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Tag: Monique Worrell

  • Murder charge dropped in road rage case eyed by Uthmeier, but Orlando woman is still going to prison

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    Although a murder charge levied against an Orlando woman for a fatal road rage incident has been dropped a month after Attorney General James Uthmeier insisted she acted in self-defense, she’s still headed to prison, a court ruled Thursday.

    An Orange County judge Thursday morning agreed to drop Tina Allgeo’s second-degree murder charge after the 47-year-old took a plea deal, pleading no contest to aggravated battery. Allgeo was sentenced to 18 months in prison followed by 10 years of probation.

    The local case took on a statewide angle when Uthmeier in September publicly bashed Orlando’s Democratic State Attorney, Monique Worrell,  for pursuing a murder charge against Allgeo, whom Uthmeier believed acted in self-defense under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law. Although Allgeo initially claimed a defense under Stand Your Ground, on Thursday she changed course.

    Still, Uthmeier celebrated the dropped murder charge on social media.

    “We’re glad to see that Orlando State Attorney Worrell took our advice and dropped the unjust murder charge against Tina Allgeo this morning. Ms. Allgeo clearly acted in self-defense,” Uthmeier posted. “In Florida, we will protect the right to stand your ground against violent aggressors.”

    The Allgeo case served as another chapter in the deepening feud between Uthmeier and Worrell, who first clashed through Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023. When Uthmeier served as the governor’s chief of staff, Worrell was suspended for allegedly neglecting “her duty to faithfully prosecute crime in her jurisdiction.”

    Despite this, Worrell won her seat back in November 2024, unseating the attorney DeSantis had appointed to replace her.

    Most recently, Uthmeier last month accused Worrell of refusing to prosecute pedophiles. In April, he said she was slow-walking and ignoring a mounting backlog of cases.

    Worrell has denied all wrongdoing, accusing Uthmeier in turn of incompetence.

    What happened?

    The Orange County Grand Jury indicted Allgeo in February for the second-degree murder with a firearm of 42-year-old Mihail Tsvetkov. Surveillance footage shows Allgeo outside of her car, taking photos of Tsvetkov’s plates. When Tsvetkov drove away, she pursued him and struck his car with hers, the Phoenix previously reported.

    A red light camera video then follows Tsvetkov as he exits his car, yanks open Allgeo’s car door, and begins to beat her, seemingly attempting to pull her out of her vehicle. Allgeo then pulls the trigger on her firearm, shooting Tsvetkov “in the face” and killing him almost instantly.

    Uthmeier said Allgeo acted under the state’s Stand Your Ground law, which was passed in 2005. The law allows Floridians to use deadly force in self-defense as long as they are not engaged in criminal activity.

    Worrell disagreed. During her quarterly meeting, she said, “The Attorney General has political motivations to try to label me as an anti-Second Amendment person; that is not the case,” ClickOrlando reported.

    She added that Stand Your Ground still has limitations.

    “What those limitations include is one, if you’re the aggressor, you now have a duty to retreat, and two, if you are in the commission of a crime, you have the duty to retreat,” Worrell said.

    Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Contact Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and Twitter.

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    Livia Caputo, Florida Phoenix

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  • Florida AG accuses Monique Worrell of refusing to prosecute pedophiles – Orlando Weekly

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    Credit: via James Uthmeier/X

    Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Friday accused a Democratic state attorney he’s long-feuded with of declining to prosecute pedophiles.

    Uthmeier hosted an Orlando press conference Friday morning to castigate Monique Worrell, state attorney for Orange and Osceola counties, for failing to prosecute a man who allegedly masturbated in front of children and another man accused of possessing thousands of videos of child pornography.

    This was Uthmeier’s second press conference in a month targeting Worrell, whom Gov. Ron DeSantis removed from office in 2023 but subsequently won reelection.

    “This is systematic abuse. This is gross negligence,” Uthmeier said, demanding she “reconsider” the dropped charges or he will try to get the case reassigned to another attorney. “[Worrell] took an oath, she’s not delivering on that oath, and we’re going to step up and do what we can to hold her accountable and to protect our citizens.”

    Of note, the power to suspend and remove state attorneys lies solely with the governor. The attorney general exercises a mere “superintendent” role over Florida’s 20 elected state attorneys.

    Worrell’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

    Uthmeier has long-clashed with Worrell. Earlier this month, he hinted that she should be suspended — again — for bringing a second-degree murder case against a women Uthmeier believes acted in self-defense. He recited the Florida Constitution’s ground for suspension of an elected official at a press conference, before asking her to investigate a former Democratic state senator for posting the location of ICE agents.

    In April, amid a weeks-long war of words between Uthmeier, accused by her of being “uninformed,” and Worrell, whom he called “soft on crime,” the AG claimed she was ignoring a mounting backlog of cases. When Uthmeier served as DeSantis’ chief of staff, the governor suspended Worrell in August 2023 for allegedly neglecting “her duty to faithfully prosecute crime in her jurisdiction.”

    Despite this, she retook her seat in November 2024 when voters chose her over Andrew Bain, appointed by DeSantis to replace her.

    What are the cases that weren’t prosecuted?

    According to a letter sent from the attorney general’s office to Worrell, there were two cases involving children that Worrell declined to prosecute. The first involves a man named Kevin Chapman, 61, arrested for lewd and lascivious exhibition in the presence of a child under 16.

    “Not only did your office fail to pursue pretrial detention, but it declined to charge him, claiming that the case was ‘not suitable for prosecution,’” Uthmeier wrote. “I strongly encourage you to reconsider dismissing the charge against Chapman.”

    The other case Worrell allegedly declined to prosecute was against Thomas Dolgos, who had his electronics searched and seized in June. During the search, Dolgos admitted to possessing child pornography. A preliminary view of his devices suggested thousands of images of child pornography, the letter says.

    The Office of Statewide Prosecution assumed the case, but Uthmeier claims that an attorney from Worrell’s office “inexplicably” dismissed all charges and discharged Dolgos’ bond, freeing him. Dolgos was apprehended at the Canada border and the statewide prosecutor charged him with an additional 48 counts of child pornography.

    “Your office’s dismissal of Dolgos’ charges was an unacceptable mistake,” Uthmeier wrote. “Your office should never dismiss a case OSP is managing. … At best, it suggests a lack of adequate training in your office. Please address this deficiency and make sure it does not happen again.”

    Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Contact Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and Twitter.

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    Livia Caputo, Florida Phoenix
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  • Florida AG hints suspension for Orlando state attorney Worrell again

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    Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier will not defend a fatal road rage case prosecuted by state attorney Monique Worrell if any conviction goes to an appeals court, he warned in a Monday letter.

    Instead, he may ask Gov. Ron DeSantis to suspend her. Again. It would be the latest strike in a lengthy feud between the DeSantis administration and Worrell, Orange County’s Democratic chief prosecutor, who only just retook her seat after the governor removed her from office.

    Uthmeier will insist Worrell made a “plain error” in choosing to prosecute Tina Allgeo — a 47-year-old woman who shot and killed a man who attacked her in her car during a December road rage incident — if Allgeo is convicted and appeals her case. Uthmeier will also evaluate whether “further intervention is warranted.”

    “Your decision to pursue this case as you have despite Allgeo’s self-defense immunity under at least two Florida statutes may very likely require my office to admit plain error on appeal,” Uthmeier wrote in the letter, accusing Worrell of ignoring the state’s “stand your ground” laws allowing self-defense killings.

    Uthmeier just hours later asked Worrell to investigate a former state senator for posting the whereabouts of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents. He wondered whether the ex-lawmaker, Linda Stewart, was “harassing” law enforcement.

    As Florida’s chief legal officer, Uthmeier exercises a general “superintendence” role over Florida’s 20 elected state attorneys, although they function independently of him. The power to suspend a state attorney lies solely with the governor.

    “Your actions likely constitute a breach of your ethical obligations. And they may also constitute misfeasance, malfeasance, neglect of duty, and incompetence,” he continued, reciting the Florida Constitution’s provisions allowing the governor to suspend an out-of-line officeholder.

    “I strongly urge you to reconsider your prosecution of Allgeo.”

    When asked whether DeSantis would consider suspending Worrell, the governor’s office pointed to DeSantis’s comments at the State Freedom Caucus last week:

    “If you are a prosecutor, particularly those funded by George Soros, please know that if you don’t enforce the law, I will remove you from your post.”

    The Orange County Grand Jury indicted Allgeo in February for the second-degree murder with a firearm of 42-year-old Mihail Tsvetkov. Surveillance footage shows Allgeo outside of her car, taking photos of Tsvetkov’s plates. When Tsvetkov drove away, she pursued him and struck his car with hers.

    A red light camera video then follows Tsvetkov as he exits his car, yanks open Allgeo’s car door, and begins to beat her, seemingly attempting to pull her out of her vehicle. Allgeo then pulls the trigger on her firearm, shooting Tsvetkov “in the face” and killing him almost instantly, News 6 reported.

    Allgeo later said that she initially confronted Tsvetkov because he tailgated her and allegedly purposely hit her car with his own.

    “This is a case of great public importance that needed to be reviewed by the Grand Jury to determine whether the evidence supported an indictment,” Worrell said after the grand jury indictment. “Gun violence stemming from senseless disputes will not be tolerated, and our office will hold those who commit these acts accountable.”

    This isn’t the first time Worrell and Uthmeier have clashed. In April, he accused her of both slow-walking and ignoring a mounting backlog of cases. He called a press conference to send six statewide prosecutors to help her with the workload, jabbing at her alleged ties to Democrat mega-donor Soros in the process.

    This followed weeks of back-and-forth between the legal politicos, which involved accusations of Worrell being “soft on crime” and Uthmeier being “uninformed.”

    Before Uthmeier was sworn in as attorney general in February, he served as DeSantis’s chief of staff. He held this title in August 2023, when DeSantis suspended Worrell for allegedly neglecting “her duty to faithfully prosecute crime in her jurisdiction.”

    Although Worrell failed to get the Florida Supreme Court to overturn her suspension, she won a second term in November. This unseated Andrew Bain, whom DeSantis had appointed to replace her. DeSantis had also suspended Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren but he failed for re-election last year.

    “You may not like Florida’s self-defense laws,” Uthmeier wrote Monday. “But those laws reflect the simple truth that a Floridian — a woman in this case — has the right to use deadly force to stop a man from brutalizing or killing her.”

    Worrell’s office did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publishing.

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    Livia Caputo, Florida Phoenix
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