Dunbar Criminal Case Moves Forward

On Wednesday as our community marks the grim anniversary of the rape and beating at the Dunbar Village housing public complex in West Palm Beach, the criminal case against the accused marches on.

 A year ago, a mother and her son suffered the attack in their Dunbar apartment, at the hands of up to ten young men and adults.  Tuesday the veteran prosecutor handling the Dunbar case says she stays in contact with the victims.  Assistant State Attorney Lanna Belohlavek says the mother and her son are doing as well as can be expected.

 "There are emotional and trauma issues that they have to deal with on a daily basis," says Belohlavek.  "Trust issues, those kind of things, not knowing who it is you're meeting, every day."  Belohlavek says knowing what the mother and son experienced, she hopes to keep them from having to relive their nightmare on the witness stand.

 That was a key consideration when Belohlavek offered a plea deal to one of the accused, 15-year old Jakaris Taylor.  This past November, Taylor took the deal, pleading guilty to rape in exchange for a lighter sentence of 20 years.  He potentially faced life.  Taylor also agreed to testify against the other suspects.

 Soon Taylor will uphold his end of the plea bargain, giving a deposition to lawyers in the case.  What he says is expected to have a major impact on whether the other suspects also plead out, or go to trial.

 The other suspects so far are 14-year old Avion Lawson, 16-year old Nathan Walker, and 18-year old Tommy Poindexter.  If the cases were ultimately split up, there would be three trials as it stands now, meaning three trips to the witness stand for the victims.

 "That's a lot of trauma, especially considering what they've already been through," says Belohlavek, who says she's also offered a deal to Lawson.

 Belohlavek also says there are other potential suspects in the investigation, but so far detectives have no physical evidence linking them to the crime scene.