Clearwater man's good deed to homeless couple nearly lands him in prison for three felonies

CLEARWATER, Fla. - A Clearwater man thought he was doing a good deed when he took in a homeless couple, but six weeks later, he was in the county jail charged with three felonies and looking at years in prison. 

Philip Felix said a false police report turned his life upside down, and it took one tenacious defense attorney to get to the bottom of it. 

"It all backfired on me. I thought I was doing a really good thing here," said Felix. 

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Back in October, Felix opened his heart and home to Harry Pinkney and Megan Soto, a homeless couple. Felix had spotted them outside a Walgreens in Clearwater and decided to help them. Soto was eight months pregnant.

The couple stayed in a spare room at Felix's condo.

"They were very quiet and to themselves at first," said Felix.

But that didn't last. Felix said the two fought so much, even his dog Bailey was on edge.

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"When she’s staying in my room staying in my closet that means she’s scared of something," he explained. 

The turmoil went on for six weeks, and by then, Felix had had enough. He told the couple they had to go, but a day later, Soto and Pinkney returned with a police officer and a wild story.

Soto claimed Felix attacked her with a knife. Without much of an investigation into the allegations, the officer believed her and arrested Felix.  He was now in jail facing felony charges, including aggravated assault of a pregnant female and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Felix would also lose his job at a nearby hospital for missing several days of work, however that wasn't the worst part. His name and reputation took a huge hit. 

"The stories being told that I am a hospital worker who attacks a pregnant woman, how do I come back from that?" questioned Felix.

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While Felix was locked up for four days, he said the couple ransacked his home and headed straight to a pawn shop.

Felix knew he was innocent and hired top defense attorney Bjorn Brunvand to prove it. Brunvand, in his dogged determination to get to the truth, met with Soto, and it didn't take long for her to come clean.

"She says it’s all a lie. ‘I made it up. I made it up, because my boyfriend told me he was going to kill me and kill my unborn baby if I didn’t say it,’" Brunvand recalled.

Brunvand immediately contacted the prosecutor on the case who questioned Soto under oath. She admitted again she had made up the allegations.

During a recent hearing, Pinellas-Pasco circuit Judge Pat Siracusa was told about all of it. Siracusa, apologized to Felix for the injustice he has endured and turned his ire on Soto. 

"This man was deprived of his liberty and put in jail on three violent felonies that will forever be on his record so that’s why I’m trying to wrap my mind around while this young lady is not wearing charm bracelets," inquired Siracusa.

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The prosecutor reminded the judge that Soto feared for her life after being threatened by her boyfriend if she didn't go through with it. Brunvand told the judge he believes Pinkney should also face legal consequences.

"Who seemed to be the orchestrator of it all, we're hoping the state would pursue charges against him," said Brunvand.

So far, he is not facing charges.

As for Felix, he is rebuilding his life, and he still believes in helping others, however, he’s just a little wiser.

"Even though there’s a lot of good in the world, there is a lot of evil," he said.