Boynton Beach Vice Mayor Thomas Turkin says he’s innocent of battery after he was accused of grabbing a political rival’s phone during a January altercation at City Hall.
Security footage, witness statements and video that his accuser, Dominick Vargas, captured during the incident support claims that Turkin forcibly took Vargas’ phone during a verbal dispute.
But Turkin, 33, maintains he’s innocent. His lawyer, Kenneth Lemoine, waived Turkin’s right to an arraignment hearing Monday, entering a plea of not guilty.
The Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office charged Turkin on June 26.
Turkin, a Republican veterinarian and real estate agent, faces up to one year in jail and up to $1,000 in fines if convicted of the first-degree misdemeanor charge.
According to court documents, the misdemeanor charge stems from a Jan. 10 incident involving Vargas, a 25-year-old political operative with no party affiliation who unsuccessfully ran for Turkin’s District 3 seat on the City Commission.
A probable cause affidavit that Florida Department of Law Enforcement Special Agent Gregory Accomando filed, which Florida Politics obtained, says Turkin “forcibly pulled and twisted the phone away from Vargas (and then) held the phone for approximately 21 seconds before handing it back to Turkin.”
“Several other video clips were reviewed … from different camera angles; all showed the same details with no discrepancies,” Accomando wrote.
Vargas’ five-second cellphone video shows Turkin grabbing Vargas’ phone and saying, “You’re not allowed to video tape me. I didn’t approve that.”
Consent is not required to film people in public.
Judge Frank Castor has been assigned the case, which Assistant State Attorney Kevin Ortega is handling and will prosecute if it goes to trial.
A disposition on the case is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Friday.
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