Innocent Until Proven Guilty??

Approximately ten days ago the Hernando County Sheriff's Department shut down two businesses accused of running gaming operations by the direction of Mark Simpson, Assistant State Attorney for the 5th Judicial Circuit Court. All their equipment was seized for evidence and three people were arrested relating to the charges levied by Mark Simpson, Assistant State Attorney, for running gaming operations which is a 3rd degree felony. It was Mark Simpson's opinion that the use of providing prizes and gift cards in lieu of cash pay-outs is a tactic to skirt the law even though a trial court in the Fourth Judicial District (Seminole & Volusia Counties) recently ruled that rewarding winners with gift certificates did not constitute gambling. Mr Simpson was quoted as saying "In my humble opinion, the court blew it completely, adding that the Fifth Circuit is not bound by the ruling. Our interpretation is different and we chose to enforce (the statute) differently," Simpson said. "We'll have a judge make the decision." Mr. Simpson chose to ignore the 4th Circuit's trial court decision and have these individuals arrested, stating he wanted a judge to make the decision in the 5th Circuit Court. What happened to the "presumption of innocence until proven guilty" for these individuals? Two businesses have been shut down at the personal opinion of the assistant state attorney and the underlying question should be is, "Where was the due process for these three individuals? "The business owners could file an injunction to request that their businesses be left open until the 5th Circuit Court decides the outcome of these arrests but that would do little good since all owner's equipment was seized in the initial raid. The cost of these arrests, and seizure of equipment, could very well impact the taxpayers of Hernando County in the event the accused are found innocent. If found innocent(like in the 4th Circuit Court decision) the business owners would have a very strong case for a lawsuit to recoup lost revenue and legal costs. The redemption of gifts in lieu of cash is used very frequently every day in this county by clubs and non-profits groups. Consider the groups that use Casino Night to raise money for their organizations. Gifts are given out to the winners instead of cash pay-outs. Another quick way these groups raise cash is with a 50-50 drawing where the winning ticket wins half the cash jackpot, with the other half going to the organization. Is this assistant attorney of the 5th Judicial Circuit going to arrest and prosecute all these people?