By Nick Dorsten, Esq.
While we have blogged about drug stings often before, here is another one that nabbed 41 arrests (from the St. Pete Times website)...
Pinellas — The phony prescriptions were printed out on a home computer and passed out to "runners" who got them filled at local pharmacies.
Then the pain pills were divvied up: half for the runner to keep, half for the drug dealer to sell at street prices that, in some parts of Florida, are up to 30 times what they cost at a pharmacy.
Authorities said that's how more than 400,000 30-milligram oxycodone tablets got into the wrong hands during a nine-month span beginning in October 2009.
On Monday, several local law enforcement agencies launched a multi-jurisdictional effort to arrest some of the members of a sophisticated Tampa Bay area drug trafficking ring.
By day's end, officials had located 41 of the 72 people sought in the second phase of Operation No Appointment Necessary. Some were already in local jails; others were arrested in Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties. The first phase, which began in March, has so far netted 66 of 94 suspects. And investigators had previously made about 140 other arrests in connection with the case.
Monday's sweep was a joint effort between the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Countywide Diversion Task Force, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, the Hernando County Sheriff's Office and the New Port Richey Police Department.
Officials say those being arrested as part of both phases of the operation were mostly low-level offenders, accused of passing the fake prescriptions or doctor shopping. The top tier of the organization has already been "dismantled," said a Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Captain.
Those people are facing federal charges, but the captain declined to identify them, citing the ongoing nature of the large-scale investigation.
During the investigation, detectives identified 27 doctors whose names were being fraudulently used by the drug ring. The doctors, whose prescription pads had been stolen or duplicated, cooperated with investigators.
Monday's sweep came just a few weeks after a state report revealed that the number of people fatally overdosing on prescription drugs in Florida went up nearly 9 percent from 2009 to 2010.
According to the report, the Pinellas-Pasco medical examiner's district led the state in 2010 in deaths from all six of the most lethal prescription drugs — oxycodone, alprazolam (Xanax), methadone(Vicodin), morphine and diazepam (Valium).
And addiction is at the heart of the matter, officials said.
"A lot of people get involved because of addiction situations," the captain said. "They are addicted to these painkillers and they have to feed their addiction by going out and getting these pills and then they sell them as well as using them."
Oxycodone pills that cost about $1 apiece at a pharmacy are going for $8 to $15 on the street in the Tampa Bay area. In more rural areas of North Florida, they can bring as much as $30 a pill.
Detectives estimate the value of the pills received through the fraudulent prescriptions in this investigation at more than $4 million.
Have you or someone you loved been arrested for a drug or a drug trafficking charge? Then contact the law offices of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. to speak with an experienced Pinellas criminal defense lawyer now!
Our office is located at 4707 140th ave. N, Suite 107, Clearwater, FL 33762, across from the criminal courthouse and minutes from Tampa and St. Petersburg. You can contact your St. Petersburg criminal defense attorney by phone at 727.286.6141 or online at info@BlakeDorstenLaw.com.
Welcome to the blog of a Clearwater-based Tampa bay area criminal defense attorney. Visit our website at www.BlakeDorstenLaw.com or call us at 727-286-6141 for all your legal needs. Our office is located across from the 49th street criminal courthouse, minutes from Tampa and St. Petersburg at 4707 140th Ave N, Suite 104, Clearwater 33762.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Oxycodone as a Motive for Murder?
By Nick Dorsten, Esq.
A jury in Hernando County Florida finds son Guilty of First Degree Murder for killing his father, in cold blood, over the popular (and often deadly) drug Oxycodone.
In a Brooksville courtroom, the Assistant State Attorney gripped the Revelation 12-gauge, sawed-off shotgun and pointed it at the courtroom wall, just feet from the jury.
He pumped the slide on the shotgun, then pulled the trigger. Pump. Click. Pump. Click. Pump. Click.
"(The victim) was shot four (4) times. I don't know how fast or slow the defendant cycled this shotgun when he murdered his father," the State told jurors Thursday, pointing at the 20-year-old man sitting at the defense table. "We're not talking one shot."
After a dramatic closing argument by the Assistant State Attorney, the jury took just one (1) hour to find Stephen Horne guilty of First-Degree Murder in the May 2010 shooting of his father, 47. Authorities say the son was motivated by drugs and money.
Later, just after the Chief Circuit Judge sentenced Horne, of Ridge Manor, to LIFE in prison (without the possibility of parole), the convicted killer turned to sobbing family members sitting two rows behind him, and he smiled.
Some told Horne they loved him. Others couldn't say anything. As deputies escorted him out, he glared at news reporters.
Horne was also convicted of Robbery with a Firearm and Possession of a Short-Barreled Shotgun.
His accomplice, Angel Gonzalez, 28, of Holiday, was convicted last month of First Degree Murder and was also sentenced to LIFE in prison.
In court Thursday, the State Attorney read portions of a damning confession Horne had given to a Hernando sheriff's Detective.
" 'I killed my father. I shot my father. I planned it all,' " he read. " 'I hated my father. I seen dollar signs. I planned it out. Everything was all my idea. I was going to get away with it.' "
The two (2) men stole his prescribed Oxycodone pills and between $200 and $600, the State said. Then they stripped him of his boots, trousers and cell phone.
"The state has proven that defendant right there," pointing at Horne, "is a cold-blooded killer."
Have you or someone you loved been arrested for a drug or murder charge? Then contact the law offices of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. to speak with an experienced Pinellas criminal defense lawyer now!
Our office is located at 4707 140th ave. N, Suite 107, Clearwater, FL 33762, across from the criminal courthouse and minutes from Tampa and St. Petersburg. You can contact your St. Petersburg criminal defense attorney by phone at 727.286.6141 or online at info@BlakeDorstenLaw.com.
A jury in Hernando County Florida finds son Guilty of First Degree Murder for killing his father, in cold blood, over the popular (and often deadly) drug Oxycodone.
In a Brooksville courtroom, the Assistant State Attorney gripped the Revelation 12-gauge, sawed-off shotgun and pointed it at the courtroom wall, just feet from the jury.
He pumped the slide on the shotgun, then pulled the trigger. Pump. Click. Pump. Click. Pump. Click.
"(The victim) was shot four (4) times. I don't know how fast or slow the defendant cycled this shotgun when he murdered his father," the State told jurors Thursday, pointing at the 20-year-old man sitting at the defense table. "We're not talking one shot."
After a dramatic closing argument by the Assistant State Attorney, the jury took just one (1) hour to find Stephen Horne guilty of First-Degree Murder in the May 2010 shooting of his father, 47. Authorities say the son was motivated by drugs and money.
Later, just after the Chief Circuit Judge sentenced Horne, of Ridge Manor, to LIFE in prison (without the possibility of parole), the convicted killer turned to sobbing family members sitting two rows behind him, and he smiled.
Some told Horne they loved him. Others couldn't say anything. As deputies escorted him out, he glared at news reporters.
Horne was also convicted of Robbery with a Firearm and Possession of a Short-Barreled Shotgun.
His accomplice, Angel Gonzalez, 28, of Holiday, was convicted last month of First Degree Murder and was also sentenced to LIFE in prison.
In court Thursday, the State Attorney read portions of a damning confession Horne had given to a Hernando sheriff's Detective.
" 'I killed my father. I shot my father. I planned it all,' " he read. " 'I hated my father. I seen dollar signs. I planned it out. Everything was all my idea. I was going to get away with it.' "
The two (2) men stole his prescribed Oxycodone pills and between $200 and $600, the State said. Then they stripped him of his boots, trousers and cell phone.
"The state has proven that defendant right there," pointing at Horne, "is a cold-blooded killer."
Have you or someone you loved been arrested for a drug or murder charge? Then contact the law offices of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. to speak with an experienced Pinellas criminal defense lawyer now!
Our office is located at 4707 140th ave. N, Suite 107, Clearwater, FL 33762, across from the criminal courthouse and minutes from Tampa and St. Petersburg. You can contact your St. Petersburg criminal defense attorney by phone at 727.286.6141 or online at info@BlakeDorstenLaw.com.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Calling 911 Backfires
By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.
From the Bay News 9 website, a short but funny story regarding a man who won't take "no" for an answer...
A Largo man's late night craving and demand for tacos landed him in the Pinellas County jail for misuse of a 911 system.
Terry Kimbell, 50, called 911 from his cell phone to inform the dispatcher Taco Bell would not sell him tacos while he stood in the drive-thru lane Tuesday night, according to a Largo police report.
The website obtained the 911 call through a public records request:
911: "Largo emergency."
Kimbell: "It's not an emergency. However, can you -- can you put me through to dispatch? I'm at the Taco Bell, and I walked in, and I left my car on purpose, so I wouldn't drink and drive. I walked up, they wouldn't serve me. So, I'm at the Taco Bell at 137th and Walsingham and I just want some tacos. That's it."
Kimbell tells the dispatcher he has the munchies. He'd been drinking alcohol, according to the police report.
911: "What are the employees saying?"
Kimbell: "You can't walk up, you've got to drive up. You got a get a DUI to get a taco. I got the munchies and I walked a quarter mile from here. Are you going to help me out or do I have to get arrested to get home? You know what I'm saying?"
911: "Well, we're not going to take you home."
Kimbell: "I want you to call the manager at the Taco Bell."
Kimbell stayed on the phone the for about 11 minutes with dispatch until a police officer arrived and arrested him for misuse of a 911 system.
Kimbell was released from jail on Wednesday.
The website tried contacting Kimbell at his apartment, but the door was not answered. He did tell the dispatcher the reason he called 911 though:
Kimbell: "When I get refused service for no reason, it T's me off. So, I call you guys. Does that make sense?"
A Largo police Lt. said when someone calls 911 for a reason that's not an emergency, they're tying up resources for those who truly are having an emergency.
"Certainly calling 911 because you didn't get your tacos is not something that would constitute an emergency," the Lt. said.
A Taco Bell manager said they don't allow customers to walk in their drive-thru for safety reasons.
The fast food company does not want customers to get run over. The manager also said people on foot pose an increased robbery risk to employees.
Have you or someone you loved been arrested for a DUI or a criminal charge? Then contact the law offices of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. to speak with an experienced Pinellas criminal defense lawyer now!
Our office is located at 4707 140th ave. N, Suite 107, Clearwater, FL 33762, across from the criminal courthouse and minutes from Tampa and St. Petersburg. You can contact your St. Petersburg criminal defense attorney by phone at 727.286.6141 or online at info@BlakeDorstenLaw.com.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Clearwater Marijuana Humor
By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.
A humorous mistake from a lady in Clearwater, article by the St. Pete Times website...
CLEARWATER — When asked for her identification, a 27-year-old woman also pulled out a bag of marijuana, according to police, leading to her arrest for possession of that drug and an assortment of pills.
The woman was sitting in a car in the parking lot of the La Quinta Inn Clearwater Central at 21338 U.S. 19 N just before 3 a.m. Saturday when a Clearwater police officer approached the car and asked her what she was doing.
The lady, of Clearwater, said she was talking to her boyfriend and considering renting a hotel room, an arrest report shows.
The officer asked her for her ID. She reached into her purse and removed her ID along with a bag of marijuana, police said. The woman then tried to conceal the bag, according to the report, but was unsuccessful.
Police then searched her purse and found pain relievers oxycodone (57 pills) and methadone (seven pills), sedatives diazepam (brand name: Valium, three pills) and clonazepam (one pill), according to the report.
The woman said she smokes marijuana for medicinal reasons, police said, and that the pills weren't hers. She was arrested on one count of marijuana possession, a misdemeanor, and multiple counts of felony possession of a controlled substance.
Have you been arrested on controlled substance or marijuana 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
A humorous mistake from a lady in Clearwater, article by the St. Pete Times website...
CLEARWATER — When asked for her identification, a 27-year-old woman also pulled out a bag of marijuana, according to police, leading to her arrest for possession of that drug and an assortment of pills.
The woman was sitting in a car in the parking lot of the La Quinta Inn Clearwater Central at 21338 U.S. 19 N just before 3 a.m. Saturday when a Clearwater police officer approached the car and asked her what she was doing.
The lady, of Clearwater, said she was talking to her boyfriend and considering renting a hotel room, an arrest report shows.
The officer asked her for her ID. She reached into her purse and removed her ID along with a bag of marijuana, police said. The woman then tried to conceal the bag, according to the report, but was unsuccessful.
Police then searched her purse and found pain relievers oxycodone (57 pills) and methadone (seven pills), sedatives diazepam (brand name: Valium, three pills) and clonazepam (one pill), according to the report.
The woman said she smokes marijuana for medicinal reasons, police said, and that the pills weren't hers. She was arrested on one count of marijuana possession, a misdemeanor, and multiple counts of felony possession of a controlled substance.
Have you been arrested on controlled substance or marijuana 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
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Why So Much Prescription Pill Trouble?
By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.
Like many other previous posts, this one deals with the prescription pill epidemic in Pinellas and Pasco counties...
A new report released last week found Pinellas and Pasco counties leading the state in an alarming count — the number of people fatally overdosing on the most lethal prescription drugs.
That leads to two possible conclusions, both dismaying. Either the Pinellas and Pasco communities are at the epicenter of Florida's prescription drug epidemic, or drug abuse deaths only seem highest in these counties because other regions are not reporting theirs so completely.
And if the second is true, then the statewide problem is even worse than experts think.
"Either it's real, we really are higher, or they're under-reporting elsewhere," said a Pinellas-Pasco medical examiner.
The report from the Florida Medical Examiners Commission found that 2,710 deaths in Florida last year were caused by prescription drug overdoses, up 8.9 percent from 2009. That's almost eight people a day.
But if other regions of the state are under-reporting, that number could be much higher.
"I've always felt that the numbers that are reported in the annual report actually underestimate the problem because some cases simply don't get reported for one reason or another," said a, professor and director of toxicology at the University of Florida College of Medicine.
The calculus of drug deaths in Florida reveals a lot about the science, the detective work and the human tragedy of trying to quantify an epidemic in which legal drugs are killing far more Floridians than illegal ones such as heroin or cocaine.
In the latest report, the Pinellas-Pasco district led the state in 2010 in deaths from all six of the most lethal prescription drugs — oxycodone, alprazolam (Xanax), methadone, hydrocodone (Vicodin), morphine and diazepam (Valium).
Unfortunately, this isn't the first year Pinellas and Pasco have reported some of the highest death tolls.
A supervisor of the Pinellas Strategic Diversion Task Force finds it "alarming" that Pinellas is a leader. But he's not necessarily disagreeing.
"I believe that we possibly have more people that are addicted right now in this area," he said after reviewing the report. "Now, for whatever reason, we're first and we're really going to have to look at why."
Pinellas and Pasco have larger populations than many rural counties, which could help explain their numbers. After adjusting for population, both counties remain high — though not the highest — in per capita deaths from alprazolam, diazepam, hydrocodone and methadone. Pasco County had one of the highest rates of oxycodone deaths.
Yet overall, prescription drugs still are killing more people locally than in far larger counties such as Miami-Dade and Broward.
Even after working to standardize procedures, Florida's medical examiners are quick to admit some things differ from district to district. And that could have an effect on which deaths get evaluated and which don't.
For starters, not everyone goes to a medical examiner's office. The doctors at these offices perform autopsies on people who die violently or from suspected drug overdoses but generally not in cases where the deaths appear to be from natural causes.
A spokesman said Pinellas and Pasco law enforcement officers are well-trained to look for evidence of drug abuse that might not be obvious — for example, a man with heart problems who dies, but who also had a knee problem and a hydrocodone prescription. Deputies will check the number of pills in the bottle to see if the man was using them faster than prescribed, which could have led to an overdose.
If more cases like that get referred to the medical examiner's office, then more drug deaths are likely to be counted.
The Pinellas-Pasco office also uses its own toxicology lab that tests extensively for drugs. That could turn up more drug deaths. It's also true that the state lacks a uniform approach to toxicology testing.
Even basic reporting has sometimes been spotty, medical examiners admit. Prior to this year, for example, some doctors in the Miami office were simply failing to fill out a form to indicate a prescription drug death, said the director of the toxicology lab at the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's Office.
Experts say a new statewide electronic system should correct many problems.
There is also a human factor. More than most people realize, establishing a cause of death due to drug abuse is a judgment call, medical examiners say.
"If you have five different medical examiners looking at the same case you may get two or three different opinions," the director mentioned.
For any given drug, there is no precise lethal level. Some people die if their blood alcohol content reaches 0.25, but some people actually survive and even function with higher levels, said a Miami-Dade Medical Examiner.
And different drugs are often mixed together, creating more variables to evaluate. Some autopsies are not performed until several days after death, which can make the evaluation even more difficult.
Whether such differences explain why Pinellas and Pasco sit at the top of the list, Goldberger noted the evidence is clear on the most alarming finding: The trendline is up.
"Clearly too many people die every day in the state of Florida as a consequence of the use, misuse and abuse of prescription drugs," he said.
Have you or someone you loved been arrested for a prescription drug or a oxycodone charge? Then contact the law offices of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. to speak with an experienced Pinellas criminal defense lawyer now!
Our office is located at 4707 140th ave. N, Suite 107, Clearwater, FL 33762, across from the criminal courthouse and minutes from Tampa and St. Petersburg. You can contact your St. Petersburg criminal defense attorney by phone at 727.286.6141 or online at info@BlakeDorstenLaw.com.
Like many other previous posts, this one deals with the prescription pill epidemic in Pinellas and Pasco counties...
A new report released last week found Pinellas and Pasco counties leading the state in an alarming count — the number of people fatally overdosing on the most lethal prescription drugs.
That leads to two possible conclusions, both dismaying. Either the Pinellas and Pasco communities are at the epicenter of Florida's prescription drug epidemic, or drug abuse deaths only seem highest in these counties because other regions are not reporting theirs so completely.
And if the second is true, then the statewide problem is even worse than experts think.
"Either it's real, we really are higher, or they're under-reporting elsewhere," said a Pinellas-Pasco medical examiner.
The report from the Florida Medical Examiners Commission found that 2,710 deaths in Florida last year were caused by prescription drug overdoses, up 8.9 percent from 2009. That's almost eight people a day.
But if other regions of the state are under-reporting, that number could be much higher.
"I've always felt that the numbers that are reported in the annual report actually underestimate the problem because some cases simply don't get reported for one reason or another," said a, professor and director of toxicology at the University of Florida College of Medicine.
The calculus of drug deaths in Florida reveals a lot about the science, the detective work and the human tragedy of trying to quantify an epidemic in which legal drugs are killing far more Floridians than illegal ones such as heroin or cocaine.
In the latest report, the Pinellas-Pasco district led the state in 2010 in deaths from all six of the most lethal prescription drugs — oxycodone, alprazolam (Xanax), methadone, hydrocodone (Vicodin), morphine and diazepam (Valium).
Unfortunately, this isn't the first year Pinellas and Pasco have reported some of the highest death tolls.
A supervisor of the Pinellas Strategic Diversion Task Force finds it "alarming" that Pinellas is a leader. But he's not necessarily disagreeing.
"I believe that we possibly have more people that are addicted right now in this area," he said after reviewing the report. "Now, for whatever reason, we're first and we're really going to have to look at why."
Pinellas and Pasco have larger populations than many rural counties, which could help explain their numbers. After adjusting for population, both counties remain high — though not the highest — in per capita deaths from alprazolam, diazepam, hydrocodone and methadone. Pasco County had one of the highest rates of oxycodone deaths.
Yet overall, prescription drugs still are killing more people locally than in far larger counties such as Miami-Dade and Broward.
Even after working to standardize procedures, Florida's medical examiners are quick to admit some things differ from district to district. And that could have an effect on which deaths get evaluated and which don't.
For starters, not everyone goes to a medical examiner's office. The doctors at these offices perform autopsies on people who die violently or from suspected drug overdoses but generally not in cases where the deaths appear to be from natural causes.
A spokesman said Pinellas and Pasco law enforcement officers are well-trained to look for evidence of drug abuse that might not be obvious — for example, a man with heart problems who dies, but who also had a knee problem and a hydrocodone prescription. Deputies will check the number of pills in the bottle to see if the man was using them faster than prescribed, which could have led to an overdose.
If more cases like that get referred to the medical examiner's office, then more drug deaths are likely to be counted.
The Pinellas-Pasco office also uses its own toxicology lab that tests extensively for drugs. That could turn up more drug deaths. It's also true that the state lacks a uniform approach to toxicology testing.
Even basic reporting has sometimes been spotty, medical examiners admit. Prior to this year, for example, some doctors in the Miami office were simply failing to fill out a form to indicate a prescription drug death, said the director of the toxicology lab at the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's Office.
Experts say a new statewide electronic system should correct many problems.
There is also a human factor. More than most people realize, establishing a cause of death due to drug abuse is a judgment call, medical examiners say.
"If you have five different medical examiners looking at the same case you may get two or three different opinions," the director mentioned.
For any given drug, there is no precise lethal level. Some people die if their blood alcohol content reaches 0.25, but some people actually survive and even function with higher levels, said a Miami-Dade Medical Examiner.
And different drugs are often mixed together, creating more variables to evaluate. Some autopsies are not performed until several days after death, which can make the evaluation even more difficult.
Whether such differences explain why Pinellas and Pasco sit at the top of the list, Goldberger noted the evidence is clear on the most alarming finding: The trendline is up.
"Clearly too many people die every day in the state of Florida as a consequence of the use, misuse and abuse of prescription drugs," he said.
Have you or someone you loved been arrested for a prescription drug or a oxycodone charge? Then contact the law offices of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. to speak with an experienced Pinellas criminal defense lawyer now!
Our office is located at 4707 140th ave. N, Suite 107, Clearwater, FL 33762, across from the criminal courthouse and minutes from Tampa and St. Petersburg. You can contact your St. Petersburg criminal defense attorney by phone at 727.286.6141 or online at info@BlakeDorstenLaw.com.
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