<\/p>\n
Ariel Lett represents Tricia Geter Pinder, a key witness in the prosecution of her ex\u2011boyfriend, Corey Smith.<\/p>\n
CBS News Miami | March 2026<\/p>\n
A Miami woman has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that a former assistant state attorney and others in the Miami-Dade State Attorney\u2019s Office intimidated her into testifying during the resentencing of a gang leader.<\/p>\n
Tricia Geter Pinder \u2014 a key witness in the prosecution of her ex\u2011boyfriend, Corey Smith, the onetime leader of the \u201cJohn Does\u201d gang \u2014 says state attorneys lied to her and caused years of emotional distress. Smith\u2019s original death sentence was overturned, and he was resentenced in 2024 to 30 years in prison.<\/p>\n
During that process, a judge removed prosecutor Michael Von Zamft and another attorney from Smith\u2019s case because of their actions. Those actions are now part of the lawsuit, which targets current and former members of the State Attorney\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n
Geter Pinder says she was pressured to testify in 2024, and the suit claims Von Zamft and others threatened her life, warned that convicted murderers would come after her and threatened to jail or prosecute her.<\/p>\n
Her attorney, Ariel Lett, says recorded jailhouse phone calls captured Von Zamft discussing Geter Pinder with another witness, convicted killer Latravis Gallashaw. In one call, Von Zamft refers to a \u201cBlack Widow,\u201d which Lett says is a reference to Geter Pinder.<\/p>\n
Von Zamft tells Gallashaw that if she refuses to testify, he would \u201cfind a way to make her unavailable\u201d so he could use her prior testimony instead.<\/p>\n
Lett said Gallashaw\u2019s reaction to the comment is \u201cwhat gives chills down your spine,\u201d suggesting the convicted killer believed Von Zamft was talking about taking Geter Pinder \u201coff the table.\u201d<\/p>\n
The recorded calls have been public record since 2024. Lett said the lawsuit was filed two years later to seek justice for both Geter Pinder and the community.<\/p>\n
The complaint states Geter Pinder suffers from severe emotional distress, anxiety, paranoia about her safety, post-traumatic stress disorder and other ailments.<\/p>\n
The Miami-Dade State Attorney\u2019s Office did not provide a statement but confirmed that three of the defendants named in the lawsuit remain employed there.<\/p>\n
A Miami-Dade Sheriff\u2019s Office deputy, described in the lawsuit as a liaison between the State Attorney\u2019s Office and Geter Pinder, is also a defendant. The agency confirmed his employment but declined to comment on the case.<\/p>\n
Von Zamft resigned after he and another prosecutor were dismissed from the Smith resentencing in 2024. Reached by phone, Von Zamft said he had not read the full lawsuit and had not been served. Asked whether he ever threatened witnesses in the Smith case, Von Zamft said, \u201cI know that I did not.\u201d He described the lawsuit as being \u201cbased upon falsehoods and mistruths\u201d and said Geter Pinder was treated fairly.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing was done to the best of my knowledge that was inappropriate or unethical during the course of the Corey Smith presentation when I represented the state,\u201d he said. He emphasized he was not involved in Smith\u2019s original conviction, only the resentencing.<\/p>\n
Lett said he is still trying to serve Von Zamft, who has moved out of state. The lawsuit cannot move forward in federal court until service is completed.<\/p>\n