Florida man tries to shoot his shot with judge during bond hearing
Demetrius Lewis previously served four years in state prison for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon
A Florida burglary suspect tried to shoot his shot at the judge during a virtual court appearance on Thursday.
Defendant Demetrius Lewis wasted no time flirting with Judge Tabitha Blackmon almost immediately after stepping in front of the camera for his bond meeting in Fort Lauderdale on Feb. 4. He even professed his love for her.
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“Judge, you [are] so gorgeous, so gorgeous judge, I just had to tell you. You’re gorgeous,” Lewis says in the clip shared by local station WSVN. “I love you. I love you,” he adds. Watch the moment via the video below.
Blackmon appears to be flattered by his comments before responding, “Alright Mr. Lewis. Flattery will get you everywhere,” she responds. “But maybe not here.”
Lewis is reportedly facing a charge of attempted burglary and possession of the drug ecstasy. During the hearing, a prosecutor asks for $7,500 bail, noting that children were inside the home that Lewis allegedly tried to break into. The judge set his bail at $5,000 … and he remains in jail, according to the report.
Lewis previously served four years in state prison for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. He was released in 2019, the prosecutor added.
Meanwhile, if Lewis sticks to his “sweet talk” tactic, he could get lucky at his impending trial and woo a juror in his favor and get the entire case tossed. Similar to a 2015 criminal case in Australia, when a judge declared a mistrial after the jury’s forewoman was accused of “eye-batting” at the defendant.
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“Discharging a juror for flirtatious behaviour is fortunately not something that happens all that often.” Judge Peter Berman told the court, per Sydney’s Daily Telegraph.“I heard some evidence … about some subtle communication going from the juror to the accused. No one is suggesting that the accused was responding.”
A courtroom sheriff reportedly “described it as flirtatious behaviour,” Judge Berman told the panel.
“I was satisfied that there was a real risk that the juror couldn’t do her job impartially,” he added.
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