POUGHKEEPSIE – Criminal charges against Frank Flowers, 50, of Poughkeepsie, were dismissed in Poughkeepsie City Court on Monday.  Flowers, who has been arrested multiple times recently on domestic violence charges, .

The dismissal by Judge Scott Volkman was the result of “irrefutable evidence that Frank Flowers had not committed a crime,” said his longtime attorney .

Following a dispute at the apartment he rented to a tenant on Delano Street, Flowers agreed to meet the tenant for a property exchange at the residence, under the supervision of the City of Poughkeepsie police in April.

During the exchange, Flowers allegedly threw her TV over the stair banister, breaking it beyond repair. This was while members of the tenant’s family and her young children were inside the home.  The tenant filed a complaint with police, who arrested Flowers.

O’Connor noted that a civil suit involving the same incident resulted in sworn testimony from the woman who filed the criminal complaint.  It also allowed his client to produce evidence, including a receipt for the TV, indicating he was the owner.

“After the evidence was reviewed by senior members of the Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office, a decision was made to dismiss the charges in the interest of justice,” O’Connor told Mid-Hudson News.

“Our obligation as prosecutors is to follow the facts and the law wherever they lead, regardless of who the defendant is or how much public attention a case may receive, Dutchess County DA Anthony Parisi said.  “Recent sworn testimony given by the complainant in a separate civil proceeding raised a significant issue regarding a fundamental fact underlying this criminal mischief charge, specifically, whether the television alleged to have been damaged by Mr. Flowers was actually property belonging to the complainant. After defense counsel provided our Office with the transcript of that testimony, we reviewed the matter and determined that we could no longer responsibly proceed with the charge. When new evidence materially undermines our ability to prove an essential element of an offense beyond a reasonable doubt, the appropriate and ethical course is to dismiss the case. That is what justice requires, and that standard applies equally in every case.”


Original article
Add as a preferred source on Google