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Former school district attorney accepts plea deal following Parkland school shooting investigation
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Former school district attorney accepts plea deal following Parkland school shooting investigation

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A former South Florida school district prosecutor accused of illegally sharing information from a statewide grand jury about the 2018 Parkland school shooting pleaded no contest Thursday to a reduced charge.

Former Broward County Public Schools general counsel Barbara Myrick pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of unlawful disclosure of grand jury proceedings. South Florida Sun Sentinel reported. He was accused of illegally disclosing information from the grand jury. Myrick was sentenced to one year of probation, which can be terminated after six months, and will have to pay $4,751 in prosecution fees.

The case may not be over yet. Myrick’s plea agreement allows him to appeal the judge’s previous decision denying his request to dismiss the case. His attorney, David Bogenschutz, said the case will be appealed to the 4th District Court of Appeals.

Myrick was arrested in 2021 along with then-Inspector Robert Runcie. A grand jury initially tasked with examining school security following a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 people dead expanded its scope and examined a $17 million technology deal; This is former regional manager Tony Hunter’s bribery and bid falsification.

Runcie was accused of perjury while testifying about the technology deal, and Myrick was accused of sharing information he learned from the grand jury with Runcie’s attorney. Runcie later resigned and Myrick retired.

Runcie’s case was dismissed last year on jurisdictional grounds, but an appeals court later overturned that decision. The case against Hunter was also recently dismissed, but prosecutors are also appealing that decision.