Norris: He still has his job

Dr. Tayeb Giuma’s first pretrial date was Nov. 16, and the proceedings have begun for the UNF professor who could spend up to a year in county jail.

Steve Siegel, assistant state attorney who supervises from the prosecution side, is not able to say much about the ongoing case, he said.

“I can’t talk about plea negotiations or sentencing,” Siegel said.

The next court date is Dec. 9, he said.

Giuma has plead not guilty to a simple battery charge after a physical altercation with his contractor resulted in the professor’s arrest Sept. 25 — this comes despite video evidence that shows Giuma hitting the contractor with a 2-by-4.

Giuma, who has declined to comment, has previously said he was attacked inside his own home before the fight broke outside.

Giuma’s professional engineering license also became “null and void” in 2003, when he failed to renew it.

The Dean of the College of Computing, Engineering and Construction Peter Braza did not return voice mails regarding this.

The cameras, which recorded the altercation, were on Giuma’s neighbor’s house, Tom Piatak.

Piatak installed them after he and Giuma kept a construction worker at his home past 6 p.m. against the Queens Harbour By Laws, which require all construction workers to be gone by 6 p.m.

Joanna Norris, spokesperson for UNF, said there has been no change in the internal investigation, and Giuma is still employed at UNF.

Giuma’s Police Record

In 2001, Giuma took his wife by the hair and threw her to the floor after she couldn’t immediately get his daughter on the phone. Giuma was angry his daughter moved out on her own and their financial dispute about money she owed him.

In 2005, Giuma was arrested, then given a notice to appear for petty theft after he went through a self-checkout lane at Winn Dixie and tried to pay $21 for over $220 worth of groceries.

In 2005, one of Giuma’s neighbor’s called the police to report that Giuma said, “I’m gonna hunt you are down until you are dead.” Giuma was not at home at this time. The neighbor said Giuma has a bad relationship with most the people on the street.

In 2008, Giuma was again arrested and given a notice to appear for petty theft at Lowe’s on Atlantic Boulevard. Giuma put six dimmer switches inside of a vent box and then only paid for the box. A loss prevention worker stopped him, and Giuma admitted he attempted to leave the store without paying for the switches.

Source: police reports