Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Elijah Dukes in Trouble Again

By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.

According to the Tampa Bay Times newspaper, former Tampa Rays baseball "great" Elijah Dukes was arrested once again on drug charges. The once promising player has seen his career unravel after numerous arrests for drug possession...

TAMPA — Former Rays outfielder Elijah Dukes was arrested early Thursday after he tried to eat a plastic bag of marijuana and had a marijuana blunt tucked behind his ear.

The 27-year-old ex-Tampa Ray player was pulled over in his 2011 Chevrolet Camaro about 1 a.m. at Nebraska Avenue N and Norfolk Street E after he committed a traffic violation, an officer wrote in an arrest report.

Police said after the pulled Dukes over, they noticed a small bag of marijuana on his lap. He then tried to dispose of the marijuana by sticking it in his mouth as if he was going to ingest it. This action is also against the law and is known as tampering with evidence, a criminal charge.

Then, after police removed the bag from his mouth and took Dukes into custody, they noticed a marijuana blunt "resting on his right ear," according to the report. Dukes was booked just after 3:30 a.m. and was still being held at the Hillsborough County Jail Thursday morning.

He faces charges of tampering with physical evidence, possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving with a cancelled, suspended or revoked license. He was also being held on two Hillsborough County warrants for driving with a suspended license.

Besides his drug arrests, Dukes has been arrested five times in the past year, mostly on charges of driving with a suspended license.

In March 2011, he was accused of hitting his pregnant ex-girlfriend, known as battery on a pregnant person, a felony.

In that case, the female, 20, told deputies she and Dukes had been staying in a motel for several days. On March 2, deputies responded to the East Lake Inn Motel, 6539 E Hillsborough Ave., where Mack said Dukes slapped her several times in the face during an argument.

Dukes, a Tampa native who attended Hillsborough High and last played in the majors in 2009 for the Nationals, left the motel for his mother's house on Royal Banyan Drive.


Past arrests for Dukes include contempt of court and failing to appear in a case where he owes an ex-wife child support and alimony.

In 2010, besides the crimnal matters, he owed three women a total of $143,000 in child support and alimony.

Have you or a loved one been arrested for marijuana possession or a crimnal matter? Then call your experienced St. Petersburg defense lawyers today at 727.286.6141. These former prosecutors and current St. Petersburg criminal defense attorneys
can also be contacted by pressing contact.

Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Driver in Fatal Crash High On Drugs

By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.

From the Tampa Times website, a man who was involved in a deadly fleeing and eluding crash was found to be high on prescription drugs and cocaine...

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A suspect that tried to flee from officers on Jan. 10, but instead ended up causing a wreck that left him and five other people hospitalized and one person — the suspect's passenger, the man police actually wanted — dead.

St. Petersburg police arrested the suspect after he was released from the hospital on Wednesday, and revealed more about the man behind the wheel: He was high on prescription drugs and cocaine at the time of the crash and hadn't had a valid license in four years.

The driver, who was 40 at the time of the fatal crash, was charged with DUI manslaughter in the death of his passenger. He also faces charges of fleeing and eluding an officer with wanton disregard causing death, DUI involving serious bodily injury, driving with a suspended or revoked licence resulting in death, and two counts of DUI resulting in property damage.

On the day of the crash police were looking for a passenger in connection with a purse-snatching. Relatives told police the 29-year-old was a drug addict who regularly stole to support his habit. Officers said they were also told the man had carried a weapon in the past and vowed that he would not go back to prison.

Police found him in the passenger seat of a Kia driven by the suspect. They tried to stop the car at 22nd Avenue S and 46th Street S. A pursuit was authorized. A few minutes later, a K-9 officer activated his emergency lights and tried to pull the Kia over as it drove in St. Petersburg.

A minute later, police said the Kia turned into oncoming traffic on Fifth Avenue N, striking a 2000 Ford pick-up head-on and injuring the two occupants.

The wanted passenger was killed by the impact, police said. The suspect and the occupants of the other vehicles were hospitalized for various injuries. A blood test showed he had traces of oxycodone, opiates, benzodiazepines and cocaine in his system.

The suspect had also been declared a habitual traffic offender in 2008, records show. This means he was not even supposed to be driving.

Have you or a loved one been arrested for a DUI or a prescription drug offense? Then call the St. Petersburg criminal defense lawyers at 727.286.6141 for a free consultation!

For more information or to speak directly to your St. Pete criminal defense attorneys,call the number above or click on contact. We are located at 4707 140th ave N, Suite 104, Clearwater, minutes from both the Tampa and the Pinellas county courthouses.

Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Naked Burglar or Reese's Cup?

By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.

A rather humorous story from the smoking gun website, about a man who was arrested for burglary, found naked and covered in dessert...

FEBRUARY 3--A naked burglar covered in chocolate and peanut butter was arrested early Tuesday after workers found him inside a Kentucky (add shock here) supermarket.

Andrew Toothman, 22 and the burglary suspect, was collared by State troopers who responded to a 911 call from a Food World supermarket in the city of Neon. The naked burglar was charged burglary, criminal mischief, and indecent exposure.

A court citation filed yesterday notes that Toothman--who was only wearing a pair of black boots--had “peanut butter and chocolate smeared all over person.” Troopers noted that the store’s front door was “busted out,” and that several fire extinguishers had been discharged. Peanut butter and chocolate were also spread on the market's floor and in the manager’s office.

But the most bizarre bit of vandalism, reporetedly involved NyQuil, the popular cold and flu remedy. “There was nyquil on the floor that spelled out sorry,” according to the police report.

Toothman admitted to breaking into the market, troopers noted. The hapless burglar is being held in the Letcher County jail in lieu of $25,000 bond.

Are you in need of experienced St. Petersburg criminal defense lawyers to fight your burglary or criminal mischief charges? Then contact Blake & Dorsten, P.A. today! These former State prosecutors are now fighting on your side.

For more information or to talk directly with your St. Petersburg criminal defense attorneys, hit contact or call them at 727.286.6141.

Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Race Car Driver Charged With DUI Manslaughter

By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.

Originally reported on NBC's Miami website, a famous race car driver may now have to "face the music" as he has been charged with a DUI manslaughter for his role in a deadly crash...

A man who struck and killed a pedestrian with his SUV in Miami Beach recently was none other then Brazilian race car driver J.P. Mauro, according to a Miami police report.

The 20-year-old Brazilian race car driver was driving a silver Mercedes-Benz SUV north on Collins Avenue at about 60 mph in a 30 mph zone when his car swerved left and drove up onto the sidewalk at about 1:30 a.m., said a Miami Beach Police spokesman.

That is where the drunk driver struck a pedestrian who was attempting to put his bicycle into a rear door of another SU. The impact threw the hapless victim “to the sidewalk, mid-block” and he died on the scene.

The Mercedes, driven by J.P. Mauro, kept going north on the sidewalk until it stopped several blocks later.

The driver, whose legal name is acually Joao Paulo Escudero Mauro, had a flushed face and bloodshot eyes, classic signs of a possible DUI. His breath also smelled heavily of alcohol. Mauro acknowledged swerving to avoid a vehicle stopped in traffic in front of him, and that he had been drinking earlier.

Police also noted that Mauro had “a white powdery substance in his left nostril,” and that they found a small baggie of what appeared to be cocaine near where he was standing,some time after the crash.

Mauro has been charged with DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide, and cocaine possession, and another charge because he altered his Brazilian state ID card to make him appear of age for drinking alcohol here, police said.

The police are claiming that J.P. Mauro is “a flight risk” and comes from a wealthy family in Brazil, and that the Brazilian Consulate was notified at the request of Mauro’s father.

As a racer, Mauro has competed in Brazilian stock car racing, and made his American debut at a Grand-Am Road Racing event, the Road America 200 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge in Wisconsin, last June.

I have written in this blog previously about a synergistic affect when it comes to drinkin and driving...That simply means combining alcohol and drugs (such as in this case) can enhance the affects of the two substances, making the user feel more "under the influence" then they might otherwise...

Have you or a loved one been arrested for a DUI or possession of cocaine? Then call the experienced St. Petersburg criminal defense lawyers of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. today at 727.286.6141. You can also email your St. Pete criminal defense attorneys by clicking here...