Crime Museum Board of Experts

Alcatraz East has lined up an extensive Advisory Board whose breadth of knowledge encompasses aspects of crime and punishment in America. Bringing together experts from chief medical examiners and detectives, to military special operators and criminal investigators, Alcatraz East Advisory Board supports the museum’s mission to educate, entertain, and inspire.

Highly decorated retired Master Police Officer, Derwin Bradley, has more than 30 years of experience in Law Enforcement and Security operations. Areas of expertise include Patrol Operations, In-Service Training, Advanced Tactical Response (SWAT, Active Shooter, and Hostage Rescue), Defensive Tactics, and Investigations. Derwin is a Local and National Presenter on topics such as Crime Prevention, Active Shooter Response, Self-Defense, and Conflict Resolution, Youth Crimes, Human Trafficking, and the Crime Free Multi-Housing Program. Derwin is a decorated US Army veteran with service as a Military Police Investigator, Dignitary Protection Agent, Counterterrorism Specialist, and Reconnaissance Scout, with extensive global travel. Derwin has written manuals on Self-Defense and Police Procedures and is an award-winning author.


James R. Knight spent his first career in aviation, flying for five years in the U. S. Air Force and then thirty-one years with Federal Express Corporation, logging over 17,000 hours. Over twenty years ago, however, he began a second career as a historian that resulted in his account of the Barrow Gang, “Bonnie & Clyde: A 21st Century Update,” and grew into a study of Depression Era outlaws and the crime wave that swept the country in the early ‘30s. In addition to giving us such colorful characters as John Dillinger, “Baby Face” Nelson, “Pretty Boy” Floyd, Clyde Barrow, Raymond and Floyd Hamilton, “Ma” Barker, Alvin “Creepy” Karpis, and many others, that crime wave also brought about the birth of J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI and the beginnings of the local, state, and federal law enforcement system we know today.

James has appeared on several radio and television documentaries and spoken before many groups about Bonnie & Clyde and their life and times, including several appearances as a featured speaker at the annual Bonnie & Clyde Festival in Gibsland Louisiana. In addition to his work on Depression Era outlaws, he has also written six books on Civil War history in Tennessee and the Western Theater. He also works as a docent and tour guide for The Battle of Franklin Trust which administers the Carnton Plantation and Carter House state historic sites.


Robin Maynard is a Certified Crime Scene Investigator with 14 years experiences in Orange County, Florida, both as a Paramedic and as a CSI in the major case Forensics Unit at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. Robin brings her expertise in Fingerprinting, Blood Spatter Analysis, Crime Scene photography and more. Robin is known for her investigation on major cases including the East Side rapist, the Richard Kannanen case and the Casey Anthony case. CSI Maynard received multiple awards and recognition throughout her career to include the investigative award from the FBI for her work on the Casey Anthony case, Unit Citations from Sheriff Berry and Sheriff Demmings, as well as the Women’s Achievement Award and the National Association of Social Workers “Public Citizen of the year” Award for her volunteer service in the community.


Derek Newport is a 30-year law enforcement veteran that has spent the last 20 years with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI). In his tenure as a Special Agent, he has investigated numerous violent crimes, thefts, public corruption, and use of force incidents. Currently, Derek is serving as the Special Agent in Charge of the Upper East Tennessee Criminal Investigation Division. He is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy and National Forensic Academy. Prior to his career with TBI, Derek served with the White Pine Police Department, Morristown Police Department, and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.


Judge Belvin Perry, Jr. is most known as the trial judge in the case State of Florida v. Casey Anthony. Perry is currently a personal injury attorney with the law firm of Morgan & Morgan. Prior to joining the Morgan Law Firm in September of 2014, he was the Chief Judge of 9th Judicial Circuit for nearly 18 years and a circuit judge for nearly 24 years, before retiring in August 2014. He has served as President of the National Conference of Metropolitan Courts, the first African American Chair of the Florida Conference of Circuit Judges, and on numerous other boards, receiving many awards and honors.


As vice president of NCMEC’s Strategic Advancement & Partnerships division, Gavin Portnoy is responsible for creating and maintaining strategies to elevate the organization’s brand, create new partnerships, bolster existing relationships and work positively and efficiently with NCMEC’s departments and stakeholders to support programs and goals.


As a decorated combat veteran and Navy SEAL Chief, Anthony Rivera is an expert in domestic and foreign weapons, demolition and tactics. Anthony served in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation New Dawn in the Al-Anbar Province of Iraq. He also advised Foreign Government on Special Operations Tactics, Techniques and Procedures to countries such as Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Oman, Yemen, Qatar, Bahrain, and several other partner forces fighting the War on Terror. Anthony’s post-active military pursuits include leadership development, mentoring and volunteering his time to members of the military and their families.


Dennis Sobin spent 10 years in prison after he refused to plead guilty and accept probation for a crime he did not commit. While he was incarcerated, he used his time to work on art, learning to read music and play classical guitar. Upon his release in 2003, Dennis formed the Prisons Foundation with two other wrongly incarcerated individuals, Helen Thorne and Jim Pruitt. Funding was received from Lloyd Rubin, an international entrepreneur, art collector, and former prisoner. The Prisons Foundation exhibits art made in prison at art galleries, schools and festivals across America, publishes over 1,000 books written by prisoners, and produces prisoner‐oriented musicals and dramas at the Kennedy Center. www.PrisonsFoundation.org


Joshua D. Stephany, MD is the Orange County Chief Medical Examiner and Division Manager of the District Nine Medical Examiner’s Office, which includes Orange and Osceola counties. Previous to his appointment, Dr. Stephany served as Interim Chief Medical Examiner, following the retirement of Dr. Jan Garavaglia (Dr. G) in May 2015. He has appeared on The Dr. G Show, and has been published in “The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology.” Among Stephany’s extensive list of credentials, he has previously served as Associate Medical Examiner to the District Nine Medical Examiner’s Office and clinical assistant professor in forensic pathology at Florida State University College of Medicine.


Jim Willett spent 30 years with the Texas prison system, and retired as the warden of the historic Huntsville “Walls” Unit. He served another 17 years as director of the Texas Prison Museum in Huntsville, and has added first hand perspective to Alcatraz East’s exhibits.