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Prosecutors investigating whether to bring charges against both judge and wife

 
Judge Eric Myers (cq), of the 13th Judicial Circuit, answers a question as he and other judges from around the state of Florida participate in a forum with young African American boys and girls in 2007 [Times]
Judge Eric Myers (cq), of the 13th Judicial Circuit, answers a question as he and other judges from around the state of Florida participate in a forum with young African American boys and girls in 2007 [Times]
Published Feb. 7, 2015

TAMPA — Allegations of domestic abuse and violence are flying both ways in the case of a Hillsborough County judge arrested last month and his wife, who could wind up facing prosecution herself.

At a hearing Friday, Shirley Sanchez-Myers, the wife of Judge Eric Myers, said her husband is alleging that she attacked him first, instigating the brawl on Jan. 16 that culminated in his arrest. Although Myers' wife was not arrested, Hillsborough County sheriff deputies did alert prosecutors to the allegations against her. Recently, when the case was transferred to Pinellas County, prosecutors there began investigating whether to bring charges against both husband and wife.

"The executive order that the governor signed directs us to look at both of them," said Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe. "And that's what we're doing."

Howard Iken, an attorney for Sanchez-Myers, said while prosecutors have expressed interest in interviewing his client, he does not expect they will ultimately press charges against her.

"There's no basis for that," he said. "There was no back and forth."

According to Iken, Myers, 58, became violent in an argument with his wife over whether she should be allowed to work. Sanchez-Myers, 40, recently completed a nursing program and was eager to get a job, he said.

"My understanding is, he, the judge, felt very strongly about our client not working," Iken said. "It seems like something from 8,000 years ago, but I guess it still exists."

Records show that earlier this week, Myers filed for divorce.

His attorney, Julia Best Chase, told the court Friday that the judge's life has not been pleasant of late. Myers has resorted to living out of his chambers, where he sleeps on the office couch, she said. She asked Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Jack Helinger to allow him to pick up clothes and medications from his home in Odessa, which a temporary restraining order barred him from entering.

In her petition for a temporary restraining order, Sanchez-Myers said her husband beat her in front of their 5-year-old daughter until she lost consciousness and when she awoke, he was gone. When deputies caught up with Myers later that night in his courtroom chambers, he admitted to striking his wife once and pulling her hair.

Since his arrest on a misdemeanor battery charge last month, Myers has continued his work at the Tampa courthouse, where he oversees a docket of misdemeanor and traffic cases. He has remained silent on the accusations against him, refusing to publicly offer his own version of events. He did not attend Friday's hearing.

His attorney has repeatedly declined to discuss the case.

Attorneys for Sanchez-Myers have argued that from the moment she sought to press charges against her husband, prosecutors, clerks and other government officials in Hillsborough aligned themselves with her husband and against her. On Friday, she testified that when she tried to file a petition for a temporary restraining order, the clerk who received it tried to dissuade her.

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"She asked me just to think about it," Sanchez-Myers said. "She said she knew Eric."

Contact Anna M. Phillips at aphillips@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3354. Follow her @annamphillips.