Florida Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

A Sebring man decided not to press charges against his roommate after he cut him with a knife but after the same man beat him in his sleep he decided to have the roommate arrested. TBO.com is reporting that Osman Martinez-Ventura was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, a misdemeanor count of loitering and another count of aggravated battery for the attack on his roommate.

Sebring Police originally tried to arrest Martinez-Venture in his home after he cut the victim on the thumb with a knife. The victim was uncooperative and would not press charges but he changed his mind after the second incident. He told police he was a sleep when his roommate began to punch him in the face repeatedly. The victim was found by police with blood all over his face and arms in front of a liquor store in Highlands County.

Maryann Verdi was arrested this past weekend and charged with domestic battery, resisting an officer with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer. The 39-year-old is a River Ridge High School teacher and Pasco County school officials are reviewing the situation before taking any action. Her exact position at the school is listed as literacy coach.

According to TBO.com, Verdi and her husband had an argument in their home. Her husband tried to leave but Verdi began to throw things at him but there were apparently no injuries. When a deputy arrived on the scene at Verdi’s brother’s home, the woman struck the deputy in the arm, poked her in the eye and pulled her hair.

A 20-year-old man in jail awaiting to be sentenced on an armed robbery charge will also now have to face battery charges. Cody Rogers is being accused of beating up an inmate on March 22 and is now facing charges of battery on a detained person. Authorities charged Rogers after viewing video footage.

Rogers is connected to Timothy Brooks, who is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of 19-year-old William White, Jr. in 2008. Rogers and Brooks were involved in an armed robbery that ended up with Brooks firing a shot and hitting White in the neck and killing the teenage

Ellen Schmaling was arrested in Sarasota County for allegedly having sex with at least three underage, teenage boys. The 36-year-old has been arrested and charged with three felony counts of having sex with a minor and three misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor by supplying them with prescription drugs.

According to the Sarasota Herald Tribune, Schmaling met the alleged victims at a skate park located in Payne Park. Three boys have already told authorities that they have engaged in sex with the woman and also received money, gifts and prescription drugs from her. The crime was uncovered by the mother of a 15-year-old who found text messages from Schmaling that she felt were inappropriate.

A woman who allegedly stole a Chihuahua puppy from a litter in Holiday, Florida has been arrested and charged with grand theft. Kylea Lynn Jenness turned herself in after authorities were closing in on her for poaching the pooch. She was booked into Land O’Lakes jail and was being held without bail.

According to TampaBay.com Jenness stuffed one of the Chihuahua puppies into her shirt while two men who were with her distracted the woman who was selling the puppies. Jenness saw an ad for the puppies in a local newspaper. The owner had enough information about the trio to allow police to track down Jenness’ boyfriend via a social networking Internet site. Neither of the men with Jenness is expected to be charged for theft.

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Warren Sapp was arrested and charged with domestic battery in Miami the night before the Super Bowl. Miami-Dade prosecutors have decided not to pursue those charges due to video obtained in the case and inconsistent statements from the victim. According to the Associated Press, Sapp was facing one count of misdemeanor domestic battery.

Sapp was arrested by Miami Beach police February 6 but during their investigation they found surveillance video that contradicted some of the statements made by the victim. Sapp was a commentator for the NFL Network but was pulled off TV following this battery arrest in Florida. He will meet with NFL Network officials to assess his future with the station.

The 35-year-old Illinois man who allegedly killed two British businessmen in Fort Lauderdale will not be getting out of jail on bond. According to The Associated Press, it isn’t the vehicular homicide charges keeping Ryan LeVin in jail it is a parole violation in Illinois that is the issue.

LeVin is out on parole for another car accident that caused three people to be injured. In 2006 he led police on a high-speed chase in Chicago that left two motorists and one officer injured. He is now been linked to another car crash, this time he allegedly killed two people and then left the scene of the accident. The hit-and-run took place last year and authorities believe it was his Porsche that was involved in the hit-and-run deaths.

During spring break Daytona Beach police see the customary crimes rise. The amount of visitors getting a DUI in Florida or being charged with traffic violations usually increase but according to an Orlando Sentinel story the most serious crimes may be committed by Florida residents who “day trip” to Daytona. The bad press surrounding the crime during spring break may not be the fault of those who visit Florida except for the lone fact they are in town attracting criminals.

According to the Sentinel report, the most serious arrests, those involving felony charges, were committed by Florida residents who live within a couple hours drive of Daytona Beach. Some of the felony charges filed against Florida residents during spring break include cocaine possession, gun charges, hydrocodone possession and even a recent murder conviction for an Orlando man. It is too early to tell if the trend is continuing in 2010.

A jury in Volusia County has found a 22-year-old guilty of a slew of charges including vehicular manslaughter. Michael Henry was involved in a police chase in 2008 that left an 83-year-old man dead when he collided with his car trying to escape capture. Henry was convicted on charges of grand theft auto, vehicular manslaughter, driving with a suspended license and failure to render aid.

According to Bradenton.com, Henry is facing up to 55 years in jail when he is sentenced April 19. The incident began when police spotted Henry in a stolen vehicle and tried to get the man to pull over. Henry took off and caused more than one accident while fleeing. One of the crash victims fell into a coma due to the accident and later died.

Donald Hancock was found not guilty of DUI by a jury of his peers but that wasn’t good enough to save him from a violation of probation charge that has landed him a 12 year prison sentence. A Circuit Judge ruled that Hancock, though not guilty of the DUI, violated his probation for refusing to take a breath test on the night of his arrest. The judge ruled that refusal showed a consciousness of guilt.

Hancock was on probation stemming from a 1996 DUI manslaughter conviction. The 46-year-old was sentenced to 15 years in prison for killing his wife in a drunk driving accident. His blood-alcohol level that night was 0.25. According to TBO.com Hancock had complied with his probation up until the time of his latest arrest. The judge felt the 1996 DUI incident was not isolated considering the latest turn of events.

Mark Lester Wolf is facing two to three decades in prison following a plea of no contest to DUI manslaughter charges. Wolf was driving drunk when he caused a crash that took the life of a 35-year-old woman and injured three other people. The crash took place over a year ago on I-95.

Wolf’s DUI Lawyer attempted to get some of the charges against his client dismissed as he argued that the law was vague on leaving the scene of a crash involving serious bodily injury. The judge on the case ruled those two charges would not be dismissed and Wolf is now facing a sentence of 23 to 31 years in prison. He will be sentenced April 28.

The Florida Highway Patrol recently released reports from the infamous night in November when they responded to a crash outside the Orlando home of Tiger Woods. According to CFNews13.com, a DUI officer on the scene of the crash cleared Tiger of drunk driving but Tiger’s wife did hand over two bottles of painkillers to paramedics on the scene of the accident. The prescription medicine was legal and according to reports Tiger took the pills earlier in the day.

While a DUI officer may have cleared Woods of being drunk, paramedics on the scene felt they were dealing with an act of domestic violence. The investigation was hampered by Woods and his wife not fully cooperating with investigators. Neither spoke to the police and the police also failed in their attempt to get a blood sample from the golfer.

A 2009 bar fight has led to aggravated battery charges being filed against Hudson, Florida 31-year-old Clayton Towne. The man known as “Snake” allegedly punched Thomas Baldoni in the eye during a fight at MacDaddy’s Pub causing the 42-year-old to lose sight in his right eye. The fight occurred November 20 and Towne was arrested Thursday and booked into Land O’Lakes jail on $20,000 bond.

Towne has claimed he acted in self-defense but Baldoni and his son both claim Towne hit the man several times while he was caring a friend. Baldoni was flown to St. Petersburg’s Bayfront Medical Center after he was discovered in the bar’s parking lot. Baldoni was unconscious. There is no mention of Towne being represented by a Tampa Criminal Defense Lawyer.

A domestic dispute between a pair of exes turned dangerous in Manatee County Wednesday. According to Bradenton.com 19-year-old Rinsheena Mitchell is in jail on two charges of aggravated battery, one with a car and the other with a box cutter. According to the story she was being held on $100,000 bond and there was no mention that she was being represented by a Sarasota Criminal Attorney at this time.

The Palmetto woman allegedly got into an argument with her ex-boyfriend over their child, which escalated to the point in which she him with a car. Mitchell then began to argue with the man’s current girlfriend and cut her in the neck with a box cutter, which police say they later discovered on the woman.

Manatee County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a 17-year-old Palmetto man on a host of charges Tuesday following a traffic stop. Dontay Henderson was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana, probation violations, grand theft, possession of a concealed firearm, possession of a controlled substance, dealing in stolen property and possession of drug paraphernalia.

There was no information in the Sarasota Herald Tribune story as to why the traffic stop was initiated. Once the vehicle was pulled over a police dog was brought to the scene. Detectives then found a gun, marijuana, baggies of drugs and a Hydrocodone pill. According to the story Henderson admitted to the charges. There was no mention that he was represented by a Sarasota Attorney.

A former Tampa Bay Buccaneer had his third-degree felony charge of domestic battery reduced to a misdemeanor battery charge . According to TBO.com Hillsborough County prosecutors made the decision to reduce the charge last week. There was no comment in the story from Jermaine Phillips or his Tampa Criminal Attorney.

The charges stemmed from an incident between Phillips and his wife. Back at the time of his arrest police had reported that the current free agent admitted to pushing his wife in the neck following an argument. He is scheduled to be arraigned April 19.

If you owe Sarasota County court fines or fees, a Florida warrant for your arrest is going to be issued according to a local judge. The bench warrant was threatened by County Judge Kimberly Bonner for those in Sarasota that are not meeting their financial obligations to the court. The judge has recruited county law enforcement officers to track down people who miss their scheduled payments.

The judge put about 150 people in Sarasota County on alert as they could be served with a warrant in the near future. That will lead to their arrest for owing money related to either a civil or criminal case. According to the Sarasota Herald Tribune people cannot be jailed only for not paying fines but the article says the arrests will be for violating court orders and not missing payments.

Benjamin G. Monastersky was brought back to Pasco County on charges that he violated his probation, a claim he has denied. The 33-year-old is believed to have violated his probation on charges stemming from a fatal car crash in 2003. Monastersky is being held in Land O’Lakes jail.

The former Pasco County resident was living in La Vista, Nebraska according to the St. Pete Times before he was extradited back to Tampa Bay. Monastersky was sentenced to 18 months in jail and eight years of probation for leaving the scene of a fatal crash. He killed another driver when he ran a red light. There is no indication from the story how Monastersky violated his probation.

Alcohol and a family argument seem to have led to the arrest of 22-year-old Richard Brown, Jr. on charges of domestic battery. According to WTSP Brown was involved in an argument with his parents over his older sister going to the Sumter County Fair without him.

The incident took place in the family’s Brooksville home Tuesday evening. Brown’s father told Hernando County Sheriff’s that his son pushed his mother and tried to push her to the ground. The deputies reported that Brown had slurred speech and bloodshot, watery eyes. Brown reportedly admitted to drinking before the incident but denied pushing his mother. He was taken to Hernando County Jail.

The Florida Highway Patrol warned the people of Florida that it would be making more stops for seatbelt violations this month. Apparently William McKinley Davis of North Port didn’t listen. The 51-year-old was stopped by Charlotte County Sheriff’s deputies for not wearing a seatbelt and ended up charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

The traffic stop took place Sunday. According to the arrest report and the Sarasota Herald Tribune, the deputy smelled burnt marijuana as he approached the car. Sheriff’s searched the car and found over $2,500 in cash and more than 100 grams of pot. Davis was booked into Charlotte County Jail and he posted a $6000 bond.

A pair of co-workers went out for dinner last December and after their meal the two men were chatting in the restaurant parking lot. At some point Chandrashekar Singh got into his car and continued his conversation with William C. Morrison. As Singh pulled out of his parking spot he hit Morrison, who later died from his injuries.

Singh has now been charged with DUI manslaughter for the accident. According to the Orlando Sentinel investigators found Singh had a blood-alcohol level of 0.191 at the time he hit his co-worker. The 25-year-old from Davenport was arrested by Polk County police and is in jail where he is being held without bond.