State prosecutors have requested the judge in the Tree House murder case again institute a gag order to keep defendant Franklin Tyrone Tucker and the attorneys in the case from discussing the case with the media or discussing it on social media or other websites.
Chief Assistant State Attorney Joe Mansfield filed a motion with Judge James Morgan III requesting the gag order, citing that Tucker has been giving interviews, discussing the case on social media and even started a brand of clothing, posters and T-shirts bearing slogans related to the high-profile murder case that can be found on an online shopping website.
Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Tucker, Rory “Detroit” Wilson and John Travis Johnson in the Nov. 17, 2017, robbery of Paula Belmonte and murder of Matthew Bonnett in a building known as the Tree House. If found guilty, Tucker could face life in prison. Wilson has been convicted and sentenced in the case, and Johnson accepted a plea deal in which he received time served in jail while awaiting trial in exchange for his cooperation in the case and testimony on behalf of the state.
A jury in the Tree House murder and robbery trial of Tucker could not reach an unanimous verdict in the case on Jan. 25 and the case will be retried later this year.
Prosecutors were successful during Tucker’s first murder trial in requesting a gag order from the former judge in the case, Judge Mark Jones. That trial ended in a hung jury in January, and Jones recused himself from the case shortly afterward.
“Upon the announcement of a mistrial, the state requested the court to re-issue the protective order (gag order) on the basis that the defendant had been posting videos, conducting interviews and making various slanderous statements on social media,” Mansfield wrote in his request. “The court at that time did not move forward on the ore tenus motion made by the state but indicated it would look into the matter if the appropriate motion was filed. Since the announcement of the mistrial, the defendant has continued to post statements, not only about the facts of the case and the activities in the first trial, but also disparaging statements about the State Attorney’s Office, MCSO (Monroe County Sheriff’s Office), the previous presiding judge and the prosecutors that conducted the trial.”
Tucker has a Free Franklin Tucker Facebook page and a Youtube channel where he opines on the case against himself and the people involved in the case. Tucker has also been interviewed by local and national media about the case.
Mansfield’s request also cites a product line that Tucker has launched that sells T-shirts, hats, posters, coffee mugs, baby clothes and other clothing apparel.
The products can be found on the shopping website myspreadshop.com. Items include a comic book cover, which can be bought as a poster or a coffee mug, of Tucker punching Mansfield, while the prosecutor is dressed in Captain America-like costume in the courtroom. There is also a design on T-shirts and mugs of a silhouette of Tucker with the phrase “No Lawyer No Problem Ready for Trial!”
The interviews and social media posts will “taint any potential juror pool with his pretrial publicity,” Mansfield told the judge.
In response, Tucker issued a news release on Thursday, April 25, that stated he “believes the motion is not being made in good faith by the State and granting such an order would curtail the defendants rights of Freedom of Speech and a public trial, while also infringing on the rights of freedom of the press.”
“The Defense has made serious allegations against the State that not only affect the Defendant, Franklin Tyrone Tucker but affect the entire community in Monroe County, Florida,” Tucker wrote. “Some of these allegations have been made public by the Defendant but some of the alleged events took place at trial in front of the media. The defense is arguing this case is exactly why the previously mentioned rights exist, to keep the government from abusing its power while keeping the public in the dark. That public outcry is part of the process, and the media serves as a check and balance to public officials who would commit such abuses. Furthermore, if the State’s case was just there would be no need for such an order. As this motion affects the rights of the media as well as the rights of the defendant.”
The next scheduled hearing in the case is a docket sounding on June 17, according to court records.
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