rockin'robin
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Police Say 37-Year-Old Man Posed As Lawyer At Courthouse
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Police said 37-year-old Duriel Roberts does have experience in the courtroom, just not as a lawyer.
He's a registered sex offender.
A woman told police he approached her at the courthouse and told her he could handle her friend's case.
Police said he negotiated a price with her, but she didn't feel right about it all.
"He was well dressed, clean cut, had paperwork," the woman, who chose to remain anonymous, told Channel 4. "He even did some background work for me."
Days later, police said, she was supposed to meet Roberts to talk about the case.
They were supposed to meet in the lobby of the Hyatt hotel near the courthouse, police said.
The woman said that's when she became suspicious because the man didn't ask to meet an an office. She said the man called constantly and kept leaving messages on her phone.
"When I met with him, he only wanted cash money," the woman said. "Then he started making sexual advances."
They eventually met again at the hotel, but the woman didn't come alone because she had a bad feeling, police said. Instead, she came with police.
Officers found out that not only was Roberts not an attorney, he actually had a criminal record.
"I think it's scary, really scary," the woman said. "I'm scared because I don't know how many other people he did it to."
Scott Mitchell, a real lawyer, said cases like this are rare.
"It's very unusual," Mitchell said.
He said no reputable attorney will try to get your case at the courthouse.
"Getting a lawyer at the courthouse is probably the worst thing," Mitchell said. "There's a number of things. Probably the best place to start is searching on the Internet. You can look at a number of lawyers' names. You can search by category, by name."
Sex Offender Tries To Handle Court Case - Jacksonville News Story - WJXT Jacksonville
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Police said 37-year-old Duriel Roberts does have experience in the courtroom, just not as a lawyer.
He's a registered sex offender.
A woman told police he approached her at the courthouse and told her he could handle her friend's case.
Police said he negotiated a price with her, but she didn't feel right about it all.
"He was well dressed, clean cut, had paperwork," the woman, who chose to remain anonymous, told Channel 4. "He even did some background work for me."
Days later, police said, she was supposed to meet Roberts to talk about the case.
They were supposed to meet in the lobby of the Hyatt hotel near the courthouse, police said.
The woman said that's when she became suspicious because the man didn't ask to meet an an office. She said the man called constantly and kept leaving messages on her phone.
"When I met with him, he only wanted cash money," the woman said. "Then he started making sexual advances."
They eventually met again at the hotel, but the woman didn't come alone because she had a bad feeling, police said. Instead, she came with police.
Officers found out that not only was Roberts not an attorney, he actually had a criminal record.
"I think it's scary, really scary," the woman said. "I'm scared because I don't know how many other people he did it to."
Scott Mitchell, a real lawyer, said cases like this are rare.
"It's very unusual," Mitchell said.
He said no reputable attorney will try to get your case at the courthouse.
"Getting a lawyer at the courthouse is probably the worst thing," Mitchell said. "There's a number of things. Probably the best place to start is searching on the Internet. You can look at a number of lawyers' names. You can search by category, by name."
Sex Offender Tries To Handle Court Case - Jacksonville News Story - WJXT Jacksonville