My son, Dana Berndt, DC# Y01329, housed at Jackson CI in Florida is innocent.
I'm trying to gain an appeal for my son, Dana Berndt. I know he is innocent because I purchased the stereo equipment for him that he is accused of stealing out of a condemned house.
I'm told 1% of appeals go through.
My son is dying in a
hell
hole called Jackson in Malone Florida. Do you offer any suggestions or what?
I just found your web site, I want to help, what can I do?
Sandra Berndt
ruclaude@aol.com
It all started when Dana got himself a used car with a dent in the door. He
went to a garage to see about having the dent removed and while he was there
he asked if they installed window tint. The man's name he was talking to was Lenford Smith. The garage was on Beaver Street in Jacksonville Florida.
Lenford Smith asked Mr. Smith if he had any interest in a barter, because when Dana went into the garage Dana had a shirt on that read "DJ's Don't Share Needles." Smith asked if Dana was a DJ. Dana told him amateur. Lenford asked if Dana had equipment, Dana said yes. Lenford then wanted to know about working out a barter.
Dana didn't have a lot of money so he agreed to barter, trade stereo equipment for window tinting and the dent being removed. Mr. Smith wanted to see the equipment first, so Dana gave him his business card with address and phone number, told Mr. Smith to come to the house and see the equipment. Dana called me and told me the arrangement he had worked out, said Mr. Smith was coming over to see the equipment.
Mr. Smith came over, had a woman and a couple of kids with him. Dana called, told me Smith was willing to trade but was dragging his feet about it and Dana didn't know why. Dana called Mr. Smith several times about the trade, Mr. Smith kept putting him off, finally calling Dana and telling him to bring the equipment to the garage, which Dana did. The cops came out of hiding at that time and accused Dana of stealing the equipment from Mr. Smith.
There was also a woman there again, the same one who had been at Dana's house, she was present at the garage. Seems Mr. Smith had a condemned house on Smith Street that he kept all his valuables at, including stereo equipment. The condemned house had a broken window and Mr. Smith didn't live in it, he stayed at a Motel, yet he claimed to keep stereo equipment there. He said that all the equipment Dana had was his, said Dana had broke into the secured condemned house and robbed him of his equipment.
Mr. Smith called the equipment Macintosh, no Macintosh equipment ever surfaced. Said a man named Oswald Reynolds sold it to him for thousands of dollars. Mr. Reynolds never testified but was referred to repeatedly.
Two pieces of equipment that Mr. Smith claimed to be his and said it was expensive I had purchased for my son Dana nine years earlier at the Ortiz flea market. The Crown Cross Over hasn't been made for years and sold for new $400 tops, Smith valued it in the thousands and said it was Macintosh.
The Sound Craft equalizer I purchased at the same time, it also was used and old, Mr. Smith valued it in the thousands and again referred to it as Macintosh. No one had seen this equipment in Mr. Smith's house but several people had seen it in Dana's house a year or more before the time Mr. Smith accused Dana.
This isn't the first time Mr. Smith has pulled this stunt, he accused another man of breaking into his condemned house, that man was also sent to prison. The fact that Mr. Smith has been arrested himself several times was never brought out, that the witness had been at Dana's house was never brought out, the fact that the witness changed her mind about the color of Dana's car and what side the dent was on was never brought out. The fact that Oswald Reynolds never testified but was referred to was never objected to.
My son ended up with five years in prison accused of stealing his own equipment. The prosecutor brought in a cover that fit the Crown, it also fit many pieces of equipment, it was a universal cover, my son furnished a book with the picture of the cover in it but that was never brought out.
All Mr. Smith had was the witness who said she seen Dana leaving Mr. Smith's condemned house on Smith Street carrying stereo equipment, climbing into a Honda, with a dent in the door on the passengers side, she later changed her mind about the color and the dent, said she followed him, he didn't have a tag on his car. Anyone familiar with Jacksonville knows you would never get away driving a car without a tag, the police are too visible. This is the same witness who was at Dana's house and the garage.
Mr. Smith's word that it was his equipment and this so called witness got Dana five years. It is the biggest or at least one of the biggest miscarriages of justice I have ever seen. I testified I had purchased the equipment for him, I was made to be a liar. The girl he lived with testified she had seen it, a gentlemen who owned a restaurant had seen it, a man who owned a skate board company had seen it, all way before Mr. Smith said he was robbed all these people seen it in Dana's house.
Dana's boss said he was at work at the time of the robbery, had papers showing that fact, she wasn't believed. None of Dana's witness's were believed. The fact that Mr. Smith first accused a black gentlemen of selling his stuff was ignored, Dana is white.
There were no finger prints in the house, no DNA, just Mr. Smith's word that the stereo equipment was his.
Dana is living a
nightmare along with his family and girlfriend. We cannot believe this is
happening to us and pray for some intervention from someone who can help.
I am Dana's mother, Sandra Berndt at Ruclaude@aol.com . Please feel free to
contact me with any ideas to help my son, they will all be appreciated.
Thank you,
Sandra Berndt
|
 |
|
DANA S. BERNDT
# Y01329
Jackson CI
5563 10th Street
Malone, Florida 32445-3144
(850) 569-5260
Suncom: 778-1011
FAX: (850) 569-5996
Warden Jack Sapp
E-Mail:
jacksonci@mail.dc.state.fl.us
Chaplain's Office
(850) 569-5260