Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Phone Call To Cops = Hit And Run Arrest!

By Nick Dorsten, Esq.

From the St. Petersburg Times website,an interesting story of how one woman's call to the police on a domestic violence complaint led to her arrest on a hit and run charge...

She called the Pinellas Sheriff's Office on Monday night and asked deputies to come kick her boyfriend out of their apartment on a domestic violence complaint.

But instead it was her who ended up leaving in handcuffs, authorities said, after her boyfriend revealed that the 33-year-old mother was the driver in a fatal hit and run crash 10 months ago in Pinellas Park.

The arrested's own call to authorities ended up implicating her in the Feb. 4 death of a victim of the hit and run, who died three days before her 51st birthday.

The victim was walking east across northbound 66th Street N when she was hit and fatally injured in the center lane near the 9700 block, according to police.

All Pinellas Park police knew then was that the victim was struck by a Ford truck, possibly an SUV, that lost its passenger side mirror and front turn signal.

But the case went cold for 10 months — until that evening.

The suspect called deputies to remove her boyfriend on a domestic violence complaint, according to the Sheriff's Office. He had just gotten out of the county jail after serving 40 days for an obtaining property with a worthless check charge. The suspect said she was scared of him. The boyfriend, 34, said he just wanted to see his 7-year-old daughter.

The boyfriend agreed to leave the Palm Harbor apartment. But as he walked out with the deputies, he pointed to a damaged black 1997 Ford Ranger in the apartment complex parking lot and said he had a story to tell them.

The shunned man then told deputies that the suspect borrowed a neighbor's pickup on Feb. 4 to drive to Pinellas Park to buy marijuana, authorities said. That night, the man told deputies, he said the suspect texted him that she had struck a deer.

Then, weeks later, the man told deputies that the suspect broke down and told him that she had actually hit someone on 66th Street N. She knew the person was dead, according to the man, but was too scared of going to jail to stop.

The pedestrian violated the driver's right of way that night, according to police. But under Florida law, police said, the driver had a legal obligation to stop and identify herself.

After the man told deputies what he knew Monday night, the Sheriff's Office called the Pinellas Park Police Department, which sent officers to Palm Harbor to question the suspect. She confessed, according to police, and was arrested.

When Pinellas Park police inspected the Ford Ranger they got their second break in the case that night: the neighbor's truck was still damaged and still missing parts. No repairs were made in the 10 months after the fatal crash.

"We found pieces of the turn signal and the passenger side mirror at the scene (of her death)," said a Pinellas Park police Sgt., "and they matched the parts that the vehicle was missing."

The suspect was also arrested on a warrant for driving with a suspended or revoked license. According to state records, her license was suspended in 2009 and 2010 for failing to pay traffic fines and last year she was cited for DUI.

She was booked into the Pinellas jail, where she was being held Tuesday in lieu of $52,250 bail.

Have you or someone you loved been arrested for a domestic violence or 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.

Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Doctors Arrested in Tampa Pill Mill Crackdown!

By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.

Just like the last blog entry that dealt with doctors, this entry details two more docs that have been arrested during these pillmill crackdowns...

TAMPA — They set up shop in Hillsborough County, prescribing pain pills until deputies shut them down in March.

Within weeks, JW Wellness, the pain clinic that had previously been shut down, sprouted just blocks away in a new jurisdiction. Tampa police noticed.

Undercover officers posed as patients who didn't need pills but wanted them. They brought MRIs the officers say were obviously fraudulent. And they got enough evidence to execute a search warrant back in August, confiscating 79 patient files.

The arrests came soon after.

The clinic's owner, a man, 37, was led from his Tampa house in handcuffs. In nearby Thonotosassa, a doctor practicing at another clinic was arrested in connection with his work at JW Wellness in Tampa.

That doctor, a man, 59, of Oldsmar is licensed and has not been previously arrested in Florida, records show.

In all, eight people connected to JW Wellness were charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering. Seven of them were also charged with racketeering and conspiracy to traffic in a controlled substance.

A Tampa Assistant Chief said the investigation took months because authorities have to prove a doctor prescribed the oxycodone and Xanax pills unnecessarily. It's not like arresting people selling cocaine or heroin, he said, which are illegal in all cases.

Meanwhile, authorities searched two other clinics in Hillsborough.

State officials took records from Main Street Medical in Thonotosassa, where the elder doctor was working.

At Busch Pain Clinic in Tampa, police also arrested a male doctor, 75, of Land O'Lakes. They charged him with writing a prescription for a controlled substance through deception, untruthfulness or fraud.

This most recent roundup comes a day after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the nation's doctors prescribed enough addictive painkillers last year to medicate every American adult around the clock for a month.

The report said addictive narcotic medications such as OxyContin and Vicodin are responsible for nearly 15,000 deaths a year, more than cocaine and heroin combined.

In a news release, the Florida state Attorney General thanked Hillsborough and state authorities for their investigations.

"Today's arrests should send a clear message that prescription drug trafficking in Florida will not be tolerated," she said.

Have you or a loved one been arrested for possession of a controlled substance or drug trafficking? Then contact the Clearwater criminal defense attorneys of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. for a free consultation!

For more information, or to speak directly with experienced Clearwater 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 - Doctors and Pills

By Nick Dorsten, Esq.

While we have blogged often about the pain pill epidemic in Pinellas county, Florida (see here and here), this article from the Times on line tells of local doctors getting their medical license suspended for overprescribing prescription pills...

TAMPA — State health officials on Thursday announced the emergency suspension of a Tampa doctor's license, accusing the Tampa doctor of writing excessive prescriptions for powerful painkillers that may have contributed to a patient's death.

The Florida Board of Medicine has long been aware of concerns about the man's practices. In 2007, he was fined $12,500 for inappropriately prescribing narcotics and other drugs. His medical license was suspended after he failed to comply with the terms of his discipline.

The doctor, 53, did not comment on his suspension. A representative answering the phone at his Medical Group on Busch Boulevard said he was working there but unavailable. The complaints leading to his suspension were from his time practicing at Harbour Medical Group in Lutz, a pain clinic which has since been closed.

In ordering his license suspended, state health officials cited the case of a 37-year-old man who came to see the doc for arthritis pain and anxiety. Over several visits, the man was prescribed large quantities of oxycodone and Xanax without reviewing the patient's medical history, records show.

In March, the doctor discharged the patient after receiving a tip that he was abusing the medications. Several weeks later, the patient died from problems including a cardiac condition associated with long-term drug abuse.

Health officials also faulted the doctor for increasing another patient's regimen until he was being prescribed 795 pain pills, including 495 oxycodone tablets, in a single visit to the doctor!

Have you or a loved one been arrested for possession of a controlled substance or drug trafficking? Then contact the Clearwater criminal defense attorneys of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. for a free consultation!

For more information, or to speak directly with experienced Clearwater 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 - Parents of the Year?

By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.

From the St. Petersburg Times online site, a short discussion on is it legal and if so, why the arrest?

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida — A couple is accused of allowing two young boys to smoke synthetic marijuana , also known as K2, almost 20 times in the past month, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

The man, 37, and woman, 24, were arrested Monday on child abuse charges. The boys, who were in the couple's care, were 9 and 10, at the time of the offense(s).

Deputies went to the couple's home in St. Petersburg to investigate reports that the man was allowing the two boys to smoke the synthetic drug, which is known as "K2" and marketed as incense.

The boys told deputies the man and woman allowed them to smoke K2 in front of them, according to a sheriff's report. The woman admitted to her part and also implicated the man.

The lady then also told deputies she knew it was illegal for children to use K2, but could not explain why she allowed it.

The man denied the allegations, though he told deputies he smokes K2 himself. The couple were being held in the Pinellas County jail in lieu of $20,000 bail each.

This story brings up an interesting question. Clearly marijuana use is illegal. K2 use is legal (with restrictions) for adults. Is K2 to be treated like cigarettes or should no age restriction be applied?

Have you or a loved one been arrested for a possession of marijuana or a child abuse? 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.