Broward Escapee Returns To Same Courtroom He Escaped From
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FT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) - A murder suspect who escaped from Broward's courthouse and spent six days on the run was back in the same courtroom Tuesday from which he made his break.
On Tuesday, Circuit Judge Raag Singhal sided with Dayonte Resiles and lifted an order for a mental health evaluation that had been ordered by another judge, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
Before the hearing, Resiles smiled at family members in the courtroom and mouthed "I love you" to them.
"I think he's innocent, I believe he deserves a fair trial. They just wanted to close the case so they pinned it on him, I believe he was framed," said Resiles' aunt Latavia Johnson said after the hearing.
Resiles, 21, is accused of killing Jill Halliburton Su in her Davie home in a burglary gone bad in 2014. Su, 59, who was found bound at the hands and feet and stabbed multiple times near a bathroom. She was a grandniece of the Halliburton Co. founder.
The mental health evaluation was originally ordered by Circuit Judge Michael Davis. After Resiles was captured following his escape Davis ordered that he be held in isolation and not have contact with anyone except his lawyer. Resiles immediately complained that he wouldn't be able to see any family members.
"Your honor, I believe it would be unconstitutional to restrain and restrict me from being able to converse and meet with my immediate family," said Resiles during the hearing. "I mean, how would they know about my well-being or if something's wrong with me, like mentally disturbed?"
"Do you feel mentally disturbed," the judge asked.
"I'm not saying saying I feel mentally disturbed," Resiles responded, "but I'm not saying I won't."
"All right then," said the judge. "I'm going to order a mental health evaluation for you."
Resiles' attorney, H. Dohn Williams, opposed the evaluation and argued that it could be possibly be used as penalty phase evidence for the prosecution. In the end, Judge Singhal agreed and the evaluation was dropped.
Resiles is facing a number of charges including burglary, grand theft and murder. If convicted he could face the death penalty.
With the help of at least seven accomplices, Resiles made a successful escape from the fourth-floor courtroom on July 15. Six days later he was tracked to a Days Inn off I-95 in West Palm Beach.
As for the man accused of driving the escape getaway car - Winston Russell - he never made it to court on Tuesday.
Since Resiles' escape there are more armed deputies visible in the courthouse. Still, sources say a man with a knife got past security and was stopped a short time afterwards
Broward Sheriff Scott Israel said he wasn't aware of the breach but continues to work on getting an armed deputy in criminal court and domestic violence cases.
"My job is to save lives, not dollars but I have to be fiscally accountable,"said Israel.