Brian Hamacher

BSO Bailiff Speaks Out After Attempted Murder Charge Dropped

A Broward Sheriff's Office bailiff who was once facing charges of attempted murder of a prostitute in February is now working to clear his name after the charges were dropped last week.

Kendrick and Octavia Busby can smile now that prosecutors have dropped the case against him.

"Words can't express, I never knew the shame, humiliation you go through sitting on the other side, especially for something you didn't do," Kendrick Busby said Monday. "It totally affected me mentally."

"Never doubted him, he was with me that night but I would never doubt him anyway with something like that because that's not his character," Octavia Busby said.

"It took a toll, I've been telling 'em from day one that it wasn't me," Kendrick Busby said.

But Miami-Dade Police said the Broward courthouse bailiff with the sterling reputation had picked up the woman, a prostitute looking for customers at a Miami gas station, and stabbed her multiple times in his SUV. Police said the victim identified Busby in a photo lineup.

"It was a case where zero investigation was done prior to an arrest, and that's what's really so egregious about the whole thing," attorney Elias Hilal said.

The Miami-Dade Police Department wouldn't offer comment on their investigation Monday.

Hilal pointed out numerous issues with the police investigation. To start with, the victim described a red SUV, and the one in the security camera video had dark cladding on the bottom. Now compare it to Busby's vehicle, which is light beige on the bottom.

The victim also said there was a toddler seat in the back, but Busby doesn't have one because his youngest child is 13. She also described a heavy-set man with perfect teeth but Busby is slim and has a gold tooth.

Police said there was blood in the car, but the CSI report found no blood at all. Busby's lawyer said police never bothered to check his Sunpass or cell phone records either.

"Mr. Busby resides in a community in which they have surveillance footage at the gate, had they just gone and obtained that surveillance at the time they started the investigation, it would've easily shown that the vehicle never left the complex, it could've been as simple as that," Hilal said.

Busby said he wants his job and reputation back.

"I've been coaching football for 15 years, I got parents now saying, 'that guy coached my son?'" he said. "They look at me a whole different way."

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