Articles Posted in Crime News

Philip Danforth, 32, is in stable condition at Broward General Medical Center following an attempted robbery at knifepoint. He tried to escape two men approximately 30 years old at around 7:50 am last Tuesday. The robbery attempt took place in the 900 block of NE 16th Avenue in our very own backyard, Fort Lauderdale. No suspects have been apprehended, but if anyone has tips for police to follow they should call Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.

This is a horrific incident where a deadly weapon was used to gain leverage on an innocent citizen and steal their property. Knifes, guns, and other deadly weapons should be properly stored if you own them. The use of them in any robbery attempt increases penalties from minor felonies to major felonies. Armed robbery and armed battery in Florida are serious offenses and will be prosecuted usually to the fullest extent of the law in your area. Do not play around with a public defender on these sort of cases because you will get a hefty time in sentencing.

Continue reading →

In a brazen lie to take just $3300 in cash from his own business, Phillip A. Collins, a South Florida IHOP manager, was taken into custody over charges stemming from a fake robbery report.

On the 21st of December last year, Collins went to complete the night deposit drop of his restaurant’s income for the day when he decided to fake a robbery. Soon after the direct incident, police found the claimed robbers which Collins said to have him at gunpoint.

Detectives began to become speculative of Collin’s story as inconsistencies were found along the investigation. Soon after, Collins confessed to making up the whole incident. North Miami detectives immediately released the formerly accused while detaining Collins under the charges of False Accusation of Armed Robbery and filing a false report as well as grand theft.

Continue reading →

Carlos Ortiz, 31, is going on trial for the vehicular DUI manslaughter charges originating from an incident in 2007 along the Beachline. Prosecutors say Ortiz was drunk and swerved into the emergency lane, killing an entire family parked in their vehicle. The three fatalities in the incident were Alexis Rodriguez, 33, his wife Jacqueline Dieppa, 33, and their 2 year old son Nayi Suarez. Sources say they were just waiting along side the road for family members to arrive for a beach outing. FHP identified the offending vehicle as a 2002 Chevrolet truck, last seen weaving through traffic moments before the collision. Blood alcohol of Ortiz was determined to be at 0.176, gravely over the legal limit in Florida.

Ortiz is being charged with three counts of DUI manslaughter. This is a second degree felony with up to 15 years behind bars for each count.

affects the lives of everyone, not just the driver. Collisions result in unnecessary deaths and are very tragic. Please remember the next time you drink to not go driving afterward. Taxis and readily available, many times for free, and certain towing companies will provide a free “tow and go” service where they tow your car to your house and give you a ride home as well, all for free.

Continue reading →

Florida budget cuts have come to hit the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. 66 probation officers were laid off recently in response to the shortage of funds for the program. “Cutting probation officers statewide ”minimizes the impact to public safety,” said spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger. 22 of the 66 officers cut were in South Florida. The ones let go were officers in the program for less than a year, totaling only a 3% reduction in probation officers statewide.

It is unclear how this will affect those on probation, yet it seems to be obvious that it would lead to more strain on the already limited resources of law enforcement and their subsidiaries. Those on probation with officers already will be put on a longer leash because probation officers will probably have to be in more places at once.

Violation of probation is something that happens to criminals on probation and should not be left alone or thought of as “just going away.” An experienced lawyer can help represent you at all your probation hearings.

Continue reading →

A drunk driver slammed into the rear of a parked FHP with warning lights on a highway in Orlando. The officer was sitting in his car with safety lights flashing to protect road crew working nearby. The officer sustained no injuries in this incident. The driver, who’s identity has not been released, was charged with careless driving, DUI and driving on a learner’s license.

This is a sad incident in that not only was a deadly collision situation made, thankfully with no serious injuries, but it was a drunk driving case with a minor. The juvenile driving the vehicle was by law illegal to be drinking in the first place, and then drove while intoxicated. All parents need to monitor their children closely in order for the following not to occur.

DUI at any age is one of the most common and serious life-affecting offenses on the books, and for good reason. Drinking and driving don’t mix. There is no way anyone can weasel their way out of that one, when its obvious that being impaired does not help in the activity of anything requiring focus and attention, driving included.

Continue reading →

BACK IN THE NEWS, ITS PRESTON PARKER

After his recent DUI arrest, Preston Parker, receiver at Florida State University, has been dismissed “due to his latest violation of team policy.” Bobby Bowden is sad to let the guy go, but he had to do what he had to do.

Recapping what his last DUI arrest entailed… Parker was found passed out in an idle-running Dodge Charger at a McDonald’s in the early hours of the weekend. He was arrested for DUI, yet tested under the legal limit for alcohol via breath test. Marijuana was found actively in a urine sample immediately after the arrest.

Parker faces new problems now as a Violation of Probation will come into play in reaction to a previous charge of marijuana possession and an illegally carried firearm charge out of Palm Beach Gardens. He was placed on a plea deal of 12 month probation stemming from that marijuana possession charge. According to Florida Department of Corrections records, May 18 was the end date for that probation, so he will likely face a misdemeanor probation violation.

VOP (Violation of Probation) is something you must deal with immediately; the sooner the better.

Continue reading →

Larry Sullen, 23, Rudolph Peacock, 19, and Bridgette Pelham, 24, have been arrested and charged with the sale of a controlled substance, namely cocaine. The three are accused of selling crack cocaine in Esto, Florida to a undercover agent. Originally living in Alabama, all three will most likely be extradited and prosecuted under Florida Law regarding illegal substances and distribution.

Cocaine is a serious drug that carries severe penalties and charges under Florida Statute 893. A controlled substance:

encompass all chemicals, which are regulated under law as having a medicinal or psychotropic effect. These include cocaine, cocaine distillates in cocaine derivatives, synthetic heroin such as Demerol and other branded synthetic painkillers, oxycodone, MDMA, cannabis and other or newly created so-called designer drugs.

Felony charges are to be expected if you are caught with drugs other than marijuana. Having a lawyer is one half of the battle, in the unfortunate instance you actually do have the drugs and get caught, but not doing the drugs to begin with solves alot.

Continue reading →

Preston Parker, a football player at Florida State University, was arrested in the wee hours of Saturday for DUI. This is probably going to be devastating for his career due to his prior record. Officers found him “passed out” on his steering wheel stopped in a McDonald’s drive-through. Officers finally aroused him by tapping on the window and then arrested him after securing the still-running vehicle.

Breath tests showed .054, which do not break legal limits in the State of Florida, yet urine analysis showed positive levels of marijuana. Parker admitted to officers in the report that he had in fact been smoking marijuana and drinking that evening.

DUI means driving under the influence of any substance that can impair your driving abilities. Alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and any other substance counts and can be used in a court of law against you. DUI is a serious offense and carries strict penalties such as license revocation, jail time, and fines.

Continue reading →

Eric Dwayne Wilkerson, 38, has been charged with felony DUI manslaughter in relation to the death of a man crossing a road at night in Tampa. Wilkerson is being held without bail and the man struck by him has not been identified. Police reported that Wilkerson’s black vehicle dragged the pedestrian for 150 feet til his death at 11:55pm. “I just killed a man. I was driving north, and he got in front of me,” said Wilkerson in an affidavit to Tampa police. A strong odor of alcohol was in Wilkerson’s breath, police noted. Refusals to sobriety tests were also noted by police, yet blood-alcohol levels taken at the station revealed a level of .10, over the legal limits in Florida law of .08.

Florida DUI law states that there are three types of tests a police officer may ask a suspect to take in order to test for alcohol in the bloodstream: blood, breath, or urine test. Florida has one of the strictest levels of laws regarding DUI among all states of US. You are not legally obligated to take any field sobriety test in the field, or where you are stopped by police. If you do not comply, you will have your drivers license suspended immediately. There are many other facets of the law that an experienced and knowledge lawyer can tell you in a consultation.

Continue reading →

Six pounds of cocaine have been confiscated in a drug bust of a Sanibel Avenue home in Fort Pierce. Five people have been arrested, according to investigators with the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, FDLE, BATF, and the DEA.

Multiple cocaine trafficking charges have been distributed to the offenders by local authorities. The large amount of cocaine found here would at one point in time been an incredible amount to find in such a warrant arrest, but these days they are becoming more and more common. This results in harsher prison times and more fervent prosecution.

Trafficking, possession, and use of cocaine in Florida is a serious matter and arrests are made day in day out. You cannot afford to not have a defense lawyer that is capable of navigating you through the court proceedings and trial.

Continue reading →