Florida Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

Ocala Police have charged the owner of a popular downtown restaurant with DUI and leaving the scene of an accident with property damage. Loring W. Felix, owner of Felix’s restaurant, was allegedly involved in a single-car accident and then left the scene. When police found him he admitted to drinking all day and failed field sobriety tests according to Ocala.com.

Ocala police report that Felix smelled of alcohol and was unsteady. He refused to take a breath test at the Marion County jail. The 51-year-old said he had consumed two or three beers throughout the day. Officers found Felix’s silver Mercedes abandoned on Watula Avenue after it had been crashed into a utility pole.

Continue reading " Owner Of Popular Ocala Restaurant Charged With DUI Following A One-Car Crash " »

A registered sex offender was arrested Saturday at a St. Petersburg Wal-Mart. Hugh William Thompson was charged with felony battery, violation of probation, prowling and loitering. The 39-year-old was in a Wal-Mart superstore following teenage girls and women while zipping and unzipping his pants according to a story on TampaBay.com and police reports.

The registered sex offender spent 30 minutes in the store walking past young women while unzipping his pants. He appeared to be waiting with his pants unzipped for the women to turn around. Police also have accused Thompson of touching a 16-year-old girl in an inappropriate manner. He is in jail in Pinellas County.

Continue reading " Registered Sex Offender Under Arrest For Unzipping His Pants In Front Of Women At St. Pete Wal-Mart " »

Manatee County Sheriff’s have arrested a man for domestic battery and damaging a patrol car after a Sunday night incident. Matthew McCluskey had to be pepper sprayed and had a Taser used on him following a fight with his girlfriend. According to the Sarasota Herald Tribune McCluskey kicked his girlfriend and punched holes in the wall of their home.

The incident began with an argument just before midnight Sunday. McCluskey had allegedly been drinking when his girlfriend asked him to leave the house. After that he “donkey” kicked her into a wall. When police arrived at the house McCluskey was outside in his truck. He broke free from deputies who tried to arrest him. He continued to resist and was then apprehended following pepper spray and a Taser. He was arrested and transported to jail.

Continue reading " Manatee Man Donkey Kicks His Girlfriend Into A Wall, Arrested On Domestic Battery Charges " »

A Clearwater man who has been arrested on domestic battery charges five times in 2008 and 2009 is back in jail after being charged with kidnapping, domestic battery and tampering with a witness. Jonathan I. Bray was being held in Pinellas County jail in lieu of $100,000 bail according to TampaBay.com. The 33-year-old allegedly held his girlfriend captive for two days after chocking the woman until she passed out.

Clearwater police report that Bray punched his girlfriend and strangled her continually over the weekend. She was unable to call police but a neighbor who stopped by the apartment heard her calling for help and called the police. Just a few months ago Bray was sentenced to 20 days in jail for violating a domestic violence injunction.

Continue reading " Clearwater Man Arrested On Domestic Battery, Kidnapping Charges After Keeping His Girlfriend Captive " »

A 19-year-old man with prior arrests in Hillsborough County is in trouble once again. Warrants have been issued for a 19-year-old who is accused of raping and kidnapping a 20-year-old Hillsborough County woman. Donovan Nicholas Hall allegedly broke into his ex-girlfriend’s home, kidnapped her, raped her twice and then forced her to go to lunch with him.

Hall has been arrested on charges of grand theft, marijuana possession and burglary previously in Hillsborough County. Hall is now facing charges of armed sexual battery, armed kidnapping and armed burglary according to a story on TampaBay.com. Hall is on the run after his reported victim called her father from a borrowed cell phone at the restaurant where the two were eating lunch.

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Clearwater police have arrested a 48-year-old man, and charged him with kidnapping, sexual battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and failure to register as a sex offender. According to TBO.com Jackie Bridges is being held without bail in the Pinellas County Jail.

The arrest follows an incident on Monday where Bridges allegedly jumped into the car of a woman he knew and used a knife to force her to have sex with him. According to the alleged victim, this is not the first time Bridges has assaulted her. On January 8, Bridges allegedly punched and cut the same woman. She did not report the incident out of fear.

Continue reading " Man Held In Pinellas County Jail On Charges Of Sexual Battery, Kidnapping And Not Registering As A Sex Offender " »

In a disturbing story coming out of Sarasota County, a Venice man has been charged with murder after allegedly killing his roommate with a sword. Sarasota County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 41-year-old David Brause and he was charged with one count of murder. According to TBO.com authorities believe the attack was unprovoked.

Brause called 911 just after 1:00 a.m. asking for emergency help for his roommate. When police arrived to attend to Thomas Elliott, Brause said he cut his friend and he is bleeding badly. Elliott was taken to a St. Petersburg hospital where he told investigators his roommate went crazy and cut him. Elliott died at Bayfront Medical Center.

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The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that a suspect in an alleged drunk driving manslaughter case has been arrested after authorities flagged his passport fearing he would flee the country. Adam Nocheherly is accused of killing two women when he allegedly sped through a red light drunk one night in July of 2008. He has been charged with two counts of DUI manslaughter and two counts of vehicular homicide.

According to the article and the Florida Highway Patrol, Nocheherly had a blood alcohol level slightly above the legal limit of .08 at the time of the crash. Troopers were unable to prove he ran the red light that cost two young women their lives but the FHP said they did determine he was speeding as they re-created the accident for the first time ever in a case where there were no eyewitness accounts.

Continue reading " DUI Manslaughter Suspect Who Had His Passport Flagged Caught At Orlando International Airport " »

This weekend a woman driving down a little used road in Pasco County near 1-75 felt her car hit something. When she turned around to investigate she discovered that it was a woman who was lying in the road. Police are now trying to find out how a 23-year-old nursing student and aspiring model wound up lying in the middle of a Sarasota road. So far there are more questions than answers surrounding the death of Mary-Mary Kopta.

A few details in the case have surfaced due to an interview given to Tampa Bay Channel 10 by a woman who was in a car with Kopta the night of her mysterious death. Amanda Van Booven told the TV station that Kopta jumped out of the car she was driving because she was upset they were lost. Van Booven says she took over control of the car and went back to find her friend but was unable to locate her. The two girls had been at the Beach Club on Siesta Key the night before according to a Sarasota Herald Tribune article and were headed to Jacksonville that evening to visit a friend.

The Sarasota County Sheriff’s office is reporting the arrest of a Charlotte County corrections officer. Thaddeus Boston was arrested on charges of domestic battery and false imprisonment in North Port Tuesday. The 32-year-old was booked and released.

Boston allegedly choked and hit his 26-year-old fiancée following an argument. She ran to a neighbor’s house and called 911 according to the Sarasota Herald Tribune website. The incident took place at approximately 9:30 a.m

Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath’s 19-year-old daughter has been arrested in Florida on drug charges. Olivia Namath was charged with possession of marijuana, possession with intent to sell and possession of liquor by a person under the age of 21. She has been released from a Palm Beach County jail on bail.

According to the sheriff’s department, Namath was involved in a traffic stop Sunday in Jupiter, Florida. Deputies say they smelled marijuana. At that point they searched the car and found marijuana in the trunk and on the floor boards. There was also beer and rum in the vehicle.

Continue reading " Daughter Of Famed QB Joe Namath Charged With Possession Of Marijuana And Intent To Sell " »

A 22-year-old Bradenton woman is facing up to 20 years in jail after pleading no contest to vehicular homicide charges. Annjanette Jackson will be sentenced March 5 after a plea agreement that capped her sentence at 20 years. According to a story on the Bradenton Herald’s website she could have faced a sentence of 45 years without the plea deal. The state attorney’s office will seek the full 20 years.

Jackson fled police in 2008 when a Sarasota officer tried to pull her over in a routine traffic stop. Jackson continued to increase her speed in the car before she lost control and struck a large sign and pole. She was ejected from the car along with Jermaine McLean and her 2-year-old daughter who was unrestrained. McLean died in the crash. The child had a safety seat but it was found in the trunk of the car following the crash.

Continue reading " Bradenton Woman Pleads No Contest To Vehicular Homicide And Could Face 20 Years In Jail " »

Josh Hunter, the former football coach at Braden River, will stand trial this spring in Sarasota on charges of DUI manslaughter. According to a story on Bradenton.com, Hunter’s trial is set for April 19. The charges stem from a single car accident on an I-75 ramp. Hunter is accused of drunk driving when he flipped his truck causing the death of one of his passengers.

Troopers on the scene of the accident reported smelling a strong odor of alcohol and they also photographed numerous beer bottles and cans inside the truck. Hunter did not perform field sobriety tests but his blood was drawn and sent to a lab and sent for analysis. The 31-year-old faces upto 15 years in prison if convicted of DUI manslaughter.

Continue reading " Former High School Football Coach In Sarasota Set To Stand Trial In DUI Manslaughter Case " »

Lance David Ziegler’s wife told her husband Wednesday that she was leaving him. Although it was a nice gesture to soften the news of their impending divorce with a home-cooked meatloaf, it turned out to be a big mistake. Ziegler allegedly used said meatloaf to assault his wife and was arrested in Manatee County on charges of domestic battery.

The 39-year-old web designer is alleged to have taken the meatloaf and smashed it into his wife’s face after she gave him the bad news. Zeigler denies this but when Manatee County Sheriff’s officers arrived on the scene the woman had red sauce on her face, although it was apparently just a small amount. Ziegler was denied bond.

Continue reading " Domestic Battery With A Meatloaf? Manatee County Man Arrested On That Very Charge! " »

The Florida Highway Patrol is reporting that a 37-year-old employee at South County Jail has been arrested on charges of DUI following a single-car accident. Davita Glenn was involved in a crash near Brandon Monday. The trooper on the scene smelled the odor of alcohol and Glenn later registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.201.

Glenn, a detention sergeant at South County Jail, was in uniform and on her way back to work at the time of the accident. According to a Fox 4 report, the detention officer has resigned her position with Polk County following her arrest.

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