Emptying jails by putting defendants on Pre-Trial Release (ankle monitors) has saved South Florida jails a lot of money, but has also made lots of issues come up…. Hot! South Florida Criminal Defense Attorneys want Pre-Trial Release for indigents, but not for those who can afford to post bail money.…
State Senator Victor D. Crist (Republican Senator from Tampa) is doing some heavy lifting in trying to eliminate or reduce the number of Public Defender clients who should not be in the Public Defender’s office as clients. {read article in Florida Bar News} At this time of cut-backs in State…
Carlos Bertonatti was arrested in the manslaughter of a bicyclist on the Richenbacker Causeway in Miami this past Sunday. Miami-Dade Police stopped Bertonatti in his silver Volkswagen as he dragged the crushed bicycle for blocks. Christopher Lecanne was the bicyclist killed in the incident. Bertonatti was charged with vehicular homicide…
Steve Sestokas, 33, received a DUI on State Road 54 in New Port Richey. Sestokas reportedly leaned over his passenger seat to retrieve a music-playing device that had fallen. As this happened, he hit a guard rail and came to a complete stop. A Pasco County deputy intercepted him and…
Olivia Namath, 19, was arrested by Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputies during a traffic stop last Sunday. Deputies smelled marijuana upon stopping the car and a bottle of rum and beer in vehicle too. Namath told police on scene she did not know anything about the drugs. Namath was…
Wondy Pierre-Louis, a member of the Florida Gators football team, is being sought after by police on a warrant for a domestic violence charge. The former cornerback allegedly strangled his now former girlfriend after catching her in bed with another man. “I could kill you” was exclaimed by Pierre-Louis as…
Your host and writer, South Florida Criminal Defense attorney Ralph Behr appealed an adverse ruling on self defense in Florida and made new law. The Florida legislature created a new statute concerning when it is okay to use force to defend yourself or others. The law formerly only permitted the…
D’Anne Leigh Mica, 34, was arrested by police in downtown Orlando last Friday in the wee hours for driving under the influence. Her blood alcohol content was twice the legal limit in the state of Florida. She just left a Mexican restaurant and divulged to officers that she has downed…
Eleven individuals were arrested in a major drug trafficking investigation undertaken by the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug enforcement Task Forces programs. Most of the individuals were felons found to be in possession of various types of firearms, as well as crack cocaine or cocaine derivatives. A major kingpin,…
Violation of Probation can mean prison. In South Florida criminal defendants are often given the option of an extended probation rather than incarceration. It can sound like a safe alternative to a trial and possible incarceration…but it is more often a slippery slope glide to prison. The numbers don’t lie.…