By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq
St. Pete Times...
ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA — A 62-year-old man has been arrested on charges that he stalked and harassed a 15-year-old boy, Pinellas Sheriff's deputies said.
Deputies said the suspect, of 4600 67th St. N, first approached the teenager on Dec. 13 as the boy rode his bike through a parking lot at 4380 66th St. N. From the drivers' seat of his 1998 dark green Kia Sportage, he offered the boy $100 in exchange for a sex, deputies said. The boy was frightened and fled, but the man continued to trail him, circling the area and eventually following him to a friends' house, deputies said.
The next day, the suspect was walking in the same area and again followed the boy, deputies said. The teenager ran to a business and told the security guard, who called deputies.
Detectives from the sheriff's crimes against children unit were able to identify the man based on information they received about his car. On Tuesday, after he voluntarily came to the sheriff's office in Largo, Price was arrested on one count of lewd and lascivious conduct and one-count of aggravated stalking, deputies said.
The man was being held at the Pinellas County Jail Tuesday night on $30,000 bail.
Have you or someone you love been arrested for violation of an injunction, domestic violence or battery? Then call the criminal defense attorneys today for a free consultation!
For more information, or to speak directly with experienced criminal defense lawyers please contact BLAKE & DORSTEN, P.A. at 727.286.6141 or email the lawyers your questions at: info@blakedorstenlaw.com. We are located at 4707 140th Ave N, Suite 104 in Clearwater, across from the criminal courthouse in the airport business center, minutes from Tampa and St. Petersburg.
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 injunction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label injunction. Show all posts
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - oops
By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.
Talk about a mistake, this has been all over the local news...
ST. PETERSBURG, FL — The defendant is a 75-year-old Tierra Verde retiree who used to consider himself very good friends with a 40-year-old woman who dances at local bars.
But the relationship has deteriorated to the point where he has been arrested four times, accused of violating an injunction ordering him to stay away from her.
It doesn't sound all that unusual, except for one thing: The judge actually had denied the request for an injunction against Almond. But through some kind of court mixup, Almond ended up getting arrested four times for violating an injunction that shouldn't officially exist.
The mixup began at a December 2009 hearing, when a lady asked for the court order to keep the man away. Pinellas Judge Lorraine M. Kelly clearly stated, "I'm denying the request for an injunction." But somehow, an order signed by her was entered into the court file saying it was granted.
And then, the Defendant started getting arrested.
Four times in nine months, police said he violated the injunction — by driving past her home, by calling her cell phone, by approaching her at work.
By his fourth arrest in August, the Defendant was in serious trouble — facing a felony charge of aggravated stalking and a possible two-year prison sentence.
But then a criminal defense attorney, obtained a transcript of the original hearing, and discovered what the judge had ruled.
"I went through a year of hell," the Defendant said. "I was going to leave the state and go up north."
After a reporter contacted Chief Assistant State Attorney Bruce Bartlett, he said the aggravated stalking charge would be dropped, now that it's clear the injunction is not valid.
"Something extraordinary happened in this case," Kelly said. Asked exactly how it happened, she said "I'm flummoxed. I have no idea."
In the four-page injunction order, a case number has been handwritten on the top of each page. But on two of those pages, including the one signed by Kelly, the wrong case number was entered — suggesting different court orders might have gotten mixed together during the hearings, which typically are busy affairs involving as many as a couple of dozen cases.
Chief Pinellas-Pasco Judge Thomas McGrady wants to look into the circumstances surrounding the case, to see if it points to any procedures that need to be revised, court spokesman Ron Stuart said.
During these hearings, Kelly sits alongside an employee of the Pinellas County Clerk's Office and one from the office of the Courts Administrator. She signs a form granting an injunction, or a different form denying an injunction, depending on her ruling. Generally speaking, the Courts Administrator employee fills out details of the judge's ruling, and the clerk's employee assembles the different pages of the order and obtains signatures from the parties in the courtroom.
Kelly said she does not routinely read all the orders at the end of the day. She said that's something that could be done, although even that step might not catch one error contained in dozens of files.
Courts administrator Gay Inskeep said she wanted to review all the circumstances surrounding the incident and "do everything we can to make sure it never happens again."
"I am taking it very seriously," she added.
County Clerk Ken Burke said his office also intended to study the matter.
Inskeep said she has not heard of any similar mistakes, and Kelly said she had not heard of one in the more than two years that she has been handling such cases.
As to the two people involved in the dispute, the mandenies that he tried to contact the victim as much as she claimed. He says in one case, he misdialed her telephone number, and she didn't pick up anyway (and prosecutors eventually dropped the charge). He denies driving by her house.
The two appear to have a stormy relationship — at one point she was arrested and accused of grand theft against the man, but that charge was dropped, too.
The lady was in the court hearing when the judge denied the injunction. But she said it still seemed justified that the defendant was later arrested. She had repeatedly contacted police to try to get him to stop contacting her, she said in her injunction request. She says police kept urging her to get an injunction, so she tried.
The man was also in the courtroom for Kelly's ruling.
But, he said, "I couldn't hear the judge. She was way up in front."
He realizes now that he should have piped up. But he didn't.
"I thought she granted the injunction."
Have you or someone you love been arrested for burglary, a violation of an injunction, domestic violence or battery? Then call Blake & Dorsten, P.A. today for a free consultation!
For more information, or to speak directly with experienced criminal defense lawyers please contact BLAKE & DORSTEN, P.A. at 727.286.6141 or email the lawyers your questions at: info@blakedorstenlaw.com. We are located at 4707 140th Ave N, Suite 104 in Clearwater, across from the criminal courthouse in the airport business center, minutes from Tampa and St. Petersburg.
Talk about a mistake, this has been all over the local news...
ST. PETERSBURG, FL — The defendant is a 75-year-old Tierra Verde retiree who used to consider himself very good friends with a 40-year-old woman who dances at local bars.
But the relationship has deteriorated to the point where he has been arrested four times, accused of violating an injunction ordering him to stay away from her.
It doesn't sound all that unusual, except for one thing: The judge actually had denied the request for an injunction against Almond. But through some kind of court mixup, Almond ended up getting arrested four times for violating an injunction that shouldn't officially exist.
The mixup began at a December 2009 hearing, when a lady asked for the court order to keep the man away. Pinellas Judge Lorraine M. Kelly clearly stated, "I'm denying the request for an injunction." But somehow, an order signed by her was entered into the court file saying it was granted.
And then, the Defendant started getting arrested.
Four times in nine months, police said he violated the injunction — by driving past her home, by calling her cell phone, by approaching her at work.
By his fourth arrest in August, the Defendant was in serious trouble — facing a felony charge of aggravated stalking and a possible two-year prison sentence.
But then a criminal defense attorney, obtained a transcript of the original hearing, and discovered what the judge had ruled.
"I went through a year of hell," the Defendant said. "I was going to leave the state and go up north."
After a reporter contacted Chief Assistant State Attorney Bruce Bartlett, he said the aggravated stalking charge would be dropped, now that it's clear the injunction is not valid.
"Something extraordinary happened in this case," Kelly said. Asked exactly how it happened, she said "I'm flummoxed. I have no idea."
In the four-page injunction order, a case number has been handwritten on the top of each page. But on two of those pages, including the one signed by Kelly, the wrong case number was entered — suggesting different court orders might have gotten mixed together during the hearings, which typically are busy affairs involving as many as a couple of dozen cases.
Chief Pinellas-Pasco Judge Thomas McGrady wants to look into the circumstances surrounding the case, to see if it points to any procedures that need to be revised, court spokesman Ron Stuart said.
During these hearings, Kelly sits alongside an employee of the Pinellas County Clerk's Office and one from the office of the Courts Administrator. She signs a form granting an injunction, or a different form denying an injunction, depending on her ruling. Generally speaking, the Courts Administrator employee fills out details of the judge's ruling, and the clerk's employee assembles the different pages of the order and obtains signatures from the parties in the courtroom.
Kelly said she does not routinely read all the orders at the end of the day. She said that's something that could be done, although even that step might not catch one error contained in dozens of files.
Courts administrator Gay Inskeep said she wanted to review all the circumstances surrounding the incident and "do everything we can to make sure it never happens again."
"I am taking it very seriously," she added.
County Clerk Ken Burke said his office also intended to study the matter.
Inskeep said she has not heard of any similar mistakes, and Kelly said she had not heard of one in the more than two years that she has been handling such cases.
As to the two people involved in the dispute, the mandenies that he tried to contact the victim as much as she claimed. He says in one case, he misdialed her telephone number, and she didn't pick up anyway (and prosecutors eventually dropped the charge). He denies driving by her house.
The two appear to have a stormy relationship — at one point she was arrested and accused of grand theft against the man, but that charge was dropped, too.
The lady was in the court hearing when the judge denied the injunction. But she said it still seemed justified that the defendant was later arrested. She had repeatedly contacted police to try to get him to stop contacting her, she said in her injunction request. She says police kept urging her to get an injunction, so she tried.
The man was also in the courtroom for Kelly's ruling.
But, he said, "I couldn't hear the judge. She was way up in front."
He realizes now that he should have piped up. But he didn't.
"I thought she granted the injunction."
Have you or someone you love been arrested for burglary, a violation of an injunction, domestic violence or battery? Then call Blake & Dorsten, P.A. today for a free consultation!
For more information, or to speak directly with experienced criminal defense lawyers please contact BLAKE & DORSTEN, P.A. at 727.286.6141 or email the lawyers your questions at: info@blakedorstenlaw.com. We are located at 4707 140th Ave N, Suite 104 in Clearwater, across from the criminal courthouse in the airport business center, minutes from Tampa and St. Petersburg.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Clearwater Defense Lawyer : Facebook Request= Jail!?
By Nicholas J. Dorsten, Esq.
According to The Smoking Gun, A Florida man was arrested last night after he allegedly violated a protective order by sending his estranged wife requests to “friend” him on Facebook.
According to a Pasco County Sheriff’s Office report, the Defendant, admitted contacting his wife twice last last month via the social networking site. Investigators claim that his Facebook requests violated a domestic violence injunction obtained by his wife, from whom he has been separated for two years.
“Yeah, I did it,” the man said when confronted by cops. He remarked that the friend requests were “stupid” and knew that he should not have sent them. The Defendant, who also copped to changing the password to his wife’s Yahoo e-mail account, said that he was upset that he had to attend court-ordered counseling sessions as a result of the injunction (which bars him from any contact with his wife).
The Defendant was jailed in lieu of $5,000 bail. The sheriff’s report lists his employer as a local plumber in Pasco.
In an apparent reference to the filing of the restraining order, the Defendant wrote in a July 27 post to his Facebook wall that, “today my future x wife thinks she won but the real winner is me for i know the truth she is nothing but a lying emotionally disturbed woman who needs help to handle previous abusive relationship."
This story both highlights both the emotional impact of a divorce as well as the need to be careful when dealing with anu sort of injunction or domestic violence claim.
Have you been accused of battery or domestic violence? Then Blake & Dorsten, P.A. is here for you! If you have been arrested or accused of a violent crime, you need to know that the police and prosecutors are already working against you. You need attorneys who know the system and can give you the best possible result.
For more information, or to speak directly with experienced criminal defense attorneys, please contact the law firm of BLAKE & DORSTEN, P.A. at 727.286.6141 or email the attorneys at: info@blakedorstenlaw.com
According to The Smoking Gun, A Florida man was arrested last night after he allegedly violated a protective order by sending his estranged wife requests to “friend” him on Facebook.
According to a Pasco County Sheriff’s Office report, the Defendant, admitted contacting his wife twice last last month via the social networking site. Investigators claim that his Facebook requests violated a domestic violence injunction obtained by his wife, from whom he has been separated for two years.
“Yeah, I did it,” the man said when confronted by cops. He remarked that the friend requests were “stupid” and knew that he should not have sent them. The Defendant, who also copped to changing the password to his wife’s Yahoo e-mail account, said that he was upset that he had to attend court-ordered counseling sessions as a result of the injunction (which bars him from any contact with his wife).
The Defendant was jailed in lieu of $5,000 bail. The sheriff’s report lists his employer as a local plumber in Pasco.
In an apparent reference to the filing of the restraining order, the Defendant wrote in a July 27 post to his Facebook wall that, “today my future x wife thinks she won but the real winner is me for i know the truth she is nothing but a lying emotionally disturbed woman who needs help to handle previous abusive relationship."
This story both highlights both the emotional impact of a divorce as well as the need to be careful when dealing with anu sort of injunction or domestic violence claim.
Have you been accused of battery or domestic violence? Then Blake & Dorsten, P.A. is here for you! If you have been arrested or accused of a violent crime, you need to know that the police and prosecutors are already working against you. You need attorneys who know the system and can give you the best possible result.
For more information, or to speak directly with experienced criminal defense attorneys, please contact the law firm of BLAKE & DORSTEN, P.A. at 727.286.6141 or email the attorneys at: info@blakedorstenlaw.com
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