Accused cop killer Dontae Morris denied bond at 1st court appearance
TAMPA - Nearly 12 hours after he turned himself in, accused killer Dontae Morris went before Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Paul Huey for his official first appearance.
Morris is accused of shooting Tampa Police officers Jeffrey Kocab and David Curtis to death on June 29. He is also accused of killing Derek Anderson in May.
Saturday morning, Morris was the last inmate on the court docket to be called.
After 79 inmates had their first appearances and the jail courtroom at Orient Road Jail was cleared out, five deputies escorted Morris in. He wore an orange jail uniform and stood quietly. Deputies said this was done to prevent Morris from interacting with other inmates.
Hillsborough County Public Defender Chuck Traina talked with Morris briefly before the hearing started.
Traina told the judge he needed to request that another public defender represent Morris, because a conflict of interest.
Cortnee Brantley, Traina said, was someone he'd already worked with a few days ago, during the days police questioned her and searched for Morris. Police say Brantley was in the same car as Morris the night the officers were murdered.
Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor said Friday that Brantley will face a federal charge of witnessing a crime and not reporting it.
Believing that he'll likely represent Brantley in her federal court case, Traina brought up the issue. The judge approved the request, asked him to address the issue with the Office of Regional Council.
Then, after reading the charges, three counts of murder in the first degree and two counts of a felon in possession of a firearm, Judge Huey ordered Morris to stay in jail without bond.
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