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Recent Blog Posts in 2009 |
| 18 posts found. Viewing page 1 of 1. |
| October 06, 2009 |
| Broward Sheriff Officer charged with Burglary, Extortion & Possession of Marijuana |
| Posted By Brett Schwartz |
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| A Broward sheriff's deputy arrested after authorities say he promised to turn a blind eye on a marijuana grow-house in exchange for cash became the fourth deputy this year to be accused of abusing their badge.
But Manuel Silva, 34, may not be the last.
The agency's Division of Internal Affairs is investigating allegations that the deputy had accomplices in the extortion scheme discovered last week, Sheriff Al Lamberti said Monday. The sheriff is also asking the public to report similar cases.
"By no means is this over," Lamberti said. "We believe he was not acting alone, and we're going to root out the other people who may have been involved."
Silva, a nine-year veteran of the force, is being held without bail in the Broward Main Jail on extortion, armed burglary and drug possession charges. He was suspended without pay.
On Sept. 29, Silva showed up at the Fort Lauderdale home of Orlando Gutierrez, 38, and insisted he be allowed to search the house, authorities said. The deputy was not in uniform but brandished a badge and a gun, Lamberti said.
After seeing five marijuana plants, Silva told Gutierrez he wouldn't arrest him or take the plants if Gutierrez gave him money, the Sheriff's Office said. Lamberti said Silva asked for "a significant amount" but would not say how much.
To sweeten the deal, Silva even offered to give Gutierrez the picture and name of the person who'd ratted him out, Lamberti said.
Gutierrez later told another person about the extortion. That person, whom Lamberti would not identify, reported Silva to a Broward sheriff's supervisor on Sept. 30, authorities said.
Deputies arrested Silva in Plantation on Friday after he'd picked up the cash from Gutierrez, officials said. Oxycodone pills and a prescription bottle of Cialis with the label partially removed were found in his unmarked patrol car, according to police reports.
"This is an indication of a bigger problem, and it all comes down to greed," Lamberti said.
Silva, assigned to the agency's Central Broward district, made nearly $68,000 in 2008, according to Sheriff's Office records. Any overtime he might have accrued that year was not included in the report.
Silva served as an intelligence analyst for the U.S. Army during the late 1990s before applying at the Sheriff's Office in 2000, according to his personnel report.
Known as the "go-to deputy," he quickly amassed scores of commendation letters and was nominated several times for his district's employee of the month award, which he won once in 2006.
A minor on-duty car crash in 2002 was the biggest blemish on his record, according to a Sheriff's Office Internal Affairs report.
Records show Silva's street work was valued by his supervisors. He built a solid network of sources that often gave him a heads-up to crime scenes and suspects.
"[Silva] has developed a very workable rapport with many residents of the area. This gives him a slight advantage when speaking to victims/witnesses and suspects," a supervisor wrote in the deputy's 2008 performance evaluation. "In many of his cases he knows where to start his investigation due to his knowledge of the area."
Silva's case bears similarities to the August arrest of Jonathan Bleiweiss, another deputy with a sterling record ruined by what Lamberti on Monday called an abuse of the public's trust.
Bleiweiss remains jailed, accused of intimidating eight men into performing sex acts with him. Because the men were illegal immigrants, Bleiweiss would threaten to have them deported if they reported him to authorities, officials said.
Also in August, the Sheriff's Office arrested Detention Deputy Gladys Dauphin after a six-month investigation into charges that she severely injured a jail inmate by hitting him on the head with a radio.
In March, Deputy Charles Grady Jr. resigned after being formally charged with two counts of battery. Grady had been accused of inappropriately touching women during traffic stops in 2008.
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| October 06, 2009 |
| Dolphin Player Arrested in Broward County |
| Posted By Brett Schwartz |
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| The girlfriend of Dolphins practice squad player Wilfred "Will" Billingsley this morning said she won't press charges after a Broward County judge ordered him held on $4,000 bail for allegedly trying to throw her outside their Wilton Manors home.
"He didn't do anything," Leah Michelle Boyd said as she stuck her head out of the door at Billingsley's townhouse in the 2700 block of Northeast Eighth Avenue. She slammed the door shut.
It will be up to the Broward State Attorney's Office to decide whether it will pursue charges against Billingsley, said Wilton Manors police spokesman Detective David Jones.
Judge John Hurley this morning ordered Billingsley, a cornerback, to avoid any contact with Boyd, his girlfriend of several years.
Billingsley, 25, also was ordered to not return to his home, where police said he and his girlfriend have lived for four months.
Wilton Manors police arrested Billingsley at about 6:40 p.m. Monday on misdemeanor charges of domestic battery and resisting arrest.
"We only heard about it late last night," said Harvey Greene, Dolphins senior vice president for media relations. "We're just now in the process of gathering information and won't have a comment at this time."
Police arrested Boyd, also 25, on a charge of obstruction after police said she interfered with Billingsley's arrest. She was freed from custody at about 2 a.m. today, on the condition she appear before a judge at a later date.
During an argument, Billingsley grew angry when Boyd placed his shoes outside their home, Jones said. He didn't want them outside, police said.
Billingsley then "tried to physically throw her outside the residence through the front door," a police report said.
As Billingsley held her horizontally, Boyd resisted, holding onto the door and door frame, police said.
When police arrived, they found Boyd had scratches on her left upper arm and neck area, police said.
Meanwhile, they found Billingsley sitting outside on the ground in his yard. A police officer handcuffed his left hand, but Billingsley then pulled his right arm away, saying he "couldn't go to jail," police said.
He "pushed and pulled" to prevent being arrested, but police were able to place the other handcuff on his arm and take him into custody.
At some point during police's visit to the home, one of the couple's dogs, possibly a Boxer breed, bit a police officer, seriously injuring his right thumb, Jones said.
The officer, whose name wasn't provided by police, was taken to Holy Cross Hospital, where he was treated and released. The officer's injury will require visits to a hand specialist, Jones said.
Billingsley's agent could not be reached for comment.
Billingsley originally signed with the Dolphins in April 2008 as an undrafted free agent out of North Carolina A&T.
He spent all last season on the team's eight-man practice squad.
He returned there this season after failing to make the active roster out of training camp
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| September 24, 2009 |
| Crime Down Slightly In Broward and Palm Beach County |
| Posted By Brett Schwartz |
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Crime in Broward and Palm Beach counties decreased slightly during the
first half of this year, compared to the first half of 2008, according
to statistics compiled by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement
that were released Wednesday.
The state agency keeps track of the crimes of murder, robbery,
aggravated assault, forcible sex offenses, burglary, larceny and auto theft; it uses the mid-year statistics as a barometer for the rest of
the year.
Both Broward and Palm Beach counties recorded an overall crime decrease
of about 4 percent. Both counties saw slight decreases or increases in
each of the categories, except for auto theft.
In Broward, auto thefts declined 16 percent, and in Palm Beach County, reports were down 25 percent.
The statistics reflect an 8 percent overall decrease in crime statewide.
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| September 09, 2009 |
| Two Broward cops get probation after guilty verdict |
| Posted By Brett Schwartz |
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| A Broward judge today sentenced two former Lauderhill police officers each to a year of probation for falsifying reports to say a driver was a belligerent aggressor who tried to kick out a patrol car window during a Feb. 8, 2008, traffic stop. Miranda Decker, 23, and Emanouel Legakis, 28, were each convicted in July by a Broward County jury of official misconduct and falsifying reports. The jury acquitted the pair of battery. Decker stopped driver Clayon Jones for running a stop sign. The traffic stop turned ugly, prosecutor Jeannette Camacho said, when Decker became hostile after Jones asked why he was being stopped, questioned the officer's rude demeanor and asked to read the citation. Jones, 30, of Pompano Beach, testified during the trial that although he remained calm, Decker slammed the car door on his leg, grabbed him, cuffed him, squeezed his throat and threatened him with additional charges. When Legakis arrived, Jones said the officer punched him near the jaw. In their police reports, the officers downplayed their aggression, Camacho said, and sought to justify their actions by portraying Jones as an argumentative aggressor who refused to obey commands and tried to kick the window out of a patrol car. The Police Department terminated Decker and Legakis on March 14, 2008. Before sentencing, both defendants professed their innocence and despair at losing their law-enforcement jobs, careers they had yearned for their entire lives. "Police officers don't normally drive around and pick on people," Legakis said. "We are trained to react, not to act. [Jones] reacted in a certain way, and we reacted in a certain way." Circuit Judge Cynthia Imperato withheld formal felony convictions from the former cops' criminal records, saying she was troubled by the case. She did not believe Jones' version of the events, Imperato said, but would not go against a jury's verdict. "It hurts that she didn't believe me," Jones said afterward. "I don't feel too pleased with the outcome, but it is what it is, and the judge made a decision. To me, this is like a slap on the wrist." Jones' wife, Michelle, 39, said she believed the judge let her former career as a police officer influence the sentences she chose to impose. "They say cops are like a brotherhood," Michelle Jones said. "It makes you wonder who is there really to protect you, if the ones sworn to serve and protect you are abusing you. Who do you turn to?"
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| September 09, 2009 |
| Homeless man could get 5 years for wearing handcuff keys |
| Posted By Brett Schwartz |
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| For wearing handcuff keys on a necklace draped around his neck, a homeless Miami Beach man could face years in prison. Prosecutors on Tuesday formally charged Michael Gonzalez, 22, with disorderly intoxication, marijuana possession and two counts of possession of a concealed handcuff key -- a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. ``It's an actual felony,'' prosecutor Barbara Teresa Govea explained to Miami-Dade Circuit Judge John Thornton, who questioned the charge. ``There's got to be some kind of constitutional violation in there somewhere,'' Assistant Public Defender Michelle Prescott grumbled to the court. Actually, the Florida Legislature passed the law after the 1998 murders of two Tampa deputies and a state trooper. Hank Earl Carr shot and killed them after he escaped his cuffs using a universal handcuff key hidden on a necklace. Gonzalez was arrested Aug. 16 after Miami Beach police said he was harassing women on the South Beach sand. In a report, Officer Errol Vidal wrote that he found a small amount of marijuana in the man's pocket and ``two handcuff keys concealed under his shirt on a necklace.'' Also under Gonzalez's shirt: a tattoo on his right shoulder, with the word ``anarchy'' and shooting flames.
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| September 09, 2009 |
| 11 accused of faking voter registration cards in Miami-Dade |
| Posted By Brett Schwartz |
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| Eleven people hired to register potential voters in Miami-Dade County before last year's presidential election were being sought Wednesday for falsifying hundreds of voter registration cards. The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office issued arrest warrants for each of the 11 suspects, all of whom worked for the local chapter of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, (ACORN). By early Wednesday morning, six were in custody, authorities said. ACORN came under fire during last year's presidential campaign when Republicans and other conservative groups accused the national organization of committing fraud in its aggressive voter registration efforts in various cities and counties nationwide, including Florida. But ACORN officials said they had alerted authorities about the alleged illegal activity among some canvassers in Miami-Dade after finding ``numerous discrepancies'' on voter cards collected from the Homestead area. The arrests are ``further evidence we've been policing our own folks and report people attempting to commit voter registration fraud,'' said ACORN spokesman Brian Kettenring. ``This was really some individuals who were trying to defraud their employer.'' Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle praised ACORN. ``We've been very aggressive about a lot of these cases,'' she said. ``But we would not have known about these workers unless ACORN brought it to us. ``It's really minor, ineffectual attempts to justify getting paid an hourly basis. It could not have impacted the voting process whatsoever. Nonetheless, we cannot turn a blind eye to this,'' Rundle added. ACORN quality control workers found the discrepancies in the cards turned in by 10 canvassers and contacted authorities in June 2008, according to the arrest warrant in the case. The group turned in 1,400 cards, of which 888 were found to be fraudulent. An analyst with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement later reviewed a random group of cards, searching databases to find a record of the voter. The cards ``contained personal information that did not match an actual person,'' the warrant said. The workers, who were paid between $8 and $10 an hour, registered names of nonexistent people -- in one case, Paul Newman and James Taylor appeared on cards -- or simply filled out several cards for the same real voter, authorities said. Those arrested are charged with several counts of false swearing in connection with voting or elections and submission of false voter registration information, both third-degree felonies, punishable by up to five (5) years in Florida State Prison.
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| September 09, 2009 |
| Miami Dade Police Shoot Armed Man |
| Posted By Brett Schwartz |
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| Miami-Dade officers shot an armed man several times late Tuesday after a confrontation, police said. The man was taken by helicopter to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center in serious condition, police said. About 10 p.m., officers got a ``report of an armed, suicidal male who was making threats'' at a home in the 25300 block of Southwest 182nd Avenue, Miami-Dade Detective Juan Villalba said in a release. The man was shot several times. His name was not released. No one else was injured.
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| September 09, 2009 |
| Miramar police: Driver of car that killed motorcyclist had high blood alcohol level |
| Posted By Brett Schwartz |
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| A driver's blood alcohol level was almost three times over the legal limit Tuesday morning when he hit and killed a motorcyclist, police said. Robert Jones, 31, of Miramar, was arrested after police said he fled the scene of the crash. He was booked into the Broward Main Jail on multiple traffic-related charges, including DUI manslaughter. Eric Maron, 43, of Davie, died at the scene immediately after the crash, which occurred at the intersection of Pembroke Road and Island Drive, officials said. Jones was driving his 9-year-old stepdaughter to school when the accident happened at 7:20 a.m., said Miramar police spokeswoman Tania Rues. They were in a white, older model Toyota Avalon and were not injured. The motorcyclist was trying to get in front of the Toyota in the left eastbound lane of Pembroke Road when the crash happened, according to Justin Chavez, 17, who said he saw the accident. Police said they are still investigating the cause of the accident. The motorcyclist was dragged about 100 feet underneath the car before it came to a stop at the intersection, Chavez said. That's when he saw Jones and his stepdaughter leave the car. "They looked shaken up," Chavez said. "I was more concerned about the man who was trapped. He just looked lifeless." Jones started walking south on Island Drive and told Chavez he was going to take his daughter to school and would come back, police said. Police later found him in the 2100 block of Gulfstream Drive, about seven blocks from the crash scene. The Miramar Fire Department administered two Breathalyzer tests and withdrew blood for an official toxicology report, Rues said. Both Breathalyzer tests showed Jones' blood alcohol level was nearly three times above the legal limit, officials said. It will take several weeks before the results of the blood test are released, Rues said. The breath/blood alcohol limit in the state of Florida is .08. The most likely charges for the driver of this vehicle would include DUI manslaughter and Leaving the Scene of an Accident Resulting in Death. However, the state of Florida would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt specific elements required by Florida Statute. The first element that must be proven is that the individual charged was the person in actual physical control of the vehicle at the time of the crash. In addtion, they would have to prove that the driver's impairment was the cause of the accident and not as a result of the careless driving of the motorcyclist. A recent high profile case with similar charges was resolved early with very little incarceration in part because of the state's inability to disprove that the victim's actions were not as likely a cause of the accident as the driver's level of impairment while behind the wheel of his vehicle.
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| August 28, 2009 |
| Hallandale Police Out in Force Tonight to Hunt for Drunk Drivers |
| Posted By Brett Schwartz |
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| Police officers will be out in force tonight and early Saturday morning in a crackdown on those who are DUI (driving under the influence). The patrols will start at 11 p.m. and continue until 3 a.m., said Capt. Sonia Quinones. The goal of the operation is to reduce the number of alcohol-related crashes, fatalities and injuries, Quinones said.
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| August 28, 2009 |
| Police Use Fake Cover to Arrest those with Outstanding Warrants |
| Posted By Brett Schwartz |
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| Convinced they were picking up money being given away by a government agency, 76 people were instead picked up by police when they arrived to collect their prize. There was no cash and no agency: It was all an elaborate setup by Fort Lauderdale police to arrest suspects wanted on various warrants. "These are individuals who were running away from the law, but they came to us freely," said Sgt. Frank Sousa, a police spokesman. "They were coming for one reason only: money." Dubbed "Operation Show Me the Money," the undercover sting took place Wednesday and Thursday at the War Memorial Auditorium. The arrests ranged from the petty (more than 10 people wanted for failure to provide child support) to more serious offenses (Benjamin Battle, 29, arrested on a charge of attempted second-degree murder). All the suspects were Fort Lauderdale residents. "We're always looking for creative ways to reduce crime, and this is one of the most creative operations I've seen," Sousa said. Using a bogus agency called the South Florida Stimulus Coalition, police sent out letters promising recipients hundreds of dollars in stimulus money. All the suspects had to do was call a number and set up an appointment to meet at the auditorium's lobby. Officials would not say how many letters were sent out. More than 100 people made appointments and 82 showed up, though only the 76 were arrested, Sousa said. The ones who did make it to the auditorium were met with a very convincing set. Large banners bearing the fake agency's name flanked the walls while American flags and balloons were sprinkled around the lobby. A table held fliers and business cards complete with an agency slogan: "Helping jump-start the economy." Undercover officers then verified their identities and made sure the warrants under their names were still standing before taking them into custody, Sousa said. Though most of the suspects showed up at their appointed times, one man who identified himself only as Rob walked in shortly after a press conference held to announce the sting. "I'm surprised they did this, and really, I feel humiliated," said Rob, 21. He wasn't arrested because the warrant against him had been dropped, he said. "I knew it was something shady, but I've got kids to feed, I needed the money," he said. He'd been promised $653, according to the coalition's letter.
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| August 27, 2009 |
| Hospice chaplain not guilty of sex act with dying woman, jury says |
| Posted By Brett Schwartz |
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| A Broward County jury found a hospice chaplain not guilty Wednesday of performing a sex act on a dying 70-year-old woman at University Hospital in Tamarac. Even the prosecutor who lost the case agreed with the verdict. The six-person jury took less than 15 minutes to acquit Julio Arce, 54. If convicted, the married father of five from Plantation would have faced a maximum punishment of 30 years in prison. The patient, a Hollywood woman who suffered from dementia, died five days after the alleged September 2008 incident. With no DNA evidence, it came down to the word of one professed eyewitness against Arce's. Nurse's aide Veronica Richards testified that she entered the incapacitated patient's room on Sept. 7, 2008, and saw that the curtain had been drawn around the bed. When she took a peek, Richards said, she saw Arce performing a sex act. When Arce saw her, Richards said, he "scrunched down," and she turned and left the room. Arce, a soft-spoken man, took the witness stand to say that when the nurse's aide entered the room, he was standing at the patient's bedside, praying with his head bowed and his hands clasped in front of him. He took the verdict with quiet calm and gratitude. For the past year, he said, his life had been "turned upside down." When the jury was dismissed, Arce embraced his two tearful sons, daughter and wife. "I never questioned the sincerity of what she thought she saw," Arce said of Richards. "I don't hold any grudge against her." After the trial, prosecutor Justin Griffis said that though the hospital employee was "so certain about what she thought she saw" and never wavered, he believed the jury returned a "just and right verdict" based upon the evidence. Arce willingly gave samples of his DNA following his arrest, but no match could be made between him and the patient. Arce has been on administrative leave from Miami-based VITAS Innovative Hospice Care since the incident, a spokeswoman said.
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| August 27, 2009 |
| HIV-Positve Man Sentenced to 15 years in Prison for Biting Police Officer |
| Posted By Brett Schwartz |
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An HIV-positive homeless man convicted of biting a Miami police officer has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. A judge sentenced Johnson Jamerson, 35, at a Wednesday hearing. He was convicted in June of aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, although he was originaly charged with attempted murder. Authorities say Jamerson attacked Officer Matthew Hall while trying to escape a police bus headed to jail. The man reportedly yelled that he had HIV and threatened to kill the officer before biting him hard enough to draw blood. Hall ultimately tested negative for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, but only after months of taking precautionary medication that caused diarrhea, vomiting and nausea. Aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer carries a maximum prison term of 30 years as it is a first degree felony in Florida.
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| August 27, 2009 |
| Defendants in little Sherdavia Jenkins' death could face trial together |
| Posted By Brett Schwartz |
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| Damon Darling, 24, and Leroy Larose, 31, are each charged with second degree murder in the July 2006 killing of Sherdavia Jenkins, a case that caused widespread outrage as a result of the young age of the victim and amount of gun violence that occurs in that particular area. The State Attorneys Office, through a written motion has requested that the court allow both defendants to be tried together, however each with a separate set of 6 jurors. The State’s reasoning is to prevent the victim’s family from “reliving the personal tragedy twice.” She also argues that it is in the best interest of judicial efficiency since she says the evidence for both defendants is “virtually identical.” However, the defense strongly opposes such a motion on the grounds that a jury will presume “guilt by association” should the two be sitting together. Both defendants are claiming self defense. When this motion is heard, the judge will have to weigh the defendant’s right to his day in court and determine whether each would be prejudiced by trying both defendants together versus the pain the family will have to endure by making them testify in two separate trials.
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| August 25, 2009 |
| Man Tells Police He Sold Oxycodone to Pay for Tuition |
| Posted By Brian Blades |
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A Melbourne man who claimed to sell drugs to pay tuition was arrested after a series of oxycodone transactions with an undercover police investigator, according to recently released affidavits.
Andrew Lee Wiseman, 29, faces at least six felony drug-related charges following the deals that began with an Aug. 12 sale of 10 oxycodone pills, which he referred to with the street name "blueberries," police said.
The final transaction occurred last Friday when Wiseman, sold an undercover Special Investigations Unit officer 145 oxycodone pills for $2,250, the affidavits said.
Police reports gave the following account:
For the first transaction, Wiseman met the undercover investigator in the 1700 block of Northwest St. Lucie West Boulevard. He told the investigator earlier he needed $40 in gas money for the drive from Melbourne to Port St. Lucie.
After his Friday arrest, Wiseman told investigators he'd been selling drugs for a "few months." He said he's been doing so to pay his school tuition.
The school Wiseman reportedly attends was not specified.
Wiseman faces charges including three counts of possession of a controlled substance, two counts sale/delivery of a controlled substance and a single trafficking of controlled substance charge. All are felonies.
As in any drug related offense, the degree in which someone is charged depends on the amount of narcotics involved. In this case, it seems as if the charges were based upon the number of individual transactions and the amount of narcotics in each. Each count for possession of controlled substance is a third degree felony, which carries a maximum of five years in Florida State Prison. The two counts for sale/delivery of a controlled substance each carry a fifteen year maximum prison sentence as they are second degree felonies. Finally, the trafficking of a controlled substance carries a minimum mandatory prison sentence not less than three years in Florida State Prison.
The attorneys at Hager & Schwartz, P.A. have extensive experience in defending drug possession, drug sale and drug trafficking cases. We have been extremely successful keeping our clients out of jail and getting minimum mandatory prison penalties waived for our clients on drug trafficking charges. If you or someone you know is facing jail/prison as a result of a drug related offense, call Hager & Schwartz, P.A. immediately to schedule a free consultation to discuss how our experienced attorneys can help you.
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| August 25, 2009 |
| Coroner rules Michael Jackson’s death a homicide |
| Posted By Brian Blades |
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The Los Angeles Coroner has ruled Michael Jackson’s death a homicide, according to the Associated Press. Such a finding makes it more likely that criminal charges are forthcoming against Dr. Conrad Murray, the doctor who was with the pop star when he died on June 25, 2009. The designation of homicide in California means that Jackson died at the hands of another, but does not necessarily mean a crime was commiteed.
Forensic evidence confirmed that the powerful anesthetic Propofol acting with at least two other strong sedatives caused Jackson’s death.
Dr. Murray said he’d been treating Jackson for insomnia for about six weeks with 50 milligrams of Propofol every night via an intravenous drip. But he said he feared Jackson was forming an addiction to the anesthetic, which is normally used in hospitals only, and was attempting to wean his patient by lowering the dose to 25 milligrams and adding the sedatives Lorazepam and Midazolam. It was the combination of these sedatives acting together that caused the singer’s death.
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| July 28, 2009 |
| Thirteen Arrested after Raid of Suspected Grow House |
| Posted By Linda |
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At least 13 people have been charged after law enforcement in Loxahatchee raided five homes and found grow rooms and dozens of plants and clippings weighing more than 200 pounds. This investigation is a result of Operation Eagle Claw, a statewide law enforcement effort to curb the spread of hydroponic marijuana grow houses throughout the state of Florida. Eleven of the 13 people arrested were held without bond.
A case like this usually results in a charge(s) of trafficking of marijuana, which carries a minimum mandatory prison sentence of three (3) years in Florida State Prison. However, the attorneys at Hager & Schwartz, P.A. have extensive experience in drug trafficking cases throughout the state of Florida and in many instances can get the minimum mandatory prison sentence waived by the State of Florida. Call our office to schedule a free consultation at 866-850-7575.
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| July 28, 2009 |
| Florida Keys School Chief Charged with Obstruction of Justice |
| Posted By Linda |
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The Miami Herald has reported that Monroe County School District Superintendent Randy Acevedo was arrested Thursday morning on a charge of official misconduct, which carries a maximum penalty of five (5) years in Florida State Prison if he is convicted. The arrest was based upon testimony provided to a grand jury in connection with an alleged theft by his wife, Monique, of over $180,000 from school tuition and other school district accounts. It also seems likely that other charges are forthcoming in connection to $118,000 in fraudulent charges Mrs. Acevedo racked up on her school district credit card. She is likely looking at two counts of Grand Theft in the First Degree, which could land her in Florida State Prison for up to sixty (60) years if convicted.
From a practical standpoint, prosecutors in these types of cases will rarely seek jail or prison time because it prevents or at least prolongs the time in which the victim(s) can be made whole through the payment of restitution.
The attorneys at Hager & Schwartz, P.A. have extensive experience in any and all theft related criminal charges. If you or someone you know has been charged with a theft related crime, call our office at 866-850-7575 for a free consultation with one of our experienced criminal attorneys.
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| July 28, 2009 |
| Alleged Cat Killer Arrested |
| Posted By Linda |
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Miami-Dade Police Department have arrested 18 year old Tyler Weinman and charged him with 19 counts of animal cruelty and other related offenses in connection with a wave of cat killings and mutilations in Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay. Bond has been set at $154,500, however can be either increased or reduced this afternoon, when Weinman is scheduled to appear before a bond judge.
Cat owners have been concerned for the safety of their pets since May 14, 2009 when the cat killings began. Most people who knew Weinman described him as a class clown and found the news of his arrest shocking.
Animal cruelty can be charged as both a first degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in County Jail and a third degree felony, punishable by up to five years in Florida State Prison.
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