Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Human Trafficking in Pinellas County

By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.

From the St. Petersburg Times, an article that discusses a rare crime in Pinellas...human trafficking.

LARGO — The young woman said she was smitten by the older man who frequented the local strip club where she worked as a dancer.

After she performed a private dance for him in a limo in January 2010, the two began dating. He promised he'd take care of her, she said, and based on that promise, she moved into his Largo home.

But instead, she said, he soon began to monitor her every move, took away her cell phone, began forbidding her to see family and friends and plied her with oxycodone in exchange for sexual favors, she said.

She told no one the full story, she said — until Tuesday, when police finally came to his home and the woman opened up to them.

After serving a search warrant and finding prescription drugs, more than $80,000 in cash and a ledger documenting how much oxycodone the man was giving her, Largo police arrested the 63-year-old man, living in Largo and charged him with human trafficking, a rare charge in Pinellas County.

Police said the suspect, a felon, controlled the woman for about a year and a half, keeping her as a virtual prisoner by taking advantage of her addiction to oxycodone. The suspect kept the drugs locked up in a 400-pound safe at his home they shared, police said.

"She has an addiction where he would end up supplying her, kind of preying on that addiction, because he had the ability to supply the narcotics she was addicted to," said a Largo police Lt. "She felt like she was trapped there or couldn't go anywhere."

The police is not naming the woman at time of publication due to the nature of the allegations.

But in a seperate interview Wednesday afternoon, the woman said the suspect initially offered her "a beautiful life." Then, after she moved into his beige stucco home in his quiet neighborhood south of Ulmerton Road, her "savior" began cutting off her ties with family and friends, she said. He threatened to hurt her or her loved ones if she told anyone what was happening, she said.

"He took anything and everything I had, any resources I had to get out," she said.

The woman did eventually acknowledged she was "highly addicted" to narcotic painkillers when she met the suspect, having gotten hooked on them after she suffered a debilitating back injury when she fell off a roof as a teenager. The man would dole out the pills to her and keep track in the ledger, she said.

In an arrest report, police said the suspect "began to control her movements and her dosages of oxycodone for sexual favors." Police said the suspect went so far as to have an alarm system at his house and refused to give the woman the code so he would know if she tried to leave. He also made her give him money she made at her job and he kept track of what she owed him, according to the report.

The woman said the suspect would go to her job and watch her, at times throwing fits if she talked to other people.

Police say they became aware of the situation after the suspect called them Tuesday morning, saying he wanted the woman out of his house.

After the woman told officers her side of the story, police got the warrant and found the money, the ledger and various drugs. The man also was charged with trafficking in oxycodone and possession of Xanax (an antianxiety medication), Trazadone and Fluoxetine (both antidepressants), Carisprodol (a muscle relaxer) and marijuana.

Human trafficking is a worldwide issue that generally takes the form of forced labor, domestic servitude or forced prostitution. Trafficked people can be physically forced or coerced or deceived into various exploits, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

In Pinellas County, the suspect is the seventh person charged with human trafficking over the past two years. In December, local authorities found 27 Hispanic and Asian people in two homes in Largo and Clearwater. The disposition of that case was still unresolved as of Wednesday.

The suspect owns the roughly 2,000-square-foot house with his wife, according to Pinellas County property appraiser records. Pinellas civil court documents show the man's wife (not surprisingly) filed for divorce in February. That case is ongoing.

Wednesday evening, the suspect was being held in the Pinellas County Jail in lieu of over $70,000 bail.

While he does not have a criminal history in Florida. But he was sentenced to a year in federal prison in Massachusetts in 1999 after he was convicted of charges related to selling cable television descramblers and descrambling kits that helped people get premium and pay-per-view channels without paying for them, according to federal court records and news reports.

Have you been arrested on prescription pill or trafficking in oxycodone charges? Then the Pinellas, Florida based Blake & Dorsten, P.A. Pinellas criminal defense lawyers are at your service.

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

Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - celebrity drug bust the finale

By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.

Having previously written about the reggae star Buju Banton and his criminal troubles (click on the links for background), here is information on his sentencing on drug trafficking charges...

TAMPA — Criminal defense attorneys for Buju Banton did all they could to remind jurors and a judge that their client was an international reggae star, not a drug kingpin.

They displayed his album covers during Banton's drug conspiracy trial in February. They called Bob Marley's son as a witness and told jurors Banton had won a Grammy.

And on the first page of a recent court filing, attorneys even included a photo of Banton performing on stage.

But it was convicted drug defendant Mark Myrie — Banton's given name — that a federal judge sentenced to 10 years and one month in prison Thursday after his conviction for setting up a deal to buy 11 pounds of cocaine with the intent to distribute it.

Banton, 37, a South Florida resident, had faced 10 years to life in prison.

With good behavior and time already served, Banton could be out of prison in six years, his attorneys told reporters outside the Tampa federal courthouse.

Banton's attorney vowed that his client would one day return to the recording studio. Upon release, he said, Banton will go back to his native Jamaica.

"His career is not over," Banton's attorney said. "We're looking forward to him winning some more Grammys."

Banton did not speak at the sentencing. But afterward, his lawyer read a statement written by his client from jail:

"The days that lie ahead are filled with despair, but I have courage and grace and I'm hopeful, and that is sufficient to carry me through. The man is not dead. Don't call him a ghost."

Dozens of letters were sent to the U.S. District Court Judge in support of Banton, including one from actor Danny Glover, a friend of the musician's.

Glover said Banton's music "addresses every aspect of life and feeds the heart, mind, body and soul, bringing a message of hope."

NBA player Etan Thomas wrote, "His songs have guided and inspired me since I was in middle school."

Banton's son Mykaheil, 10, wrote, "I don't know why daddy let the devil tempt him to do wrong. I know that he has changed for the better."

But in the end, the words of the prosecutor, spoken at trial, may provide the epitaph on Banton's career.

"This is not about Buju Banton, the reggae singer," he said. "This is about Mark Myrie, the drug defendant."

The Judge said he disagreed with the argument that a snitch for the government had lured an otherwise law-abiding Banton into the drug deal.

The Judge said, "At no time … did Mr. Myrie ever say, 'No, forget cocaine. Leave me alone.' He never said that. And he could have said that."

Jurors had found Banton guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine; using a telephone to help commit a drug offense; and a gun charge because a co-defendant brought a firearm to the drug deal.

But the Judge dismissed the gun charge, saying Banton could not have foreseen a co-defendant bringing the firearm.

The singer's trial opened Feb. 14, a day after he won a Grammy for best reggae album. Banton recorded the album, Before the Dawn, prior to his December 2009 arrest, working on post-production from a jail phone.

This was Banton's second trial. A jury deadlocked at the first in September 2010.

Banton's troubles began on a flight from Spain to the United States in 2009. Banton had the ill fortune to sit next to an informer who has earned $3.3 million in the last 14 years working for federal agents.

Prosecutors said Banton boasted to the snitch that he had been involved in a big cocaine ring. They said Banton talked about wanting to set up a drug deal with the informant.

Prosecutors presented audio tapes and videos of Banton they say proved his culpability in setting up the purchase of $135,000 in cocaine.

In a video, Banton is seen tasting cocaine at a Sarasota warehouse on Dec. 8, 2009. But days later, he was not present as the deal was finalized. Prosecutors said he knew it was happening.

Banton testified he was just a boastful talker trying to impress the informer because the man said he could help his career.

Banton was being held at the Pinellas County Jail until he is transferred to federal prison.

When his sentencing was over and U.S. marshals led him away, someone called out, "We love you, Buju."

Banton looked to a friend and said softly, "See you."

Have you or a loved one been arrested for a drug charge, drug trafficking or violent crime? 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 - Tampa surgeon gets busted for drugs

By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.

While we have talked about doctors and "pill mills" before and again, here is a doctor in Tampa who is in trouble for using patient's names to get Demerol for herself and her boyfriend...

TAMPA — She was licensed to perform cosmetic surgery and had access to pain medicines at her Tampa clinic. But police are investigating allegations that Dr. Christina Paylan used patient names to get Demerol for herself.

She injected it with her boyfriend in the $510,000 home they share near Bayshore Boulevard, police allege in court records. Detectives found empty Demerol packages in a trash can at the curb and in the bathroom.

This month, Tampa police arrested Paylan, 43, and her boyfriend,55, accusing them of illegally possessing Demerol, an addictive narcotic similar to morphine in strength. Paylan was also charged with trafficking hydrocodone and possessing Valium and Xanax.

An office manager estimated that one patient who came to the clinic for massages and Demerol injections had spent $100,000 on Demerol, a search warrant affidavit states.

The employee told a local newspaper that Paylan fired him June 11, the day she was released on $54,250 bond.

The police investigation started in October, shortly after a "concerned family member" of her boyfriend hired a private investigator, the affidavit states.

The investigator searched a trash bin at the end of the couple's driveway at 3110 W Harbor View Ave. in Tampa's Bayshore Beautiful neighborhood. Twice, he found empty boxes of Demerol, bloody bandages and used syringes, the affidavit states. Police found the same type of trash when they searched later that month.

Paylan, the director of Cosmetic Surgery of Tampa Bay at 3230 W Kennedy Blvd., declined to comment, citing her attorney's advice.

Her Criminal Defense attorney wrote in an e-mail that Paylan denies every allegation and "knows she will be exonerated at the conclusion of the process."

The suspect's boyfriend did not respond to messages left on his phone or at his house. In jail records, he listed his occupation as CEO of Proper Power & Energy. The firm's website describes it as an exploration and production company for oil and gas.

His son has cooperated with police and told the Times that he is concerned about his father's well-being.

"He's a good man. He's loved by his family," the son said.

Initially, Paylan concealed the removal of Demerol from her clinic, the office manager told police. But in recent months she was blatant, he said, according to the affidavit.

The former office manager also told police he once saw Paylan and her boyfriend inject Demerol at their house, the affidavit states. He said Paylan has ordered 300 vials of the substance so far this year — more than the clinic needed.

When questioned by police, Paylan stated she had been prescribing and administering Demerol to her boyfriend for a medical condition for at least three months, records state.

A pharmacy receipt for Demerol recovered by police from the couple's trash was written under the name of a female patient, according to the search warrant.

It's legal for Paylan to prescribe medications to friends and family members, according the Florida Department of Health, but the same standards apply as with any patient: A doctor must complete a physical and gather the patient's medical history.

Doctors are not allowed to prescribe controlled substances to themselves.

Paylan is licensed to practice medicine in the state of Florida. State officials have the option of suspending a physician's license if they believe the doctor poses an immediate danger to the public, said a Department of Health spokeswoman.

Paylan graduated in 1994 from the University of Southern California. She was dismissed from her residency program at the University of California at Irvine a few years later, according to court records.

She filed a lawsuit complaining that she had been dismissed for alleging sexual harassment, but a judge removed several of the defendants from the suit and later found against her, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

In 1998, a judge also ruled that the lawsuit was baseless and ordered Paylan — who then went by another last name — to pay about $1.1 million in legal fees.

The judgment followed her to New York, where she worked at another residency program, and then to Florida, where in 2003 she declared bankruptcy.

That year, she applied for a medical license in California but was denied, according to the Medical Board of California. No reason was stated.

However, she had already received a license in Florida two years earlier, in 2001, the same year she started a University of South Florida critical care surgery fellowship at Tampa General Hospital.

She opened her Tampa clinic in 2004, calling it the Institute of Cosmoplastic Surgery. In 2008, she opened an all-organic spa in her office.

Have you or a loved one been arrested for a criminal charge or drug trafficking? Then contact the Tampa Bay 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 - Fake Police...Real Crime

By Nick Dorsten, Esq.

From the st. pete times website, a man poses as a cop and the female victim pays the price...

TAMPA — For the second time within a year in Tampa, police say a man posed as a cop and sexually battered a woman.

Police arrested the suspect, 29, on charges of impersonating a police officer, sexual battery and kidnapping.

They say that on Wednesday afternoon, the suspect saw a 19-year-old woman arguing with her boyfriend at Rome and Waters avenues and stopped to talk to them.

He told them he was an off-duty police officer and said he would give the woman a ride home, police said.

The woman's boyfriend questioned whether the man really was an officer. The suspect responded that he wasn't allowed to carry a badge while off duty and threatened to arrest the boyfriend if he interfered, police said.

Surveillance footage showed the suspect stopped at a Bank of America on N Florida Avenue to withdraw money, which he later told police was for rent. He then drove past the victim's home and parked in a CVS store lot at 9202 N Florida Ave.

He then proceeded to batter the woman there, police said. The woman escaped, police said, and she hid in some bushes and called 911.

Once apprehended, the suspect changed his story several times before admitting he went too far, police said. He was being held in jail without bail.

In 2003, police arrested the same suspect on charges of soliciting prostitution. That charge was dropped.

Another man faced similar charges last summer after he posed as a cop and raped a woman on Bayshore Boulevard. That man was found guilty of kidnapping and sexual battery and sentenced to life in prison.

A police spokeswoman said the department encourages people to "go with their gut" if they have questions about a person's law enforcement bona fides. The couple doubted the suspect at the beginning, a sign that something wasn't right.

There's nothing wrong with courteously telling an officer that you'd like to call 911 to verify your location, the spokeswoman said. Also, off-duty officers do carry a badge, and Tampa police officers also have police identification with photographs on them.

Have you or a loved one been arrested for a criminal charge? 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 - Stalking Daddy

By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.

What happens when a protective father goes too far? That is for the jury to decide...

LARGO — Dennis Hobbs is a father who wanted to keep tabs on his 18-year-old daughter because he worried that she was skipping school, smoking and having sex with her boyfriend.

But when St. Petersburg police found the worried father one night back in spring 2010, he was inside his car dressed in black, wearing face paint and a wig, near the abuse shelter where his daughter had gone to live. Inside the car was a loaded gun and detailed notebooks recording her activities.

So, in an unusual case, Hobbs was charged with stalking his own adult daughter and this week went on trial.

It's a strange case because of the goofy wig and the face paint, but in other ways it relates to an issue every parent faces — how far can you go to direct a child, even if she is now your adult child?

The defense attorney said the suspect was simply concerned for a wayward child and wanted to prevent her from making bad choices. He said it would almost criminal for him not to help her.

But the Assistant State Attorney said the protective father crossed the line into a criminal case of stalking, and detailed how the father kept approaching and bothering his adult daughter long after she asked him to stay away.

"What this case is about is control and limits," she said.

For her part, the daughter Lyndsay Hobbs, now 20, testified that after she learned how her father was dressed in the disguise and near the shelter where she was staying, "I felt more scared for my life than I've ever been."

She said the incident made her fear that "I could have been kidnapped that night and sent anywhere in the world."

The father is 60, and retired after working in computer programing and other technical matters for AT&T. He has no criminal record in Florida. He and his wife no longer live in the state, but they returned for the trial.

Lyndsay Hobbs is an artist who studied at the highly regarded Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota. But according to testimony this week, her father was concerned about her behavior when she was as young as 16.

He found a birth control pill in her room, disapproved of her boyfriend, believed she had been drinking and discovered risque comments she made on Facebook, which even she now acknowledges were inappropriate. She also was charged with shoplifting.

But prosecutors say the concerned father went too far. He came to see her at her job at a drug store against her will, and came uninvited more than once to her boyfriend's family's house, where she stayed for a time, witnesses testified. The daughter testified that she got a temporary injunction against her father "because he would not leave me alone." She moved into an abuse shelter to get away from him, and because "I felt more safe there."

But he even hired a private investigator and found her. He even knew somehow that she had bought a scooter while at the shelter, even though she never told him that.

He also wanted her to leave Ringling and move along with his wife out of state, saying she could continue her studies there.

After the man was arrested, police arranged for his daughter to make a secretly recorded phone call to him.

On the rather scratchy recording, which was played in court, she said she was scared of him because he kept stalking her. He denied stalking and said she had been lying.

"I just want to live my life," she said.

"You want to live a life of sex and drugs," he said. He told her he loved her.

Have you or someone you loved been arrested for a drug or a stalking 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 man beaten and robbed

By Nick Dorsten, Esq.

From the St. Petersburg times website, a man is robbed by a familiar face...

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — The man who was robbed, beaten and forced to drive his assailant to an ATM early Tuesday morning had no trouble recognizing the robber, according to St. Petersburg police.

The man said he knew the suspect well because they both did odd jobs in the same neighborhood, police said.

The criminal defendant, 27, was arrested Tuesday on charges of kidnapping, strong arm robbery and tampering with a witness.

According to police, the man said the suspect approached him about 1:18 a.m. near the 4100 block of Alberca Way S and asked for money. The man said he didn't have any money and, feeling intimidated, said he tried to call 911. But the suspect took his cell phone and beat him about the head, police said.

The suspect then forced him to drive to an ATM, the man told police, and forced him to withdraw $300. The incident was captured on a Wachovia Bank surveillance camera at 3095 54th Ave. S, police said.

At some point the man escaped, police said. He later was hospitalized for his injuries. The suspect was arrested at 4:20 p.m. Tuesday. He was being held Wednesday in the Pinellas County jail in lieu of $65,000 bail.

Have you or a loved one been arrested for a kidnapping or robbery charge? 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 - St. Petersburg drug sting leads to crash

By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.

From the tampa bay website...

ST. PETERSBURG — A 22-year-old St. Petersburg man led police on a pursuit reaching speeds of 90 mph and injuring two after a drug sting Saturday, police said.

The incident began about 10:15 p.m. after police said the criminal defendant sold six crack cocaine rocks to a St. Pete Beach police informer for $70.

After the deal, an officer on a motorcycle tried to pull over his black Chevrolet Impala on 75th Avenue and Blind Pass Road.

But the defendant cut between two other vehicles to try to get away. At Boca Ciega Drive, he slammed on the brakes in an attempt to strike the officer, police said. Then he tried to turn into the officer as the officer was trying to avoid the crash, police said.

The man then drove the wrong way on the Treasure Island Causeway, police said, striking another car.

The occupants were injured. A female was taken to Bayfront Medical Center with serious injuries. The other man's condition was not available.

Police say they found 5.2 grams of crack cocaine in the Impala.

The suspect was held at the Pinellas County Jail on $45,650 bail.

Another man, 22, of St. Petersburg was also arrested. Police said he was at the drug deal and a passenger during the chase. He was released from the jail after posting $5,000 bail.

Have you or a loved one been arrested for a possession of controlled substance 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.

Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Hernando drug raid

By Nick Dorsten, Esq.

Another drug raid, this one involving marijuana (from the times website).

Deputies raided a Pinellas home Thursday and arrested one suspect there after finding nearly 3 pounds of marijuana and assorted drug paraphernalia, a report shows.

A man, 29, was arrested at Toucan Trail on three charges related to the possession and sale of marijuana, an arrest report shows.

Three people who had warrants out for their arrest were found nearby, according to the County Sheriff's Office.

Another man, 31, of 7269 Toucan Trail, was arrested on several counts related to possession and sale of marijuana and for the unlawful use of a two-way communication device.

A man, 44, and a woman, 22, both of Sealawn Drive, were arrested on charges related to the sale and possession of oxycodone.

Another casusalty in the never ending drug war or a justifiable use of tax dollars? That is the question and the debate is sure to rage for quite some time...

Have you been arrested on prescription pill or trafficking in oxycodone charges? Then the Pinellas, Florida based Blake & Dorsten, P.A. Pinellas criminal defense lawyers are at your service.

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

Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Bucs Marijuana Bust!

By Nick Dorsten, Esq.

It should not be a surprise after the multiple arrests from the Tampa Bay Bucs football team (also see here, here, and here) but here is another one from the st. pete times website...

TAMPA — Arcilla Alexander Magee, a defensive end with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was cited for marijuana possession at a traffic stop Monday afternoon.

At about 1:15 p.m., an officer pulled over Magee's 2009 black Dodge Charger at Kennedy Boulevard and Nebraska Avenue for having an expired tag, according to the Tampa Police Department.

While talking to Magee, the officer smelled marijuana, searched the car and found a small amount of the drug.

Magee, 24, was arrested on charges of possession of marijuana and driving with an expired tag. Because the amount of marijuana warranted only a misdemeanor charge, the officer issued Magee a citation and a court date and let him go.

If it feels like you've seen this headline before, that's because you have.

Yes, another Tampa Bay Buccaneer was arrested on Monday. This time, it was defensive end Alex Magee, who was cited by Tampa police after an officer allegedly found a small amount of marijauna in Magee's car during a traffic stop.

Not to get preachy here, because this is far from the most egregious offense an NFL player has been accused of. But what's important here is the context. The Bucs are under tremendous pressure to erase the appearance that theirs is a team with a discipline problem.

The questions are more than fair. This is the fourth member of the organization arrested since March, beginning with pro scouting coordinator Shelton Quarles (DUI), cornerback Aqib Talib (aggravated assault with a deadly weapon) and coaching assistant Jay Kaiser (DUI). Combined with a series of arrests and troubles last year that include the felony drug arrest of former tight end Jerramy Stevens and the one-year drug suspension of safety Tanard Jackson, and it's not hard to see where the reputation comes from.

The point is, this was a very bad time for Magee -- a promising but still marginal player -- to have this happen. To say that people associated with the franchise are going to be on a short leashes probably goes without saying. Will Magee be cut once the lockout is lifted and NFL teams can resume making roster moves? Well, that's far from a given.

But don't be surprised if the Bucs, at some point, start cracking down in a more public fashion. They know fans are watching. And, more important, so is commissioner Roger Goodell.

Have you or a loved one been arrested for marijuana possession or DUI and are in need of a criminal defense lawyer? Then call the law offices of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. at 727.286.6141 or email info@BlakeDorstenLaw.com for a free consultation with a criminal defense attorney.

We are located at 4707 140th Ave N, Suite 104, Clearwater, FL 33762, off 275, minutes from Tampa and St. Petersburg.