Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - arrest and jeering

By Nick Dorsten, Esq

Sometimes when you make an arrest, not everyone appreciates it (from the Tampa website)

CLEARWATER — Police arrested two men on weapons charges and a third man on a warrant Wednesday night after receiving a report about men carrying guns on a residential street, authorities said.

Two men, both 19, were each charged with carrying a concealed firearm and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Another man, 26, was arrested on a warrant for failure to appear in court on a drug possession charge.

Clearwater police were called to the neighborhood in North Greenwood around 4:20 p.m. by a person who said three men were standing near a porch with handguns tucked in their waistbands.

As police arrived, the men went into a unit at the Palmetto Park Apartments on Palm Bluff Street.

Police contacted the person renting the apartment and brought her to the scene. She told officers that no one should be in her apartment and gave them permission to go inside, police said.

More than a dozen units responded, and more than a hundred onlookers gathered along the street to watch as the drama unfolded. Around 5:20 p.m., a canine team arrived and joined officers lining the doorway of the home. Some officers carried assault rifles.

The incident ended around 5:30 p.m., when several men came out of the home, were ordered to the ground and were handcuffed as some bystanders jeered police.

"Shoot them Crackers," one classy woman yelled.

Police found two semiautomatic handguns and a revolver inside the apartment. One of the guns was stolen, police said.

A witness identified the first two suspects as two of the people seen with guns.

Pinellas Court records show one was charged with grand theft auto and cocaine possession in 2010, but both were reduced to misdemeanor charges. An arrest affidavit says he has three prior felony convictions as a juvenile.

The second man was convicted of cocaine and marijuana possession in January, according to court records.

The third man was charged with possession of a controlled substance in September. A warrant for his arrest was issued March 1 when he failed to show up at a pretrial hearing, court records show.

On Thursday afternoon the first two men were both being held in the Pinellas County Jail in lieu of $30,000 bail. The last man was released on his own recognizance late Thursday morning.

Have you or someone you love been arrested on cocaine, marijuana or gun charges? Then the Clearwater, Florida based Blake & Dorsten, P.A. criminal defense lawyers are at your service.

For more information, or to speak directly with experienced Clearwater criminal defense attorneys, please contact the law firm of BLAKE AND DORSTEN, P.A. at 727.286.6141 or email the defense lawyers at: info@blakedorstenlaw.com