Florida Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

The DUI case versus WTVT Ch. 13 morning anchor Russell Rhodes was dropped five months after he was tackled in a Channelside parking garage by an off-duty police officer. Rhodes was scheduled to be in court on Wednesday but instead he will plead no contest to misdemeanor obstruction as part of a plea deal. (read more)

The state’s case versus Rhodes took a hit when blood evidence was thrown out by County Judge Cheryl Thomas last week, saying it was improperly obtained. Under the terms of the plea agreement Rhodes will perform 50 hours of community service and adjudication will be withheld so the conviction will not be on his record.

If you or a loved one has been arrested for a DUI in Tampa or Hillsborough County, please do not hesitate to contact Tampa DUI Lawyer Stephen Higgins at 1-800-FIGHT-IT or online at fightyourtampadui.com to discuss the matter.

Suneil Persaud of Lakeland was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison by a Hillsborough County Circuit Judge after pleading no contest to a charge of DUI manslaughter. Persaud was sentenced in connection with the death of 48-year old Eric Broering of Tampa. (read more)

The accident occurred on 1-4 near the Park Street exit in Plant City. Prosecutors said Persaud’s Dodge sports utility vehicle was traveling 90 MPH when he lost control attempting to change lanes. The Lakeland man’s blood alcohol level was reportedly 0.141 and his wife testified that she had to call police three times in alcohol-related domestic disputes.

If you or a loved one has been arrested for a DUI in Lakeland or anywhere in Polk County, please do not hesitate to contact David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT or online at fightyourpolkdui.com to discuss the matter.

The Florida Highway Patrol clocked an Orlando man speeding at 185 MPH on Interstate 75 on his Kawasaki Ninja. Davall Montrell Pinkelton was taken to the hospital after wrecking his motorcycle and will be transferred to Marion County jail following his stay in the hospital. (read more)

The Orlando man will be charged with reckless driving, resisting without violence, habitual traffic offender, felony fleeing and eluding and no motorcycle endorsement. Troopers clocked Pinkelton at approximately 10:00 a.m. and pursued the motorcycle unsuccessfully. He was eventually apprehended when he wrecked his motorcycle after exiting the highway.

If you or a loved one has been arrested for a traffic offense in Orlando, please do not hesitate to contact David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT or online at fightyourorlandodui.com to discuss the matter.

Raymond Thomas Youngblood, a Seville, Florida resident, was charged with DUI manslaughter in the death of an Orange County firefighter. Youngblood was already in jail for domestic violence charges and he has now been charged with DUI manslaughter on top of two citations, one for driving 86 mph in a 45 mph zone and another for driving on the wrong side of the road. Youngblood is accused of crashing into Michael Priester’s motorcycle. (read more)

According to police Youngblood had been drinking and was speeding south in the northbound lanes of U.S. 17. He struck the motorcycle driven by Priester head-on. Youngblood was returning from work in Orlando. Priester died at the scene.

If you or a loved one has been charged with a criminal offense in Florida and need an attorney to fight for your rights, please contact David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT or online at fightyourorlandodui.com to discuss the matter.

Budget cuts are affecting every government from the national to state and local levels. We are all feeling the pinch but the cuts in Florida’s budget are particularly deep and are starting to affect the citizens of Florida in ways they weren’t expecting. One example is the budget cuts that are currently affecting an already underfunded and overworked Florida Public Defender’s Office. (read more)

When Florida Governor Charlie Crist signed the latest budget into law across the board cuts went into affect and those budget reductions are having a monumental effect on the justice system and the state’s ability to represent defendants. That applies to all parts of the state including Tampa and Hillsborough County.

“I think there are a couple more common ethical issues we are dealing with in the Public Defenders Office,” said Public Defender Matt Shirk. “Our case load is increasing as the population increases and our budgets are decreasing.

“Just his year, the Legislature cut two of our full-time positions out, even though we could have the ability to hire two full-time attorneys in the next fiscal year. They have decided we are not able to. Our case loads are rising. They are well over what every association agrees is the limit for what an attorney should be able to handle in a year. We are two- to-three times that. We are trying to do more with less, yet still be effective advocates for our clients.”

If you or a loved one has been charged with a criminal offense in Florida and need an attorney to fight for your rights, please contact Darren Finebloom at 1-800-FIGHT-IT or online at fightyourcase.com to discuss the matter.

Police in Tampa, Florida arrested 17 men this past weekend in a prostitution sting targeting the area of N Nebraska Street and E Emily Street in Southeast Seminole Heights. Charges for the 17 men included soliciting to commit prostitution, drug possession and possession of stolen firearms. (read more)

The sting came about after residents of the Hillsborough County neighborhood met with police in a continuing effort to clean up an area that has fought crime for years. After a period of relative inactivity when it came to crime, prostitutes became more noticeable in the neighborhood over the last three months.

If you or a loved one has been charged with a criminal offense in Tampa, please contact Stephen Higgins at 1-800-FIGHT-IT or online at www.fightyourincase.com to discuss the matter.

Tampa day care owner Dorothy Ann Sampson-Monroe was arrested for hitting four children ages 3 to 5 at a day care facility she told police she owned. Four years ago Sampson-Monroe relinquished her license after police accused her of shaking a baby and bruising his brain. (read more)

According to the St. Pete Times state records show the 47-years old had been arrested 16 times. In 1991 she was sentenced to two years in prison for felony cocaine charges. Even though State law disqualifies people from receiving a child care license if they are convicted of a felony drug charge waivers can be granted and a Sampson-Monroe did receive one.

If you or any loved one needs help with your criminal case in Tampa and Hillsborough County, please contact Stephen Higgins at 1-800-FIGHT-IT or online at www.fightyourcase.com to discuss the matter.

In a recent report the United States topped all countries for the highest incarceration rate in the world. At the end of 2007, a record 7.2 million Americans were either in prison, on probation or on parole. Of that total 2.3 million Americans were in jail. At the start of 2008 more than 1 of every 100 Americans was behind bars. (read more)

According to the International News the US incarcerates people at a rate more than 15 times that of Japan, and its prison population is more than eight times that of Italy, France, the UK, Spain and Australia combined. The US, today, has a higher percentage of its citizenry in prison than any other country in history, and accounts for an astonishing 25 per cent of the world’s prison population.

The news is no better when it comes to criminal cases and imprisonment in the state of Florida. The rise in the number of Floridians convicted of crimes and sent to jail is a factor in the rise in the US prison population according to Allen Beck, the chief prison demographer for the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the statistical arm of the US Justice Department.

If you or any loved one needs help in fighting a criminal case, please contact Darren Finebloom at 1-800-FIGHT-IT or online at www.fightyourcase.com to discuss the matter.

The Florida Highway Patrol are still searching of two drivers who hit a 53-year old Hillsborough County woman over the weekend. Geraldine Ford was killed late Friday while crossing the street on U.S. 19 in Holiday just north of Tampa. (read more)

FHP said Ford was crossing inside a crosswalk when she was struck by the front of a dark colored pick-up truck and then run over by a car. She died on the scene.

If you or anyone in your family needs help with a criminal case anywhere in Hillsborough County, please contact Darren Finebloom at 1-800-FIGHT-IT or online at www.fightyourcase.com to discuss the matter.

During a ceremony held at the headquarters of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Florida Governor Charlie Crist signed five bills into law. Two of the bills dealt with sexual offenders and predators and DNA sampling. (read more)

Senate Bill 2276, the DNA Database Act, expands DNA sample collection. Current law only requires persons convicted of a felony or certain misdemeanors to submit a sample for the database. Under Bill 2276, that would be expanded to now include persons who are arrested for or charged with a felony. This is going to rapidly expand the state’s DNA database in an effort to assist law enforcement in solving crimes using DNA.

House Bill 115 increases the reporting requirements for sexual offenders and predators who now must include their cell and home phone numbers. The bill also expands sex offender registration to convicted of traveling to meet a minor to engage in unlawful sexual behavior. Under the bill Florida’s jurisdiction has expanded to prosecute sex offenders who transmit harmful material electronically.

If you or any loved one needs help in any criminal matter in the state of Florida, please contact Darren Finebloom at 1-800-FIGHT-IT or online at www.fightyourcase.com to discuss the matter.

Dustin Sean White’s shooting death Saturday night has given new life to discussions on reestablishing a teen curfew in Tampa to help stem violence among our areas teenage population (read more here). Dustin had just finished his junior year at Land O’ Lakes High School and was gathered with a group of friends at the Lake Padgett Estates clubhouse following a party where he was gunned down shortly after 2:00 a.m. If you were unaware, Tampa once had a curfew in the late 90’s for teens but the curfew law was struck down by the Florida Supreme Court in 2004.

The curfew discussion seems to be rather pointless considering Pasco has a county ordinance that restricts teens under 18 from being out between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays and between midnight and 6 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. That county ordinance seems to have had little effect on saving Dustin’s life. Hillsborough County does not have a curfew but police are on the lookout for minors out on the streets during late night hours.

If you or a loved one has been accused of a crime please contact Darren Finebloom at 1800-FIGHT-IT or online at www.fightyourcase.com.

A Judge in Oklahoma is coming under intense scrutiny for sentencing a convicted child rapist to less than one year in jail. (See article) What the article fails to address is that the District Attorney in the case is the one who agreed to this deal. Often times sexual assault cases are difficult to prove and the added trauma of putting the young victim through a trial results in a compromise.

The Attorney General's Office is looking into the facts of this case to determine if there was any wrongdoing on the part of the Judge or the District Attorney in this case. The Attorney General Drew Edmondson who is running for Governor was extremely upset with the sentence. Drew Edomondson said he is disturbed by the "lenient" deal struck last month with Earls, who pleaded no contest to raping and sodomizing the girl, then 4 years old.

If you or a loved one has been accused of a crime please do not hesitate to contact Darren Finebloom at www.fightyourcase.com.