By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.
A bit more humorous today as an article from the St. Pete Times website shows what NOT to do in this particular situation...
The suspect told a Pasco sheriff's deputy he'd been a victim of a robbery. He was paying off a $5 debt to a woman when she "jerked" his $20 bill from him and ran away.
But the woman, when questioned by the deputies, said the Defendant actually wanted to pay the $5, get $5 worth of Xanax pills and $10 in change, according to a Sheriff's Office report. The woman said after she gave the man the pills, she forgot to give him his change.
When he returned later for it, the woman claimed she was awekened from her nap to the suspect screaming and demanding his money — or more pills.
The suspect, male and 45, lives in Oakhill Drive, was arrested and charged with filing a false report. He was released from jail Sunday.
The cost to investigate the entire incident, according to the Sheriff's Office: a whopping $78.
Have you been arrested on a drug posession 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 727.286.6141 or email the defense lawyers at: info@blakedorstenlaw.com
Welcome to the blog of a Clearwater-based Tampa bay area criminal defense attorney. Visit our website at www.BlakeDorstenLaw.com or call us at 727-286-6141 for all your legal needs. Our office is located across from the 49th street criminal courthouse, minutes from Tampa and St. Petersburg at 4707 140th Ave N, Suite 104, Clearwater 33762.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Victim or Defendant?
By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.
An interesting article from the St. Petersburg Times website re: a man who claimed that he was the victim of a battery but the police are saying that he was a robber who got the tables turned on him...
PINELLAS PARK — A barefoot, disheveled, 18-year-old man asked someone to call police after he said he was beaten and robbed early Monday, police said.
But he was arrested instead.
The man of St. Petersburg, Florida told police he was attacked near 49th Street N and 83rd Avenue just after 2:30 a.m. and lost his shoes fleeing his attackers.
But police responding to a nearby call, found two men, who said the suspect robbed and attacked them.
The two men had multiple stab wounds and were taken to Bayfront Medical Center, police said.
The suspect stabbed one victim 17 times and the other twice with a pocket knife, police said. The three were a home home when the suspect pulled a knife, robbed one of the men of $50 and stabbed them, police said.
He ran away, leaving his sneakers and the knife behind, police said.
The suspect, who remained in jail Monday, faces charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, robbery with a deadly weapon and marijuana possession.
Have you or a loved one been arrested for a possession of controlled substance or a robbery offense? 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.
An interesting article from the St. Petersburg Times website re: a man who claimed that he was the victim of a battery but the police are saying that he was a robber who got the tables turned on him...
PINELLAS PARK — A barefoot, disheveled, 18-year-old man asked someone to call police after he said he was beaten and robbed early Monday, police said.
But he was arrested instead.
The man of St. Petersburg, Florida told police he was attacked near 49th Street N and 83rd Avenue just after 2:30 a.m. and lost his shoes fleeing his attackers.
But police responding to a nearby call, found two men, who said the suspect robbed and attacked them.
The two men had multiple stab wounds and were taken to Bayfront Medical Center, police said.
The suspect stabbed one victim 17 times and the other twice with a pocket knife, police said. The three were a home home when the suspect pulled a knife, robbed one of the men of $50 and stabbed them, police said.
He ran away, leaving his sneakers and the knife behind, police said.
The suspect, who remained in jail Monday, faces charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, robbery with a deadly weapon and marijuana possession.
Have you or a loved one been arrested for a possession of controlled substance or a robbery offense? 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.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Human Trafficking in Pinellas County Part 2
By Nick Dorsten, Esq.
This is the second part of a human trafficking story I had previously written about. It now looks like the suspect has more criminal charges added (story from the St. Petersburg Times website)...
LARGO — It all comes down to whose side of the story you believe: hers or his?
Twice now, Largo police have said they trust the version provided by a 23-year-old woman who said she was repeatedly drugged by her live-in boyfriend and kept a virtual prisoner in his home.
Most recently, police expressed confidence that the 63-year-old suspect manipulated the woman into submission when they added more charges stemming from his human trafficking arrest in June.
But the woman who originally claimed she was a victim has changed her story more than once.
To understand the bizarre saga, you have to go back to the beginning.
In June, Largo police charged the man with human trafficking after they were called to his home in his neighborhood south of Ulmerton Road for a domestic dispute. The woman at the house told police he was giving her oxycodone in exchange for sexual favors and that she was being kept against her will.
According to arrest reports, police executed a search warrant and found prescription drugs, more than $80,000 and a ledger detailing how much oxycodone the man was giving her. Police said they believed he was taking advantage of the woman's drug addiction.
In an interview with a local newspaper in June, the 23-year-old woman said the suspect threatened to harm her if she told anyone what was happening. She also said that the man paid two people to fill prescriptions and give him the prescription pills.
The woman got a restraining order against the suspect on June 21, the day he was arrested on the trafficking charge. He bonded out of jail, but was ordered not to have contact with the woman.
In the latest arrest, police said the man violated the terms of his pre-trial release by sending the woman numerous text messages. They said he promised the woman drugs and that he would pay to help her move away from the area if she "would sign a written statement to his attorney that she lied to the police" and drop the injunction, arrest reports show. For that, police said, he was charged with tampering with a witness.
On July 19, the woman went to the office of the suspect's criminal defense attorney and signed an affidavit saying that pretty much everything police based their case on was not true and that the statement police took from her was filled with "inaccuracies."
In the affidavit, the woman said the man only controlled her medication to ensure she didn't overdose, that he never held her against her will and that he never engaged in any drug deals.
But police said they have identified the two men the suspect was paying for the pill prescriptions. For that, they said, he was also charged Thursday with two counts of conspiracy.
A Largo police spokesman said Friday the additional charges came out of the ongoing investigation and that the woman lied in the affidavit after the suspect "promised her more drugs and a better life."
The suspect was being held in the Pinellas County Jail on Friday without bail.
However his attorney said that the police are "taking advantage of a severely addicted girl, woman really," he said. "They continue to just accept what she says whenever the whim strikes her. She'll turn around next week and say none of this is true."
He further went on and said he has cell phone records to show the woman called his client 31 times after his arrest in June.
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
This is the second part of a human trafficking story I had previously written about. It now looks like the suspect has more criminal charges added (story from the St. Petersburg Times website)...
LARGO — It all comes down to whose side of the story you believe: hers or his?
Twice now, Largo police have said they trust the version provided by a 23-year-old woman who said she was repeatedly drugged by her live-in boyfriend and kept a virtual prisoner in his home.
Most recently, police expressed confidence that the 63-year-old suspect manipulated the woman into submission when they added more charges stemming from his human trafficking arrest in June.
But the woman who originally claimed she was a victim has changed her story more than once.
To understand the bizarre saga, you have to go back to the beginning.
In June, Largo police charged the man with human trafficking after they were called to his home in his neighborhood south of Ulmerton Road for a domestic dispute. The woman at the house told police he was giving her oxycodone in exchange for sexual favors and that she was being kept against her will.
According to arrest reports, police executed a search warrant and found prescription drugs, more than $80,000 and a ledger detailing how much oxycodone the man was giving her. Police said they believed he was taking advantage of the woman's drug addiction.
In an interview with a local newspaper in June, the 23-year-old woman said the suspect threatened to harm her if she told anyone what was happening. She also said that the man paid two people to fill prescriptions and give him the prescription pills.
The woman got a restraining order against the suspect on June 21, the day he was arrested on the trafficking charge. He bonded out of jail, but was ordered not to have contact with the woman.
In the latest arrest, police said the man violated the terms of his pre-trial release by sending the woman numerous text messages. They said he promised the woman drugs and that he would pay to help her move away from the area if she "would sign a written statement to his attorney that she lied to the police" and drop the injunction, arrest reports show. For that, police said, he was charged with tampering with a witness.
On July 19, the woman went to the office of the suspect's criminal defense attorney and signed an affidavit saying that pretty much everything police based their case on was not true and that the statement police took from her was filled with "inaccuracies."
In the affidavit, the woman said the man only controlled her medication to ensure she didn't overdose, that he never held her against her will and that he never engaged in any drug deals.
But police said they have identified the two men the suspect was paying for the pill prescriptions. For that, they said, he was also charged Thursday with two counts of conspiracy.
A Largo police spokesman said Friday the additional charges came out of the ongoing investigation and that the woman lied in the affidavit after the suspect "promised her more drugs and a better life."
The suspect was being held in the Pinellas County Jail on Friday without bail.
However his attorney said that the police are "taking advantage of a severely addicted girl, woman really," he said. "They continue to just accept what she says whenever the whim strikes her. She'll turn around next week and say none of this is true."
He further went on and said he has cell phone records to show the woman called his client 31 times after his arrest in June.
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
Monday, August 15, 2011
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Drug Bust!
By Nick Dorsten, Esq.
Right on the heels of recent stories of drug stings (see here and here for instance), comes another blurb from yahoo news regarding a recent large drug sting that nabbed over 2,000 arrests!
..US authorities have arrested nearly 2,000 people on narcotics charges in a 20-month sting targeting a Mexican drug cartel, the US Justice Department said Thursday.
The ongoing multi-agency takedown saw 1,985 people arrested, along with the seizure of about $62 million in US dollars, and more than 12 tons of drugs.
The arrests and charges were carried out in 12 states and the US capital Washington in a major operation dubbed "Project Delirium" and the announcement came just two months after Mexican law enforcement officials arrested the drug cartel leader.
"Project Delirium is the second successful, strategic and surgical strike to disrupt and destroy one of the most violent Mexican cartels," said an administrator of the US Drug Enforcement Administration.
"Through their violent drug trafficking activities, including their hallmark of supplying most of the methamphetamine imported into the United States, (this drug cartel) is responsible for recklessly and violently destroying countless lives on both sides of the border."
Among the drugs which were rounded up were 2,773 pounds (1,258 kilograms) of methamphetamine, 6,000 pounds (2,722 kilograms) of cocaine, 1,005 pounds (456 kilograms) of heroin, 14,818 pounds (6,721 kilograms) of marijuana and $3.8 million in other assets.
A Deputy Attorney General said Project Delirium and other such efforts were "disrupting the operations of Mexican drug cartels in the United States and Mexico."
"The arrests and seizures we are announcing today have stripped (the drug cartel) of its manpower, its deadly product and its profit, and helped make communities large and small safer," he added, vowing cooperation with Mexican law enforcement to "diminish and ultimately eliminate" drug cartels.
Since June 1 alone, 221 individuals were arrested across the United States, including over 70 people just Wednesday and Thursday, as part of the operation, according to US Justice Department figures.
Mexico's Secretary of Public Security hailed the "increased information-sharing and collaboration with the DEA," saying it had allowed for more significant arrests and seizures of drugs and money.
Those arrested under the operation were charged with a variety of crimes ranging from distribution of methamphetamines, cocaine and marijuana, money laundering and conspiracy to import narcotics into the United States.
The multi-agency Special Operations Division coordinated the investigative efforts -- with agents culled from the DEA, FBI, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Internal Revenue Service, US Customs and Border Protection, US Marshals Service and the Justice Department.
More than 300 federal, state, local and foreign law enforcement agencies participated in the operation.
Have you been arrested on meth or drug trafficking 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 727.286.6141 or email the defense lawyers at: info@blakedorstenlaw.com
Right on the heels of recent stories of drug stings (see here and here for instance), comes another blurb from yahoo news regarding a recent large drug sting that nabbed over 2,000 arrests!
..US authorities have arrested nearly 2,000 people on narcotics charges in a 20-month sting targeting a Mexican drug cartel, the US Justice Department said Thursday.
The ongoing multi-agency takedown saw 1,985 people arrested, along with the seizure of about $62 million in US dollars, and more than 12 tons of drugs.
The arrests and charges were carried out in 12 states and the US capital Washington in a major operation dubbed "Project Delirium" and the announcement came just two months after Mexican law enforcement officials arrested the drug cartel leader.
"Project Delirium is the second successful, strategic and surgical strike to disrupt and destroy one of the most violent Mexican cartels," said an administrator of the US Drug Enforcement Administration.
"Through their violent drug trafficking activities, including their hallmark of supplying most of the methamphetamine imported into the United States, (this drug cartel) is responsible for recklessly and violently destroying countless lives on both sides of the border."
Among the drugs which were rounded up were 2,773 pounds (1,258 kilograms) of methamphetamine, 6,000 pounds (2,722 kilograms) of cocaine, 1,005 pounds (456 kilograms) of heroin, 14,818 pounds (6,721 kilograms) of marijuana and $3.8 million in other assets.
A Deputy Attorney General said Project Delirium and other such efforts were "disrupting the operations of Mexican drug cartels in the United States and Mexico."
"The arrests and seizures we are announcing today have stripped (the drug cartel) of its manpower, its deadly product and its profit, and helped make communities large and small safer," he added, vowing cooperation with Mexican law enforcement to "diminish and ultimately eliminate" drug cartels.
Since June 1 alone, 221 individuals were arrested across the United States, including over 70 people just Wednesday and Thursday, as part of the operation, according to US Justice Department figures.
Mexico's Secretary of Public Security hailed the "increased information-sharing and collaboration with the DEA," saying it had allowed for more significant arrests and seizures of drugs and money.
Those arrested under the operation were charged with a variety of crimes ranging from distribution of methamphetamines, cocaine and marijuana, money laundering and conspiracy to import narcotics into the United States.
The multi-agency Special Operations Division coordinated the investigative efforts -- with agents culled from the DEA, FBI, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Internal Revenue Service, US Customs and Border Protection, US Marshals Service and the Justice Department.
More than 300 federal, state, local and foreign law enforcement agencies participated in the operation.
Have you been arrested on meth or drug trafficking 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 727.286.6141 or email the defense lawyers at: info@blakedorstenlaw.com
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Marijuana Bust
By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.
Another day, another drug seizure...this one involving five pounds of marijuana (from the bradenton newspaper).
A traffic stop early Wednesday lead to the discovery of more than five pounds of marijuana in the vehicle, according to a report from the Sheriff's Office.
A deputy stopped the suspect, 29, of St. Petersburg in the 600 block of U.S. 301 Boulevard at 12:34 a.m. because a tag light was out. The deputy smelled unburnt marijuana and asked where the marijuana was. The suspect removed a joint from his right front pocket and reportedly apologized to the Deputy.
The deputy search the vehicle and found what was weighed as 5.22 pounds of marijuana, in individual one-pound packages, according to the sheriff's office.
Deputies also found that the man was carrying $869 in cash, according to the report.
The defendant faces charges of possession of marijuana with intent to sell and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to the sheriff's office. He was being held on bonds totaling $3,360.
Have you been arrested on marijuana or possession of drugs with intent to sell 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 727.286.6141 or email the defense lawyers at: info@blakedorstenlaw.com.
Another day, another drug seizure...this one involving five pounds of marijuana (from the bradenton newspaper).
A traffic stop early Wednesday lead to the discovery of more than five pounds of marijuana in the vehicle, according to a report from the Sheriff's Office.
A deputy stopped the suspect, 29, of St. Petersburg in the 600 block of U.S. 301 Boulevard at 12:34 a.m. because a tag light was out. The deputy smelled unburnt marijuana and asked where the marijuana was. The suspect removed a joint from his right front pocket and reportedly apologized to the Deputy.
The deputy search the vehicle and found what was weighed as 5.22 pounds of marijuana, in individual one-pound packages, according to the sheriff's office.
Deputies also found that the man was carrying $869 in cash, according to the report.
The defendant faces charges of possession of marijuana with intent to sell and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to the sheriff's office. He was being held on bonds totaling $3,360.
Have you been arrested on marijuana or possession of drugs with intent to sell 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 727.286.6141 or email the defense lawyers at: info@blakedorstenlaw.com.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Clearwater Sting Operation
By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.
Like previous undercover drug stings, this short blurb (from the times website)shows that the drug scourge in Pinellas may be getting worse...
CLEARWATER — Police have arrested 11 people this week on various drug charges during a round-up of suspects, authorities said.
One of those arrested was also charged with a prostitution offense, the Clearwater police said.
The department's vice and narcotics unit, along with the anti-crime team, arrested the following:
• A man, 35, of Drew St., two counts of sale and possession of cocaine, a violation of probation.
• A man, 46, of Fort Harrison Ave., sale and possession of cocaine.
• A man, 24, of Applewood Drive., three counts sale and possession of cocaine.
• A man, 38, of Clearwater-Largo Road, Largo, two counts trafficking in hydrocodone.
• A woman, 62, of Lincoln Ave., sale and possession of Oxycodone.
The same units also conducted an undercover detail focusing on narcotics activity and prostitution in various areas throughout Clearwater, including East Gateway and the downtown corridor. The following were arrested during that operation:
• A man, 19, of Palm Harbor, sale and possession of cocaine.
• A man, 48, of 14th Ave., sale and possession of cocaine.
• A man, 42, transient of Clearwater, sale and possession of cocaine, resisting an officer without violence.
• A woman, 31, transient, sale of cocaine, soliciting prostitution.
• A man, 24, of Homestead, sale of cocaine.
• A woman, 40, of sale and possession of cocaine.
Have you been arrested on drug trafficking or cocaine charges? Then the Clearwater, Florida based Blake & Dorsten, P.A. Clearwater 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
Like previous undercover drug stings, this short blurb (from the times website)shows that the drug scourge in Pinellas may be getting worse...
CLEARWATER — Police have arrested 11 people this week on various drug charges during a round-up of suspects, authorities said.
One of those arrested was also charged with a prostitution offense, the Clearwater police said.
The department's vice and narcotics unit, along with the anti-crime team, arrested the following:
• A man, 35, of Drew St., two counts of sale and possession of cocaine, a violation of probation.
• A man, 46, of Fort Harrison Ave., sale and possession of cocaine.
• A man, 24, of Applewood Drive., three counts sale and possession of cocaine.
• A man, 38, of Clearwater-Largo Road, Largo, two counts trafficking in hydrocodone.
• A woman, 62, of Lincoln Ave., sale and possession of Oxycodone.
The same units also conducted an undercover detail focusing on narcotics activity and prostitution in various areas throughout Clearwater, including East Gateway and the downtown corridor. The following were arrested during that operation:
• A man, 19, of Palm Harbor, sale and possession of cocaine.
• A man, 48, of 14th Ave., sale and possession of cocaine.
• A man, 42, transient of Clearwater, sale and possession of cocaine, resisting an officer without violence.
• A woman, 31, transient, sale of cocaine, soliciting prostitution.
• A man, 24, of Homestead, sale of cocaine.
• A woman, 40, of sale and possession of cocaine.
Have you been arrested on drug trafficking or cocaine charges? Then the Clearwater, Florida based Blake & Dorsten, P.A. Clearwater 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, August 8, 2011
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Cocaine Seizure
By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.
From the St. Petersburg times site, a short blurb about a rather large cocaine seizure...
U.S. authorities intercepted a submarinelike craft carrying roughly $180 million of cocaine off the Caribbean coast of Honduras, the Coast Guard said Monday.
Semisubmersible vessels are regularly used to smuggle drugs along Central America's Pacific Coast. U.S. and Honduran authorities said last week's cocaine seizure was the first time they had intercepted one of the vessels in Caribbean waters.
With help from a U.S. Customs and Border Protection airplane on patrol, a Coast Guard cutter found the self-propelled sub on July 13 off Honduras' sparsely populated province of Gracias a Dios, near the Nicaraguan border.
The fiberglass craft sank during the interdiction, though U.S. authorities were able to detain its five-member crew and recover some of the drugs on board, Coast Guard officials in Miami were quoted as saying.
The Coast Guard, FBI dive teams and the Honduran navy made multiple searches for the sunken sub, until the crew of a Coast Guard cutter found it July 26, the Coast Guard reported.
An FBI dive team recovered nearly 22,000 pounds of cocaine worth roughly $180 million from the sub, the Coast Guard said.
The drugs and the sub's crew will be turned over to U.S. law enforcement. The case remains under investigation.
Semisubmersible crafts, which partly remain above the surface of the water, are typically built in Colombia and are less than 100 feet in length, U.S. officials said. The vessels can carry four or five crew members and travel distances up to 5,000 miles. They are designed to rapidly sink when detected to make it difficult for law enforcement to recover the illegal drugs aboard.
Have you been arrested on trafficking in cocaine 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 727.286.6141 or email the defense lawyers at: info@blakedorstenlaw.com
From the St. Petersburg times site, a short blurb about a rather large cocaine seizure...
U.S. authorities intercepted a submarinelike craft carrying roughly $180 million of cocaine off the Caribbean coast of Honduras, the Coast Guard said Monday.
Semisubmersible vessels are regularly used to smuggle drugs along Central America's Pacific Coast. U.S. and Honduran authorities said last week's cocaine seizure was the first time they had intercepted one of the vessels in Caribbean waters.
With help from a U.S. Customs and Border Protection airplane on patrol, a Coast Guard cutter found the self-propelled sub on July 13 off Honduras' sparsely populated province of Gracias a Dios, near the Nicaraguan border.
The fiberglass craft sank during the interdiction, though U.S. authorities were able to detain its five-member crew and recover some of the drugs on board, Coast Guard officials in Miami were quoted as saying.
The Coast Guard, FBI dive teams and the Honduran navy made multiple searches for the sunken sub, until the crew of a Coast Guard cutter found it July 26, the Coast Guard reported.
An FBI dive team recovered nearly 22,000 pounds of cocaine worth roughly $180 million from the sub, the Coast Guard said.
The drugs and the sub's crew will be turned over to U.S. law enforcement. The case remains under investigation.
Semisubmersible crafts, which partly remain above the surface of the water, are typically built in Colombia and are less than 100 feet in length, U.S. officials said. The vessels can carry four or five crew members and travel distances up to 5,000 miles. They are designed to rapidly sink when detected to make it difficult for law enforcement to recover the illegal drugs aboard.
Have you been arrested on trafficking in cocaine 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 727.286.6141 or email the defense lawyers at: info@blakedorstenlaw.com
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Pharmacy Pill Crackdown
By Nick Dorsten, Esq.
Does a recent crackdown on so called "pill mills" mean there will be a rise in pharmacy robberies? From the Times website...
PINELLAS: A 23-year-old man pushing a toddler in tow threatened to shoot the pharmacist as he robbed a St. Petersburg CVS.
Another man stabbed a Tarpon Springs pharmacy clerk in the neck, demanding pain pills.
And in a recent case out of New York, a man shot and killed four pharmacy employees in a painkiller holdup.
Once considered a safe and sterile environment, pharmacies have become increasingly frequent targets among the growing number of painkiller abusers. As Florida begins cracking down on pill mills, doctor shopping and prescription fraud, many fear pharmacy robberies will increase.
"When those people can't get those prescription drugs through the old methods," said a Carrollwood Pharmacy owner, "they're going to turn to other means to get them."
Those worries are echoed by law enforcement officials, who believe a crackdown on prescription drug fraud is necessary but know desperate addicts too easily turn to violent crime. Local law enforcement statistics don't distinguish pharmacy robberies from other commercial or business robberies, although an increase in drugstore crimes appears likely.
A Hillsborough County Sheriff Captain said more pharmacies are employing the same precautions banks have taken to deter robberies. Recording equipment and plexiglass-shielded counters are becoming the norm.
Budding pharmacists are taught in school to look for signs of pain pill abuse. They know they deal with a lot more criminals than pharmacists 10 or 20 years ago.
"It's really frustrating," the pharmacy student said. "I went into pharmacy because I wanted to help people. But because it's such a detective game, it kind of takes away from that ability to help those in legitimate pain."
Some pharmacists have been accused of feeding the problem, letting obvious fraud slip past them for the sake of profit. But those who prefer a safe and law-abiding business must take special measures to send their message.
The Carrollwood pharmacist, takes no chances.
His pharmacy is equipped with cameras and monitor screens and has a sign outside that reads, "We do not carry oxycodone."
"One, it's for the safety of my employees," the man said. "And two, I don't want those … coming into my pharmacy, quite honestly."
Have you been arrested on prescription pill or trafficking in oxycodone charges? Then the Pinellas, Florida based Blake & Dorsten, P.A. St. Petersburg 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 727.286.6141 or email the defense lawyers at: info@blakedorstenlaw.com
Does a recent crackdown on so called "pill mills" mean there will be a rise in pharmacy robberies? From the Times website...
PINELLAS: A 23-year-old man pushing a toddler in tow threatened to shoot the pharmacist as he robbed a St. Petersburg CVS.
Another man stabbed a Tarpon Springs pharmacy clerk in the neck, demanding pain pills.
And in a recent case out of New York, a man shot and killed four pharmacy employees in a painkiller holdup.
Once considered a safe and sterile environment, pharmacies have become increasingly frequent targets among the growing number of painkiller abusers. As Florida begins cracking down on pill mills, doctor shopping and prescription fraud, many fear pharmacy robberies will increase.
"When those people can't get those prescription drugs through the old methods," said a Carrollwood Pharmacy owner, "they're going to turn to other means to get them."
Those worries are echoed by law enforcement officials, who believe a crackdown on prescription drug fraud is necessary but know desperate addicts too easily turn to violent crime. Local law enforcement statistics don't distinguish pharmacy robberies from other commercial or business robberies, although an increase in drugstore crimes appears likely.
A Hillsborough County Sheriff Captain said more pharmacies are employing the same precautions banks have taken to deter robberies. Recording equipment and plexiglass-shielded counters are becoming the norm.
Budding pharmacists are taught in school to look for signs of pain pill abuse. They know they deal with a lot more criminals than pharmacists 10 or 20 years ago.
"It's really frustrating," the pharmacy student said. "I went into pharmacy because I wanted to help people. But because it's such a detective game, it kind of takes away from that ability to help those in legitimate pain."
Some pharmacists have been accused of feeding the problem, letting obvious fraud slip past them for the sake of profit. But those who prefer a safe and law-abiding business must take special measures to send their message.
The Carrollwood pharmacist, takes no chances.
His pharmacy is equipped with cameras and monitor screens and has a sign outside that reads, "We do not carry oxycodone."
"One, it's for the safety of my employees," the man said. "And two, I don't want those … coming into my pharmacy, quite honestly."
Have you been arrested on prescription pill or trafficking in oxycodone charges? Then the Pinellas, Florida based Blake & Dorsten, P.A. St. Petersburg 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 727.286.6141 or email the defense lawyers at: info@blakedorstenlaw.com
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - St. Petersburg Murderer Caught After Decades
By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.
From yahoo news, a story that shows you can run but you can't hide...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla - Authorities on Wednesday captured a man in Colorado who escaped nearly 32 years ago from the Florida prison where he was serving a life sentence for murder.
The man, Frederick Barrett, 60, slipped away from the Union Correctional Institution in Raiford during a nighttime power outage on August 17, 1979, over 30 years ago.
U.S. Marshals Service officers, dressed as U.S. Forest Service firefighters, arrested Barrett early on Wednesday at his cabin in Montrose County, Colorado. He had been living in the remote, mountainous area under the assumed name Neil Meltzer, Florida officials said.
A tattoo of a cross and dot on his right hand helped officers confirm they had the right man, said a special agent supervisor for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Investigators had been looking for Barrett in earnest since 2009, when a new fugitive initiative in Florida set its sights on finding a dozen long-term prison escapees with violent histories.
"It's really, really difficult to track somebody who's been out 30 years," the investigator said. "The trail was cold."
But using public records and databases, investigators found evidence Barrett had traveled to Hawaii, California, Tennessee and Maryland since his escape and eventually appeared to settle in Colorado.
In addition to escape charges in Florida, Barrett now faces drug and gun charges in Colorado after marshals found a marijuana grow house and multiple firearms in his home, officials said.
Barrett was convicted of killing a traveling companion on the Florida Turnpike in February 1971.
According to officials, he choked the victim from behind as he was driving. Barrett and another man then stopped the car, carried the victim to a shallow ditch filled with water and held his head underneath until he died.
The victim's niece, said her 26-year-old uncle had picked the men up at a rest stop as he drove from New Jersey to Florida for a vacation.
The deceased man's family members welcomed the news of Barrett's capture after so many years.
Have you or a loved one been arrested for a possession of a controlled substance or a violent felony? 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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)