Tammy Sytch Asks For Public Defender In DUI Manslaughter Case, Warned By Judge Over Fiance’s Behavior

UPDATE: Tammy Sytch was reportedly given a warning by the judge in her DUI manslaughter case during a hearing yesterday over behavior exhibited by her fiance. The Dayton Beach News-Journal reports that during the hearing on Thursday in which Sytch said she was filing for a public defender, it was revealed that her fiance James Pente issued a nasty comment to Ashley Terwilleger, the Assistant State Attorney overseeing the prosecution.

According to the report, Sytch told the judge that Pente was working on getting another defense attorney but that she was asking for a public defender until that time. The judge told her to fill out the paperwork to determine if she qualified, which she did and now has a public defender. The judge asked the Terwilleger if Pente had approached her that morning.

Terwilleger said that “He didn’t approach me, but he spoke to me, not surprisingly, as I was passing by.” When asked what he said, she noted, “He called me a dirty (expletive), among other things that I didn’t fully catch.”

The judge then told Sytch, “So you understand ma’am, if you want him to be present in court, this kind of behavior is absolutely unacceptable and I will not allow him to be present if he’s going to disrupt proceedings or be inappropriate or unprofessional or threatening in any manner. So if you talk to him, you let him know that this could rise to the level of contempt of court and if he were to do something like that, I would go into proceedings to see if I would sanction him for his behavior at the courthouse.”

Pente was unable to be reached by the outlet for comment on the matter.

ORIGINAL: Tammy Sytch is seeking a public defender for her trial on DUI manslaughter and more in Florida. As you surely recall, Sytch was arrested and charged with nine counts, including DUI causing the death of a person, in relation to a March 25th car accident in Florida that resulted in the death of 75 year-old Julian Lasseter. She is currently remanded to jail awaiting trial on the charges, which does not currently have a start date. She has pleaded not guilty, though her lawyer was granted permission to withdraw from the case due to an impasse over handling of the case and Sytch not complying with the terms of the lawyer’s employment contract.

Now, PWInsider reportsthat Sytch filed a petition on Thursday seeking criminal indigent status, which means she is unable to afford a lawyer for her defense and is asking for a public defender. In her petition, she sayd she has $2,500 in her back accounts, no income and “total liabilities and debts” that total $28,000. No ruling has been made on the request and the scheduled hearing for the criminal case is on August 11th.