By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.
Another marijuana bust, article from the St. Pete Times website...
ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA — Police have arrested three men on charges of possession of more than 9 pounds of marijuana.
The three men, 29,31, and 30, are accused of possessing marijuana with intent to distribute.
Police said they watched the men leave one of the men's home, located in St. Petersburg, in a 2000 Chevy Impala and a rented 2011 Ford Fusion. At about 2 p.m., the men were arrested during traffic stops at 16th Street and 21st Avenue S in St. Petersburg and at 7348 U.S. 19 N in Pinellas Park.
In the Ford Fusion, police found a backpack with seven of nine gallon-size zip-close bags holding marijuana. The rest of the marijuana was in the Impala with the other man.
The street value of the marijuana found in the cars is $10,000, police said. Police also seized $4,488 in cash, which they may try to show as evidence that the men were possessing marijuana with the intent to sell.
Have you or a loved one been arrested for a marijuana charge or drug trafficking? 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.
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.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - stalked
By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq
St. Pete Times...
ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA — A 62-year-old man has been arrested on charges that he stalked and harassed a 15-year-old boy, Pinellas Sheriff's deputies said.
Deputies said the suspect, of 4600 67th St. N, first approached the teenager on Dec. 13 as the boy rode his bike through a parking lot at 4380 66th St. N. From the drivers' seat of his 1998 dark green Kia Sportage, he offered the boy $100 in exchange for a sex, deputies said. The boy was frightened and fled, but the man continued to trail him, circling the area and eventually following him to a friends' house, deputies said.
The next day, the suspect was walking in the same area and again followed the boy, deputies said. The teenager ran to a business and told the security guard, who called deputies.
Detectives from the sheriff's crimes against children unit were able to identify the man based on information they received about his car. On Tuesday, after he voluntarily came to the sheriff's office in Largo, Price was arrested on one count of lewd and lascivious conduct and one-count of aggravated stalking, deputies said.
The man was being held at the Pinellas County Jail Tuesday night on $30,000 bail.
Have you or someone you love been arrested for violation of an injunction, domestic violence or battery? Then call the criminal defense attorneys today for a free consultation!
For more information, or to speak directly with experienced 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.
St. Pete Times...
ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA — A 62-year-old man has been arrested on charges that he stalked and harassed a 15-year-old boy, Pinellas Sheriff's deputies said.
Deputies said the suspect, of 4600 67th St. N, first approached the teenager on Dec. 13 as the boy rode his bike through a parking lot at 4380 66th St. N. From the drivers' seat of his 1998 dark green Kia Sportage, he offered the boy $100 in exchange for a sex, deputies said. The boy was frightened and fled, but the man continued to trail him, circling the area and eventually following him to a friends' house, deputies said.
The next day, the suspect was walking in the same area and again followed the boy, deputies said. The teenager ran to a business and told the security guard, who called deputies.
Detectives from the sheriff's crimes against children unit were able to identify the man based on information they received about his car. On Tuesday, after he voluntarily came to the sheriff's office in Largo, Price was arrested on one count of lewd and lascivious conduct and one-count of aggravated stalking, deputies said.
The man was being held at the Pinellas County Jail Tuesday night on $30,000 bail.
Have you or someone you love been arrested for violation of an injunction, domestic violence or battery? Then call the criminal defense attorneys today for a free consultation!
For more information, or to speak directly with experienced 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 - DUI stops
By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.
Unlike previous posts regarding dwi or dui, I found this article on the Drudge Report, an interesting debate on freedoms vs. security. Article courtesy of 10 news...
Tampa, Florida-- With New Year's Eve only days away, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration expects this to be one of the deadliest weeks of the year on the roads.
But now a new weapon is being used in the fight against drunk driving.
It's a change that could make you more likely to be convicted.
"I think it's a great deterrent for people," said a spokesperson from Mother's Against Drunk Driving in Hillsborough County.
Florida is among several states now holding what are called "no refusal" checkpoints.
It means if you refuse a breath test during a traffic stop, a judge is on site, and issues a warrant that allows police to perform a mandatory blood test.
It's already being done in several counties, and now M.A.D.D. is working to bring it to the Tampa Bay area.
"I think you'll see the difference because people will not drink and drive. I truly believe that," she said.
Not everyone is on board, though.
A DUI defense attorney sees the mandatory blood test as a violation of constitutional rights.
"It's a slippery slope and it's got to stop somewhere," the man explained, "what other misdemeanor offense do we have in the United States where the government can forcefully put a needle into your arm?"
The federal government says Florida has among the highest rates of breathalyzer refusal.
"Now you've got attorneys telling their clients, don't blow, don't blow! Because we know from the results from these machines that they're not operating as the state or the government says they're supposed to operate," said another man, a DUI consultant and expert witness.
Supporters, though, say you could see the "no refusal" checkpoints in the Bay area by October.
"We don't want to violate people's civil rights. That's the last thing we want to do, but we're here to save lives," M.A.D.D. said.
She adds that this type of checkpoint would be heavily advertised, with the goal of deterring any drunk driving.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has recently said he wants to see more states hold similar programs.
Come October, we may be seeing such sheckpoints in St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Tampa. Is this legitimate or is this unconstituional?
Have you or someone you loved been charged with a DUI? Do you need the help of a St. Petersburg Criminal Defense lawyer or Clearwater DUI attorney? Then Call Blake & Dorsten, P.A. today!
For more information, or to speak directly with experienced criminal defense attorneys, please contact the law firm of BLAKE & DORSTEN, P.A. at 727.286.6141 or email your questions to: info@blakedorstenlaw.com
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - oops
By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.
Talk about a mistake, this has been all over the local news...
ST. PETERSBURG, FL — The defendant is a 75-year-old Tierra Verde retiree who used to consider himself very good friends with a 40-year-old woman who dances at local bars.
But the relationship has deteriorated to the point where he has been arrested four times, accused of violating an injunction ordering him to stay away from her.
It doesn't sound all that unusual, except for one thing: The judge actually had denied the request for an injunction against Almond. But through some kind of court mixup, Almond ended up getting arrested four times for violating an injunction that shouldn't officially exist.
The mixup began at a December 2009 hearing, when a lady asked for the court order to keep the man away. Pinellas Judge Lorraine M. Kelly clearly stated, "I'm denying the request for an injunction." But somehow, an order signed by her was entered into the court file saying it was granted.
And then, the Defendant started getting arrested.
Four times in nine months, police said he violated the injunction — by driving past her home, by calling her cell phone, by approaching her at work.
By his fourth arrest in August, the Defendant was in serious trouble — facing a felony charge of aggravated stalking and a possible two-year prison sentence.
But then a criminal defense attorney, obtained a transcript of the original hearing, and discovered what the judge had ruled.
"I went through a year of hell," the Defendant said. "I was going to leave the state and go up north."
After a reporter contacted Chief Assistant State Attorney Bruce Bartlett, he said the aggravated stalking charge would be dropped, now that it's clear the injunction is not valid.
"Something extraordinary happened in this case," Kelly said. Asked exactly how it happened, she said "I'm flummoxed. I have no idea."
In the four-page injunction order, a case number has been handwritten on the top of each page. But on two of those pages, including the one signed by Kelly, the wrong case number was entered — suggesting different court orders might have gotten mixed together during the hearings, which typically are busy affairs involving as many as a couple of dozen cases.
Chief Pinellas-Pasco Judge Thomas McGrady wants to look into the circumstances surrounding the case, to see if it points to any procedures that need to be revised, court spokesman Ron Stuart said.
During these hearings, Kelly sits alongside an employee of the Pinellas County Clerk's Office and one from the office of the Courts Administrator. She signs a form granting an injunction, or a different form denying an injunction, depending on her ruling. Generally speaking, the Courts Administrator employee fills out details of the judge's ruling, and the clerk's employee assembles the different pages of the order and obtains signatures from the parties in the courtroom.
Kelly said she does not routinely read all the orders at the end of the day. She said that's something that could be done, although even that step might not catch one error contained in dozens of files.
Courts administrator Gay Inskeep said she wanted to review all the circumstances surrounding the incident and "do everything we can to make sure it never happens again."
"I am taking it very seriously," she added.
County Clerk Ken Burke said his office also intended to study the matter.
Inskeep said she has not heard of any similar mistakes, and Kelly said she had not heard of one in the more than two years that she has been handling such cases.
As to the two people involved in the dispute, the mandenies that he tried to contact the victim as much as she claimed. He says in one case, he misdialed her telephone number, and she didn't pick up anyway (and prosecutors eventually dropped the charge). He denies driving by her house.
The two appear to have a stormy relationship — at one point she was arrested and accused of grand theft against the man, but that charge was dropped, too.
The lady was in the court hearing when the judge denied the injunction. But she said it still seemed justified that the defendant was later arrested. She had repeatedly contacted police to try to get him to stop contacting her, she said in her injunction request. She says police kept urging her to get an injunction, so she tried.
The man was also in the courtroom for Kelly's ruling.
But, he said, "I couldn't hear the judge. She was way up in front."
He realizes now that he should have piped up. But he didn't.
"I thought she granted the injunction."
Have you or someone you love been arrested for burglary, a violation of an injunction, domestic violence or battery? Then call Blake & Dorsten, P.A. today for a free consultation!
For more information, or to speak directly with experienced 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.
Talk about a mistake, this has been all over the local news...
ST. PETERSBURG, FL — The defendant is a 75-year-old Tierra Verde retiree who used to consider himself very good friends with a 40-year-old woman who dances at local bars.
But the relationship has deteriorated to the point where he has been arrested four times, accused of violating an injunction ordering him to stay away from her.
It doesn't sound all that unusual, except for one thing: The judge actually had denied the request for an injunction against Almond. But through some kind of court mixup, Almond ended up getting arrested four times for violating an injunction that shouldn't officially exist.
The mixup began at a December 2009 hearing, when a lady asked for the court order to keep the man away. Pinellas Judge Lorraine M. Kelly clearly stated, "I'm denying the request for an injunction." But somehow, an order signed by her was entered into the court file saying it was granted.
And then, the Defendant started getting arrested.
Four times in nine months, police said he violated the injunction — by driving past her home, by calling her cell phone, by approaching her at work.
By his fourth arrest in August, the Defendant was in serious trouble — facing a felony charge of aggravated stalking and a possible two-year prison sentence.
But then a criminal defense attorney, obtained a transcript of the original hearing, and discovered what the judge had ruled.
"I went through a year of hell," the Defendant said. "I was going to leave the state and go up north."
After a reporter contacted Chief Assistant State Attorney Bruce Bartlett, he said the aggravated stalking charge would be dropped, now that it's clear the injunction is not valid.
"Something extraordinary happened in this case," Kelly said. Asked exactly how it happened, she said "I'm flummoxed. I have no idea."
In the four-page injunction order, a case number has been handwritten on the top of each page. But on two of those pages, including the one signed by Kelly, the wrong case number was entered — suggesting different court orders might have gotten mixed together during the hearings, which typically are busy affairs involving as many as a couple of dozen cases.
Chief Pinellas-Pasco Judge Thomas McGrady wants to look into the circumstances surrounding the case, to see if it points to any procedures that need to be revised, court spokesman Ron Stuart said.
During these hearings, Kelly sits alongside an employee of the Pinellas County Clerk's Office and one from the office of the Courts Administrator. She signs a form granting an injunction, or a different form denying an injunction, depending on her ruling. Generally speaking, the Courts Administrator employee fills out details of the judge's ruling, and the clerk's employee assembles the different pages of the order and obtains signatures from the parties in the courtroom.
Kelly said she does not routinely read all the orders at the end of the day. She said that's something that could be done, although even that step might not catch one error contained in dozens of files.
Courts administrator Gay Inskeep said she wanted to review all the circumstances surrounding the incident and "do everything we can to make sure it never happens again."
"I am taking it very seriously," she added.
County Clerk Ken Burke said his office also intended to study the matter.
Inskeep said she has not heard of any similar mistakes, and Kelly said she had not heard of one in the more than two years that she has been handling such cases.
As to the two people involved in the dispute, the mandenies that he tried to contact the victim as much as she claimed. He says in one case, he misdialed her telephone number, and she didn't pick up anyway (and prosecutors eventually dropped the charge). He denies driving by her house.
The two appear to have a stormy relationship — at one point she was arrested and accused of grand theft against the man, but that charge was dropped, too.
The lady was in the court hearing when the judge denied the injunction. But she said it still seemed justified that the defendant was later arrested. She had repeatedly contacted police to try to get him to stop contacting her, she said in her injunction request. She says police kept urging her to get an injunction, so she tried.
The man was also in the courtroom for Kelly's ruling.
But, he said, "I couldn't hear the judge. She was way up in front."
He realizes now that he should have piped up. But he didn't.
"I thought she granted the injunction."
Have you or someone you love been arrested for burglary, a violation of an injunction, domestic violence or battery? Then call Blake & Dorsten, P.A. today for a free consultation!
For more information, or to speak directly with experienced 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.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - stolen car
By Nicholas J. Dorsten, Esq.
Courtsey of the St. Pete Times website, an interesting article about a chase gone bad...
CLEARWATER — Deputies arrested three people Sunday after a pursuit on U.S. 19.
A Toyota Tundra pickup, which had been reported stolen, was initially spotted about 4:30 p.m. Sunday heading north on 66th Street near Ulmerton Road, authorities said.
Here's how the resulting pursuit played out, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.
When the driver failed to stop, deputies tried to box the truck in with several cars. But the suspect, identified as Robert Milam, 27, of Tennessee continued east on Ulmerton and then north on U.S. 19. Just south of Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard, he bailed out of the vehicle and ran across southbound lanes of traffic. Deputies pursued him on foot and when they caught up with him, he resisted arrest and fought with deputies, who used a stun gun to subdue him.
Milam was transported to Mease Countryside Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries sustained during the fight. Three deputies suffered minor cuts and scrapes.
Milam was arrested on charges of grand theft auto, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer with a motor vehicle, fleeing and eluding, resisting arrest with violence, resisting arrest without violence and possession of marijuana.
Tiffany Pennock, 27 of Clearwater and a juvenile, whose hometown was not released, remained in the stolen vehicle. Both were arrested on charges of grand theft auto.
According to the Sheriff's Office, the 2005 truck was reported stolen Christmas Day and was located Sunday by an electronic tracking service.
Have you been arrested on marijuana or theft 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
Courtsey of the St. Pete Times website, an interesting article about a chase gone bad...
CLEARWATER — Deputies arrested three people Sunday after a pursuit on U.S. 19.
A Toyota Tundra pickup, which had been reported stolen, was initially spotted about 4:30 p.m. Sunday heading north on 66th Street near Ulmerton Road, authorities said.
Here's how the resulting pursuit played out, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.
When the driver failed to stop, deputies tried to box the truck in with several cars. But the suspect, identified as Robert Milam, 27, of Tennessee continued east on Ulmerton and then north on U.S. 19. Just south of Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard, he bailed out of the vehicle and ran across southbound lanes of traffic. Deputies pursued him on foot and when they caught up with him, he resisted arrest and fought with deputies, who used a stun gun to subdue him.
Milam was transported to Mease Countryside Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries sustained during the fight. Three deputies suffered minor cuts and scrapes.
Milam was arrested on charges of grand theft auto, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer with a motor vehicle, fleeing and eluding, resisting arrest with violence, resisting arrest without violence and possession of marijuana.
Tiffany Pennock, 27 of Clearwater and a juvenile, whose hometown was not released, remained in the stolen vehicle. Both were arrested on charges of grand theft auto.
According to the Sheriff's Office, the 2005 truck was reported stolen Christmas Day and was located Sunday by an electronic tracking service.
Have you been arrested on marijuana or theft 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, December 22, 2010
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - What?
By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.
Sometimes when you come across an article like this, you NEED to blog on it! Courtesy of the smoking gun website...
BRADENTON- A Florida man arrested Wednesday on drug charges told cops that a bag of cocaine found hidden inside his buttocks did not belong to him. Though the suspect did cop to ownership of a bag of marijuana hidden alongside the coke.
The narcotics were discovered by Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputies after Raymond Roberts’s Hyundai was pulled over on a Bradenton street for speeding Wednesday morning. Investigators, who reported smelling a strong odor of marijuana emanating from the vehicle, subsequently searched the 25-year-old Roberts and discovered his hidden stash.
During the search, when Deputy Sean Cappiello "felt a soft object in the crack of his buttocks," the suspect "began to tense up." Roberts volunteered to remove the item. “Let me get it, hold on” he said, and proceeded to place a "clear plastic baggie with a green leafy substance" on the car's hood. A subsequent test showed the substance to be marijuana, 4.5 grams worth, according to an amusing sheriff’s report.
"I then asked him if that was it," wrote Cappiello, "and he stated 'yes.'"
But, as the deputy reported, "I then searched his shorts again and felt another object that was in the crack of his buttocks. I pulled the object out from the exterior of his shorts and a clear plastic baggie with a white rock substance fell to the ground." This plastic bag, a test would later determine, contained 27 pieces of crack cocaine.
Roberts quickly disavowed ownership of the cocaine. “The white stuff is not mine, but the weed is,” he claimed, adding that the crack in his crack was the property of a friend who had previously borrowed the car and left the drug on the passenger seat. Roberts explained that when he was pulled over for speeding, he concealed the second bag of narcotics.
Pictured in the above mug shot, Roberts was charged with pot and cocaine possession. He was freed after posting $1120bond.
So you think the jury will buy his explanation?
Have you or a loved one been arrested for a drug charge? 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.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - more Bucs Part 2
By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.
Here we go again...For those that missed it, here is Part One in the ongoing saga of the hometown football team that is making the Oakland Raiders look like choir boys. The story comes from the St. Petersburg Times...
TAMPA — Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Geno Hayes was arrested early Monday morning on charges of disorderly conduct and trespassing, according to jail records.
Hayes, 23, was jailed shortly after the 2 a.m. arrest at the Blue Martini, 2223 N Westshore Blvd. in International Plaza. The alleged incident happened hours after the Bucs defeated the Washington Redskins on the road Sunday.
Police used a Taser on Hayes after he became aggressive with police during an incident that started with another man, according to police. Hayes overheard a security guard wouldn't let his friend into the lounge for being underdressed. Police said Hayes pushed a police officer (but was not charged with battery of a law enforcement officer) out of the way to stand between her and two disruptive men.
Police said the man denied entry was verbally abusive, and police directed Hayes back into the lounge and forced the other men to leave.
Instead, police said Hayes stayed at the lounge entrance, "menacingly staring" at the officers and guards who made his friends leave. Police eventually led him to the parking lot and told him not to return or he could be arrested for continuing disorderly conduct.
Hayes was back 10 minutes later. He said he'd left his credit card, and police told him to sit at a nearby store while a friend looked for the card.
Bar employees told police they overheard Hayes saying, "B-tch a-- cop. You ain't gonna do nothing. I ain't leaving. I don't have to leave."
An officer ended up using a Taser on Hayes because he continued to be combative and refused to leave, police said. His thick clothing made the device ineffective, and an officer tackled and handcuffed Hayes.
He was booked at 3:35 a.m. and released on bond at 5:12 a.m., according to records.
Hayes, a 6-foot-1, 226-pound former Florida State University standout, was drafted by the Bucs in 2008 and became a starter in 2009, replacing Derrick Brooks. He has started all 13 games this season, amassing 61 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and an interception.
Bucs general manager Mark Dominik said: "We're disappointed Geno put himself in this situation, are currently reviewing it and will handle the matter accordingly.''
In a news conference on Monday, Bucs coach Raheem Morris said: ""You talk to your team about making good decisions all the time, you're frustrated with anything that diverts attention from your team. So obviously you're frustrated with that and diverting away from us being positive and 8-5."
"The frustration is that we're not talking about the plays Geno made yesterday," Morris said. "We're talking about the incident after the game."
Morris said the Bucs will handle Hayes' discipline internally and there are no plans to suspend the linebacker.
"Geno will be here Sunday," Morris said. "We'll handle our discipline in house like we always do."
Have you or a loved one been arrested and are in need of a criminal defense lawyer? Then call the law office of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. for a free consultation with a criminal defense attorney.
Here we go again...For those that missed it, here is Part One in the ongoing saga of the hometown football team that is making the Oakland Raiders look like choir boys. The story comes from the St. Petersburg Times...
TAMPA — Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Geno Hayes was arrested early Monday morning on charges of disorderly conduct and trespassing, according to jail records.
Hayes, 23, was jailed shortly after the 2 a.m. arrest at the Blue Martini, 2223 N Westshore Blvd. in International Plaza. The alleged incident happened hours after the Bucs defeated the Washington Redskins on the road Sunday.
Police used a Taser on Hayes after he became aggressive with police during an incident that started with another man, according to police. Hayes overheard a security guard wouldn't let his friend into the lounge for being underdressed. Police said Hayes pushed a police officer (but was not charged with battery of a law enforcement officer) out of the way to stand between her and two disruptive men.
Police said the man denied entry was verbally abusive, and police directed Hayes back into the lounge and forced the other men to leave.
Instead, police said Hayes stayed at the lounge entrance, "menacingly staring" at the officers and guards who made his friends leave. Police eventually led him to the parking lot and told him not to return or he could be arrested for continuing disorderly conduct.
Hayes was back 10 minutes later. He said he'd left his credit card, and police told him to sit at a nearby store while a friend looked for the card.
Bar employees told police they overheard Hayes saying, "B-tch a-- cop. You ain't gonna do nothing. I ain't leaving. I don't have to leave."
An officer ended up using a Taser on Hayes because he continued to be combative and refused to leave, police said. His thick clothing made the device ineffective, and an officer tackled and handcuffed Hayes.
He was booked at 3:35 a.m. and released on bond at 5:12 a.m., according to records.
Hayes, a 6-foot-1, 226-pound former Florida State University standout, was drafted by the Bucs in 2008 and became a starter in 2009, replacing Derrick Brooks. He has started all 13 games this season, amassing 61 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and an interception.
Bucs general manager Mark Dominik said: "We're disappointed Geno put himself in this situation, are currently reviewing it and will handle the matter accordingly.''
In a news conference on Monday, Bucs coach Raheem Morris said: ""You talk to your team about making good decisions all the time, you're frustrated with anything that diverts attention from your team. So obviously you're frustrated with that and diverting away from us being positive and 8-5."
"The frustration is that we're not talking about the plays Geno made yesterday," Morris said. "We're talking about the incident after the game."
Morris said the Bucs will handle Hayes' discipline internally and there are no plans to suspend the linebacker.
"Geno will be here Sunday," Morris said. "We'll handle our discipline in house like we always do."
Have you or a loved one been arrested and are in need of a criminal defense lawyer? Then call the law office of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. for a free consultation with a criminal defense attorney.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - more Bucs Part 1
By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.
Fresh off the heels of other Tampa Bay Buccaneers who got in trouble with the law (see here, here and here)comes one more, this a former player and one of the bigger NFL draft busts in history!
St Pete Times:
ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers first-round draft pick Keith McCants was arrested on a possession of cocaine charge early Wednesday as he was driving out of a strip club parking lot, police said.
McCants was pulling out of Tina's House of Angels, 3080 34th Street N., about 12:15 a.m. because he failed to stop while leaving a private drive, said police spokesman Mike Puetz. They also noticed that McCants and a passenger, Christina Shamika Campbell, 28, were not wearing their seat belts.
After they stopped the car, police saw a crack pipe in the center console of McCant's 1999 Chevy Tahoe. After searching the vehicle, police found one piece of crack in Campbell's purse.
Police arrested McCants and Campbell and seized the vehicle.
The 42-year-old former linebacker and defensive end's address was listed as 6291 Bahia Del Mar Circle in St. Petersburg, Florida, though he has had a string of arrests in Alabama over the past few years.
McCants, who was the fourth overall pick in the 1990 NFL draft but was cut after three seasons, has a history of legal troubles. Most recently, McCants was arrested on a charge of attempting to purchase drugs at a hotel in Mobile, Ala., in April. Mobile police also arrested him on use and possession of drug paraphernalia charges in June, according to the Mobile Press-Register.
In 2008, police in Alabama used a Taser on McCants after he threw a pair of pliers, a screwdriver, and a crack pipe at an officer, nearly hitting the officer in the head, according to reports. He was not charged with battery of a law enforcement officer.
McCants, who was one of the nation's top college defensive players when he attended the University of Alabama, was considered one of the biggest draft busts in Bucs history. He started in 25 of the 47 games he played with Tampa Bay, then went on to play a couple more years with the Houston Oilers and Arizona Cardinals.
St. Petersburg Police arrested McCants and booked him into the Pinellas County Jail at 2:12 a.m., according to records. He remained in jail Wednesday morning.
Have you or a loved one been arrested for a drug charge or a DUI? 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 - another sting operation
By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.
It has been awhile since Clearwater had a sting operation, but they decided to do it again as seen in the St. Pete Times...
CLEARWATER — Police made 13 arrests, seized $500 in cash and impounded three cars in a sting operation, authorities said Monday.
The operation took place Friday night as Clearwater police officers posed as drug dealers in response to complaints of ongoing illegal drug sales along the 1200 block of Cleveland Street and near the 1400 block of Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard.
The charges range from attempted purchase of cocaine to the arrest of a lady, 28, who was charged with possession of a controlled substance and also was wanted on two felony warrants.
Others arrested and charges:
• A man, 46, attempted purchase of cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia.
• A man, 36, attempted purchase of cocaine.
• A man, 39, attempted purchase of cocaine.
• A man, 43, attempted purchase of cocaine.
• A man, 45, attempted purchase of cocaine.
• A man, 30, attempted purchase of cocaine.
• A man, 43, attempted purchase of cocaine.
• A man, 42, possession of controlled substance.
• A woman, 23, sale and possession of cocaine.
• A man, 27, manufacture/possession of crack cocaine, possession of marijuana.
• A man, 31, manufacture/possession of crack cocaine, possession of marijuana.
• A man, 32, manufacture/possession of crack cocaine, possession of marijuana.
It was unclear as to the amounts of marijuana or cocaine that was found in each defendants possession. The amount is important as the larger the amount, the more severe the punishment...
Have you been arrested on marijuana or cocaine 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
It has been awhile since Clearwater had a sting operation, but they decided to do it again as seen in the St. Pete Times...
CLEARWATER — Police made 13 arrests, seized $500 in cash and impounded three cars in a sting operation, authorities said Monday.
The operation took place Friday night as Clearwater police officers posed as drug dealers in response to complaints of ongoing illegal drug sales along the 1200 block of Cleveland Street and near the 1400 block of Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard.
The charges range from attempted purchase of cocaine to the arrest of a lady, 28, who was charged with possession of a controlled substance and also was wanted on two felony warrants.
Others arrested and charges:
• A man, 46, attempted purchase of cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia.
• A man, 36, attempted purchase of cocaine.
• A man, 39, attempted purchase of cocaine.
• A man, 43, attempted purchase of cocaine.
• A man, 45, attempted purchase of cocaine.
• A man, 30, attempted purchase of cocaine.
• A man, 43, attempted purchase of cocaine.
• A man, 42, possession of controlled substance.
• A woman, 23, sale and possession of cocaine.
• A man, 27, manufacture/possession of crack cocaine, possession of marijuana.
• A man, 31, manufacture/possession of crack cocaine, possession of marijuana.
• A man, 32, manufacture/possession of crack cocaine, possession of marijuana.
It was unclear as to the amounts of marijuana or cocaine that was found in each defendants possession. The amount is important as the larger the amount, the more severe the punishment...
Have you been arrested on marijuana or cocaine 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
Monday, December 13, 2010
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - another DUI
By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.
Another day, another St. Petersburg DUI to report. While these types of stories aren't new (See here and here for instance, when is enough enough? Courtesy of Tampa Bay online
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - A 22-year-old woman was driving drunk when she set in motion a three-car automobile crash that left an 81-year-old motorist with a broken neck and back, authorities said.
The drunk driver also had her 2-year-old daughter with her in the 2003 Mercury Marquis.
The defendant was charged with drunken driving-serious bodily injury, child abuse, driving with a suspended or revoked license in a wreck causing injury, and refusing to submit to a breath test. She was being held today at the Pinellas County Jail on $15,150 bail.
It's the fourth time the St. Petersburg, Florida woman has faced DUI charges, authorities said.
In Thursday's wreck, she also was cited with careless driving and for not wearing a seatbelt, said St. Petersburg police spokesman Mike Puetz.
The defendant was driving west on 22nd Avenue about 3:20 p.m. when her car struck a curb before hitting a Nissan that was stopped at 42nd Street and then striking a Honda on 22nd Avenue, Puetz said.
The Honda's driver, Hyacinth Capehart of St. Petersburg, suffered a broken neck and back.
Two people in the Nissan were treated at Bayfront Medical Center and released, Puetz said.
Neither the defendant nor her daughter was injured. The child was released to her grandmother.
Authorities found a half bottle of Skol vodka and two empty Budweiser beer bottles in her car, Puetz said.
According to court records, the defendant was charged with drunken driving in June 2006. Puetz said the charge was reduced to reckless driving before she pleaded no contest and was found guilty.
Puetz said the defendant was found guilty of drunken driving in a November 2006 wreck and also in a January 2007 case.
The three cases were bundled together and in April 2008 she was ordered into an alcohol treatment center for 30 days. She was also sentenced to a work release program and her license was revoked for five years, according to state records
Have you or someone you loved been charged with a DUI? Do you need the help of a St. Petersburg Criminal Defense lawyer or Clearwater DUI attorney? Then Call Blake & Dorsten, P.A. today!
For more information, or to speak directly with experienced criminal defense attorneys, please contact the law firm of BLAKE & DORSTEN, P.A. at 727.286.6141 or email your questions to: info@blakedorstenlaw.com
Another day, another St. Petersburg DUI to report. While these types of stories aren't new (See here and here for instance, when is enough enough? Courtesy of Tampa Bay online
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - A 22-year-old woman was driving drunk when she set in motion a three-car automobile crash that left an 81-year-old motorist with a broken neck and back, authorities said.
The drunk driver also had her 2-year-old daughter with her in the 2003 Mercury Marquis.
The defendant was charged with drunken driving-serious bodily injury, child abuse, driving with a suspended or revoked license in a wreck causing injury, and refusing to submit to a breath test. She was being held today at the Pinellas County Jail on $15,150 bail.
It's the fourth time the St. Petersburg, Florida woman has faced DUI charges, authorities said.
In Thursday's wreck, she also was cited with careless driving and for not wearing a seatbelt, said St. Petersburg police spokesman Mike Puetz.
The defendant was driving west on 22nd Avenue about 3:20 p.m. when her car struck a curb before hitting a Nissan that was stopped at 42nd Street and then striking a Honda on 22nd Avenue, Puetz said.
The Honda's driver, Hyacinth Capehart of St. Petersburg, suffered a broken neck and back.
Two people in the Nissan were treated at Bayfront Medical Center and released, Puetz said.
Neither the defendant nor her daughter was injured. The child was released to her grandmother.
Authorities found a half bottle of Skol vodka and two empty Budweiser beer bottles in her car, Puetz said.
According to court records, the defendant was charged with drunken driving in June 2006. Puetz said the charge was reduced to reckless driving before she pleaded no contest and was found guilty.
Puetz said the defendant was found guilty of drunken driving in a November 2006 wreck and also in a January 2007 case.
The three cases were bundled together and in April 2008 she was ordered into an alcohol treatment center for 30 days. She was also sentenced to a work release program and her license was revoked for five years, according to state records
Have you or someone you loved been charged with a DUI? Do you need the help of a St. Petersburg Criminal Defense lawyer or Clearwater DUI attorney? Then Call Blake & Dorsten, P.A. today!
For more information, or to speak directly with experienced criminal defense attorneys, please contact the law firm of BLAKE & DORSTEN, P.A. at 727.286.6141 or email your questions to: info@blakedorstenlaw.com
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - The Ice (cream) man cometh...Part 2
By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.
The second part of a bizzare murder, taking place near Tampa Bay, click here for part one...
St. Pete Times:
TAMPA — The tip came quickly, leading deputies to arrest an ice cream vendor in a Thanksgiving Day murder spree that left two dead and four wounded.
Michael Keetley, deputies said, was a victim turned killer, out to avenge his own shooting in January, which the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office hasn't yet solved.
Why was one case cracked in a week while the other went stale?
Sheriff David Gee points to a phenomenon that investigators call "the first 48."
Multiple factors go into solving a case, Gee said, but the first 48 hours after a crime are the most important. It's a fact so well known that it's the name of a television show.
"A lot of that is really true," Gee said.
Within 24 hours after the Thanksgiving shooting, deputies had a solid tip that led them to Keetley.
After Keetley was wounded Jan. 23, none of the tips panned out.
"The difficulty was that we had nothing really to go on," Gee said. "We had masked suspects and a vague description."
It wasn't for lack of effort, he said. The attack on Keetley, 49, was serious, so the Sheriff's Office put a lot of resources into its early investigation.
Detectives followed tips as they trickled in, and undercover officers worked their sources in southern Hillsborough County. But nothing was solid enough to make an arrest.
The opposite was true in the latest case.
On Nov. 27, two days after the shootings, undercover detectives staked out Keetley's father's house. It wasn't long before a minivan matching the description of the one at the scene backed out of the long dirt driveway, said sheriff's spokesman Larry McKinnon.
Detectives followed the van. A couple of traffic violations later, they pulled it over. Keetley was inside, McKinnon said.
A search of his van revealed a gun, and though it wasn't the one used in the shooting, it gave deputies reason to arrest Keetley and search his father's house, McKinnon said.
Keetley wasn't allowed to own guns because of a restraining order filed by former neighbors.
Deputies didn't have enough evidence to charge Keetley with murder, McKinnon said, so Keetley was simply charged with violating an injunction. He bonded out the same day.
And detectives continued to follow him.
On Monday, deputies got a search warrant and scoured the Wimauma house. That's when they found a car in the back yard riddled with bullets, McKinnon said.
Deputies collected a couple of bullets from the car and sent them to state analysts to be compared with a bullet found under a victim at the scene.
They matched, a Sheriff's Office report states.
About the same time, one of the victims came out of an induced coma and picked Keetley out of a photo pack.
He said he was "2,000 percent" sure.
Within several hours, a detective had typed a report detailing why the Sheriff's Office believes Keetley is the killer.
A judge signed the warrant. By midnight, deputies were back at the Keetley house.
Keetley's attackers might still be caught, Gee said. Deputies haven't stopped following tips.
"We even had some leads tricking in over the last several weeks," he said.
The first 48 hours have long past. But even cold cases get solved.
Have you or a loved one been arrested for a violent crime? 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.
The second part of a bizzare murder, taking place near Tampa Bay, click here for part one...
St. Pete Times:
TAMPA — The tip came quickly, leading deputies to arrest an ice cream vendor in a Thanksgiving Day murder spree that left two dead and four wounded.
Michael Keetley, deputies said, was a victim turned killer, out to avenge his own shooting in January, which the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office hasn't yet solved.
Why was one case cracked in a week while the other went stale?
Sheriff David Gee points to a phenomenon that investigators call "the first 48."
Multiple factors go into solving a case, Gee said, but the first 48 hours after a crime are the most important. It's a fact so well known that it's the name of a television show.
"A lot of that is really true," Gee said.
Within 24 hours after the Thanksgiving shooting, deputies had a solid tip that led them to Keetley.
After Keetley was wounded Jan. 23, none of the tips panned out.
"The difficulty was that we had nothing really to go on," Gee said. "We had masked suspects and a vague description."
It wasn't for lack of effort, he said. The attack on Keetley, 49, was serious, so the Sheriff's Office put a lot of resources into its early investigation.
Detectives followed tips as they trickled in, and undercover officers worked their sources in southern Hillsborough County. But nothing was solid enough to make an arrest.
The opposite was true in the latest case.
On Nov. 27, two days after the shootings, undercover detectives staked out Keetley's father's house. It wasn't long before a minivan matching the description of the one at the scene backed out of the long dirt driveway, said sheriff's spokesman Larry McKinnon.
Detectives followed the van. A couple of traffic violations later, they pulled it over. Keetley was inside, McKinnon said.
A search of his van revealed a gun, and though it wasn't the one used in the shooting, it gave deputies reason to arrest Keetley and search his father's house, McKinnon said.
Keetley wasn't allowed to own guns because of a restraining order filed by former neighbors.
Deputies didn't have enough evidence to charge Keetley with murder, McKinnon said, so Keetley was simply charged with violating an injunction. He bonded out the same day.
And detectives continued to follow him.
On Monday, deputies got a search warrant and scoured the Wimauma house. That's when they found a car in the back yard riddled with bullets, McKinnon said.
Deputies collected a couple of bullets from the car and sent them to state analysts to be compared with a bullet found under a victim at the scene.
They matched, a Sheriff's Office report states.
About the same time, one of the victims came out of an induced coma and picked Keetley out of a photo pack.
He said he was "2,000 percent" sure.
Within several hours, a detective had typed a report detailing why the Sheriff's Office believes Keetley is the killer.
A judge signed the warrant. By midnight, deputies were back at the Keetley house.
Keetley's attackers might still be caught, Gee said. Deputies haven't stopped following tips.
"We even had some leads tricking in over the last several weeks," he said.
The first 48 hours have long past. But even cold cases get solved.
Have you or a loved one been arrested for a violent crime? 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 - The Ice (cream) man cometh Part 1
By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.
Part one of an unusual story, as seen on the St. Pete Times website...
Tampa Bay — For 10 months, the ice cream man waited for justice.
Michael Edward Keetley, 39, had been shot in the chest, leg and hand for a mere $12, a victim of a robbery.
The thugs who did it were never caught. So Keetley began asking questions of his own.
On Thanksgiving, deputies say, he was ready for revenge. They say he pulled up to a Ruskin home with a gun and fake cop gear, ordered seven men to lie down on a porch and opened fire from right to left, hitting six, murdering two.
All were innocent, deputies say.
Those who had attacked Keetley in January remain at large.
But on Thursday, the ice cream man went to jail.
• • •
On Ocean Mist Court, where Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies say Keetley sprayed the bullets, people loved the sight of his purple ice cream truck, which sometimes brought free treats. After he was robbed, people gave him money for medical bills. Even the mother of two men he is accused of killing once thought of him as a good guy.
Others saw a different side. Their stories fill court files in petitions for repeat violence injunctions.
Last year, Susan Camp says she got a call from a man who identified himself as a Ruskin sheriff and said he'd gotten complaints about someone driving drunk in her ice cream truck.
She recognized the voice of Keetley, who was new to the business and had previously talked to her about ice cream sales. She told him she was onto him, and they laughed, she said.
But then he got serious. He told her that if she didn't keep her truck out of his territory, he would burn it. In court documents, she said he called her repeatedly and put 10 signs on the road that said, Don't buy ice cream from the blue truck. She sells drugs from her truck and is a very bad, nasty person.
She said two similar signs advertised his own purple truck.
Camp filed an injunction petition and got in touch with two neighborhood families named in repeat violence cases connected to Keetley. They met at a Village Inn to trade tales of foul-mouthed, front-yard threats.
Like the time they said Keetley called a woman a "filthy whore" over his ice cream truck speakers.
And the time, a few days later, that Keetley accused that woman's teenage son of threatening his dog with a baseball bat.
Camp's attorney, Ron Young, contacted Tel Tech Systems with a subpoena for any calls made by Keetley through their "SpoofCard" product, which allows callers to disguise their identities. The company returned a recording of a man telling the teenage neighbor he was with the State Attorney's Office and wanted his mother's number.
One year later came a third allegation that Keetley posed as an official to do harm. It came from Sheriff David Gee, after a double murder.
• • •
In January, as Keetley underwent surgeries to repair his gunshot wounds, his father told the St. Petersburg Times he might never use his hands again.
He recovered to an extent, but became obsessed with finding his shooter, deputies said.
He was looking for a Hispanic man named "Creeper," he told people who spoke to deputies. He offered a $1,500 reward if someone would bring the man to him.
He told one person he had police badges and uniforms and wanted to kill the people who shot him, deputies said. He told another he met someone in a Publix parking lot to buy a gun.
He approached a suspected house after 2 a.m. Thanksgiving morning, as people played cards on a porch, deputies said.
He wore something that said "Sheriff" — a shirt or a bullet-proof vest — and asked for ID. He asked for "Creeper." The men said they didn't know him.
He ordered the seven men to the ground and opened fire.
The first man, 28, stood up to look for his brother before he died, his mother said. His brother, 22, also died.
Wounded were four men, ramging in age from 24 to 31. A seventh man survived unscathed, because one of the others fell over him like a shield.
Investigators later heard from the people they said Keetley spoke with about vigilante justice. Deputies watched him from afar and eventually stopped the van they said was at the scene.
Inside it, they say, they found a gun, which Keetley wasn't allowed to have after his neighbor troubles. They arrested him for violation of an injunction. He posted bail but wasn't free long.
Investigators executed a search warrant on his home and found a notebook on his kitchen counter. Inside, deputies said, he wrote the address where he thought he'd find "Creeper."
Outside, deputies said they found a target he used for shooting practice — a car, riddled with bullet holes. One of the .45 caliber rounds matched one found under a dead man, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement analyst concluded.
A deputy visited a hospital where a victim nursed a punctured lung Wednesday and presented a photo lineup.
A victim didn't hesitate when he saw the face he had seen as he laid on his stomach. He was "2,000 percent sure.''
"I will never forget that face."
• • •
The man Keetley sought actually calls himself "Creep." He lives a few houses from the murder scene and his real name is left hidden. HCSO doesn't know how or why Keetley became fixated on him. He, too, is innocent in the January robbery.
Friends with the brothers since he was 5 or 6, they didn't give him up to the gunman. A man later learned he was why Keetley came.
"He was a mess," a man said said of his friend.
So are the other mourners, who have paused atop the porch to light candles to saints. Some want the death penalty. Others, life in prison.
"The truth is," said a grieving mother, "I would just like to have him in front of me. I'd like to be alone with him."
Have you or a loved one been arrested for a violent crime? 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.
Part one of an unusual story, as seen on the St. Pete Times website...
Tampa Bay — For 10 months, the ice cream man waited for justice.
Michael Edward Keetley, 39, had been shot in the chest, leg and hand for a mere $12, a victim of a robbery.
The thugs who did it were never caught. So Keetley began asking questions of his own.
On Thanksgiving, deputies say, he was ready for revenge. They say he pulled up to a Ruskin home with a gun and fake cop gear, ordered seven men to lie down on a porch and opened fire from right to left, hitting six, murdering two.
All were innocent, deputies say.
Those who had attacked Keetley in January remain at large.
But on Thursday, the ice cream man went to jail.
• • •
On Ocean Mist Court, where Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies say Keetley sprayed the bullets, people loved the sight of his purple ice cream truck, which sometimes brought free treats. After he was robbed, people gave him money for medical bills. Even the mother of two men he is accused of killing once thought of him as a good guy.
Others saw a different side. Their stories fill court files in petitions for repeat violence injunctions.
Last year, Susan Camp says she got a call from a man who identified himself as a Ruskin sheriff and said he'd gotten complaints about someone driving drunk in her ice cream truck.
She recognized the voice of Keetley, who was new to the business and had previously talked to her about ice cream sales. She told him she was onto him, and they laughed, she said.
But then he got serious. He told her that if she didn't keep her truck out of his territory, he would burn it. In court documents, she said he called her repeatedly and put 10 signs on the road that said, Don't buy ice cream from the blue truck. She sells drugs from her truck and is a very bad, nasty person.
She said two similar signs advertised his own purple truck.
Camp filed an injunction petition and got in touch with two neighborhood families named in repeat violence cases connected to Keetley. They met at a Village Inn to trade tales of foul-mouthed, front-yard threats.
Like the time they said Keetley called a woman a "filthy whore" over his ice cream truck speakers.
And the time, a few days later, that Keetley accused that woman's teenage son of threatening his dog with a baseball bat.
Camp's attorney, Ron Young, contacted Tel Tech Systems with a subpoena for any calls made by Keetley through their "SpoofCard" product, which allows callers to disguise their identities. The company returned a recording of a man telling the teenage neighbor he was with the State Attorney's Office and wanted his mother's number.
One year later came a third allegation that Keetley posed as an official to do harm. It came from Sheriff David Gee, after a double murder.
• • •
In January, as Keetley underwent surgeries to repair his gunshot wounds, his father told the St. Petersburg Times he might never use his hands again.
He recovered to an extent, but became obsessed with finding his shooter, deputies said.
He was looking for a Hispanic man named "Creeper," he told people who spoke to deputies. He offered a $1,500 reward if someone would bring the man to him.
He told one person he had police badges and uniforms and wanted to kill the people who shot him, deputies said. He told another he met someone in a Publix parking lot to buy a gun.
He approached a suspected house after 2 a.m. Thanksgiving morning, as people played cards on a porch, deputies said.
He wore something that said "Sheriff" — a shirt or a bullet-proof vest — and asked for ID. He asked for "Creeper." The men said they didn't know him.
He ordered the seven men to the ground and opened fire.
The first man, 28, stood up to look for his brother before he died, his mother said. His brother, 22, also died.
Wounded were four men, ramging in age from 24 to 31. A seventh man survived unscathed, because one of the others fell over him like a shield.
Investigators later heard from the people they said Keetley spoke with about vigilante justice. Deputies watched him from afar and eventually stopped the van they said was at the scene.
Inside it, they say, they found a gun, which Keetley wasn't allowed to have after his neighbor troubles. They arrested him for violation of an injunction. He posted bail but wasn't free long.
Investigators executed a search warrant on his home and found a notebook on his kitchen counter. Inside, deputies said, he wrote the address where he thought he'd find "Creeper."
Outside, deputies said they found a target he used for shooting practice — a car, riddled with bullet holes. One of the .45 caliber rounds matched one found under a dead man, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement analyst concluded.
A deputy visited a hospital where a victim nursed a punctured lung Wednesday and presented a photo lineup.
A victim didn't hesitate when he saw the face he had seen as he laid on his stomach. He was "2,000 percent sure.''
"I will never forget that face."
• • •
The man Keetley sought actually calls himself "Creep." He lives a few houses from the murder scene and his real name is left hidden. HCSO doesn't know how or why Keetley became fixated on him. He, too, is innocent in the January robbery.
Friends with the brothers since he was 5 or 6, they didn't give him up to the gunman. A man later learned he was why Keetley came.
"He was a mess," a man said said of his friend.
So are the other mourners, who have paused atop the porch to light candles to saints. Some want the death penalty. Others, life in prison.
"The truth is," said a grieving mother, "I would just like to have him in front of me. I'd like to be alone with him."
Have you or a loved one been arrested for a violent crime? 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.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - bank robbery
By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.
A bank robbery with a twist...courtesu of the st. pete times.
ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA — A man who police say robbed a bank then got in a car crash as he was fleeing nearly two weeks ago is now behind bars, authorities said.
The St. Petersburg, Florida bank robbery suspect, 52, of Quincy, was transferred to the Pinellas County Jail on Tuesday, after he was arrested on a warrant Nov. 24 by the Tallahassee Police Department.
The St. Petersburg, Florida bank robbery suspect police say, is the man who robbed a Regions Bank at 2751 54th Ave. S at about 10:30 a.m. Nov. 19.
The suspect was armed with a small handgun and got an undisclosed about of cash along with a dye pack.
About 15 minutes later, authorities said, the man was involved in a traffic crash at First Avenue South and 20th Street South. He ran away from the scene but he was not charged with fleeing and eluding or leaving the scene of an accident.
Officers responding to the crash scene found residue from the dye pack inside of the suspect's vehicle.
St. Petersburg police spokesman Mike Puetz said investigators developed the man as a suspect, who they believe was in the St. Petersburg area visiting relatives at the time he committed the robbery.
An arrest warrant was issued, and local detectives got word this week that authorities in Leon County had found the bank robbery suspect.
He remained in the Pinellas County Jail on Thursday in lieu of $50,000 bail. He faces a robbery charge
Have you or someone you love been arrested for burglary, robbery or battery? Then call Blake & Dorsten, P.A. today for a free consultation!
For more information, or to speak directly with experienced 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.
A bank robbery with a twist...courtesu of the st. pete times.
ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA — A man who police say robbed a bank then got in a car crash as he was fleeing nearly two weeks ago is now behind bars, authorities said.
The St. Petersburg, Florida bank robbery suspect, 52, of Quincy, was transferred to the Pinellas County Jail on Tuesday, after he was arrested on a warrant Nov. 24 by the Tallahassee Police Department.
The St. Petersburg, Florida bank robbery suspect police say, is the man who robbed a Regions Bank at 2751 54th Ave. S at about 10:30 a.m. Nov. 19.
The suspect was armed with a small handgun and got an undisclosed about of cash along with a dye pack.
About 15 minutes later, authorities said, the man was involved in a traffic crash at First Avenue South and 20th Street South. He ran away from the scene but he was not charged with fleeing and eluding or leaving the scene of an accident.
Officers responding to the crash scene found residue from the dye pack inside of the suspect's vehicle.
St. Petersburg police spokesman Mike Puetz said investigators developed the man as a suspect, who they believe was in the St. Petersburg area visiting relatives at the time he committed the robbery.
An arrest warrant was issued, and local detectives got word this week that authorities in Leon County had found the bank robbery suspect.
He remained in the Pinellas County Jail on Thursday in lieu of $50,000 bail. He faces a robbery charge
Have you or someone you love been arrested for burglary, robbery or battery? Then call Blake & Dorsten, P.A. today for a free consultation!
For more information, or to speak directly with experienced 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.
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