Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - "Mean Dad" Part Two

By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.

Just in case you have not had enough Michael Lohan news, according to a Yahoo news site, he has been arrested again for a very similar matter...

Michael Lohan’s in trouble with the law for the second time this week.

Tampa Florida police took the father of “Mean Girls” star Lindsay Lohan into custody early Thursday for violating the terms of his release. He was arrested Tuesday on a domestic violence complaint.

Michael Lohan’s girlfriend who filed the original complaint, notified Tampa police to say that he had contacted her by phone. This violated the terms of his release. When they showed up at her home, Lohan allegedly called his girlfriend again. Upon contacting the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s office, police were given the okay to arrest him.

Then things got hairy. Cops said Lohan tried to flee the scene by jumping off of a third floor balcony. He didn’t escape and was apprehended shortly thereafter. Paramedics initially determined that Lohan was not hurt from the jump, whereupon he was transported to the Hillsborough County Jail for booking. But once he arrived at the jail, deputies suspected Lohan might have broken his foot. Early this morning he headed to Tampa General Hospital for evaluation and is expected to go back to jail for processing after.


In a move that surprised nobody, a Tampa judge later denied Michael Lohan's request for a bond. The judge denied the bond motion after determining that Michael Lohan had violated the terms of his earlier release by contacting the victim of the domestic battery.

Have you or a loved one been arrested for a criminal charge or a domestic battery? Then contact the Tampa Bay area criminal defense attorneys of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. for a free consultation!

For more information, or to speak directly with experienced Tampa Bay area criminal defense lawyers please contact BLAKE & DORSTEN, P.A. at 727.286.6141 or email the lawyers your questions at: info@blakedorstenlaw.com. We are located at 4707 140th Ave N, Suite 104 in Clearwater, across from the criminal courthouse in the airport business center, minutes from Tampa and St. Petersburg.

Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - "Mean Dad"

By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.

TAMPA — Yet another Lohan was put behind bars early Tuesday.

Lindsay Lohan's estranged father, Michael, was arrested around 1 a.m. after he was accused of beating his live-in girlfriend.

The father of the year candidate was booked into Hillsborough County Jail after a visit to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he was checked out after complaining of chest pains.

Lohan has been charged with domestic battery. Bail has not yet been set.

Earlier, police responded to the apartment, at 2021 Lemans Blvd., after receiving a call from a private number alleging domestic violence, police said.

According to police, Lohan, 51, had been staying at the apartment, which belongs to his girlfriend, 28.

Lohan had been trying to persuade his lady friend, a former Star magazine reporter, to drop a previous restraining order from Sarasota County when the two began to argue, according to an arrest affidavit.

Lohan then allegedly punched her, smashed her cell phone, grabbed her by the arm and threatened to throw her from their fourth-floor balcony, police said.

Responding officers said the victim was crying and afraid when they arrived. The bathroom door was dented at a height consistent with the height of Lohan's head, police said.

After being placed in handcuffs, Lohan then began to complain of chest pains, police said. He was taken to St. Joseph's to undergo tests and treatment.

But shortly after officers left his bedside, Lohan checked himself out, said a police spokeswoman Andrea Davis.

Lohan told police he thought he was free to go, but he was taken back into custody on his way out of the hospital, officials said.

"I know he had concerns about his health," the spokeswoman sarcastically said, "but you would think he would have stayed in the hospital if he was really that worried."

Police had left the hospital room to confer about whether they would direct file the charges against Lohan through the state attorney's office or keep an officer with him. Direct filing would have left Lohan paying the hospital bills, rather than taxpayers, Davis said.

The victim retained "minor bruising" from the incident.

The woman and father Lohan have had an on-again, off-again relationship over the past two years, including an engagement in 2010, according to media reports.

The couple was most recently in the public eye over the summer, as Lohan was treated for alcoholism on the reality show Celebrity Rehab.

In March, Lohan was arrested on domestic violence charges in California. Police reported that Lohan had thrown the same victim around and attempted to choke her and injure himself to prevent her from calling police.

The woman had "visible injuries" after the March incident, police said.

Lohan was charged with inflicting corporal injury, false imprisonment and preventing the report of victimization.

Then, too, Lohan complained of chest pains after he was arrested by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies and was transported to a hospital.

According to jail records, Lohan has been working as the director of marketing for Larasan Pharmaceuticals, a company based in Fort Lauderdale.

Lohan also has volunteered to speak with teenagers participating in residential rehab program, Inspirations for Youth and Families, about the dangers of teenage substance abuse in February, according to the organization. Lohan has resided in Florida on and off since then.

It was not clear why the victim had filed a restraining order in Sarasota County, but according to media reports she has family in the area.

That injunction was removed Monday for unknown reasons, according to the Clerk of the Sarasota Circuit Court. After Lohan's arrest, the victim planned to speak to a Sarasota judge about reinstating the order of protection, police said. A hearing was scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday.

Lohan told police he and the lady moved to Tampa to escape the publicity his daughter Lindsay attracts, according to a police report. He now claims he broke her phone because he was angry, but didn't lay hands on her.

Lohan told police that during an argument the previous night, the lady slammed the door in his face, leaving a cut on his forehead. He also told police he left the hospital because he feared the victim would steal some of his more valuable belongings.

Have you or a loved one been arrested for a criminal charge or a domestic battery? Then contact the Tampa Bay area criminal defense attorneys of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. for a free consultation!

For more information, or to speak directly with experienced Tampa Bay area criminal defense lawyers please contact BLAKE & DORSTEN, P.A. at 727.286.6141 or email the lawyers your questions at: info@blakedorstenlaw.com. We are located at 4707 140th Ave N, Suite 104 in Clearwater, across from the criminal courthouse in the airport business center, minutes from Tampa and St. Petersburg.

Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Pain Clinic Doctor Suspended

By Nick Dorsten, Esq.

LARGO — For the second time in five years, health officials have taken emergency action to stop a Pinellas County doctor from writing excessive prescriptions for powerful painkillers.

Authorities say the doctor, an osteopathic family physician, prescribed "potentially lethal quantities" of widely abused narcotics such as Roxicodone and Percocet, often without even a physical exam.

He also permitted an assistant — a nurse who was then his girlfriend — to illegally sign prescriptions after he took a leave from practice, state health officials say.

Similar charges netted this doctor, 46, a previous suspension in 2006. In that violation, he was fined $12,500 but still allowed to return to practice.

In recent years, the man, who could not be reached for comment, has been treating patients at his Medical Clinic, a pain clinic at Seminole Blvd. in Largo.

An employee told investigators he was instructed to recruit new patients by promising they would leave the clinic with at least 240 oxycodone pills, as well as other prescription medications popular as street drugs.

When contacted, two patients said the clinic knew they were illegally going from doctor's office to doctor's office to shop for drugs (commonly charged as "doctor shopping", a third fegree felony!

Even with that knowledge, the doctor refilled their prescriptions.

One was a 41-year-old man. In an 8-month period, he left the pain clinic on 10 occasions with prescriptions from the doctor on each visit for 690 pills, mostly narcotics.

At one point, the patient told the doc that he was worried about being overmedicated and even asked to change his treatment.

But the man was informed that his prescriptions were pre-signed and couldn't be changed — at least not without a $25 charge.

The Florida Department of Health announced Wednesday the emergency suspension of his medical license.

As noted above, this was not the first time the "good" doctor has had run ins with the law...

In 2006, he was the medical director of a St. Petersburg walk-in clinic advertising easy access to Vicodin, Percocet and other drugs.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office eventually raided the clinic and arrested one of its doctors, as well as the clinic's owner and two physician's assistants.

But the doctor wasn't charged. Detectives said he was rarely there.

Instead, he signed stacks of blank prescriptions and sent them by courier from his main office in Seminole.

Outside of his medical work, he has also been arrested multiple times, most recently in 2009 on cocaine charges.

In a related story, state health officials suspended the license of another doctor, a Treasure Island osteopathic physician who pleaded guilty in August to a felony drug trafficking charge involving oxycodone.

Have you or someone you loved been arrested for a prescription drug or an 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.

Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - St. Petersburg Neighborhood: No More!

By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.

ST. PETERSBURG — The neighborhood calls them "boomers" or "thumpers."

As nightclubs close at 3 a.m., people flock in cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles around the Choice Food Store, 3401 Fifth Ave. S, thumping and booming loud music.

Neighbors estimate hundreds of people gather there on weekends and some weeknights. They hang out, flirt, shout and scream. The crowds spill out into surrounding streets and properties, leave trash and break out into fights, according to people in the neighborhood.

Police are called often — at least 150 times about crowds in the past year alone, according to police records.

A while back, the scene took a violent turn.

At 3:16 a.m., police said, shots rang out and a 31-year-old man was wounded in the shoulder. A police officer chased a fleeing Buick from the scene and shot two men after one of them pulled a gun, police said.

Neighbors say the late-night gatherings are a nuisance, and are getting out of control.

"I wish the police could do something," said a neighbor, who lives nearby. "It's getting really stupid."

Neighbors say vehicles fill the convenience store's parking lots and a vacant lot nearby. People spill into adjacent streets and onto the lots around a bail bond business and a pawnshop. They park behind vacant homes, of which there are many.

"It's like a big-a-- block party," said a local business owner, who owns Sunshine State Bail Bonds two doors down. "It's getting worse and worse — somebody got shot."

He's worried an errant bullet will fly into his business.

"Now that this has happened and it's pretty much in my front door, something needs to be done," the man said.

He added that police need to do a better job of crowd control.

Police have been called to the 24-hour Choice Food Store almost 250 times in the past year, according to police records, mostly for large crowds. They also have responded to reports of brawling and gunshots. The owner of Choice Food could not be reached for comment.

The early-morning shooting is not the first — or the worst.

In 2005, a 29-year-old was fatally shot in front of a glass shop at 3451 Fifth Ave. S., a few doors down from Choice Food. Police said several hundred people were hanging out about 2:30 a.m.

Neighbors said police frequently break up the crowds but it often takes complaints about noise before they do anything.

"They sit out there and watch them," said a neighbor. "It looks like there should be a carnival. It's outrageous. I don't understand why they can't stop it."

Another neighbor doesn't think the crowds are a problem. "To me, it's a lot of social gathering, but it isn't more. It's just something they do to hang out."

There's not much police can do to keep crowds from forming if no one is breaking the law, said a police spokesman.

"It's a hard thing to prevent from a law enforcement standpoint," he said. "There's not a lot of tools there for us to prevent issues."

Police typically ask the crowd to disperse only if there's a safety issue, he said.

Frequently police plan ahead if they know crowds will form, making their presence known and discouraging crowds from forming.

Several neighbors said police are usually parked when the group forms after the clubs close.

Yet they say that's not enough...

Have you or a loved one been arrested for a battery or a violent crime? Then contact the St. Petersburg criminal defense attorneys of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. for a free consultation!

For more information, or to speak directly with experienced St. Petersburg criminal defense lawyers please contact BLAKE & DORSTEN, P.A. at 727.286.6141 or email the lawyers your questions at: info@blakedorstenlaw.com. We are located at 4707 140th Ave N, Suite 104 in Clearwater, across from the criminal courthouse in the airport business center, minutes from Tampa and St. Petersburg.

Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - What NOT To Do

By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.

A quick blurb about a man who celebrated his release from jail by picking up ANOTHER criminal charge in the parking lot...

A local man was taken to jail Sunday evening after a drunken disturbance at a neighbor's house. He was then released on his own recognizance just a few hours later.

Yet for the man, the night was still young.

He was arrested again after deputies say he tried to break into two cars — that happened to be in the visitor parking lot at the Land O'Lakes jail. He wasn't released this time.

Sheriff's deputies initially found the suspect, 48, crawling out from under the bushes at his neighbor's house in Jasmine Lakes about 6:30 p.m. His shorts were on backwards and low on his hips. A witness had complained he was urinating on the bushes.

According to a Pasco County Sheriff's Office arrest report, he was "extremely intoxicated" and admitted to drinking six beers and taking six Oxycodone pills. He was arrested for criminal mischief after a witness saw him bang on the neighbor's doors and shake a porch light until the glass panels fell out and broke. The witness also saw the suspect pull the light's electrical wires out of the wall.

Deputies said the man told them he was looking for cans of paint in the bushes, then changed his story and said he was trying to replace the porch light.

Fast forward to 10 p.m. when he was released from the Land O'Lakes jail and went to the visitor parking lot to wait for a ride.

A woman drove up and left her 2003 Acura in the lot. The suspect, she said, went up to the car and tried to open the door. She yelled at him to get away. He said he thought it was his car.

He tried again, this time with a 2002 Mitsubishi. A sheriff's lieutenant watched the second attempt and called detention deputies. This time he was arrested at 11:45 p.m. — less than two hours after he was released. He remained in jail Monday afternoon on two counts of attempted car theft, with bail set at $10,000.

After his second arrest, the suspect said he hoped a deputy was "not mad at him for attempting to get into the cars."

Have you or someone you loved been arrested for a theft 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.