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...
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.
Showing posts with label Pinellas criminal defense. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pinellas criminal defense. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Sorry, Wrong Number!
By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.
From a CBS affiliate in Conneticut, an amusing read about small time drug dealers who accidentely text the police...
While a recent Pew Research study found that almost 75 percent of cell phone owners send text message and those who do, send an average of more than 40 messages each day. With all those text messages coming and going, it’s not surprising that some reach the wrong recipients.
In the Conneticut town of Meridan, police say officers received a text from an unknown sender, offering black market sale of Percocet tablets, the prescription combination of oxycodone and acetaminophen. The quick-thinking cop notified the drug unit, continued communication with the texter, and set up a “buy.”
Police say the two people who showed up to sell the drugs grew suspicious, separated and tried to run, but police were able to take both the unlucky texters into custody and seized 100 Percocet tablets.
Police identified the suspects as a 25-year-old man of Wallingford and a 19-year-old woman of Mansfield. Both face charges of criminal attempt to sell narcotics and conspiracy, and the woman also faces charges involving her attempt to escape.
Police say the investigation continues as they look for the source of the drugs and the person for whom the message was actually intended.
Have you or someone you know been arrested for possession of a controlled substance or sale of controlled substance? Then call the experienced Pinellas criminal defense lawyers of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. today at 727.286.6141.
For more information, hit the contact button or call now.
From a CBS affiliate in Conneticut, an amusing read about small time drug dealers who accidentely text the police...
While a recent Pew Research study found that almost 75 percent of cell phone owners send text message and those who do, send an average of more than 40 messages each day. With all those text messages coming and going, it’s not surprising that some reach the wrong recipients.
In the Conneticut town of Meridan, police say officers received a text from an unknown sender, offering black market sale of Percocet tablets, the prescription combination of oxycodone and acetaminophen. The quick-thinking cop notified the drug unit, continued communication with the texter, and set up a “buy.”
Police say the two people who showed up to sell the drugs grew suspicious, separated and tried to run, but police were able to take both the unlucky texters into custody and seized 100 Percocet tablets.
Police identified the suspects as a 25-year-old man of Wallingford and a 19-year-old woman of Mansfield. Both face charges of criminal attempt to sell narcotics and conspiracy, and the woman also faces charges involving her attempt to escape.
Police say the investigation continues as they look for the source of the drugs and the person for whom the message was actually intended.
Have you or someone you know been arrested for possession of a controlled substance or sale of controlled substance? Then call the experienced Pinellas criminal defense lawyers of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. today at 727.286.6141.
For more information, hit the contact button or call now.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Top 10 Dangerous Prescription Drugs
Something different this week, a guest post by Paige Dagmar, a student and writer for pharmacy degrees, which helps students find the right pharmacy degree...
Top 10 Danger Prescriptions
We all probably need a prescription medication at some or other in our lives, but how many of them are doing more harm than good? With the FDA constantly recalling drugs and daytime television riddled with class action lawsuits against drug companies, it can be a scary thing to have that prescription refilled. To help give you a better idea, we have gathered just ten of the most dangerous prescription drugs out there. Be sure and take all prescriptions as advised, and if you are concerned about being prescribed any of these, talk to your doctor about alternatives.
1. Oxycodone – Also commonly known as OxyContin, this is one of the most dangerous and addictive prescription drugs out there. It is an opiate class drug and is used as a pain killer, but is very addictive. Abuse of the drug is common and counted for over 100,000 visits to the ER in the U.S. in 2009.
2. Cortisone – These injections are actually commonplace and used to treat ailments such as allergic reactions and poison ivy. It is a type of steroid that is normally produced in the body but can be dangerous. It is less dangerous when used in the short term, but when taken over a long period of time can cause heart disorders, ulcers, diabetes, and even intestinal bleeding.
3. Chemotherapeutic drugs – Have you ever heard someone say that it wasn’t the cancer that killed them, it was the chemotherapy? They are telling the truth as these drugs, also known as methotrexate, work by ravaging the cancer, which is also does damage to the body. This is why chemotherapy is used as a latter resort and why early detection of cancer is so important.
4. Clozapine – This prescription drug is used as an anti-psychotic and often used to treat disorders such as schizophrenia. Also known as Fazaclo, it can also cause serious blood conditions, seizures, or swelling of the heart muscle. Because the drug is so dangerous, doctors often use it as a last resort and have patients undergo several tests before they take it.
5. Acetaminophen – You may better recognize this drug as Tylenol. While the pill is safe for over the counter use for many patients, there is a danger in over use. Those who take acetaminophen for a long period of time, over four grams a day, or for days at a time can experience liver damage, among other issues. Patients with liver or other digestive issues should ask their doctor before taking acetaminophen.
6. Prozac – An anti-depression drug that can lead to suicide? These were the claims when those who took Prozac began showing thoughts of suicide. Also known as fluoxetine, it is intended to regulate serotonin in the brain but can also bring about a state of constant agitation, which can be worse than depression. This is one of the reasons why Prozac is rarely prescribed for depression anymore.
7. Methadone – It is the suspected drugs in many celebrity deaths, including the son of Anna Nicole Smith. It is used as an aid to those trying to withdraw from methamphetamines, but is often misused by the addicts themselves and others. Along with the addictive properties of methadone, it can also cause sleep apnea, in which those who take it stop breathing in their sleep and can die.
8. Statins – These kinds of drugs are taken to lower cholesterol and are also known as Zocor, Mevacor, and Pravachol. They work by reducing cholesterol in the liver but can also cause liver toxicity, cataracts, and muscle inflammation if taken for a long period of time.
9. Blood thinners – Also used to treat heart issues, blood thinners are more for patients who have or are prone to heart attacks and/or strokes. Taking blood thinners has been known to weaken the patient to bleeding even from small scratches. Those taking them should use extreme caution and have even minor cuts treated immediately.
10. Ritalin – Commonly used to treat ADD and ADHD, this drug and its counterpart Adderall can have side effects worse than the conditions they are supposed to treat. These side effects can include hostility, insomnia, and anxiety. Worse yet, since ADD and ADHD can commonly be misdiagnosed, the patients taking these drugs can be doing it without due cause.
Have you or a loved one been arrested for a possession of a controlled substance charge? Then contact the criminal defense lawyers at Blake & Dorsten, P.A. today for a free consultation!
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - New Powerful Painkiller
By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.
From the Tampa Bay Times website, a new painkiller has some medical and law enforcement experts worried...
PINELLAS — Drug companies are working to develop a pure, more powerful version of the nation's second most-abused medicine, which has addiction experts worried that it might even spur a new wave of drug abuse.
These new pills contain the highly addictive painkiller hydrocodone, packing up to 10 times the amount of the drug as existing medications such as that found in the brand name Vicodin. A new company, Zogenix of San Diego‚ plans to apply early next year to begin marketing its product, Zohydro.
If approved, it would mark the first time patients could legally buy pure hydrocodone. Existing products combine the drug with nonaddictive painkillers such as acetaminophen.
Some critics say they are especially worried about Zohydro, a timed-release drug meant for managing moderate to severe pain, because of fears that abusers could crush it to release an intense, immediate high.
"I have a big concern that this could be the next OxyContin," said the president of the National Coalition Against Prescription Drug Abuse. "We just don't need this on the market."
OxyContin, introduced in 1995 by Purdue Pharma, was designed to manage pain with a formula that dribbled one dose of oxycodone over many hours.
Quickly, abusers discovered they could defeat the timed-release feature by crushing the pills. When Purdue Pharma changed the formula to make OxyContin more tamper-resistant, the addicts have moved onto generic oxycodone and other drugs that do not have a timed-release feature.
Oxycodone is now the most-abused medicine in the United States, with hydrocodone second, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration's annual count of drug seizures sent to police drug labs for analysis.
The latest drug tests come as more pharmaceutical companies are getting into the $10 billion-a-year legal market for powerful, and addictive, opiate narcotics.
The pharmaceutical firms say the new hydrocodone drugs give doctors another tool to try on patients in legitimate pain, part of a constant search for better painkillers to treat the aging U.S. population.
"Sometimes you circulate a patient between various opioids, and some may have a better effect than others," said a chief executive of Denmark-based Egalet, which is testing its own pure hydrocodone product.
The companies say a pure hydrocodone pill may avoid liver problems linked to high doses of acetaminophen, an ingredient in products like Vicodin. They also say patients will be more closely supervised because, by law, they will have to return to their doctors each time they need more pills. Prescriptions for the weaker, hydrocodone-acetaminophen products now on the market can be refilled up to five times.
Zogenix has completed three rounds of patient testing, and last week it announced it had held a final meeting with Food and Drug Administration officials to talk about its upcoming drug application. It plans to file the application in early 2012 and have Zohydro on the market by early 2013.
Purdue Pharma and Cephalon, a Frazer, Pa.-based unit of Israel-based Teva Pharmaceuticals, are conducting late-stage trials of their own hydrocodone drugs, according to documents filed with federal regulators. In May, Purdue Pharma received a patent applying extended-release technology to hydrocodone. Neither company would comment on its plans.
Meanwhile, Egalet has finished the most preliminary stages of testing aimed at determining the basic safety of a drug. The firm could have a product on the market as early as 2015 but wants to see how the other companies fare with the FDA before deciding whether to move forward.
Critics say they are troubled because of the dark side that has accompanied the boom in sales of narcotic painkillers: murders, pharmacy robberies and millions of dollars lost by hospitals that must treat overdose victims.
Thousands of legitimate pain patients are becoming addicted to powerful prescription painkillers, they say, in addition to the thousands more who abuse the drugs.
Prescription painkillers led to the deaths of almost 15,000 people in 2008, more than triple the 4,000 deaths in 1999, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last month.
Emergency room visits related to hydrocodone abuse have shot from 19,221 in 2000 to 86,258 in 2009, according to data compiled by the Drug Enforcement Administration. In Florida alone, hydrocodone caused 910 deaths and contributed to 1,803 others between 2003 and 2007.
Have you or a loved one been arrested for possession of a controlled substance or drug trafficking? Then contact the Clearwater criminal defense attorneys of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. for a free consultation!
For more information, or to speak directly with experienced Clearwater criminal defense lawyers,please contact BLAKE & DORSTEN, P.A. at 727.286.6141 or email the lawyers your questions at: info@blakedorstenlaw.com. We are located at 4707 140th Ave N, Suite 104 in Clearwater, across from the criminal courthouse in the airport business center, minutes from Tampa and St. Petersburg.
From the Tampa Bay Times website, a new painkiller has some medical and law enforcement experts worried...
PINELLAS — Drug companies are working to develop a pure, more powerful version of the nation's second most-abused medicine, which has addiction experts worried that it might even spur a new wave of drug abuse.
These new pills contain the highly addictive painkiller hydrocodone, packing up to 10 times the amount of the drug as existing medications such as that found in the brand name Vicodin. A new company, Zogenix of San Diego‚ plans to apply early next year to begin marketing its product, Zohydro.
If approved, it would mark the first time patients could legally buy pure hydrocodone. Existing products combine the drug with nonaddictive painkillers such as acetaminophen.
Some critics say they are especially worried about Zohydro, a timed-release drug meant for managing moderate to severe pain, because of fears that abusers could crush it to release an intense, immediate high.
"I have a big concern that this could be the next OxyContin," said the president of the National Coalition Against Prescription Drug Abuse. "We just don't need this on the market."
OxyContin, introduced in 1995 by Purdue Pharma, was designed to manage pain with a formula that dribbled one dose of oxycodone over many hours.
Quickly, abusers discovered they could defeat the timed-release feature by crushing the pills. When Purdue Pharma changed the formula to make OxyContin more tamper-resistant, the addicts have moved onto generic oxycodone and other drugs that do not have a timed-release feature.
Oxycodone is now the most-abused medicine in the United States, with hydrocodone second, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration's annual count of drug seizures sent to police drug labs for analysis.
The latest drug tests come as more pharmaceutical companies are getting into the $10 billion-a-year legal market for powerful, and addictive, opiate narcotics.
The pharmaceutical firms say the new hydrocodone drugs give doctors another tool to try on patients in legitimate pain, part of a constant search for better painkillers to treat the aging U.S. population.
"Sometimes you circulate a patient between various opioids, and some may have a better effect than others," said a chief executive of Denmark-based Egalet, which is testing its own pure hydrocodone product.
The companies say a pure hydrocodone pill may avoid liver problems linked to high doses of acetaminophen, an ingredient in products like Vicodin. They also say patients will be more closely supervised because, by law, they will have to return to their doctors each time they need more pills. Prescriptions for the weaker, hydrocodone-acetaminophen products now on the market can be refilled up to five times.
Zogenix has completed three rounds of patient testing, and last week it announced it had held a final meeting with Food and Drug Administration officials to talk about its upcoming drug application. It plans to file the application in early 2012 and have Zohydro on the market by early 2013.
Purdue Pharma and Cephalon, a Frazer, Pa.-based unit of Israel-based Teva Pharmaceuticals, are conducting late-stage trials of their own hydrocodone drugs, according to documents filed with federal regulators. In May, Purdue Pharma received a patent applying extended-release technology to hydrocodone. Neither company would comment on its plans.
Meanwhile, Egalet has finished the most preliminary stages of testing aimed at determining the basic safety of a drug. The firm could have a product on the market as early as 2015 but wants to see how the other companies fare with the FDA before deciding whether to move forward.
Critics say they are troubled because of the dark side that has accompanied the boom in sales of narcotic painkillers: murders, pharmacy robberies and millions of dollars lost by hospitals that must treat overdose victims.
Thousands of legitimate pain patients are becoming addicted to powerful prescription painkillers, they say, in addition to the thousands more who abuse the drugs.
Prescription painkillers led to the deaths of almost 15,000 people in 2008, more than triple the 4,000 deaths in 1999, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last month.
Emergency room visits related to hydrocodone abuse have shot from 19,221 in 2000 to 86,258 in 2009, according to data compiled by the Drug Enforcement Administration. In Florida alone, hydrocodone caused 910 deaths and contributed to 1,803 others between 2003 and 2007.
Have you or a loved one been arrested for possession of a controlled substance or drug trafficking? Then contact the Clearwater criminal defense attorneys of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. for a free consultation!
For more information, or to speak directly with experienced Clearwater criminal defense lawyers,please contact BLAKE & DORSTEN, P.A. at 727.286.6141 or email the lawyers your questions at: info@blakedorstenlaw.com. We are located at 4707 140th Ave N, Suite 104 in Clearwater, across from the criminal courthouse in the airport business center, minutes from Tampa and St. Petersburg.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Hit and Run and Hit
By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.
In Pinellas, what started as a simple "Hit and Run" led to a chase and another wreck...
PINELLAS — A 33-year-old man from Palm Harbor was arrested early last week after a hit-and-run crash led to a chase that ended in a wreck on the Dunedin Causeway with no injuries.
The incident began about 6:45 a.m. when the suspect, driving a Hummer, struck a parked pickup off the side of Causeway Boulevard near the drawbridge, deputies said.
The victim, a foreman for Roland Inc., was doing paperwork at the time his vehicle was rear-ended. After the crash, deputies said, the suspect backed up and fled the scene.
Deputies then spotted the suspect shortly afterward as he traveled south on Alt. U.S. 19 near San Jose Boulevard in Dunedin. They tried to conduct a traffic stop, but he refused to stop, deputies said, instead fleeing and eluding.
Deputies tried at several points to try and use stop sticks to disable the Hummer, but the suspect was able to see them and drive around them. In one case, the suspect even saw a deputy deploying the stop sticks and drove off the road at the deputy, committing an aggravated assault!
The suspect then also tried to ram and force pursuing deputies off the road several times throughout the chase.
The chase eventually came back onto Causeway Boulevard, reaching speeds of more than 55 mph.
The reckless driver then crashed through the gate to Honeymoon Island State Park, which was closed at the time. But the park only has one entrance and deputies then deployed stop sticks there. Unable to go anywhere else, the desperate fugitive tried to drive back through the entrance and ran over the stop sticks, flattening his tires, deputies said.
He tried to keep driving, but was then rammed by a deputy's cruiser, forcing his Hummer off the road into a power pole.
Deputies forcibly pulled the suspect from the vehicle. He was wearing only a T-shirt and boxers. According to reports, deputies found several types of prescription drugs, including oxycodone and morphine and eight syringes.
The suspect eventually told deputies he was planning on fishing from the causeway when, for some reason, he went off the road and crashed. Oddly enough, deputies didn't find any fishing tackle.
The expert fisherman now faces charges of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, fleeing and eluding, leaving the scene of a crash involving property damage, and possession of hydrocodone, diazepam, methadone and morphine.
As of this writing, he was being held at the Pinellas County Jail in lieu of $160,250 bail.
Have you or someone you loved been arrested for a fleeing and eluding or criminal charge? Then contact the law offices of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. to speak with an experienced Pinellas criminal defense lawyer now!
Our office is located at 4707 140th ave. N, Suite 107, Clearwater, FL 33762, across from the criminal courthouse and minutes from Tampa and St. Petersburg. You can contact your St. Petersburg criminal defense attorney by phone at 727.286.6141 or online at info@BlakeDorstenLaw.com.
In Pinellas, what started as a simple "Hit and Run" led to a chase and another wreck...
PINELLAS — A 33-year-old man from Palm Harbor was arrested early last week after a hit-and-run crash led to a chase that ended in a wreck on the Dunedin Causeway with no injuries.
The incident began about 6:45 a.m. when the suspect, driving a Hummer, struck a parked pickup off the side of Causeway Boulevard near the drawbridge, deputies said.
The victim, a foreman for Roland Inc., was doing paperwork at the time his vehicle was rear-ended. After the crash, deputies said, the suspect backed up and fled the scene.
Deputies then spotted the suspect shortly afterward as he traveled south on Alt. U.S. 19 near San Jose Boulevard in Dunedin. They tried to conduct a traffic stop, but he refused to stop, deputies said, instead fleeing and eluding.
Deputies tried at several points to try and use stop sticks to disable the Hummer, but the suspect was able to see them and drive around them. In one case, the suspect even saw a deputy deploying the stop sticks and drove off the road at the deputy, committing an aggravated assault!
The suspect then also tried to ram and force pursuing deputies off the road several times throughout the chase.
The chase eventually came back onto Causeway Boulevard, reaching speeds of more than 55 mph.
The reckless driver then crashed through the gate to Honeymoon Island State Park, which was closed at the time. But the park only has one entrance and deputies then deployed stop sticks there. Unable to go anywhere else, the desperate fugitive tried to drive back through the entrance and ran over the stop sticks, flattening his tires, deputies said.
He tried to keep driving, but was then rammed by a deputy's cruiser, forcing his Hummer off the road into a power pole.
Deputies forcibly pulled the suspect from the vehicle. He was wearing only a T-shirt and boxers. According to reports, deputies found several types of prescription drugs, including oxycodone and morphine and eight syringes.
The suspect eventually told deputies he was planning on fishing from the causeway when, for some reason, he went off the road and crashed. Oddly enough, deputies didn't find any fishing tackle.
The expert fisherman now faces charges of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, fleeing and eluding, leaving the scene of a crash involving property damage, and possession of hydrocodone, diazepam, methadone and morphine.
As of this writing, he was being held at the Pinellas County Jail in lieu of $160,250 bail.
Have you or someone you loved been arrested for a fleeing and eluding or criminal charge? Then contact the law offices of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. to speak with an experienced Pinellas criminal defense lawyer now!
Our office is located at 4707 140th ave. N, Suite 107, Clearwater, FL 33762, across from the criminal courthouse and minutes from Tampa and St. Petersburg. You can contact your St. Petersburg criminal defense attorney by phone at 727.286.6141 or online at info@BlakeDorstenLaw.com.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Phone Call To Cops = Hit And Run Arrest!
By Nick Dorsten, Esq.
From the St. Petersburg Times website,an interesting story of how one woman's call to the police on a domestic violence complaint led to her arrest on a hit and run charge...
She called the Pinellas Sheriff's Office on Monday night and asked deputies to come kick her boyfriend out of their apartment on a domestic violence complaint.
But instead it was her who ended up leaving in handcuffs, authorities said, after her boyfriend revealed that the 33-year-old mother was the driver in a fatal hit and run crash 10 months ago in Pinellas Park.
The arrested's own call to authorities ended up implicating her in the Feb. 4 death of a victim of the hit and run, who died three days before her 51st birthday.
The victim was walking east across northbound 66th Street N when she was hit and fatally injured in the center lane near the 9700 block, according to police.
All Pinellas Park police knew then was that the victim was struck by a Ford truck, possibly an SUV, that lost its passenger side mirror and front turn signal.
But the case went cold for 10 months — until that evening.
The suspect called deputies to remove her boyfriend on a domestic violence complaint, according to the Sheriff's Office. He had just gotten out of the county jail after serving 40 days for an obtaining property with a worthless check charge. The suspect said she was scared of him. The boyfriend, 34, said he just wanted to see his 7-year-old daughter.
The boyfriend agreed to leave the Palm Harbor apartment. But as he walked out with the deputies, he pointed to a damaged black 1997 Ford Ranger in the apartment complex parking lot and said he had a story to tell them.
The shunned man then told deputies that the suspect borrowed a neighbor's pickup on Feb. 4 to drive to Pinellas Park to buy marijuana, authorities said. That night, the man told deputies, he said the suspect texted him that she had struck a deer.
Then, weeks later, the man told deputies that the suspect broke down and told him that she had actually hit someone on 66th Street N. She knew the person was dead, according to the man, but was too scared of going to jail to stop.
The pedestrian violated the driver's right of way that night, according to police. But under Florida law, police said, the driver had a legal obligation to stop and identify herself.
After the man told deputies what he knew Monday night, the Sheriff's Office called the Pinellas Park Police Department, which sent officers to Palm Harbor to question the suspect. She confessed, according to police, and was arrested.
When Pinellas Park police inspected the Ford Ranger they got their second break in the case that night: the neighbor's truck was still damaged and still missing parts. No repairs were made in the 10 months after the fatal crash.
"We found pieces of the turn signal and the passenger side mirror at the scene (of her death)," said a Pinellas Park police Sgt., "and they matched the parts that the vehicle was missing."
The suspect was also arrested on a warrant for driving with a suspended or revoked license. According to state records, her license was suspended in 2009 and 2010 for failing to pay traffic fines and last year she was cited for DUI.
She was booked into the Pinellas jail, where she was being held Tuesday in lieu of $52,250 bail.
Have you or someone you loved been arrested for a domestic violence or criminal charge? Then contact the law offices of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. to speak with an experienced Pinellas criminal defense lawyer now!
Our office is located at 4707 140th ave. N, Suite 107, Clearwater, FL 33762, across from the criminal courthouse and minutes from Tampa and St. Petersburg. You can contact your St. Petersburg criminal defense attorney by phone at 727.286.6141 or online at info@BlakeDorstenLaw.com.
From the St. Petersburg Times website,an interesting story of how one woman's call to the police on a domestic violence complaint led to her arrest on a hit and run charge...
She called the Pinellas Sheriff's Office on Monday night and asked deputies to come kick her boyfriend out of their apartment on a domestic violence complaint.
But instead it was her who ended up leaving in handcuffs, authorities said, after her boyfriend revealed that the 33-year-old mother was the driver in a fatal hit and run crash 10 months ago in Pinellas Park.
The arrested's own call to authorities ended up implicating her in the Feb. 4 death of a victim of the hit and run, who died three days before her 51st birthday.
The victim was walking east across northbound 66th Street N when she was hit and fatally injured in the center lane near the 9700 block, according to police.
All Pinellas Park police knew then was that the victim was struck by a Ford truck, possibly an SUV, that lost its passenger side mirror and front turn signal.
But the case went cold for 10 months — until that evening.
The suspect called deputies to remove her boyfriend on a domestic violence complaint, according to the Sheriff's Office. He had just gotten out of the county jail after serving 40 days for an obtaining property with a worthless check charge. The suspect said she was scared of him. The boyfriend, 34, said he just wanted to see his 7-year-old daughter.
The boyfriend agreed to leave the Palm Harbor apartment. But as he walked out with the deputies, he pointed to a damaged black 1997 Ford Ranger in the apartment complex parking lot and said he had a story to tell them.
The shunned man then told deputies that the suspect borrowed a neighbor's pickup on Feb. 4 to drive to Pinellas Park to buy marijuana, authorities said. That night, the man told deputies, he said the suspect texted him that she had struck a deer.
Then, weeks later, the man told deputies that the suspect broke down and told him that she had actually hit someone on 66th Street N. She knew the person was dead, according to the man, but was too scared of going to jail to stop.
The pedestrian violated the driver's right of way that night, according to police. But under Florida law, police said, the driver had a legal obligation to stop and identify herself.
After the man told deputies what he knew Monday night, the Sheriff's Office called the Pinellas Park Police Department, which sent officers to Palm Harbor to question the suspect. She confessed, according to police, and was arrested.
When Pinellas Park police inspected the Ford Ranger they got their second break in the case that night: the neighbor's truck was still damaged and still missing parts. No repairs were made in the 10 months after the fatal crash.
"We found pieces of the turn signal and the passenger side mirror at the scene (of her death)," said a Pinellas Park police Sgt., "and they matched the parts that the vehicle was missing."
The suspect was also arrested on a warrant for driving with a suspended or revoked license. According to state records, her license was suspended in 2009 and 2010 for failing to pay traffic fines and last year she was cited for DUI.
She was booked into the Pinellas jail, where she was being held Tuesday in lieu of $52,250 bail.
Have you or someone you loved been arrested for a domestic violence or criminal charge? Then contact the law offices of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. to speak with an experienced Pinellas criminal defense lawyer now!
Our office is located at 4707 140th ave. N, Suite 107, Clearwater, FL 33762, across from the criminal courthouse and minutes from Tampa and St. Petersburg. You can contact your St. Petersburg criminal defense attorney by phone at 727.286.6141 or online at info@BlakeDorstenLaw.com.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Pain Clinic Doctor Suspended
By Nick Dorsten, Esq.
LARGO — For the second time in five years, health officials have taken emergency action to stop a Pinellas County doctor from writing excessive prescriptions for powerful painkillers.
Authorities say the doctor, an osteopathic family physician, prescribed "potentially lethal quantities" of widely abused narcotics such as Roxicodone and Percocet, often without even a physical exam.
He also permitted an assistant — a nurse who was then his girlfriend — to illegally sign prescriptions after he took a leave from practice, state health officials say.
Similar charges netted this doctor, 46, a previous suspension in 2006. In that violation, he was fined $12,500 but still allowed to return to practice.
In recent years, the man, who could not be reached for comment, has been treating patients at his Medical Clinic, a pain clinic at Seminole Blvd. in Largo.
An employee told investigators he was instructed to recruit new patients by promising they would leave the clinic with at least 240 oxycodone pills, as well as other prescription medications popular as street drugs.
When contacted, two patients said the clinic knew they were illegally going from doctor's office to doctor's office to shop for drugs (commonly charged as "doctor shopping", a third fegree felony!
Even with that knowledge, the doctor refilled their prescriptions.
One was a 41-year-old man. In an 8-month period, he left the pain clinic on 10 occasions with prescriptions from the doctor on each visit for 690 pills, mostly narcotics.
At one point, the patient told the doc that he was worried about being overmedicated and even asked to change his treatment.
But the man was informed that his prescriptions were pre-signed and couldn't be changed — at least not without a $25 charge.
The Florida Department of Health announced Wednesday the emergency suspension of his medical license.
As noted above, this was not the first time the "good" doctor has had run ins with the law...
In 2006, he was the medical director of a St. Petersburg walk-in clinic advertising easy access to Vicodin, Percocet and other drugs.
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office eventually raided the clinic and arrested one of its doctors, as well as the clinic's owner and two physician's assistants.
But the doctor wasn't charged. Detectives said he was rarely there.
Instead, he signed stacks of blank prescriptions and sent them by courier from his main office in Seminole.
Outside of his medical work, he has also been arrested multiple times, most recently in 2009 on cocaine charges.
In a related story, state health officials suspended the license of another doctor, a Treasure Island osteopathic physician who pleaded guilty in August to a felony drug trafficking charge involving oxycodone.
Have you or someone you loved been arrested for a prescription drug or an oxycodone 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.
LARGO — For the second time in five years, health officials have taken emergency action to stop a Pinellas County doctor from writing excessive prescriptions for powerful painkillers.
Authorities say the doctor, an osteopathic family physician, prescribed "potentially lethal quantities" of widely abused narcotics such as Roxicodone and Percocet, often without even a physical exam.
He also permitted an assistant — a nurse who was then his girlfriend — to illegally sign prescriptions after he took a leave from practice, state health officials say.
Similar charges netted this doctor, 46, a previous suspension in 2006. In that violation, he was fined $12,500 but still allowed to return to practice.
In recent years, the man, who could not be reached for comment, has been treating patients at his Medical Clinic, a pain clinic at Seminole Blvd. in Largo.
An employee told investigators he was instructed to recruit new patients by promising they would leave the clinic with at least 240 oxycodone pills, as well as other prescription medications popular as street drugs.
When contacted, two patients said the clinic knew they were illegally going from doctor's office to doctor's office to shop for drugs (commonly charged as "doctor shopping", a third fegree felony!
Even with that knowledge, the doctor refilled their prescriptions.
One was a 41-year-old man. In an 8-month period, he left the pain clinic on 10 occasions with prescriptions from the doctor on each visit for 690 pills, mostly narcotics.
At one point, the patient told the doc that he was worried about being overmedicated and even asked to change his treatment.
But the man was informed that his prescriptions were pre-signed and couldn't be changed — at least not without a $25 charge.
The Florida Department of Health announced Wednesday the emergency suspension of his medical license.
As noted above, this was not the first time the "good" doctor has had run ins with the law...
In 2006, he was the medical director of a St. Petersburg walk-in clinic advertising easy access to Vicodin, Percocet and other drugs.
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office eventually raided the clinic and arrested one of its doctors, as well as the clinic's owner and two physician's assistants.
But the doctor wasn't charged. Detectives said he was rarely there.
Instead, he signed stacks of blank prescriptions and sent them by courier from his main office in Seminole.
Outside of his medical work, he has also been arrested multiple times, most recently in 2009 on cocaine charges.
In a related story, state health officials suspended the license of another doctor, a Treasure Island osteopathic physician who pleaded guilty in August to a felony drug trafficking charge involving oxycodone.
Have you or someone you loved been arrested for a prescription drug or an oxycodone 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.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - What NOT To Do
By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.
A quick blurb about a man who celebrated his release from jail by picking up ANOTHER criminal charge in the parking lot...
A local man was taken to jail Sunday evening after a drunken disturbance at a neighbor's house. He was then released on his own recognizance just a few hours later.
Yet for the man, the night was still young.
He was arrested again after deputies say he tried to break into two cars — that happened to be in the visitor parking lot at the Land O'Lakes jail. He wasn't released this time.
Sheriff's deputies initially found the suspect, 48, crawling out from under the bushes at his neighbor's house in Jasmine Lakes about 6:30 p.m. His shorts were on backwards and low on his hips. A witness had complained he was urinating on the bushes.
According to a Pasco County Sheriff's Office arrest report, he was "extremely intoxicated" and admitted to drinking six beers and taking six Oxycodone pills. He was arrested for criminal mischief after a witness saw him bang on the neighbor's doors and shake a porch light until the glass panels fell out and broke. The witness also saw the suspect pull the light's electrical wires out of the wall.
Deputies said the man told them he was looking for cans of paint in the bushes, then changed his story and said he was trying to replace the porch light.
Fast forward to 10 p.m. when he was released from the Land O'Lakes jail and went to the visitor parking lot to wait for a ride.
A woman drove up and left her 2003 Acura in the lot. The suspect, she said, went up to the car and tried to open the door. She yelled at him to get away. He said he thought it was his car.
He tried again, this time with a 2002 Mitsubishi. A sheriff's lieutenant watched the second attempt and called detention deputies. This time he was arrested at 11:45 p.m. — less than two hours after he was released. He remained in jail Monday afternoon on two counts of attempted car theft, with bail set at $10,000.
After his second arrest, the suspect said he hoped a deputy was "not mad at him for attempting to get into the cars."
Have you or someone you loved been arrested for a theft or a criminal charge? Then contact the law offices of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. to speak with an experienced Pinellas criminal defense lawyer now!
Our office is located at 4707 140th ave. N, Suite 107, Clearwater, FL 33762, across from the criminal courthouse and minutes from Tampa and St. Petersburg. You can contact your St. Petersburg criminal defense attorney by phone at 727.286.6141 or online at info@BlakeDorstenLaw.com.
A quick blurb about a man who celebrated his release from jail by picking up ANOTHER criminal charge in the parking lot...
A local man was taken to jail Sunday evening after a drunken disturbance at a neighbor's house. He was then released on his own recognizance just a few hours later.
Yet for the man, the night was still young.
He was arrested again after deputies say he tried to break into two cars — that happened to be in the visitor parking lot at the Land O'Lakes jail. He wasn't released this time.
Sheriff's deputies initially found the suspect, 48, crawling out from under the bushes at his neighbor's house in Jasmine Lakes about 6:30 p.m. His shorts were on backwards and low on his hips. A witness had complained he was urinating on the bushes.
According to a Pasco County Sheriff's Office arrest report, he was "extremely intoxicated" and admitted to drinking six beers and taking six Oxycodone pills. He was arrested for criminal mischief after a witness saw him bang on the neighbor's doors and shake a porch light until the glass panels fell out and broke. The witness also saw the suspect pull the light's electrical wires out of the wall.
Deputies said the man told them he was looking for cans of paint in the bushes, then changed his story and said he was trying to replace the porch light.
Fast forward to 10 p.m. when he was released from the Land O'Lakes jail and went to the visitor parking lot to wait for a ride.
A woman drove up and left her 2003 Acura in the lot. The suspect, she said, went up to the car and tried to open the door. She yelled at him to get away. He said he thought it was his car.
He tried again, this time with a 2002 Mitsubishi. A sheriff's lieutenant watched the second attempt and called detention deputies. This time he was arrested at 11:45 p.m. — less than two hours after he was released. He remained in jail Monday afternoon on two counts of attempted car theft, with bail set at $10,000.
After his second arrest, the suspect said he hoped a deputy was "not mad at him for attempting to get into the cars."
Have you or someone you loved been arrested for a theft or a criminal charge? Then contact the law offices of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. to speak with an experienced Pinellas criminal defense lawyer now!
Our office is located at 4707 140th ave. N, Suite 107, Clearwater, FL 33762, across from the criminal courthouse and minutes from Tampa and St. Petersburg. You can contact your St. Petersburg criminal defense attorney by phone at 727.286.6141 or online at info@BlakeDorstenLaw.com.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Drug Sting Round Up
By Nick Dorsten, Esq.
While we have blogged about drug stings often before, here is another one that nabbed 41 arrests (from the St. Pete Times website)...
Pinellas — The phony prescriptions were printed out on a home computer and passed out to "runners" who got them filled at local pharmacies.
Then the pain pills were divvied up: half for the runner to keep, half for the drug dealer to sell at street prices that, in some parts of Florida, are up to 30 times what they cost at a pharmacy.
Authorities said that's how more than 400,000 30-milligram oxycodone tablets got into the wrong hands during a nine-month span beginning in October 2009.
On Monday, several local law enforcement agencies launched a multi-jurisdictional effort to arrest some of the members of a sophisticated Tampa Bay area drug trafficking ring.
By day's end, officials had located 41 of the 72 people sought in the second phase of Operation No Appointment Necessary. Some were already in local jails; others were arrested in Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties. The first phase, which began in March, has so far netted 66 of 94 suspects. And investigators had previously made about 140 other arrests in connection with the case.
Monday's sweep was a joint effort between the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Countywide Diversion Task Force, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, the Hernando County Sheriff's Office and the New Port Richey Police Department.
Officials say those being arrested as part of both phases of the operation were mostly low-level offenders, accused of passing the fake prescriptions or doctor shopping. The top tier of the organization has already been "dismantled," said a Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Captain.
Those people are facing federal charges, but the captain declined to identify them, citing the ongoing nature of the large-scale investigation.
During the investigation, detectives identified 27 doctors whose names were being fraudulently used by the drug ring. The doctors, whose prescription pads had been stolen or duplicated, cooperated with investigators.
Monday's sweep came just a few weeks after a state report revealed that the number of people fatally overdosing on prescription drugs in Florida went up nearly 9 percent from 2009 to 2010.
According to the report, the Pinellas-Pasco medical examiner's district led the state in 2010 in deaths from all six of the most lethal prescription drugs — oxycodone, alprazolam (Xanax), methadone(Vicodin), morphine and diazepam (Valium).
And addiction is at the heart of the matter, officials said.
"A lot of people get involved because of addiction situations," the captain said. "They are addicted to these painkillers and they have to feed their addiction by going out and getting these pills and then they sell them as well as using them."
Oxycodone pills that cost about $1 apiece at a pharmacy are going for $8 to $15 on the street in the Tampa Bay area. In more rural areas of North Florida, they can bring as much as $30 a pill.
Detectives estimate the value of the pills received through the fraudulent prescriptions in this investigation at more than $4 million.
Have you or someone you loved been arrested for a drug or a drug trafficking 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.
While we have blogged about drug stings often before, here is another one that nabbed 41 arrests (from the St. Pete Times website)...
Pinellas — The phony prescriptions were printed out on a home computer and passed out to "runners" who got them filled at local pharmacies.
Then the pain pills were divvied up: half for the runner to keep, half for the drug dealer to sell at street prices that, in some parts of Florida, are up to 30 times what they cost at a pharmacy.
Authorities said that's how more than 400,000 30-milligram oxycodone tablets got into the wrong hands during a nine-month span beginning in October 2009.
On Monday, several local law enforcement agencies launched a multi-jurisdictional effort to arrest some of the members of a sophisticated Tampa Bay area drug trafficking ring.
By day's end, officials had located 41 of the 72 people sought in the second phase of Operation No Appointment Necessary. Some were already in local jails; others were arrested in Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties. The first phase, which began in March, has so far netted 66 of 94 suspects. And investigators had previously made about 140 other arrests in connection with the case.
Monday's sweep was a joint effort between the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Countywide Diversion Task Force, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, the Hernando County Sheriff's Office and the New Port Richey Police Department.
Officials say those being arrested as part of both phases of the operation were mostly low-level offenders, accused of passing the fake prescriptions or doctor shopping. The top tier of the organization has already been "dismantled," said a Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Captain.
Those people are facing federal charges, but the captain declined to identify them, citing the ongoing nature of the large-scale investigation.
During the investigation, detectives identified 27 doctors whose names were being fraudulently used by the drug ring. The doctors, whose prescription pads had been stolen or duplicated, cooperated with investigators.
Monday's sweep came just a few weeks after a state report revealed that the number of people fatally overdosing on prescription drugs in Florida went up nearly 9 percent from 2009 to 2010.
According to the report, the Pinellas-Pasco medical examiner's district led the state in 2010 in deaths from all six of the most lethal prescription drugs — oxycodone, alprazolam (Xanax), methadone(Vicodin), morphine and diazepam (Valium).
And addiction is at the heart of the matter, officials said.
"A lot of people get involved because of addiction situations," the captain said. "They are addicted to these painkillers and they have to feed their addiction by going out and getting these pills and then they sell them as well as using them."
Oxycodone pills that cost about $1 apiece at a pharmacy are going for $8 to $15 on the street in the Tampa Bay area. In more rural areas of North Florida, they can bring as much as $30 a pill.
Detectives estimate the value of the pills received through the fraudulent prescriptions in this investigation at more than $4 million.
Have you or someone you loved been arrested for a drug or a drug trafficking 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.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Oxycodone as a Motive for Murder?
By Nick Dorsten, Esq.
A jury in Hernando County Florida finds son Guilty of First Degree Murder for killing his father, in cold blood, over the popular (and often deadly) drug Oxycodone.
In a Brooksville courtroom, the Assistant State Attorney gripped the Revelation 12-gauge, sawed-off shotgun and pointed it at the courtroom wall, just feet from the jury.
He pumped the slide on the shotgun, then pulled the trigger. Pump. Click. Pump. Click. Pump. Click.
"(The victim) was shot four (4) times. I don't know how fast or slow the defendant cycled this shotgun when he murdered his father," the State told jurors Thursday, pointing at the 20-year-old man sitting at the defense table. "We're not talking one shot."
After a dramatic closing argument by the Assistant State Attorney, the jury took just one (1) hour to find Stephen Horne guilty of First-Degree Murder in the May 2010 shooting of his father, 47. Authorities say the son was motivated by drugs and money.
Later, just after the Chief Circuit Judge sentenced Horne, of Ridge Manor, to LIFE in prison (without the possibility of parole), the convicted killer turned to sobbing family members sitting two rows behind him, and he smiled.
Some told Horne they loved him. Others couldn't say anything. As deputies escorted him out, he glared at news reporters.
Horne was also convicted of Robbery with a Firearm and Possession of a Short-Barreled Shotgun.
His accomplice, Angel Gonzalez, 28, of Holiday, was convicted last month of First Degree Murder and was also sentenced to LIFE in prison.
In court Thursday, the State Attorney read portions of a damning confession Horne had given to a Hernando sheriff's Detective.
" 'I killed my father. I shot my father. I planned it all,' " he read. " 'I hated my father. I seen dollar signs. I planned it out. Everything was all my idea. I was going to get away with it.' "
The two (2) men stole his prescribed Oxycodone pills and between $200 and $600, the State said. Then they stripped him of his boots, trousers and cell phone.
"The state has proven that defendant right there," pointing at Horne, "is a cold-blooded killer."
Have you or someone you loved been arrested for a drug or murder 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.
A jury in Hernando County Florida finds son Guilty of First Degree Murder for killing his father, in cold blood, over the popular (and often deadly) drug Oxycodone.
In a Brooksville courtroom, the Assistant State Attorney gripped the Revelation 12-gauge, sawed-off shotgun and pointed it at the courtroom wall, just feet from the jury.
He pumped the slide on the shotgun, then pulled the trigger. Pump. Click. Pump. Click. Pump. Click.
"(The victim) was shot four (4) times. I don't know how fast or slow the defendant cycled this shotgun when he murdered his father," the State told jurors Thursday, pointing at the 20-year-old man sitting at the defense table. "We're not talking one shot."
After a dramatic closing argument by the Assistant State Attorney, the jury took just one (1) hour to find Stephen Horne guilty of First-Degree Murder in the May 2010 shooting of his father, 47. Authorities say the son was motivated by drugs and money.
Later, just after the Chief Circuit Judge sentenced Horne, of Ridge Manor, to LIFE in prison (without the possibility of parole), the convicted killer turned to sobbing family members sitting two rows behind him, and he smiled.
Some told Horne they loved him. Others couldn't say anything. As deputies escorted him out, he glared at news reporters.
Horne was also convicted of Robbery with a Firearm and Possession of a Short-Barreled Shotgun.
His accomplice, Angel Gonzalez, 28, of Holiday, was convicted last month of First Degree Murder and was also sentenced to LIFE in prison.
In court Thursday, the State Attorney read portions of a damning confession Horne had given to a Hernando sheriff's Detective.
" 'I killed my father. I shot my father. I planned it all,' " he read. " 'I hated my father. I seen dollar signs. I planned it out. Everything was all my idea. I was going to get away with it.' "
The two (2) men stole his prescribed Oxycodone pills and between $200 and $600, the State said. Then they stripped him of his boots, trousers and cell phone.
"The state has proven that defendant right there," pointing at Horne, "is a cold-blooded killer."
Have you or someone you loved been arrested for a drug or murder 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.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Calling 911 Backfires
By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.
From the Bay News 9 website, a short but funny story regarding a man who won't take "no" for an answer...
A Largo man's late night craving and demand for tacos landed him in the Pinellas County jail for misuse of a 911 system.
Terry Kimbell, 50, called 911 from his cell phone to inform the dispatcher Taco Bell would not sell him tacos while he stood in the drive-thru lane Tuesday night, according to a Largo police report.
The website obtained the 911 call through a public records request:
911: "Largo emergency."
Kimbell: "It's not an emergency. However, can you -- can you put me through to dispatch? I'm at the Taco Bell, and I walked in, and I left my car on purpose, so I wouldn't drink and drive. I walked up, they wouldn't serve me. So, I'm at the Taco Bell at 137th and Walsingham and I just want some tacos. That's it."
Kimbell tells the dispatcher he has the munchies. He'd been drinking alcohol, according to the police report.
911: "What are the employees saying?"
Kimbell: "You can't walk up, you've got to drive up. You got a get a DUI to get a taco. I got the munchies and I walked a quarter mile from here. Are you going to help me out or do I have to get arrested to get home? You know what I'm saying?"
911: "Well, we're not going to take you home."
Kimbell: "I want you to call the manager at the Taco Bell."
Kimbell stayed on the phone the for about 11 minutes with dispatch until a police officer arrived and arrested him for misuse of a 911 system.
Kimbell was released from jail on Wednesday.
The website tried contacting Kimbell at his apartment, but the door was not answered. He did tell the dispatcher the reason he called 911 though:
Kimbell: "When I get refused service for no reason, it T's me off. So, I call you guys. Does that make sense?"
A Largo police Lt. said when someone calls 911 for a reason that's not an emergency, they're tying up resources for those who truly are having an emergency.
"Certainly calling 911 because you didn't get your tacos is not something that would constitute an emergency," the Lt. said.
A Taco Bell manager said they don't allow customers to walk in their drive-thru for safety reasons.
The fast food company does not want customers to get run over. The manager also said people on foot pose an increased robbery risk to employees.
Have you or someone you loved been arrested for a DUI or a criminal charge? Then contact the law offices of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. to speak with an experienced Pinellas criminal defense lawyer now!
Our office is located at 4707 140th ave. N, Suite 107, Clearwater, FL 33762, across from the criminal courthouse and minutes from Tampa and St. Petersburg. You can contact your St. Petersburg criminal defense attorney by phone at 727.286.6141 or online at info@BlakeDorstenLaw.com.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Why So Much Prescription Pill Trouble?
By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.
Like many other previous posts, this one deals with the prescription pill epidemic in Pinellas and Pasco counties...
A new report released last week found Pinellas and Pasco counties leading the state in an alarming count — the number of people fatally overdosing on the most lethal prescription drugs.
That leads to two possible conclusions, both dismaying. Either the Pinellas and Pasco communities are at the epicenter of Florida's prescription drug epidemic, or drug abuse deaths only seem highest in these counties because other regions are not reporting theirs so completely.
And if the second is true, then the statewide problem is even worse than experts think.
"Either it's real, we really are higher, or they're under-reporting elsewhere," said a Pinellas-Pasco medical examiner.
The report from the Florida Medical Examiners Commission found that 2,710 deaths in Florida last year were caused by prescription drug overdoses, up 8.9 percent from 2009. That's almost eight people a day.
But if other regions of the state are under-reporting, that number could be much higher.
"I've always felt that the numbers that are reported in the annual report actually underestimate the problem because some cases simply don't get reported for one reason or another," said a, professor and director of toxicology at the University of Florida College of Medicine.
The calculus of drug deaths in Florida reveals a lot about the science, the detective work and the human tragedy of trying to quantify an epidemic in which legal drugs are killing far more Floridians than illegal ones such as heroin or cocaine.
In the latest report, the Pinellas-Pasco district led the state in 2010 in deaths from all six of the most lethal prescription drugs — oxycodone, alprazolam (Xanax), methadone, hydrocodone (Vicodin), morphine and diazepam (Valium).
Unfortunately, this isn't the first year Pinellas and Pasco have reported some of the highest death tolls.
A supervisor of the Pinellas Strategic Diversion Task Force finds it "alarming" that Pinellas is a leader. But he's not necessarily disagreeing.
"I believe that we possibly have more people that are addicted right now in this area," he said after reviewing the report. "Now, for whatever reason, we're first and we're really going to have to look at why."
Pinellas and Pasco have larger populations than many rural counties, which could help explain their numbers. After adjusting for population, both counties remain high — though not the highest — in per capita deaths from alprazolam, diazepam, hydrocodone and methadone. Pasco County had one of the highest rates of oxycodone deaths.
Yet overall, prescription drugs still are killing more people locally than in far larger counties such as Miami-Dade and Broward.
Even after working to standardize procedures, Florida's medical examiners are quick to admit some things differ from district to district. And that could have an effect on which deaths get evaluated and which don't.
For starters, not everyone goes to a medical examiner's office. The doctors at these offices perform autopsies on people who die violently or from suspected drug overdoses but generally not in cases where the deaths appear to be from natural causes.
A spokesman said Pinellas and Pasco law enforcement officers are well-trained to look for evidence of drug abuse that might not be obvious — for example, a man with heart problems who dies, but who also had a knee problem and a hydrocodone prescription. Deputies will check the number of pills in the bottle to see if the man was using them faster than prescribed, which could have led to an overdose.
If more cases like that get referred to the medical examiner's office, then more drug deaths are likely to be counted.
The Pinellas-Pasco office also uses its own toxicology lab that tests extensively for drugs. That could turn up more drug deaths. It's also true that the state lacks a uniform approach to toxicology testing.
Even basic reporting has sometimes been spotty, medical examiners admit. Prior to this year, for example, some doctors in the Miami office were simply failing to fill out a form to indicate a prescription drug death, said the director of the toxicology lab at the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's Office.
Experts say a new statewide electronic system should correct many problems.
There is also a human factor. More than most people realize, establishing a cause of death due to drug abuse is a judgment call, medical examiners say.
"If you have five different medical examiners looking at the same case you may get two or three different opinions," the director mentioned.
For any given drug, there is no precise lethal level. Some people die if their blood alcohol content reaches 0.25, but some people actually survive and even function with higher levels, said a Miami-Dade Medical Examiner.
And different drugs are often mixed together, creating more variables to evaluate. Some autopsies are not performed until several days after death, which can make the evaluation even more difficult.
Whether such differences explain why Pinellas and Pasco sit at the top of the list, Goldberger noted the evidence is clear on the most alarming finding: The trendline is up.
"Clearly too many people die every day in the state of Florida as a consequence of the use, misuse and abuse of prescription drugs," he said.
Have you or someone you loved been arrested for a prescription drug or a oxycodone 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.
Like many other previous posts, this one deals with the prescription pill epidemic in Pinellas and Pasco counties...
A new report released last week found Pinellas and Pasco counties leading the state in an alarming count — the number of people fatally overdosing on the most lethal prescription drugs.
That leads to two possible conclusions, both dismaying. Either the Pinellas and Pasco communities are at the epicenter of Florida's prescription drug epidemic, or drug abuse deaths only seem highest in these counties because other regions are not reporting theirs so completely.
And if the second is true, then the statewide problem is even worse than experts think.
"Either it's real, we really are higher, or they're under-reporting elsewhere," said a Pinellas-Pasco medical examiner.
The report from the Florida Medical Examiners Commission found that 2,710 deaths in Florida last year were caused by prescription drug overdoses, up 8.9 percent from 2009. That's almost eight people a day.
But if other regions of the state are under-reporting, that number could be much higher.
"I've always felt that the numbers that are reported in the annual report actually underestimate the problem because some cases simply don't get reported for one reason or another," said a, professor and director of toxicology at the University of Florida College of Medicine.
The calculus of drug deaths in Florida reveals a lot about the science, the detective work and the human tragedy of trying to quantify an epidemic in which legal drugs are killing far more Floridians than illegal ones such as heroin or cocaine.
In the latest report, the Pinellas-Pasco district led the state in 2010 in deaths from all six of the most lethal prescription drugs — oxycodone, alprazolam (Xanax), methadone, hydrocodone (Vicodin), morphine and diazepam (Valium).
Unfortunately, this isn't the first year Pinellas and Pasco have reported some of the highest death tolls.
A supervisor of the Pinellas Strategic Diversion Task Force finds it "alarming" that Pinellas is a leader. But he's not necessarily disagreeing.
"I believe that we possibly have more people that are addicted right now in this area," he said after reviewing the report. "Now, for whatever reason, we're first and we're really going to have to look at why."
Pinellas and Pasco have larger populations than many rural counties, which could help explain their numbers. After adjusting for population, both counties remain high — though not the highest — in per capita deaths from alprazolam, diazepam, hydrocodone and methadone. Pasco County had one of the highest rates of oxycodone deaths.
Yet overall, prescription drugs still are killing more people locally than in far larger counties such as Miami-Dade and Broward.
Even after working to standardize procedures, Florida's medical examiners are quick to admit some things differ from district to district. And that could have an effect on which deaths get evaluated and which don't.
For starters, not everyone goes to a medical examiner's office. The doctors at these offices perform autopsies on people who die violently or from suspected drug overdoses but generally not in cases where the deaths appear to be from natural causes.
A spokesman said Pinellas and Pasco law enforcement officers are well-trained to look for evidence of drug abuse that might not be obvious — for example, a man with heart problems who dies, but who also had a knee problem and a hydrocodone prescription. Deputies will check the number of pills in the bottle to see if the man was using them faster than prescribed, which could have led to an overdose.
If more cases like that get referred to the medical examiner's office, then more drug deaths are likely to be counted.
The Pinellas-Pasco office also uses its own toxicology lab that tests extensively for drugs. That could turn up more drug deaths. It's also true that the state lacks a uniform approach to toxicology testing.
Even basic reporting has sometimes been spotty, medical examiners admit. Prior to this year, for example, some doctors in the Miami office were simply failing to fill out a form to indicate a prescription drug death, said the director of the toxicology lab at the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's Office.
Experts say a new statewide electronic system should correct many problems.
There is also a human factor. More than most people realize, establishing a cause of death due to drug abuse is a judgment call, medical examiners say.
"If you have five different medical examiners looking at the same case you may get two or three different opinions," the director mentioned.
For any given drug, there is no precise lethal level. Some people die if their blood alcohol content reaches 0.25, but some people actually survive and even function with higher levels, said a Miami-Dade Medical Examiner.
And different drugs are often mixed together, creating more variables to evaluate. Some autopsies are not performed until several days after death, which can make the evaluation even more difficult.
Whether such differences explain why Pinellas and Pasco sit at the top of the list, Goldberger noted the evidence is clear on the most alarming finding: The trendline is up.
"Clearly too many people die every day in the state of Florida as a consequence of the use, misuse and abuse of prescription drugs," he said.
Have you or someone you loved been arrested for a prescription drug or a oxycodone 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.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - What NOT to do at a Drug Deal
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
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
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.
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, July 26, 2011
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Drud addiction leads to Robbery?
By Nick Dorsten, Esq.
In going over an article in the St. Pete Times website, it really stands out as it shows the despair that a severe drug addiction can cause...
When the pawnshop refused to take the computer because it was stolen, the defendant panicked. She needed money. She needed a fix. The suspect, 24, was desperate for her next oxycodone pill.
So desperate, that she robbed a bank Monday afternoon with her 3-year-old son in tow.
The woman saw a Regions Bank on State Road 52 in Hudson and pulled over. She left her son in the car. She stepped inside the bank and wrote her message at the withdrawal slips counter.
"I don't even remember what it said. It's not a blur, it's a blank," Lopez said Tuesday behind a glass window in jail. "This is the biggest mistake I've ever made in my entire life. When I walked in, I didn't think I was going to do it, but then something, I don't know — it's not like I planned it or anything."
The woman gave the note to the teller. That's when the manager told her that her son was standing at the bank's window. The suspect went outside, scooped him up, grabbed the money and left.
Scared and crying, she proceeded to call her sister from the road.
"I just robbed a bank. I don't know why," the defendant recalled sobbing to her sister. Fresh tears welled as she remembered the call.
Her sister begged her to bring the boy to her house. The suspect took him there, gave him a kiss and said "I'll see you later."
A few minutes later, a Pasco deputy pulled the suspect over in the silver Chrysler minivan matching the description of the bank robber's vehicle. She called her husband, a truck driver who is on the road for weeks at a time.
"Baby, I just robbed a bank," she told him. "I'm about to be pulled over."
At first, he thought it was a joke. Then he realized the seriousness of the situation: "They're going to take the kids," he told her.
Now her son and two other children — a 17-month-old son and a newborn daughter — are staying with the suspect's mother, who is shocked by what happened.
The defendant said her family was in the dark as she battled addiction for the past few years. She had been prescribed pills for severe back pain, but when the medication ran out, she bought more pills anywhere she could.
With her husband on the road so often, she was raising their young children largely on her own in Tampa. She struggled. The susoect claimed the oxycodone helped her cope. She would wait until the children were asleep to take a pill. She said it was the only way to keep from feeling sick.
"I'm ashamed of it. I knew what it could do to my life. I didn't want anyone to see — especially my children," she said.
Yet the suspect said she wanted to get clean. She drove to her mother's west Pasco home Sunday night intending to start that process. But come Monday morning she again needed more prescription drugs.
"If you have a problem with oxy, get off of them before it's too late," she said Tuesday. "If you come across them and don't know what they are, don't experiment with them because it's not worth it."
The suspect was charged with robbery, child neglect and burglary of a residence for the stolen laptop computer. She remained Tuesday in the Land O'Lakes jail in lieu of a $22,000 bail.
Have you or a loved one been arrested for a drug charge, burglary 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.
In going over an article in the St. Pete Times website, it really stands out as it shows the despair that a severe drug addiction can cause...
When the pawnshop refused to take the computer because it was stolen, the defendant panicked. She needed money. She needed a fix. The suspect, 24, was desperate for her next oxycodone pill.
So desperate, that she robbed a bank Monday afternoon with her 3-year-old son in tow.
The woman saw a Regions Bank on State Road 52 in Hudson and pulled over. She left her son in the car. She stepped inside the bank and wrote her message at the withdrawal slips counter.
"I don't even remember what it said. It's not a blur, it's a blank," Lopez said Tuesday behind a glass window in jail. "This is the biggest mistake I've ever made in my entire life. When I walked in, I didn't think I was going to do it, but then something, I don't know — it's not like I planned it or anything."
The woman gave the note to the teller. That's when the manager told her that her son was standing at the bank's window. The suspect went outside, scooped him up, grabbed the money and left.
Scared and crying, she proceeded to call her sister from the road.
"I just robbed a bank. I don't know why," the defendant recalled sobbing to her sister. Fresh tears welled as she remembered the call.
Her sister begged her to bring the boy to her house. The suspect took him there, gave him a kiss and said "I'll see you later."
A few minutes later, a Pasco deputy pulled the suspect over in the silver Chrysler minivan matching the description of the bank robber's vehicle. She called her husband, a truck driver who is on the road for weeks at a time.
"Baby, I just robbed a bank," she told him. "I'm about to be pulled over."
At first, he thought it was a joke. Then he realized the seriousness of the situation: "They're going to take the kids," he told her.
Now her son and two other children — a 17-month-old son and a newborn daughter — are staying with the suspect's mother, who is shocked by what happened.
The defendant said her family was in the dark as she battled addiction for the past few years. She had been prescribed pills for severe back pain, but when the medication ran out, she bought more pills anywhere she could.
With her husband on the road so often, she was raising their young children largely on her own in Tampa. She struggled. The susoect claimed the oxycodone helped her cope. She would wait until the children were asleep to take a pill. She said it was the only way to keep from feeling sick.
"I'm ashamed of it. I knew what it could do to my life. I didn't want anyone to see — especially my children," she said.
Yet the suspect said she wanted to get clean. She drove to her mother's west Pasco home Sunday night intending to start that process. But come Monday morning she again needed more prescription drugs.
"If you have a problem with oxy, get off of them before it's too late," she said Tuesday. "If you come across them and don't know what they are, don't experiment with them because it's not worth it."
The suspect was charged with robbery, child neglect and burglary of a residence for the stolen laptop computer. She remained Tuesday in the Land O'Lakes jail in lieu of a $22,000 bail.
Have you or a loved one been arrested for a drug charge, burglary 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.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - Juveniles put crime on facebook
By Nick Dorsten, Esq.
Originally written about on the tcpalm news site, this tells of an interesting trend of younger people putting evidence of their crimes on facebook and other social media sites...
In an example of the increasingly voyeuristic behavior people are exhibiting on social media web sites, a pair of 15-year-old boys were arrested because of a video one of them allegedly posted on Facebook showing his friend beating another teenager unconscious.
The 15-year old victim of the beating did not tell his parents or go to the hospital, police say. Rather, police were alerted to the battery and ultimately made the arrests acting off a tip from a witness who saw the video on Facebook.
Police arrested the two juvenile defendants, both 15. They appeared before a juvenile court judge Thursday at the Justice Center and were ordered held at the Juvenile Detention Center for 21 days.
The first juvenile defendant was charged with aggravated battery, resisting without violence and solicitation of gang activity.
The second juvenile suspect was charged with accessory after the fact and resisting arrest without violence.
“They were defiant; no remorse,” said a Palm Bay police Officer of the teens’ demeanor hours after their arrest.
“We believe that they posted the video to promote their gang activities. The victim just made a comment about them belonging to a gang, but it was nothing that deserved this type of retaliation. We’re also looking into whether there may be other videos.”
The second juvenile defendant videotaped the battery and it was later posted on the other teen's personal Facebook profile page, police said. The incident happened Tuesday, but only surfaced Wednesday after a concerned resident alerted Palm Bay police.
The video shows the first juvenile suspect delivering several successive kicks to the victim’s head in front of onlookers, at one point stomping on the boy’s head as he lay on the ground. A girl’s voice captured on the video is heard saying, “Oh my God,” repeatedly while the attack continues.
“(The victim) didn’t go to the hospital. In fact, he didn’t even tell his family,” the Officer said.
From the video, officers with the department’s Youth Services were able to identify several witnesses to the attack, all who attend a nearby high school. The fight reportedly happened on Grandeur Road. The teen's family members later removed the video from his Facebook page, police said.
Law enforcement officials and other experts say the video is the latest example of boldly posted videos, texts or photographs that depict illegal or illicit activity. In 2007, a video of a 12-year-old Brevard County girl being beaten by peers was posted online. Across the nation, fights between teens are being captured on cell phones or other mobile devices and posted on social media sites within minutes.
A Melbourne psychologist and parenting expert said similar episodes are part of a wider, “voyeuristic” trend in which teens use social media to share information about their lives.
“They feel it’s something really cool and they want to share it with their friends,” “They’re so desensitized about posting rather than someone saying that this is something wrong.”
The victim, whose injuries were described as not serious by police, did not want to come forward, primarily out of fear. Police said the incident began when the victim questioned one of the teens about involvement in a gang called “3-2-1,” a named borrowed from Brevard County’s area code.
The first juvenile later told police that he had formed the “3-2-1 Boyz or 3-2-1 Crew ” gang and wanted to “beat his .¤.¤.” because of derogatory remarks about the group. Police said they tracked the teen to his home on Grandeur Road. The teen ran inside and refused to answer the door for at least 20 minutes before his uncle arrived and ordered him to leave the home, according to police reports.
In recent years, Palm Bay police have tackled other gang-related groups, including the homegrown, Melbourne-based Coldside Posse, but said 3-2-1 is a small, loose-knit group of friends. The Officer said the 3-2-1 group was recently formed and was made up of about five or six people.
The teens were scheduled for a June 16 trial in juvenile court and face one to six years in juvenile detention. The state attorney’s office will review the case to determine whether to charge one or both teens as adults. A conviction as an adult on aggravated battery charges carries a penalty of up to 15 years in state prison.
Have you or someone you loved been arrested for a battery or a juvenile offense? 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.
Originally written about on the tcpalm news site, this tells of an interesting trend of younger people putting evidence of their crimes on facebook and other social media sites...
In an example of the increasingly voyeuristic behavior people are exhibiting on social media web sites, a pair of 15-year-old boys were arrested because of a video one of them allegedly posted on Facebook showing his friend beating another teenager unconscious.
The 15-year old victim of the beating did not tell his parents or go to the hospital, police say. Rather, police were alerted to the battery and ultimately made the arrests acting off a tip from a witness who saw the video on Facebook.
Police arrested the two juvenile defendants, both 15. They appeared before a juvenile court judge Thursday at the Justice Center and were ordered held at the Juvenile Detention Center for 21 days.
The first juvenile defendant was charged with aggravated battery, resisting without violence and solicitation of gang activity.
The second juvenile suspect was charged with accessory after the fact and resisting arrest without violence.
“They were defiant; no remorse,” said a Palm Bay police Officer of the teens’ demeanor hours after their arrest.
“We believe that they posted the video to promote their gang activities. The victim just made a comment about them belonging to a gang, but it was nothing that deserved this type of retaliation. We’re also looking into whether there may be other videos.”
The second juvenile defendant videotaped the battery and it was later posted on the other teen's personal Facebook profile page, police said. The incident happened Tuesday, but only surfaced Wednesday after a concerned resident alerted Palm Bay police.
The video shows the first juvenile suspect delivering several successive kicks to the victim’s head in front of onlookers, at one point stomping on the boy’s head as he lay on the ground. A girl’s voice captured on the video is heard saying, “Oh my God,” repeatedly while the attack continues.
“(The victim) didn’t go to the hospital. In fact, he didn’t even tell his family,” the Officer said.
From the video, officers with the department’s Youth Services were able to identify several witnesses to the attack, all who attend a nearby high school. The fight reportedly happened on Grandeur Road. The teen's family members later removed the video from his Facebook page, police said.
Law enforcement officials and other experts say the video is the latest example of boldly posted videos, texts or photographs that depict illegal or illicit activity. In 2007, a video of a 12-year-old Brevard County girl being beaten by peers was posted online. Across the nation, fights between teens are being captured on cell phones or other mobile devices and posted on social media sites within minutes.
A Melbourne psychologist and parenting expert said similar episodes are part of a wider, “voyeuristic” trend in which teens use social media to share information about their lives.
“They feel it’s something really cool and they want to share it with their friends,” “They’re so desensitized about posting rather than someone saying that this is something wrong.”
The victim, whose injuries were described as not serious by police, did not want to come forward, primarily out of fear. Police said the incident began when the victim questioned one of the teens about involvement in a gang called “3-2-1,” a named borrowed from Brevard County’s area code.
The first juvenile later told police that he had formed the “3-2-1 Boyz or 3-2-1 Crew ” gang and wanted to “beat his .¤.¤.” because of derogatory remarks about the group. Police said they tracked the teen to his home on Grandeur Road. The teen ran inside and refused to answer the door for at least 20 minutes before his uncle arrived and ordered him to leave the home, according to police reports.
In recent years, Palm Bay police have tackled other gang-related groups, including the homegrown, Melbourne-based Coldside Posse, but said 3-2-1 is a small, loose-knit group of friends. The Officer said the 3-2-1 group was recently formed and was made up of about five or six people.
The teens were scheduled for a June 16 trial in juvenile court and face one to six years in juvenile detention. The state attorney’s office will review the case to determine whether to charge one or both teens as adults. A conviction as an adult on aggravated battery charges carries a penalty of up to 15 years in state prison.
Have you or someone you loved been arrested for a battery or a juvenile offense? 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.
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