Florida Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

Hillsborough County Sheriff’s have arrested a Balm man they believe is responsible for a hit-and-run death that took place on Valentine’s Day. Isaias Cruz Hernandez was charged with tampering with evidence, leaving the scene of an accident involving death and driving with a suspended license resulting in a death.

Detectives found the vehicle they believe hit and killed 35-year-old Domingo Perez Lopez. According to TBO.com the car had parts changed and evidence was washed off in what detectives believe was an attempt to conceal the crime. The located the vehicle at the Wimauma home of Hernandez. He is in jail and his bail was set at $19,000.

In August of 2009 Tony Curtis Phillips, Jr. and Nikki McCormick stole a Land Cruiser from a Winter Haven grove. As they were driving away in the SUV, the owner of the truck fired a 9mm pistol hitting McCormick in the head and killing the 21-year-old. The man who shot McCormick was justified according to prosecutors but his accomplice was guilty of third-degree murder and sentenced to 15 years in prison by a Polk County judge.

According to an Associated Press article, if a person dies while another is committing a felony in Florida, the law states the individual committing that crime can be charged with murder. This law should be used to protect innocent people who are killed while someone commits a felony even if their intent was not to kill anyone, but should that law extend to a willing participant in the criminal act? Is McCormick responsible for the death of his partner in crime who willingly decided of his free will to steal a car? Seems like this law may have been expanded too far.

A Florida man was arrested for DUI in Crestview when an officer spotted the man’s truck swerving down the road. Upon the traffic stop the officer attempted to conduct field sobriety tests but the truck’s driver instead opted to just turn over his keys and told the officer “I’m done” according to a report on TampaBay.com. The driver also refused a breathalyzer.

The driver of the truck allegedly admitted to drinking a six pack before driving. He also repeatedly asked the arresting officer what his favorite drink was, while being transported to jail. That wasn’t his only request from the back seat of the police cruiser. The man also asked the officer if he would turn on his blue police lights during the ride to jail.

Continue reading " Florida DUI Arrest Includes Requests For Blue Lights And The Arresting Officer’s Drink Of Choice " »

A routine traffic stop in St. Petersburg turned into a dangerous situation for some St. Pete police officers as a 21-year-old rammed a police cruiser in an attempt to escape arrest. David Solomon Stringer-Woods was unable to bash his way past the St. Pete police and was arrested on charges of possession of cocaine, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, driving with a suspended license, failing to appear in court on a marijuana charge and aggravated fleeing and alluding.

According to police and a story on TampaBay.com, Stringer-Woods was seen committing a traffic infraction when an officer attempted to pull the man over. The 21-year-old pulled into a parking lot and then reversed his car ramming into a police cruiser. He is now in Pinellas County Jail where his bail was set at $23,663.

Continue reading " St. Pete Man Rams Police Car To Avoid Jail But Ends Up With Assault, Cocaine and Marijuana Charges " »

A Tampa mother who allegedly took 25 Xanax pills and couldn’t remember where her daughter was has been arrested for child neglect and a violation of probation charge stemming from a grand theft arrest. Lisa Flores has a long list of criminal charges in Hillsborough County. According to TampaBay.com Flores has been arrested six times in Tampa for charges ranging from DUI to drug trafficking to petty theft.

The latest incident took place on Saturday and according to arrest reports Flores left her 3-year-old in her apartment while she went to buy illegal prescription drugs. When she came home Flores allegedly smoked marijuana and left again. Her daughter was in the care of a friend. Flores’ friend didn’t want to leave the little girl alone when her mom never returned to the apartment and took the young girl. When Flores returned to the apartment the next day she couldn’t find or remember where her daughter was. At that point she reported her daughter missing.

Continue reading " Tampa Mom High On Xanax Can’t Remember Where Her 3-Year-Old Child Is " »

The story of 24-year-old Jeri Bollinger keeps getting more twisted. The woman who ran a red light killing a 57-year-old grandmother and then was later arrested stealing lingerie from a St. Cloud Wal-Mart has a long history of traffic violations some of which involve driving under the influence according to an Orlando Sentinel story. Bollinger has one conviction for DUI from 2009 and in 2003 she had her license suspended for not submitting to testing for drugs or alcohol following a traffic stop.

Those aren’t the only charges on the woman’s record. In 2002, when she was 17-years-old, she was stopped for speeding. Two months after the speeding stop, she was in a car with alcohol present. In 2003 and 2004 she had her license suspended for failing to pay traffic tickets. In June of 2009 Osceola Circuit Court records show she was sentenced to probation for a battery charge. At the time of last week’s fatal crash she was driving with an expired license and police are awaiting test results to determine if she was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of this latest crash.

Continue reading " Woman Involved In Alleged DUI Fatality Had A History Of DUI, Battery And Traffic Incidents " »

A 50-year-old Wesley Chapel man who apparently missed the toilet while making a late night trip to the bathroom, was assaulted by his wife who was later arrested on domestic battery charges. The incident began just before midnight. David Elsholz woke up and made his way to the family’s bathroom and allegedly his wife heard him missing the toilet and peeing on the floor. That spurned a violent incident between the pair.

Deanne claims her husband slapped her with a towel and she responded by throwing a glass at him. The glass cut her husband’s face. After that Deanne ran into the bathroom and slipped on the wet floor at that point she claims her husband began to kick her and she called 911. David says he went back to bed after urinating and that is when he was attacked by his wife. Deanne was determined to be the aggressor by police and was charged with domestic battery. David has been charged with domestic battery twice in recent years according to Pasco Sheriff’s.

Continue reading " Pee On The Floor Starts Fight That Ends With Wife Being Arrested On Domestic Battery Charges " »

The man who was accused of drunk driving and hitting a Safety Harbor teenager will not face a jury trial. Joshua West worked out a plea agreement that will send him away for eight years in what is believed to be a DUI crash that cost then-19-year-old Andrew Hall his left leg. West was speeding early in the morning April 20 when he hit Hall, who was waiting near his apartment for a ride.

Hall has accepted an apology West issued at Tuesday’s hearing but he told the St. Petersburg Times he wasn’t so sure how sincere the 25-year-old was. Hall is now living in Clearwater and will soon be featured on the show “The Doctors”, which is syndicated and hosted by Montel Williams. The show should air sometime in February.

Continue reading " Man Accused Of Severing Teenagers Leg In Drunk Driving Accident Gets Eight Years In Prison " »

A redshirt freshman with the Florida Gator football team became the 27th player arrested since coach Urban Meyer took over the program. Defensive tackle Gary Brown was charged with two counts of misdemeanor battery for slapping one woman and scratching another at a Gainesville party Sunday morning. The incident took place at The Crossing at Santa Fe apartment complex and occurred as Brown was trying to kick people out of an off-campus party.

According to the Palm Beach Post story, this is the 27th University of Florida football player arrested since Meyer took over the program. The last Gator arrested was Carlos Dunlap on charges of DUI. A report from the Alachua Sheriff’s office states that Brown’s co-defendant is facing felony charges of larceny grand theft for his role in the incident.

Continue reading " Florida Gator Freshman Arrested On Battery Charges At A Gainesville Party " »

The FBI has arrested 15 prison guards on charges ranging from bribery to possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. Eleven of the guards that were arrested worked for the Department of Corrections. The other four were employed by a private company. The raid continues the state of Florida’s efforts to crack down on the drug problem in its jails. In 2009 drug dogs found 700 grams of cocaine, 3,800 grams of marijuana and heroin while searching prison grounds, housing and parking lots.

All the arrested prison guards face federal drug charges. Three of the guards worked for the DOC for 30 years and four others had 25 years of service with the department of corrections. According to TBO.com the 11 state employed guards were all fired following their arrests. The investigation had been going on for over two years and was a joint effort by numerous law enforcement agencies.

A 57-year-old grandmother of three was killed by a woman who ran a red light in St. Cloud, Florida. According to WKMG Orlando the FHP suspects 24-year-old Jeri Bollinger was either driving drunk or driving under the influence of drugs when she ran a red light and hit Martha Jones’ car. The Florida Highway Patrol is awaiting blood tests to confirm Bollinger was driving drunk. The young woman has been previously charged with DUI and running red lights.

Bollinger was arrested on Tuesday on unrelated charges that she robed a St. Cloud Walmart but could be facing DUI manslaughter charges as well once her blood alcohol level is determined. Jones had just dropped of a child at Harmony High School when Bollinger’s jeep sped through an intersection and hit her car as she was driving with the green light.

Continue reading " Woman Accused Of Robbing A St. Cloud Walmart Could Face DUI Manslaughter Charges As Well " »

A cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon with a famous last name in the Tallahassee medical community was arrested on drunk driving charges in Wakulla. Dr. Thomas Bixler allegedly was driving with a blood-alcohol level of .285, which is more than three times the legal limit in Florida. According to the Tallahassee Democrat, Bixler was arrested on DUI charges and held in the Wakulla County Jail.

Bixler was first pulled over for speeding and then given field sobriety tests. According to the article Bixler was driving 50 MPH in a 35 MPH zone at the time he was pulled over. Bixler’s father was the first emergency room doctor at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. The emergency room at TMH is now named after Bixler’s father.

Continue reading " Prominent Tallahassee Surgeon Arrested In Wakulla On DUI Charges " »

Yesterday the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s department released its crime stats for 2009 and in six of the seven categories they measure, crime in Tampa was down and overall the rate of crimes in Hillsborough County dropped. The same unfortunately cannot be said for St. Petersburg. While St Pete saw a 45% drop in homicides, a 54.5 percent increase in auto thefts boosted the St Pete crime rate nearly 10 percent overall.

While homicides are at their lowest number in 30 years according to TBO.com, police spokes man Bill Proffitt says the increase in auto thefts can be attributed to a small group of teens who are continually stealing cars. Part of the problem according to the Tampa Tribune story is the St. Pete police department’s pursuit policy, which does not allow officers to pursue car thieves in the same manner they would violent criminals.

Continue reading " St. Petersburg Sees Homicides Drop But Car Thefts Soar In Latest Crime Statistics " »

According to My Fox Tampa Bay, Tampa police have arrested the man they believe was responsible for attempting to run over a police officer and shooting two people outside of a local night club. Eugene Scurry has been charged with aggravated battery and aggravated battery on a law enforcement official. He is also facing charges of resisting arrest.

Scurry was arrested at Brandon Regional Hospital. The 27-year-old went to the hospital due to a gunshot wound to his arm. After causing a disturbance at the hospital, detectives arrived on the scene and recognized Scurry as the man wanted in the shootings outside Club Mirage. He was taken to the Hillsborough County jail following his release from the hospital.

Charlotte County Sheriff’s spent nearly two years investigating the hit and run death of Alex Teehee. Now they believe that they have their man. Ralph Loosman, Jr. was arrested in Las Vegas and will face charges of vehicular homicide in the hit and run that took place July 13, 2008.

According to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune Loosman was arrested in a Las Vegas hotel by U.S. Marshals and is expected to be extradited back to Florida to face the charges. Marshals had originally went to Arizona to track down Loosman at his family’s home but by the time they arrived he had already fled to Las Vegas.

Continue reading " Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office Get’s Its Man In Las Vegas For 2008 Hit-And-Run " »

TampaBay.com is reporting that Anthony Giancola has been arrested for violating his probation, prowling and loitering in St. Petersburg. Giancola was on probation after he attempted to buy crack cocaine from an undercover cop in his Hillsborough County middle school office while a principal at Van Buren Middle School. He has been on probation since June of 2007.

The latest arrest for the former Tampa teacher came at 3:00 a.m. Saturday morning when Giancola was discovered in a parked car waiting for a man named “Mike”. Police noticed the man trying to hide something with his foot. When they investigated further the police found a butcher knife on the floor. Giancola claimed the knife was used for work as a chef. He was booked into Pinellas County jail.

Continue reading " Former Hillsborough County Principal On Probation For Drug Crime Back In Jail In Pinellas " »

A July 9 car accident that left Richard Klose dead, ended in a DUI arrest when the driver tested positive for cocaine. Nearly seven months later the charges against David Lanier have been dropped. The Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s Office dropped the case saying there was no evidence of impairment. Assistant State Attorney Robert Eagan wrote “Cocaine in one’s system does not constitute impairment”.

According to a story in the Orlando Sentinel, St. Cloud police crash investigators determined the fatal DUI crash would not have happened had Lanier not been under the influence of cocaine. In Florida there is no definition of cocaine impairment. Drug-related DUI cases are based on an officer observation backed up by lab reports.

Lanier is an admitted heroin user and on the night of the crash police searched his car and found crack pipes, syringes with cocaine residue and marijuana. He tested positive for Xanax and cocaine. He has three previous convictions in Florida. Two were for felony cocaine charges. Lanier said he hadn’t used cocaine for three days prior to the fatal crash.

Continue reading " DUI Manslaughter Charges Dismissed Against Man With Cocaine In His System Due To Lack Of Impairment " »