FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A Broward County sheriff's court bailiff was handcuffed in a Miami-Dade County courtroom Thursday and led to jail after the state attorney's office upped the criminal charges against him for allegedly stabbing and raping a prostitute.
Prosecutors charged Kendrick Busby, 45, with attempted felony murder, which is punishable by up to life in prison, and which nullified the $30,000 bond he posted after his arrest last week.
The increased charge set up what was expected to be a bond hearing Thursday, but in a surprise move, Miami-Dade County State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle declared an unknown conflict in the case, so that hearing can't be held until Gov. Rick Scott selects a special prosecutor from outside Miami to handle the case.
Judge Yvonne Colodny said she only had one alternative considering the circumstances, which was putting Busby back behind bars until the governor's office had made its selection -- a process that could take days or possibly weeks.
"Unfortunately, sometimes these things are out of the court's control," she told Busby, who is also charged with rape and aggravated battery. "…I will be taking you in custody and holding you on no bond."
Busby is accused of stabbing a prostitute several times in the back and abdomen last month after demanding she perform a sex act on him without a condom, an arrest report said.
According to the report, the incident happened about 1 a.m. Feb. 21 when Busby picked up the woman at a Valero gas station at 1300 NW 19th St.
The woman agreed to perform a sex act on Busby for $60, and when she asked for payment he pulled out a knife with a sliver blade that was about 6 inches long and 2 inches wide, and held it to her neck, police said.
The woman responded by telling Busby, "Listen sweetheart, you have a knife. If you want to rape me, go ahead and rape me. Please just use a condom," the police report said.
Busby responded, according to the report, "No one will give a (expletive) if you die. I don't give a (expletive) if I kill you."
When the woman tried to push the knife away, Busby began to stab her in the back, and slapped a condom she had out of her hands, police said.
He then stabbed her in the abdomen several times when the woman attempted to flee from the vehicle, police said.
The woman was eventually able to escape the vehicle and get some of the numbers of Busby's license plate, according to police. She then drove herself to Northshore Hospital and was later taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital due to the level of her injuries.
Authorities identified Busby based on the license plate number and information about the vehicle given to police.
Last week, the woman was given a lineup of six photos and identified Busby as the man who stabbed her.
Busby's attorney, Elias Hilal, said evidence will clear Busby of the crime, claiming the vehicle involved doesn't match Busby's car and other discrepancies.
"Mr. Busby was not at the scene (and) was not involved in this incident," Hilal told Local 10 News. "This was just a contrived statement by a known prostitute and misstatements of law by the Miami-Dade Police Department."