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Cindy Economou, 38, accused of taking home Karl Lambert’s lower left leg from the scene of a two-vehicle collision on Interstate 95 at mile marker 118 in Port St. Lucie on September 19, 2008, has been charged with one count of petit theft — a second-degree misdemeanor. After deeming Lambert’s foot unsalvageable, St. Lucie County Fire rescue crews amputated the foot to free Lambert from the wreck. The amputation occurred about six-to-eight inches below Lambert’s left knee.
Economou claims that Deputy Chief Bailey of the St. Lucie County Fire District initially told her she couldn’t have the foot, but later said Bailey said “something” along the lines of “I don’t want to know” that she interpreted as “‘unexplicit authorization’ … ” so she took the foot from the scene and put in a freezer. She apparently wanted to use the foot later for training of her cadaver dog — a dog that is specially trained and used to find dead bodies.
The amputated part was eventually submitted to St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach on September 24, 2008.
A scheduled hearing for Thursday has been changed to 9 a.m. March 30, 2009 for a jury trial before St. Lucie County Judge Philip Yacucci. If found guilty, punishment could consist of 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.
Related stories …
Ex-St. Lucie firefighter enters plea in foot theft case — St. Lucie County : TCPalm
St. Lucie firefighter accused of taking crash victim’s foot resigns — St. Lucie County : TC Palm