Last Modified: Friday, February 12, 2010 at 10:38 p.m.
BARTOW
Stobert "Toby" Holt, accused of being behind a complex murder and kidnapping plot, must post $300,000 bail if he wishes to get out of the Polk County Jail.
Prosecutors say Holt killed his co-worker, Robert Arthur Wiles, a Lakeland man missing since 2008.
Circuit Judge J. Michael Hunter made the decision to set bail for Holt after a daylong hearing Friday.
He described the evidence presented against Holt as being an "extremely strong circumstantial case."
Assistant State Attorney Cass Castillo urged Hunter to deny Holt's request for bail.
But the judge said he could only deny bail if the evidence against Holt showed the "proof of guilt is evident and presumption is great" - a standard even higher than the "beyond a reasonable doubt" necessary to convict a person of a crime.
Holt's lawyer, Howardene Garrett, an assistant public defender, said her client has no criminal history and is willing to relocate to Polk County so he could be supervised until his trial.
Other conditions of Holt's release would include that he wear a monitoring device on his ankle, surrender his passport and firearms, and not leave his home except for employment, attending medical appointments and consulting with his lawyers.
Castillo requested that if Holt can post bail that a hearing be held first to determine the source of the money.
Holt, 42, of Cocoa Beach, faces charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping, extortion and writing threats to kill or do bodily harm.
James Bucenell, an agent with the FBI, spent most of the day using a multimedia slide show to outline evidence against Holt.
Investigators first had to prove that Wiles - a clean-cut, sociable man who loved boating, fishing and flying - is dead.
Since his disappearance, Wiles' financial records show no sign of activity. He was close to family and friends, but hasn't contacted any of them. He didn't take any of his personal items, including his passport.
Wiles was 26 when he disappeared April 1, 2008. He had been working at his family's aircraft maintenance business, National Flight Services, at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport.
At the time, Holt, employed by NFS as the company's operation manager, was the last person to have reported seeing him alive, about 6 or 6:30 p.m.
Holt claimed that after work he went to Hooters on South Florida Avenue and drank some beer. But investigators say Holt can't be seen entering or exiting on surveillance footage from the restaurant.
Holt claimed he drove near two other establishments to see whether there were any women around, but there weren't so he ate dinner at an Outback Steakhouse. Holt said he paid for his meal with a credit card, but no financial record confirms this.
Phone records indicate Holt called Home Depot on South Florida Avenue shortly before the store closed at 9 p.m.
Prosecutors suggested Holt called the store to see whether it was still open so he could pick up some items to dispose of a body: a box of plastic sheeting and two rolls of duct tape. A receipt showing cash was paid for these items at 8:54 p.m. was found in the store's records, but no surveillance footage existed to show Holt was the one who paid for it.
An e-mail demanding $750,000 and signed by "Group X" was sent to Wiles' father, Tom, on April 2, 2008, using Robert Wiles' cellular phone. The money was to be put in a package and placed inside Robert Wiles' office inside the NFS building at the airport. Holt's office was right next door.
Investigators thought this was an odd choice for a drop location, considering that the building was secure - complete with an alarm system.
But no one ever picked up the money.
Telephone records are a critical part of the case.
Holt told investigators that he went to see one of his mistresses on the evening of April 3, 2008.
Robert Wiles' phone was being used on that evening. Whoever was using the phone was checking its voicemail and trying to contact Robert Wiles' father.
Records showed that Holt's cell phone and Robert Wiles' cell phone were using cell towers on a nearly identical path.
Surveillance video captured Holt's car passing through toll stations, and his SunPass transponder provided other useful data for comparison.
In one piece of footage, Holt's hand is near his ear as if he is using a cellular phone.
But records show Holt's phone wasn't being used at that time. However, Robert Wiles' phone was being used.
During an interview after the disappearance, Holt denied having or using Robert Wiles' cell phone or knowing what happened to him.
He told investigators he didn't have any weapons in his 2002 BMW convertible.
But investigators found a .40-caliber Sig Sauer handgun under the hood of his car. Investigators did not seize the firearm at the interview April 11, 2008. They later found evidence suggesting Holt might have taken steps to change the characteristics of the gun's barrel.
A receipt was discovered at a Tampa gun store showing Holt spent $200 in cash for a replacement barrel for the pistol, which he picked up April 25, 2008.
http://www.theledger.com/article/20100212/NEWS/2125056/1410?Title=Bail-Set-for-Toby-Holt-in-Complex-Murder-Kidnapping-of-Robert-Wiles
