WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Scripps News West Palm Beach) — The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office wants Tim Ferriter out of jail and sent to prison.
Tim Ferriter appears in handcuffs at a bond hearing. (Leonardy Marchesani/Scripps News West Palm Beach)
That’s according to a recent court filing on behalf of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
Ferriter, 48, was found guilty of child abuse, child neglect and false imprisonment in October after keeping his adopted teenage son locked in a box-like structure in the garage of their Jupiter home.
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In November, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Howard Coates sentenced Ferriter to five years in prison. But a subsequent court order requested that Ferriter remain in the Palm Beach County jail pending a hearing to determine if he should be released on bond while he awaits an appeal of his conviction and sentence.
An attorney for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office maintains that the order was “predicated for a brief period of time on a hearing that was to be scheduled.”
However, since that time, it was discovered that Ferriter’s motion seeking release included a fraudulent offer letter of employment from Mazda of Palm Beach. Defense attorney Prya Murad has maintained that she was unaware the job offer had been fabricated. A hearing on the matter had been set for Dec. 15 but was canceled days after appearing on the court’s calendar.
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It’s the position of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office that Ferriter should be turned over to the Florida Department of Corrections.
“The Sheriff’s Office and the citizens of Palm Beach County should not be financially responsible to continue to pay for the housing and security of a DOC inmate,” the court filing said.
This story was originally published by Scripps News West Palm Beach, an E.W. Scripps Company.
