Police review: Deputy charged in attempted murder, fraud was paid for sex
SARASOTA, Fla. -- A Florida sheriff’s deputy accused of trying to kill a woman he allegedly had been defrauding is now facing more charges, and new police internal review alleges another woman paid him for sex, reports CBS affiliate WTSP.
Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight said last month that 46-year-old Deputy Frankie Bybee had befriended the victim, a 79-year-old Sarasota woman, while responding to a service call in October.
Knight said when the woman entrusted Bybee -- an 18-year agency veteran and married father of three -- with her dog, the deputy sold the dog through Craigslist. The dog has reportedly since been reunited with the woman.
Knight said Bybee was placed on administrative leave after the deputy’s fingerprint was found on checks totaling $65,000 that the victim said had been fraudulently signed.
Days later, Knight said Bybee attempted to kill the woman and make it look like a suicide, allegedly forcing her to take pills and then leaving the door from her house to the garage open with the car running, filling the home with carbon monoxide. The woman lost consciousness, but later awoke and called for help.
Bybee was charged Tuesday with new counts including criminal use of personal identification and accessing a computer or electronic device without authority, according to the Bradenton Herald. The sheriff’s office released video of Frankie Bybee allegedly using the victim’s credit card at ATMs and stores at least a dozen times between Sarasota and Manatee counties.
He now faces a total of 25 charges including attempted murder, the paper reports.
In court, state prosecutor Karen Faraivllig said the attempted murder was premeditated, WTSP reports. Faraivllig alleged a fraudulent suicide note was sent to the victim’s doctor.
It also emerged this week that a recent internal affairs investigation by the sheriff’s office found Bybee allegedly had an illicit relationship on and off duty with a woman who paid him $100,000 for sexual acts, the station reports.
Defense attorney Charles Britt said there are “issues with the character in this case and evidence in this case,” WTSP reports.
A judge reportedlly set Bybee’s bond for the new charges at $9,000, after his bond on previous charges was reduced from $1,030,000 to $365,620 in a court appearance Tuesday.
