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Tampa Criminal Defense
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Recent Posts in Orlando Category

May 5, 2010

Florida DUI Penalties – Judge Pondering Jail Sentence For New Year’s Crash In Lake County Stirs Debate

Orlando Criminal Lawyer

A teenage girl who violated her probation by driving a year after a judge imposed a DUI sentence that forbade her from doing so is at the center of a controversy surrounding what DUI penalties she should face for an accident that took the life of two people on New Years. The teenager has not been charged with the accident at this point and so far there has been no test results released showing she was intoxicated at the time of the crash. The Orlando Sentinel is reporting however that the driver, Toni Nieves, did admit to a social worker had alcohol that night.

The maximum sentence for her probation violation is 8 months and 29 days but at a pretrial hearing the Lake County judge in the case suggested a possible six-month jail sentence for the teenager. That sentence drew outrage from the Assistant State Attorney in the case and the families of the two dead occupants of the other car involved in the crash. Judge Donna Miller said a sentence that is three months less than the maximum, which Nieves has agreed to, is not a slap on the wrist and it will save the taxpayers countless dollars from prosecuting and calling witness to add the extra three months on to her sentence.

Investigators have not charged Nieves in the crash that took the lives of 22-year-old Brian Walker of Orlando and 18-year-old Bradley Summersil of Apopka. They have not revealed their findings in the investigation that is looking into whether Nieves or Summersil was drunk at the time of the accident and who was at fault for the fatal crash. The car Summersil was driving was struck from behind by the car Nieves was driving.

Neither the family of Summersil nor the prosecutor would agree to the six-month sentence, which led to an exchange between the judge and the parents that was described as heated. The judge brought up her own child who became a quadriplegic following an accident 13 years ago.

March 15, 2010

Man Hides Baby In Bushes Outside Of Universal Studios As He Searches For Drunk Mother

A father who has several prior arrests including a 2006 charge for
DUI
was back in jail after leaving his four-month-old baby in the bushes
outside of Universal Studios while he went looking for the baby’s drunk
mother. Charles Gohde was charged with child neglect and taken to Orange County Jail. His girlfriend, and the mother of the baby, was not charged.

According to the Orlando Sentinel both Gohde and his girlfriend,
Ashley Gaskin, arrived in the security office at Universal Studios with
no idea where their baby was located. The four-month-old was discovered
by a Universal employee in its stroller in some bushes. The infant was
apparently left alone for about two hours. Police suspect both Gaskin
and Ghode had been drinking.

March 5, 2010

Expungement In Florida Criminal Cases

We all know how tough things are right now in the United State as far as the economy is concerned. Getting a job in Florida has become very difficult and highly competitive. If you have any sort of criminal record, that could be the difference between you finding work and being unemployed. Did you know it is possible to have your Florida criminal record expunged?

If you were charged with a crime and those charges were dismissed or if you received a withhold of adjudication and you have no convictions on your criminal record, we can help. You have one chance to expunge or seal one crime. How does it work? Is my crime eligible for expungement? We have the answers. Read about how a Florida expungement works or call our office at 1-800-FIGHT IT (1-800-344-4848).

January 14, 2010

Punishment For Battery On A Police Officer, Wear A Sign Apologizing

A 24-year-old Alabama woman charged with battery on a law enforcement officer in Orlando entered into an unusual plea agreement. The woman accepted a deal to lesser charges of simple battery and resisting an officer without violence. In return she would wear a sign that said “I battered a police officer. I was wrong. I apologize”. Alexandra Espinosa-Amaya wore the sign for four hours outside the police station.

Espinosa-Amaya is a student at Jacksonville State University and she was at an Orlando bar when she got involved in an altercation with bouncers and then a police officer. The young woman pushed her palm into the face of the cop according to a story on Bradenton.com. On top of wearing the sign, Espinosa-Amaya was ordered t attend anger management, write an apology letter, perform community service and spend two years on probation.


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