denied access to the Drift-In bar by staff, he started yelling and blocking an entrance to the parking lot, according to an affidavit by Bradenton Beach Police Department Officer Eric Hill.
At press time, Walker was in custody of the state corrections department, at the Central Florida Reception Center, East Unit, in Orlando.
In a separate case involving Walker this year, Crittenden dropped aggravated battery charges against Walker, stemming from an April 1 fight with another homeless man, who was found by police, injured and bleeding, in a pile of rocks.
That case was reportedly dropped because the victim did not wish to press charges.