Pilot In The Clear On Drug Case
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Miami Herald, The (FL) Richard Wallace, Herald Staff Writer Juby Battle, a Miami pilot who has struggled for five years to clear himself in a complex drug case, celebrated Monday after learning the government plans to drop the indictment. In what appears to be the last word in a tortuous legal saga, Battle has gone from being a man with a past to one with a future. "I had to stop and regain my composure," Battle said after learning Friday that he will have a clean record. Battle, 28, hopes to go back to work as an airline pilot. "My family has been very supportive, and they are relieved," he said. "They have carried me through this." Battle was arrested in 1988 as charter pilot on a flight In complicated series of legal moves, a jury convicted Battle, a judge overturned the jury, the federal government successfully appealed and overturned the judge, and Battle lost an appeal of that ruling. But after reading a Miami Herald story about Battle's plight, a witness -- a fellow pilot who had flown the same plane -- came forward to give evidence in Battle's favor. His attorney, Sam Rabin, said the new testimony was crucial. Battle has since won the right for a retrial, but the government told Rabin it will not prosecute. At the U.S. attorney's office, spokesman Andres Rivero said he could not comment before the final papers are filed. Battle's fiancee, Thelma Pandy, has stuck with him through his ordeal. "After it was finished, I felt like a bear had jumped off my back," she said. "I couldn't believe it." |
