CAPE CHIEF'S DAUGHTER ARRESTED

Charged With Possession Of Cocaine

Cape Coral Police Chief Arnold A. Gibbs accompanied his teen-age daughter
to the state attorney's office on Thursday, where she was arrested and
charged with possession of cocaine.

Monique Manette Gibbs, 19, could get up to five years in prison for the
third-degree felony if convicted. But what's more likely for a first
offender, said state attorney's office spokesman Tony Schall, is probation
or a pre-trial diversion program that would send her to counseling.

Her arrest stems from an Aug. 18 incident at the Del Prado Inn that
prompted Fort Myers attorney Michael Hornung to accuse Chief Gibbs and
other Cape Coral police of a cover-up.

Monique Gibbs' boyfriend, Brandon Louis Graham, 20, was arrested on charges
of possession of cocaine and marijuana early that morning while Monique
Gibbs, who was in Graham's motel room, went home with her parents.

Graham was arrested even though he wasn't in the room, Hornung says.
Monique Gibbs was flushing cocaine down a toilet as police broke down the
door, but her name didn't appear in any police reports.

"They have an obligation to list witnesses that could be used by the
defense for exculpatory evidence," Hornung said when he accused the chief
of a coverup. "That's almost like destroying evidence."

The chief refused for weeks to discuss the dispute other than to issue
statements calling Hornung's accusations and media reports "vicious lies"
prompted by "greed and other evil motives."

Gibbs had no comment Thursday.

"The chief doesn't have anything to say," said Cape Coral police spokesman
Angelo Bitsis. "It's not our arrest. There's nothing to say."

Why Monique Gibbs was not arrested when Graham went to jail remains an
issue no one is discussing.

"You'll have to ask the Cape Coral Police Department about that," Schall said.

"We're not going to discuss the specifics of the case," Bitsis said. "It's
not our case."

In addition to charging Monique Gibbs, whose court date has not yet been
set, the State Attorney's Office decided not to pursue the drug possession
charges against Graham.

Graham - a former Mariner High School football star and the younger brother
of University of Florida running back Earnest Graham - is charged with one
count of sale of cocaine and is to be arraigned today in Lee Circuit Court.

Schall said he couldn't say why Graham's possession charges aren't being
pursued or why two other people present that night haven't been charged.

"We file charges based on the evidence that can be proved within a
reasonable doubt in court," Schall said.

Hornung was pleased the possession charges aren't being prosecuted and said
he believes the state will have problems proving Graham sold cocaine.

He reiterated his previous statements about a coverup by the police.

"We knew what happened that evening and we knew of the wrongdoings of the
police department," Hornung said. "My job as a criminal defense attorney is
to interview witnesses, review documents and vigorously defend my client.

"If I hadn't done my job, it would have been a coverup. Basically, since I
did my job it's given the Cape Coral Police Department a black eye and a
black eye they well deserve."

Deputy State Attorney Marshall Bower said he had no evidence of a coverup.
But he said there was evidence that Monique Gibbs was in constructive
possession of cocaine Aug. 18, which means she was in the motel room, "had
knowledge of the contents of that room," and had "the ability to exercise
control" over the cocaine.

Bower added that Monique Gibbs admitted in her statements to investigators
that she flushed cocaine down the toilet. But he said there are legal
issues that prevent the state from charging her with obstructing justice.

"The Cape Coral Police Department did not make any attempt to cover up
anything with regards to Monique Gibbs" once the case reached the State
Attorney's Office, Bower said. "Chief Gibbs made it clear from the very
beginning of the investigation that he did not expect any kind of favors.
He stayed out of it and let the normal process happen in this case."

Bower said it's not unusual for initial reports of an arrest to leave out
names of some witnesses because the reports are just intended to give
judges enough information to show that a suspect should be held.

Hornung doesn't believe that's what was happening in this case.

"They can put any kind of spin they want on it," Hornung said. "The Cape
Coral police have fabricated and done everything possible to try to cover
up their wrongdoing."

Graham was arrested at about 5 a.m. the day after allegedly selling cocaine
to a confidential informant.

Bower said that based on what he's read and heard, Cape Coral police
"probably did know" that Monique Gibbs would be in the motel room when they
went to arrest Graham.

He said he didn't know if the chief was aware of what was going on.

No interference

After Monique Gibbs' arrest, State Attorney Joe D'Alessandro wrote to Cape
Coral Interim City Manager Howard Kunik, saying, "No one involved in this
case, including Chief Gibbs, has in any way attempted to interfere with our
review of the case. "On the contrary," D'Alessandro wrote, "they have
communicated to us the opinion that we should appropriately charge anyone
who ought to be charged, based upon the evidence in the case."

Kunik refused to comment on the dispute in September. But he issued a
statement of his own Thursday, saying that based on D'Alessandro's letter,
"I am satisfied that Chief Arnold Gibbs conducted himself professionally
and ethically in the investigation that involved his daughter, Monique."

Monique Gibbs is represented by Fort Myers attorney Scott T. Moorey.

Moorey said he couldn't comment on the case against Monique Gibbs, saying
he hadn't yet received the discovery documents that will be released.

Moorey was critical of Hornung, however, claiming he "went against the
wishes" of Brandon Graham and, by accusing the police of a coverup, "got
his client's girlfriend arrested."

"I don't know what the source of his information is on that," Hornung said.
"My job is to zealously defend my client. My client was advised throughout
the whole process and knew exactly what was going on."

Letter to the chief

Hornung wrote a letter to Chief Gibbs Sept. 4 accusing Gibbs of contacting
Graham's family and offering to drop the charges if the family would fire
Hornung.

Hornung said Gibbs' actions could be a violation of a state statute
outlawing witness tampering.

Gibbs' reaction was to ask the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to
review what he'd done. The department told Gibbs to let justice run its
course and told the press if evidence surfaced that Gibbs had done
something wrong the agency would investigate.

"There's no new information on our part," FDLE spokeswoman Lisa Barringer
said Thursday. "We're still allowing the justice system to run its course."

Graham is now in California, where he is attending junior college.

Monique Gibbs, who lives with her parents, is a 2000 graduate of Cape Coral
High School.

Mary Sweet, Monique Gibbs' high school math teacher, was surprised to learn
she was arrested.

"Academically, she was a very good student," Sweet said. "She was a fairly
active student in school."

Chief Gibbs has been Cape Coral's police chief since 1994 and was the first
black police chief in Southwest Florida.

Bitsis had no comment on what the Gibbses are doing about Monique's
involvement with drugs.

"I don't know," Bitsis said. "That's a private matter for the family."

(SIDEBAR)

Chief gibbs' sept. 8 statement

Cape Coral Police Chief Arnold Gibbs declined comment Thursday about the
charges against his daughter. He released this statement on Sept. 8 after
attorney Michael Hornung accused the police department of a coverup:

"It is an unfortunate reality that there are those who are driven by greed
and other evil motives to the extent that they are capable of committing
the most egregious wrongs.

"As the object of such evil workings, I and my family are touched by the
outpouring of support and encouragement from our many friends. I am certain
that those who know me are aware that I would never commit any of the
outrageous deeds recently reported in the media.

"The citizens of the city of Cape Coral may rest assured that my integrity
and honor are firmly and unchangeably intact. As a professional, I will not
utilize the media to address these incredible lies. Instead, I will allow
the justice system to seek and establish the truth and to expose all those
responsible for the vicious slander of my name."