Ronald Cummings Hires Attorney

[Trailblazer]

http://www.clickorlando.com/news/18967351/detail.html

Haleigh's Father Hires Lawyer Amid Abuse Allegations
Lawyers Will Coordinate With Police, Media

The father of a missing Putnam County girl has obtained legal counsel.

According to a news release issued by the personal injury firm, the law office of Kimball & Snider has agreed to represent Ronald Cummings as a pro bono client.

The release refers to Cummings as a victim in need of legal advice.

Cummings' five-year-old daughter, Haleigh, was reported missing from her Satsuma home in February.

Haleigh's mother, Crystal Sheffield, recently hired a lawyer as well. Her lawyer has accused Cummings of abusing the couple's son, Ronald Cummings Jr.

Cummings' lawyers will take over responsibility for assisting Cummings with police cooperation, coordinating media attention and handling a potential custody battle with Sheffield.

The news release describes Sheffield's lawyer's abuse allegations as "unsubstantiated" and said that Cummings sees the claims as a "cheap shot and publicity stunt that detracts from the search for Haleigh."

Kimball & Snider will not be representing Cummings' new wife, Misty Croslin

[Faith]

March 19th, 2009
http://www.artharris.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/haleigh-cropped2.jpghttp://www.artharris.com/images/031909_1.jpghttp://www.artharris.com/images/031909_5.jpghttp://www.artharris.com/images/031909_6.jpghttp://www.artharris.com/images/031909_2.jpghttp://www.artharris.com/images/031909_4.jpghttp://www.artharris.com/images/031909_3.jpg

Haleigh Face Shot

Photo of Haleigh Cummings alleging physical abuse

By Art Harris, The Bald Truth, (c) artharris.com, all rights reserved

SATSUMA, Fla.—The Bald Truth has obtained exclusive photographs of Haleigh Cummings and her little brother, Ronald, Jr. that her mother claims show black eyes and other injuries amounting to physical abuse by their father–photos Crystal Sheffield plans to use in the bitter he-said, she-said custody fight for Haleigh’s little brother.

Against the backdrop of a massive police investigation to find the missing five year old, who vanished from her bed over a month ago, Crystal tells me she took photos during her own court ordered visits as the non-custodial parent after father Ronald Cummings was awarded the children in 2005.

Now Haleigh’s four year old brother Junior has become the prize in a new custody fight that alleges the children’s father, Ronald, has abused them.

When I spoke with him Wednesday night over sweet iced tea at a popular local eaterie, Mema’s, he called the charges “lies,” and noted that a magistrate had awarded him custody because Crystal missed a dozen doctor’s appointments, didn’t have a job, and admitted to using cocaine.

Asked if he was concerned about another visit by child protective custody workers to check on Junior, demanded by his mother, he said they’d been to his house before and found it safe and him a good father. “Bring it on,” he said, “bring it on.”

One photo obtained by The Bald Truth shows little Haleigh with a large scratch across her nose, and her face black and blue beneath the eyes.

There is no date on the photo, and Sheffield’s attorney, Kim Picazio, concedes it will be hard to prove when she took it because the memory card erased the dates.

However, Picazio says she’s been able to reconstruct the timeline from witnesses and school records Sheffield obtained after Haleigh disappeared from her bed last month when 17 year old Misty Cummings, her ex’s new bride, was babysitting.

Crystal’s stepmother, Connie Sheffield, 29, a registered nurse tells me in an exclusive interview that she took the photo the weekend before Thanksgiving, 2008, when Crystal brought the children by before returning them to Ronald.

She snapped away as Haleigh romped beneath an early Christmas tree, checking out the wrapped presents. “I’ve got to start early because there are so many kids in the family I’ve got to get presents for. Haleigh went from present to present, and I handed her a box and said, this is for you.’ She was so happy.’”

The photos show no dates, or the wrong date because Sheffield considered dates on stills “tacky” so turned that camera option off. But she insists other photos in the batch match up with family events that can be documented on a timeline.

It was Nov. 12 when she says Crystal came by to visit her father, Johnny Sheffield, a former sheriff’s deputy and ex-Marine, and brought the children—a week after Haleigh had fallen on the playground at Browning Pierce elementary where she was in kindergarten.

The school’s daily health room activity log, obtained by The Bald Truth, shows that on November 6, at 1:50 p.m, a school nurse noted Haley had cut her nose from a playground fall. A week later, on Nov. 12, just before Crystal picked up the children for that weekend visitation, Ronald brought his daughter to the emergency room at Flagler Hospital in nearby St. Augustine.

After examining her, the doctor prescribed “no school for the next three days, Nov. 13-15, according to a copy of the prescription we obtained.

It would not be the first time Haleigh missed school that fall. In fact, the attendance record we’ve also obtained shows she missed 31 days between September and Feb. 10 when she was reported missing.

At times, her family says she’s missed school for illness, and takes medication for Turner’s Syndrome.

As far as her schoolyard fall, Crystal says she didn’t know about the documented injuries until she picked up Haleigh’s records after she turned up missing.

“I didn’t know she’d missed that much school until I got the records,” Crystal told me Thursday. “That surprised me. My fiance’s kids have missed a couple of days, but this (a month) is bullcrap.”

Calls to Ronald Cummings, and other family members Thursday were not returned by deadline.

Crystal’s lawyer, Kim Picazio, tells me she’s turning the records and photos over to child protective services to make their case in Crystal’s attempt to win back custody of her son.

“I’m a nurse and work in a pediatric clinic,” says Connie Sheffield, Crystal’s stepmother who took what she found to be disturbing photos during that weekend visit. “And you always document what you see and know. The records show the school documented minor injuries, not major ones– scratch on the nose on Nov. 6.

“There was nothing major noted– no bleeding, no swelling, no bruising and no abrasion on the chin. But when I saw Haleigh and her black and blue bruises, I asked Crystal, ‘Omigod, what happened to her face.’ She said, ‘Ronald said she fell at school.’” Purportedly on concrete at the playground.

Her stepmother says she was suspicious because there were no abrasions on the hands or knees, as there might be if you were to try to stop a fall, nor any wrist injuries. “When most people fall, they try to brace themselves,” she told me. “I was concerned because I noticed there was still dried blood in her nose, her nose was so swollen, it looked crooked. I didn’t know if it was broken.”

Looking back, she now says those injuries didn’t reflect the school nurse’s notes of a minor cut on the nose, and that such “significant” injuries would always be documented “to make sure there were no facial fractures, jaw injuries, head trauma. Then she didn’t go to school for three days after that.”

Crystal says these and other photos posted exclusively at The Bald Truth show welts and bruises to Haleigh’s brother, Junior., as well.

She says she asked the kids why Junior had welts on his legs and bruises on his arm. “Haleigh said, ‘Daddy hit him with a stick,” something Ronald denies.

After that incident, Crystal demanded child services visit Ronald’s home, and as reported here earlier, they found no wrongdoing, concluding any discipline was within the law.

But with Picazio’s claims of other witnesses to Junior’s abuse, she’s now demanding another investigation, and met with the Department of Children and Families on Tuesday and urged them to look into new allegations of abuse at the Cummings’ home.

“I don’t believe that anyone knew exactly what was going on in that household until the spotlight was shown upon it,” Picazio tells me. “Why now?

“Well, we’re still not going to let Junior just sit there in an unsafe environment just because Haleigh is missing,” Picazio said. “Is she supposed to allow her other child, who has not been taken under the nose of a 17-year-old child, to be abducted or to be abused in that household? Is she supposed to sit by and watch when she knows what’s going in that household? She would be remiss. They would be calling her reckless. They would have the right to take action against her. So no, we are not going to wait. We’re not going to allow Junior to sit in an unsafe household.”



Haleigh’s Medical Chart (http://www.artharris.com/docs/haleigh-med-chart.pdf)
Haleigh’s Absentee record (http://www.artharris.com/docs/haleigh-absent.pdf)
Haleigh’s ER note (http://www.artharris.com/docs/haleigh-er.pdf)


http://www.artharris.com/2009/03/19/do-exclusive-haleigh-cummings-pix-prove-abuse/#more-1290

[Faith]

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[Faith]

Ronald Cummings Hires Attorney

Updated: 3/19/2009 3:51:24 PM

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/genthumb.ashx?e=3&h=240&w=320&i=/assetpool/images/090219014328_021909_ronaldcummings.JPG

PALATKA, FL -- The father of Haleigh Cummings has hired an attorney.

The Law Office of Kimball & Snider in Palatka says it will represent Ronald Cummings on a pro bono basis.

The personal injury firm says it will help handle the media and Ronald Cummings' interests in matters involving a possible custody fight over his son.

READ: COMPLETE COVERAGE OF SEARCH FOR HALEIGH

Earlier this week, Haleigh's mother's attorney, Kim Picazio, met with investigators with the Department of Children and Families.

She handed over information about life inside the Cummings family home that she had collected from family members and friends.

Picazio said she doesn't intend to help Crystal Sheffield file for custody of the children at this time, but she plans to wait until DCF finishes its investigation before filing any legal action for custody.

"The attorney and mother have appeared on national television to make unsubstantiated claims that Ronald Cummings sees as a 'cheap shot' and publicity stunt that detracts from the search for Haleigh," wrote Kimball & Snider in a statement released to the media.

"The mother was previously denied custody in court and allegations of abuse against Ronald were judicially dismissed."

The firm says Cummings a victim, who "needs and deserves legal advice and assistance in his quest for the safe return of his daughter."

The firm won't represent Misty Croslin Cummings, Ronald's 17-year-old wife. She is the one who told investigators she put Haleigh to bed on the night of February 9. The 5-year-old girl hasn't been seen since.

Though Ronald Cummings stands by her, the firm "has decided it is best to only represent ronald and not Misty, because of their different respective legal positions."

No one from the firm is available today to explain what "different respective legal positions" means.

In the statement the firm says it is conducting its own investigation into all "relevant matters" and will speak to the media when it's appropriate.

If you have any information on the case, call Crime Stoppers at 1-888-277-TIPS. You'll remain anonymous. The reward in the search for Haleigh is up to $35,000.

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=134180&catid=3

[Isabella]

Both Attorneys Out in Haleigh Case


Posted: Thursday, 16 July 2009 8:48PM

97.3 The Sky learned Thursday afternoon that the attorneys for the biological parents of missing 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings of Satsuma may have been released.

Kim Picazio, the attorney representing Haleigh's mother, Crystal Sheffield, on a pro-bono basis confirmed by telephone to 97.3 The Sky Thursday at 6:31 p.m. ET that she had filed the paperwork in court earlier that day for termination of representation.

Picazio chose not to go on the record when asked how this decision came about. However, Crystal Sheffield's mother, Marie Griffis, claims Picazio was fired over alleged inside leaks in the investigation.

Apparently Ronald Cummings has released his attorneys as well as indicated in this written statement from the Law Office of Kimball and Snider:

“This office has been successful in handling the DCF investigation and resolving family law issues between Ronald Cummings and Crystal Sheffield. We undertook this representation pro bono as a public service to not only Ronald Cummings, but to the citizens of Putnam County in the interest of clearing up these controversies. There are no pending legal matters involving Ronald Cummings. We are ending today our representation of Ronald Cummings on good terms. Our website, findhaleighnow.com will remain online but will not be updated.”


It appears to be as much strange as it is ironic that both lawyers are out at the same time.


http://www.thesky973.com/pages/4819242.php