Governor DeSantis requests information about previous dropped charges from Orlando State Attorney

Courtesy Office of Governor Ron DeSantis

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Ryan D. Newman, General Counsel for Governor Ron DeSantis, sent a letter yesterday to State Attorney Monique Worrell of the Ninth Judicial Circuit, requesting information about her office’s previous prosecutorial decisions regarding Keith Melvin Moses, who shot and killed three people last week and left two others injured. Dylan Lyons, who was formerly an anchor and reporter for TV20 in Gainesville, was one of the homicide victims.

In the letter, Newman says it is “galling” that Moses, who was arrested immediately after the homicides, had been “allowed to remain on the streets after multiple arrests, including one your office has refused to prosecute.”

The letter points out that Moses is a “known gang member” with an extensive criminal history and that he was arrested in November 2021 for marijuana possession while he was on Juvenile Felony Probation. According to the letter, Moses’ arrest affidavit states, “[i]t should be noted that all three subjects have multiple firearm possession charges, to include Attempted First-Degree Murder and Armed Robbery with a Firearm and all had ski mask style masks on them or in the vehicle,” but “despite the clear threat that Mr. Moses posed to our community, [Worrell] apparently made the decision to not pursue charges against him.”

The letter requests numerous documents regarding Moses and his juvenile record, but it also requests information on all individuals who were arrested for committing a felony or violated the terms of their probation by being arrested for any crime, had a prior criminal history, and were not prosecuted by Worrell’s office.

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