South Florida Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
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 he choked her with his shirt off. She attempted to run away during the entire incident and finally got away long enough to call the police. Gainesville Police Department’s Lt. Keith Kameg officially stated that Pierre-Louis has a warrant issued for domestic battery by strangulation, burglary, battery, false imprisonment and hindering communication to law enforcement.
Articles Posted in Florida Criminal Defense
Violation of Probation Warrants in South Florida Criminal Courts
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.
If you are arrested for a criminal charge in South Florida ask your Florida criminal defense attorney if probation is easy. It definitely is not. If Probation is hard, community control is almost impossible.
Probation violations come in two types: “technical” and substantive. A violation of probation warrant is requested by the supervising probation officer, sent to a criminal judge who, if he signs it, creates the violation of probation warrant which requires your arrest and detention. In South Florida criminal courts, particularly in Broward County, the jail holds you for ten days before the judge brings you up for a first violation of probation hearing. At the first hearing you are given an opportunity to read the violation of probation warrant and you either admit or deny. If you admit then the judge can do one of three things: 1) sentence you to a jail or prison term 2) modify probation or community control to add special conditions or a jail or prison term followed by probation or more community control, or 3) just return you to probation and reinstate all conditions.
South Florida Criminal Conviction of “Pain Clinic” Owner
The owner of an internet site which sold prescription pills online based in Miami was convicted in Miami of selling adulterated prescription meds. The South Florida criminal charges were filed by the Attorney General of Florida against Abel Rodriguez. Criminal defense attorneys in Fort Lauderdale and Miami have seen both an increase in the number of so-called “Pill Mills” and an increase in criminal charges of trafficking. This recent conviction by the Office of the Statewide Prosecutor is one of many now threading through the criminal courts of Fort Lauderdale and Miami.
Several counts of conspiracy were also included in this prosecution and these alleged co-conspirators were included in the prosecution. The controlled substances involved were hydrocodone, alprazolam and phentermine: all controlled substances under Florida criminal statutes and all requiring a physician’s prescription.
South Florida criminal lawyers in Fort Lauderdale and Miami count the number of such cases in the hundreds in South Florida Criminal courts, both Federal and State. Increasingly lawful providers are feeling the heavy handed sweep of the Attorney General’s Office in arresting and seeking convictions of doctors working in clinics and private offices throughout South Florida.
Prosecutors also use trafficking statutes when arresting those who obtain prescriptions for pain killers in South Florida and Palm Beach. Those arrested are often in possession of prescriptions from physicians and can only defend themselves by presenting their prescriptions to prosecutors after they are arrested and charged.
If you have been arrested in South Florida or arrested in Fort Lauderdale for charges arising from the possession of controlled substances, contact South Florida criminal defense attorney Ralph Behr. Mr. Behr has been in practice since 1976, practices in Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Palm Beach County State and federal courts.
Florida Boy Gets Probation for Infant Death Case
A 12 year old child will be on a 2 year probation in conviction of the death of his 5 week old cousin. A judge in Georgia gave out the sentence in astonishment of the parents and family. Prosecutors claimed that the boy was left in a car unattented last July 4th. The boy was left with the child as the mother went away for a brief moment. Upon returning to the vehicle, the infant was found to be unresponsive. Medical examination documented head fractures and bruising on the baby likely to be caused by being slammed into a hard surface at least a few times. The boy was found to be unaware of the severity of the matter and was given a charge on two lesser counts of battery.
Domestic Violence Appears to Have Occurred in Tiger Woods’ Incident
Professional golfer Tiger Woods was involved in a car crash and altercation with his wife and their Cadillac Escalade a few days ago. Woods sustained a bloody lip and it is alleged that his wife had a golf club and attacked him and the vehicle. Domestic violence charges have not sprung up yet, if at all, from this incident. The reason for this is up to you to decide. No other charges have been filed yet and Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the matter.
Girls Gone Wild Founder Gets Probation on Tax Evasion
Joe Francis, age 36 and founder of the lewd soft-porn series “Girls Gone Wild”, is on 1 year of probation after filing false tax returns and bribing jail workers. He already served 301 days of jail time in acceptance of his plea deal. “No additional incarceration is neccessary,” said US District Judge S. James Otero last Friday. Francis will be paying back about $250,000 in restitution to the IRS and a $10,000 fine. A former tax account is to blame, accord to Francis, for the trouble he was in. Francis says that the account attempted to defraud him and turn him into authorities so he could collect some IRS reward money. Original charges against Francis accuse him of $20 million in fraudulent tax deductions.
Child Molester Accused of Abusing Mentally Retarded Step-Daughter
A man from South Bend, Indiana is being accused of molestation charges to his mentally challenged step-daughter. Timothy Strait, 38, is looking at child molesting, criminal confinement, and domestic battery. The mother to the child woke up one day on a Sunday morning to see her husband, Timothy, lying on top of the daughter. After she confronted him, he said that the two were just wrestling, when he then proceeded to push the wife to the floor refusing her to leave the apartment. Strait has a criminal history ranging from other incidents of domestic violence to theft convictions in Florida.
Florida Attorney Suspect in Fraud by the FBI and IRS
Scott Rothstein, 47, is suspected of misappropriating millions of dollars via investments of faked legal settlements. FBI and Internal Revenue Service agents searched the law offices of Rothstein Rosenfeldt, home of the high-profile South Florida attorney. Investment fraud is at the center of the matter. Nearly $100 million in total fraud is estimated to have occurred in Rothstein’s debacle. No charges have been filed yet against Rothstein, and his lawyer declined to comment on any of the events surrounding his client.
Florida DUI Woman Not Found Guilty in Fatal Crash
A Palm Bay woman was found to be not guilty of the 2007 rollover crash resulting in her sustaining injuries and the death of her friend. The verdict was returned after 3 days of deliberation regarding the DUI manslaughter of Jennifer Carty, 20. State prosecutors say that evidence clearly shows the girls’ injuries not coinciding with charges placed against the defendant. Florida Highway Patrol reported that Carty had a BAC of 0.126 whereas the other girl in the car, Ravin Billington, had a BAC of 0.167. Both are under the age of 21 and are not be having any readings of BAC by law. Defense attorneys said that witnesses to the accident could not determine who the driver of the vehicle was and after the accident, due to the ejection of Carty, could not determine that Billington was the driver. Carty was later determined to be the driver of her mother’s car.
Drunk Drivers Might Have to Blow Before Driving Their Cars
California is now one of the few states in the country to enact legislation that will mandate alcohol detection technology to be installed in the cars of first-time DUI offenders. Some people have protested that the injunction on first-time offenders is quite severe and should be reserved for habitual drunk drivers instead. Anti-drunk driving groups like MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) are in favor of the legislation. “The single best way to get drunken drivers off the road right now is to get interlock ignition devices in the cars of all convicted drunken drivers,” said Chuck Hurley, the CEO of MADD.