One of the attorneys representing the family of Craig Elford, a victim of the hit-and-run accident last February in Fort Lauderdale, says he expects the suspect in that case, Ryan LeVin, to surrender to police tomorrow.
"I haven't heard that he was missing," says Seth Miles, whose Coral Gables firm is suing LeVin and LeVin's alleged accomplice, Derek Cook, for damages.
Miles told Juice that he believed LeVin had "probation requirements" -- an ankle bracelet or some similar monitoring device -- stemming from LeVin's history of reckless driving in Illinois.
In our conversation, Miles offered a theory about why Cook would have been willing to jump into LeVin's car after it was involved in the hit and run.
"I think that LeVin had cash and Cook didn't," says Miles. "He was kind of a sycophant, a hanger-on. I think there was some kind of remuneration for Cook if he cooperated with this plan."
That seems the most plausible theory, though it still sounds like a rather sloppy plan, considering the apparent ease with which Fort Lauderdale police could track the men's movements using cell phone records. Then again, it may have seemed ingenious to a couple of guys who'd been out all night drinking, like LeVin and Cook apparently had.
It remains to be seen how Miles and attorneys for the family of the other victim, Kenneth Watkinson, will go after LeVin's finances. The 35-year-old was apparently living off the largess of his family's fortune. "I've not heard of [LeVin's] having any legitimate, gainful employment of any kind, nor anyone who can say he did anything productive all all," says Miles. "All I've heard is that he spent a lot of time working on his car."
