Articles Posted in Florida Criminal Defense

Jeremy B. Bowen, 45, blew a .234 and .239 according to the Hernando County Sheriffs Office. Deputies charged man with driving under the influence (DUI) after he rode in a taxi cab then got out to ride in his bicycle along SR 50 in the Tampa area. He admitted to police that he drank five beer at a local restaurant. Police were notified of the man after a taxi driver called him in due to him being belligerent and causing a scene in his taxi cab.

An arrest for Driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol or drugs is a serious offense, and a driver can be charged with a DUI offense if his or her blood alcohol level tests at .08% or higher. The state of Florida has some of the toughest DUI laws in the United States.

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Wilfred “Will” Billingsley, 25, was arrested on charges of battery and resisting an officer without violence. He reportedly attempted to throw his girlfriend out the front door of their home after an argument stemming from her putting his shoes outside. Billingsley’s girlfriend had minor injuries sustained to her arm and neck. The ‘resisting without violence’ charge occurred when Billingsley, according to police reports, said that he “couldn’t go to jail” while pulling his arm away from the officer effecting an arrest.

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Polk County police have recently conducted a prostitution sting operation recently. The program resulted in the arrest of 28 women and 5 pimps, according to authorities. “Operation Hot Date” was thought to be a success in the movement to clean up the vice crimes occurring with no fear of police in the area for some time. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a release to the press that Craigslist in actually “facilitating” and “profiting” from the prostitute businesses that advertise for free via the internet website. Craigslist has promised to curb the number of ads that promote such sex crimes yet Grady wants charges to be pressed against the online listing site.

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Jorge Miyar, 49, was arrested for driving under the influence by Florida Highway Patrol. Miyar was driving an unmarked government vehicle when he hit a curb before a DUI checkpoint set up at Oakland Park. This act made officer suspicious of the driver and upon questioning he said that he was “unfamiliar” with the area and thus negotiated the road incorrectly. What an answer, nice try my man.. Officers arrested him after conducting some field sobriety tests to solidify the case against him in court. Miyar refused to take the breathalyzer and was arrested by police at the scene.

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Jim Leyritz, a former player for the New York Yankees, has had his trial postponed under further questioning of a video brought to the court’s attention. The Honorable Judge Marc Gold delayed the trial until December or, at the latest, January. The video will allow Leyritz’ criminal defense attorney to argue that Leyritz was less drunk than the prosecution has charged him with which was at a .14 BAC level. 10 minutes are in question as the video shows the crash victim’s vehicle passing through an intersection before the actual crash. The legal limit for blood-alcohol content in Florida is .08.

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Machelle Coleman, 33, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence in Crestview, FL after stopping her car at a What-a-burger. Officers found her slumped over in her vehicle with a burger on her leg and lettuce all over her lap. Coleman arose soon after EMS arrived on the scene. The officer on scene smelled no alcohol in the car; just a smell of food emanated from the vehicle. She reportedly said she had been drinking gin with her “man” at Helen Back, a local bar, earlier in the evening. No one else was in the car, reports say. Police say this is her fifth DUI in 10 years.

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John Hillmer was arrested for driving under the influence in Carrollwood, a city near St. Petersburg. Hillmer is a pastor at the Grace Lutheran Church. Members of the church have been very supportive of him even as far as the regional administrative council for the church not sending any disciplinary action his way. Hillmer was caught by deputies of the Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office while driving in an erratic manner. He swerved a few times and was stopped by police shortly after. His blood-alcohol content measured way over the 0.08 limit set in Florida. Hillmer was released on $500 bail and attended his church soon after.

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Alabama State Troopers teamed up with Florida Highway Patrol last Friday in a “Take Back our Highways” initiative with the goal of making roads safer for all. Most of the arrests were for drivers with no insurance, no seatbelts, or having broken equipment. No DUI arrests were made, yet of the fifty arrests made, a surprising seven were arrest warrants wanted by authorities. Located at the Alabama/Florida border along a major highway, the troopers’ checkpoint was quite successful and commended by other agencies as a positive operation.

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Janet Landrum, 42, of Manatee County was arrested recently for possession of cocaine, marijuana, and other drug paraphernalia. Landrum has a record of a whopping ten DUIs from a variety of states including Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Kentucky, not to mention a prior arrest of driving with a suspended license. This will be the first time though that jail time is on the plate for Landrum’s offenses. She faces up to ten years in prison with the recent onslaught of felony driving under the influence and felony driving with a suspended license charges.

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Jeffrey Donovan, 41, was charged with driving under the influence (DUI) on July 11 following a late evening near-collision. Donovan, the main actor of USA’s “Burn Notice”, swerved his vehicle to avoid rear-ending a police vehicle on the road. Donovan claims that he “wasn’t that impaired” after being stopped by police following the incident. Officers wrote in their paperwork that Donovan had consumed “Benadryl and three glasses of wine.” Refusing to take the breath test, he was arrested and taken down to Miami Beach police headquarters where he was later released.

Most people don’t know that they are not legally obligated to take any DUI test while out in the field. In this instance, police may escort the driver to a police station where he or she must then undergo DUI testing. A test that results in a 0.08% or higher blood alcohol level, evidence of impairment of one’s normal faculties, or a complete refusal to take the test can lead to a DUI charge and the suspension of one’s driver’s license.

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