ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — In the courtroom and outside of it, Monique Worrell and Mark O’Mara often stand as adversaries as one tries to put accused criminals in jail and the other does their best to set them free.
However, just below the steps of the Orange County Courthouse Thursday, the two united – partially – to denounce what they described as political “interference” in a high-profile murder case.
Tina Allgeo accepted a surprise plea deal for the December 2024 road rage-turned-shooting on E. Colonial Drive that will see her sentenced to 18 months in prison for hitting Mihail Tsvetkov with her car in exchange for prosecutors dropping the murder charge.
Worrell and O’Mara, predictably, took different positions about the deal, with Worrell claiming it wasn’t the kind of justice she sought while O’Mara accusing Tsvetkov of being the aggressor.
First Worrell, then O’Mara pushed back on Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s decision to weigh in on the case, calling Allgeo’s actions “justified” while the court case was ongoing.
“You should not use your elected or appointed position to influence the impact of a case in the criminal legal system, particularly one that you do not have the information that’s necessary to comment on,” Worrell, a political enemy of Ulthmeier, said. “Let’s be clear, the Attorney General has never prosecuted a case ever in his life, nor has he defended one.”
That Worrell would make a quip about Uthmeier’s courtroom record was predictable. The two have battled each other since before Uthmeier was appointed to his position after serving as Gov. Ron DeSantis’ chief of staff, where he helped orchestrate Worrell’s suspension during her first term in office.
However, as he stepped up to defend his client, O’Mara -- who is not known for mincing his words inside or out of court -- had equally harsh comments for the AG.
“I think it was horrific,” O’Mara said. “Beneficial to my client, maybe in some weird sense, but I don’t think it’s appropriate for any politician to get involved in the system… politicians should know better.”
Uthmeier did not acknowledge either attorney’s remarks when he posted an update to his X (formerly Twitter) account.
“In Florida, we will protect the right to stand your ground against violent aggressors,” he said, thanking Worrell for taking “our advice.”
His spokesman and chief of staff, Jeremy Redfern, fired back when he responded to a follow-up question through a text message.
“The only person who is negatively impacting the integrity of prosecutions in the 9th Judicial Circuit is Monique Worrell,” Redfern said.
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