contact

captcha

Connect With Us on Facebook Follow on Twitter Visit our Linked In Profile Visit our Google +1! Visit us on Youtube.
Tampa Criminal Defense
Florida's Premier Criminal Defense Firm

Recent Posts in Tampa Bay Category

October 20, 2010

Tampa Drug Trafficking – No Second Trial For Doctor Accused Of Prescription Drug Trafficking

Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT

Tampa Drug Lawyer

A doctor accused of illegally dispensing prescription drugs will not face a second trial on Florida drug trafficking charges. Dr. John Mubang was tried in Tampa last month and the jury could not reach a verdict in his case. Now the state has decided to not go through with another trial and Mubang will continue to see patients as he has done since his arrest.

One of the reasons Mubang will not stand trial for a second time was the fact that five of the six jurors wanted to find the doctor not guilty. That was according to a quote from the jury foreman to the St. Petersburg Times. Circuit Judge Ronald Ficarrotta was on the bench for the case and declared the mistrial. The Seffner doctor has agreed to enter a pretrial intervention program that will last 9 to 18 months and include community service hours. Following successful completion all drug trafficking charges will be dropped.

The drug trafficking case dates back to 2008. Prosecutors accused Mubang of prescribing undercover officers addictive medication. According to charges, the doctor prescribed enough drugs to warrant trafficking charges. It was also alleged that the physician never examined the undercover detectives, never asked about their medical histories or any other pertinent questions before writing prescriptions for painkillers. The charges led to the first such trial ever in Hillsborough County.

According to Mubang’s criminal defense attorney, there were no sanctions on the doctor’s medical license and he will continue to practice medicine in Seffner. He also emphasized that there was no admission of guilt by his client. Mubang did not comment following the announcement by prosecutors but his attorney said he felt that the resolution was fair for everyone involved in the case. The quote from the jury foreman had a big effect on the prosecution not moving forward with a second trial according to Mubang’s lawyer.

Continue Reading Tampa Drug Trafficking – No Second Trial For Doctor Accused Of Prescription Drug Trafficking »
September 8, 2010

Pinellas County Arrest – Getting Bailed Out Of Pinellas County Jail Just Got A Little Easier

Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT

Pinellas Criminal Lawyer

If you happen to find yourself in a Pinellas jail needing bail following a Pinellas County arrest, there is good news for you. The Pinellas County Jail is now accepting credit and debit cards for bail of $750 or less. This is the first jail in the Tampa Bay area to offer this service. According to TampaBay.com there are only three other jails in the state that accept credit or debit cards.

According to Jim Coats, sheriff of Pinellas County, the program was put into place to lower the number of people stuck in jail while awaiting trial. The idea came out of a meeting of the minds between law enforcement, the county clerk, judges and public defenders offices.  The limit was set at $750 despite the fact the sheriff wanted it set higher. The sheriff pushed for $1000, the state attorney for $500 so they split the difference.

The program will only apply to a small portion of people in jail as the $750 threshold will include mostly those in jail for minor charges. TampaBay.com looked at the number of people arrested in Pinellas County and sitting in jail on Wednesday. Of the 3,252 people in Pinellas County jail, only 74 would qualify to use their credit or debit cards in order to post bail. The article reported that just over 20 people have utilized the program since August 23.

Most of the crimes that involve a bail of $750 or less are traffic offenses or non-violent misdemeanors. The processing fee will be seven percent and the sheriff’s and clerk’s offices will get ten percent of that cut. The Pinellas County clerk and sheriff see the idea as a winner as will many people who are arrested and need to use credit to get out. The losers under the new plan will most likely be the bail bondsmen who were called on in the past to help these people get out of jail.

Continue Reading Pinellas County Arrest – Getting Bailed Out Of Pinellas County Jail Just Got A Little Easier »
August 19, 2010

St Pete DUI News – Frustrated Woman Assaults Officers And Tries To Grab Gun During DUI Arrest

Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT

St Pete DUI

The DUI process is frustrating and complicated but obviously no excuse for an assault on an officer but that is exactly what happened during a St. Pete DUI investigation. The St. Petersburg Times is reporting that a 38-year-old woman is under arrest after turning violent in the midst of a drunk driving arrest.

Kimberly M. Hyde, a St. Petersburg resident, was pulled over Thursday morning. According to police reports Hyde was speeding and she also failed to stop at a red light. Officers reported smelling alcohol when they approached the car. She agreed to perform field sobriety tests and according to the officers she seemed impaired during those tests. At that point she was put in the back of a police cruiser.

Hyde was described as agitated by the article in the St. Pete Times as she sat in the police car. She then reportedly became combative when police tried to move her from one car to another. During the transition she kicked one of the officers two times. She then tried to grab another officer’s gun, which was holstered at the time. She kicked an officer a third time after she was restrained on the ground.

She has been charged with numerous crimes. The list of charges against Hyde include, battery on a law enforcement officer, attempting to deprive a law enforcement officer of his means of protection, DUI and resisting arrest with violence. She is still in jail at last report where she is being held on $15,650 bail. There were no further details provided in the story about the woman’s state of mind or actions after she was taken to jail.

Continue Reading St Pete DUI News – Frustrated Woman Assaults Officers And Tries To Grab Gun During DUI Arrest »
July 30, 2010

Tampa DUI News – DUI Checkpoint Planned For Temple Terrace On Busch Boulevard

Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT

Tampa DUI Lawyers

Hillsborough County Sheriff’s announced on their website that there will be a Tampa DUI checkpoint conducted  from 12:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. tonight looking for drunk drivers in Temple Terrace. The Temple Terrace Police Department will have a Breath Alcohol Testing (BAT) Unit working with them in the parking lot of the Sweetbay grocery store located at 8837 N. 56th Street.

The checkpoint is a part of the Hillsborough County sheriff’s department’s Operation 3D, which was instituted to raise awareness of drunk driving in Tampa and Hillsborough County. The DUI checkpoint is part of the plan to help the sheriff’s face the problems commonly linked to drinking and driving. Checkpoints are not the only plan of action in Operation 3D. The campaign also involves public service announcements, awareness materials and news releases.

The BAT Unit will provide technical support to the Temple Terrace Police Department. The personnel staffing the BAT Unit are usually specifically trained in breath testing and in using the Intoxilyzer 8000. This machine is designed to measure the alcohol content inside a suspected drunk driver’s lungs. The thought process behind this is that it is assumed the concentration of alcohol in the lung air is correlated with a person’s blood alcohol content (BAC). The results of the Intoxilyzer 8000, while used to make an arrest, are just a rough estimate of your BAC.

The level of presumed impairment in Florida is a 0.08. When fractions of a percentage are involved in these tests, it is questionable as to whether or not that breath test result can be counted on to definitively prove a person was driving while intoxicated. If you are arrested following a breath test it is important you have an experienced DUI lawyer evaluate the case against you. Our Tampa DUI attorneys offer a free consultation so you have nothing to lose by just talking to a lawyer and assessing your options.

Continue Reading Tampa DUI News – DUI Checkpoint Planned For Temple Terrace On Busch Boulevard »
July 12, 2010

Tampa Criminal News – Brawl In Ybor City Leads To Seven Arrests Including Battery And Resisting Arrest

Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT

Tampa Criminal Lawyers

According to a story on TBO.com, a brawl in Ybor City early Sunday morning led to seven arrests including a woman from Tampa charged with battery. The Tampa Tribune story does not mention what started the fight but it did include one interesting side note that a man who was watching the fight, but not part of the brawl, was arrested for slapping a police horse.

The brawl took place on Seventh Avenue and 18th Street with the first arrest coming at approximately 2:30 a.m. The first person charged was a Massachusetts woman. The 30-year-old was charged with affray. Another Massachusetts woman was arrested on charges of battery, affray, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest without violence.

The fight, which seemed to be between the two women at the start, drew a crowd and eventually more people got involved and more arrests followed. Two Tampa men and another man from Winter Haven were charged with affray. An 18-year-old man from Port Charlotte was arrested for resisting an officer without violence while standing in the middle of the street. He allegedly refused to move when asked to do so by the police.

The oddest part of the whole story was the arrest of a 23-year-old Bradenton man. The Tampa Tribune is reporting Calvin Esaw was not part of the street fight but he slapped a police horse when mounted units arrived on the scene to help break-up the altercation.

The story did not report what type of battery was charged in the case but typically a simple battery charge could carry a Florida jail sentence of up to one year in county and up to a $1000 fine. If the battery is a felony jail sentences can start out at five years. The main distinction between a misdemeanor battery and a felony battery charge is the amount of harm inflicted on the victim.

Continue Reading Tampa Criminal News – Brawl In Ybor City Leads To Seven Arrests Including Battery And Resisting Arrest »
June 22, 2010

Tampa Legal News– Man Pleads Guilty To Criminal Charges Of Second Degree Murder After Shooting

Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT

criminal charges

A Tampa man facing criminal charges involving a murder and possible drug dealings has plead guilty to second degree murder and received a three year prison sentence. Alexis Rivera Nunez shot and killed Yoandy Cancio who he claims approached him holding a submachine gun according to TBO.com. Prosecutors contended that Nunez shot an unarmed man over stolen drugs.

The shooting took place in 2009 and prosecutors agreed to the plea deal this week. The judge in the case accepted the agreement and sentenced Nunez to three years in prison followed by a probation term of 15 years. Nunez could have been facing a prison sentence ranging from 25 years to life.

Prosecutors felt they needed to come to a plea agreement because their main witness was shot and killed. Julio De La Torre was sitting in his car in Seffner when he was shot and killed. A 23-year-old man named Isaiah Ridley has been charged with that killing. Remaining witnesses in the case had conflicting statements further hampering the case against Nunez.

Nunez’s criminal defense attorney was prepared to argue that the shooting was in self defense had he not accepted the second degree murder charges. Some of the witnesses in the case claim that Nunez believed Cancio stole drugs from him and that Nunez threatened to kill him. While police first reported that both men had guns one witness stated Cancio was unarmed and had his back to Nunez walking away when he was shot in the abdomen after turning back towards Nunez. Nunez’s attorney claimed that Cancio had a Tec-9 semi-automatic pistol with a 32-round clip at the time of the shooting.

According to the story on TBO.com the family of the victim was not in agreement with the three-year prison sentence. None of them showed up in court to her the guilty plea.

Continue Reading Tampa Legal News– Man Pleads Guilty To Criminal Charges Of Second Degree Murder After Shooting »
June 8, 2010

Tampa Arrest Warrants Served – Major Operation In Tampa Today Targets 600 Warrants For Arrest

Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT

Tampa Criminal Lawyer

It is called Operation Summer Slam and the goal in Tampa today was to track down 600 people with warrants for their arrest for anything from failure to appear to traffic violations to felony warrants. The operation was a joint venture by three different law enforcement agencies and was executed today all over Tampa. The Hillsborough County Sheriffs, Temple Terrace Police and Tampa Police joined forces to make 40 arrests before noon.

According to TampaBay.com most of the warrants were for misdemeanors but there were also some felony warrants. According to one officer many of the warrants he was serving stemmed from traffic citations in Sulphur Springs.

The operation was deliberately planned right as county schools let out for summer break. Tampa Police say they often see a spike in criminal activity at this time of the year. The operation was meant to not only track down Tampa residents with outstanding warrants but to also send a strong message.

The problem the law enforcement agencies encountered with trying to serve the arrest warrants in Tampa was that many of the addresses that law enforcement had were no longer valid making it tough to track down the violators. The operation which is scheduled to run through Wednesday night at 11:00 p.m. is not the only area of enforcement that the agencies are ratcheting up. According to the story on-line there will also be increased enforcement of DUI and drug crimes most likely resulting in more drug possession charges and arrests for drunk driving.

There was no further information on the number of arrests made later in the day but with more than 30 hours still remaining, that number could easily top 100. The arrestees are being taken to a holding area at Copeland Park.

Continue Reading Tampa Arrest Warrants Served – Major Operation In Tampa Today Targets 600 Warrants For Arrest »
May 19, 2010

Tampa Defense Attorney News – Did ‘Hyde Park Rapist’ Really Violate His Probation Leading To His Arrest?

Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT

Tampa Criminal Attorney

The probation violation that led to the arrest of the man known as the ‘Hyde Park Rapist’ should not hold up in court nor should his subsequent arrest according to Bobby Joe Helms’ Tampa Criminal Defense attorney. Helms’ lawyer told 10 Connects that his parole for 12 Tampa rapes and four other attempted rapes in the 1980’s expired in 2006 making the latest arrest of Helms that started as a stop for a probation violation invalid.

Helms has been in jail in Hillsborough County for almost a year. He was originally arrested following a traffic stop based on a tip he had a 17-year-old girl in his car. The arrest was based on the fact that Helms was told to stay away from the girl by his probation officer. His lawyer argued that even if Helms was still on probation there were no terms forbidding him to have contact with minors and that a probation officer cannot make up terms to add on to his probation.

If the defense attorney is right, then Helms should not be sitting in jail. According to the story on WTSP.com Helms had complied with the terms of his parole and never had committed a violation of his probation as reported by the Brevard County Sheriff’s. They had no reported problems with Helms up until last June. At that time there were reports of the 52-year-old having contact with area teenagers.

At the time of the traffic stop that led to his arrest, police did report finding Helms’ in possession of what may be illegal prescription drugs. Helms had a suspicious amount of painkillers and police suspect he may be involved in doctor shopping and prescription fraud. Authorities believe he was trying to illegally acquire Oxycodone and Xanax, which they say also violates the terms of his probation.

Continue Reading Tampa Defense Attorney News – Did ‘Hyde Park Rapist’ Really Violate His Probation Leading To His Arrest? »
May 12, 2010

Tampa Criminal News – High Speed Chase From Tampa To St. Pete May Result In DUI Drug Charges

Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT

Tampa Criminal Lawyers

A man known as Pop Daddy led police on a high-speed chase from Tampa to St. Petersburg before being arrested on drug possession and fleeing and eluding charges. Artez Leon Hooker fled police on I-275 in Tampa in A BMW convertible driving so fast at times that the police helicopter tracking him couldn’t keep up with the car’s speed. Hooker was eventually found in St. Petersburg after abandoning his car.

According to police reports and a story on TampaBay.com, the chase began at 3:00 a.m. when Hooker was spotted running red lights on Tampa’s Armenia Avenue. Police then attempted to pull Hooker over in his 2004 BMW but he took off at speeds of 120 M.P.H. amid I-275 traffic. He eventually turned off his lights to avoid being caught, abandoned his car and hid in a staircase. The police helicopter was able to track Hooker and lead police on the ground to his location.

Hooker was arrested on felony fleeing and eluding charges and was then also hit with drug charges when police discovered marijuana in the backseat of the police car where Hooker was being held. Although he was not charged with DUI police noted in their arrest report that Hooker seemed to be under the influence of either drugs or alcohol.

Hooker has a long history of arrests according to TampaBay.com including charges of reckless driving, driving with a suspended license and cocaine possession. As a juvenile Hooker was arrested on numerous charges including robbery and also he was connected to the shooting of a man. Hooker allegedly shot a man three times after an altercation in which his bicycle was cut off.  He was found guilty of aggravated assault and sentenced to three years.

Continue Reading Tampa Criminal News – High Speed Chase From Tampa To St. Pete May Result In DUI Drug Charges »
April 28, 2010

Pinellas County Warrants – Man Accused Of Fatal Hit-And-Run Has A Warrant Issued For His Arrest in Pinellas

Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT

Pinellas County Attorney

A Pinellas County arrest warrant has been issued for a 22-year-old man named Anthony Bernard Peterson. Peterson is accused of being involved in a fatal hit-and-run crash in August. According to TBO.com, Pinellas Park police believe that the 22-year-old in currently hiding out in St. Petersburg.

The arrest warrant in Pinellas stems from an August 24 car accident that left 60-year-old William Trotter dead. Trotter was allegedly hit by a Chrysler 300 that ran a red light. The collision took place just after 2:00 a.m. and Peterson has since been identified as the driver of the Chrysler. Following the accident with Trotter’s Camry, another Camry was hit by the Chrysler before the people inside the Chrysler left the scene of the accident on foot. One of the passengers in the car stayed behind following the fatal hit-and-run.

Police searched the abandoned Chrysler and found crack cocaine and marijuana. They also found an invitation to a birthday party at a strip club. The party was in honor of the passenger who stayed behind at the scene of the accident.

Police, acting on a tip, located Peterson at Manatee Memorial Hospital. He was there with a broken leg. During that interview Peterson allegedly admitted to being the driver of the car that struck Trotter’s Camry.  Peterson claimed he and his friends sped out of the Bottom’s Up club where the birthday party was held due to gunfire at the strip club.

There is no explanation as to why Peterson was not charged immediately after admitting to being the driver of the Chrysler considering the drugs found in the car, the fact he left the scene of the accident and that there was a fatality. Now Pinellas Park police are unable to locate him and are looking for the public’s help in arresting Peterson.

Continue Reading Pinellas County Warrants – Man Accused Of Fatal Hit-And-Run Has A Warrant Issued For His Arrest in Pinellas »
Page 1 of 41234

Web Statistics