South Florida Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
Richard P. Cramer, a high-ranking agent at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement federal agency, was arrested in his Arizona home for suspicion of conspiracy to smuggle cocaine. Cramer was formerly stationed in Mexico during his active duty and later retired in 2007 in the U.S. An investigation reaching back into 2006 was discovered to be the source of the warrant and arrest. Authorities claim that Cramer assisted a big time drug trafficking organization by alerting them to inside informants working for the government via illegal use of a confidential law enforcement database. One shipment the organization involved with Cramer was worth $400,000 and weighed about 660 pounds. That’s a lot of cocaine. Officials seized the shipment once it landed on U.S. soil, stopping its journey which originally started in Panama and was going to conclude in Spain. Cramer will be extradited to a holding center in Florida because most of the criminal acts occurred here.
Florida Man Kills Cheerleader and Faces Death Penalty
Eric Rodriguez, 23, will be looking at the death penalty in his trial involving the murder of a 17 year old cheerleader in Bartow, FL. Rodriguez was one of three men who pleaded guilty to luring the girl, Angelia Headrick, into an apartment early in 2007. They men robbed her of money and drugs which she was possessing, and then killed her. Another man in the accused group accepted a deal giving him 15 years in prison due to testimony he gave in court. The third man was not been in trial for the murder yet.
First-degree murder must contain the following two elements:
1. The killing of another human being is premeditated and intentional.
2. A homicide is also a First-degree murder when one person kills another in the act of perpetrating, or in the attempt the perpetrate serious felonies that include the following Arson, Burglary, Robbery, Home-Invasion Robbery, Killing of Another Human Being, Carjacking, Drug Trafficking, Kidnapping, Escape, Aircraft Piracy, Aggravated Child Abuse, Aggravated Stalking, Unlawful Throwing, Placing or Discharging of a Destructive Device such as a Bomb, Resisting an Officer with Violence to His Person, Terrorism.
20 Year Old Floridian Arrested For Police Scanner and Marijuana
Nathaniel Fine was stopped by police for a few items that made his car appear to impersonate that of a police officers. Marijuana was found in the vehicle, along with a police scanner and a Massachusetts State Police patch. Fine claimed that he was not impersonating a police officer, yet the evidence appears to say otherwise. Police scanners are prohibited from use in vehicles unless the user has a valid operator radio license or their job requires the use of a scanner in a vehicle. He was arrested formally on charges of marijuana possession and possession of radio scanner tuned to law enforcement frequencies.
Mortgage Broker and Others Prosecuted in South Florida Mortgage Fraud
Mike Ohana, 39, Ryan Dosen, 30, and Paula Ramos, 52, were among nine people involved in a complex mortgage fraud scheme skyrocketing into the millions of dollars of theft. The group allegedly defrauded $3 million from two banks by use of fraudulent loans. Authorities stated that Ramos verified the loan applications on two properties in Miami in a fraudulent fashion. Washington Mutual was the bank defrauded by Go Expert Mortgage, the group owned by Ramos. Fraud occurred when Ramos vouched for the applications as true. Dosen was the attorney that worked as a title attorney for the deal.
Florida Teen Arrested for Marijuana Possession
A 14 year old boy was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana, a felony charge of escape, and resisting an officer without violence. The teen struck a classmate at his school and ran from the police while being handcuffed. After being caught nearly a mile from the origin of incident, he was brought into custody. He struggled once returned to the school and ran again, where he was caught soon after. A bag was found dropped in the school by the boy and retrieved by authorities. The substance in the bag was tested and found to be marijuana.
DUI Caught at Fast Food Restaurant in Florida
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.
Florida Man and Woman Arrested in Traffic Stop for Drugs
Aurora Kay James, 28, and Peter Howard Whitney, 49, were stopped in Gainesville, FL for driving into a bicycle lane. The stop led to the discovery of crack pipes underneath the driver and passenger seats and vials that contained prescription drugs and crack cocaine. A canine was called on the scene to alert the officers of the drug’s presence. Both parties blamed the other for possession of the drug paraphernalia. Both were charged with possession of drugs without a prescription, possession of cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Florida laws are always being modified by the legislature. If you’ve been arrested in South Florida, or arrested in Fort Lauderdale and charged with a drug possession count, or possession of cocaine or possession of heroin you should immediately consult a South Florida criminal defense attorney. The legislature imposes minimum mandatory sentences which started a mandatory one year, then a mandatory three-year, then a mandatory seven-year, 15 year and 25 year sentence for trafficking in controlled substances.
West Palm Beach Man Arrested for Murder
Bruce Strachan, 25, was arrested in West Palm Beach for the death of Yamika Murphy and two others. Murphy was his wife, according to police. He was arrested with no incident in Delray Beach according to Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office. Strachan was roaming Palm Beach County with a warrant for his arrest after the shooting spree which occurred recently. He was charged with three counts of first degree murder. A judge at the local Gun Club Road jail will be adding further charges to Strachan’s case pending further investigation.
Florida Woman Arrested for Drug Production Operation
Crystal Beth Williams, 21, and Jason Clayborn, 52, were arrested by sheriffs of DeFuniak Springs for operating a crystal methamphetamine production center. The two were followed by investigators for over eight months in order for a solid case to develop. Both of them together are thought to be responsible for the production of the a massive supply of meth that supplied the Northwest Florida and Southeast Alabama areas. The list of charges levied again the couple included manufacture of methamphetamine, possession of listed chemicals, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of methamphetamine.
Geriatrics in Florida Get Caught Stealing Goods
Warren H, Goldman, Sam Lamport, Gary Richard Powell, Stephen Walton, Aaron Walton, and Kenneth D. Struve have all been arrested and charged in the theft of millions of dollars worth of products from the Publix supermarket chain. Central Florida was their target and police say the criminals were clever. All the men except for one are ranging in age from 53 to 68. The individuals would use their elderly figure to use motorized carts and load up on expensive goods like razors and other health/beauty items. The crimes took place over the past decade so a lot of money was accumulated by the thieves. They would sell the goods on the internet and through local flea markets. Brevard County police disclosed that one of the six suspects had an extensive criminal history. The final charge for most of the men were shoplifting, yet Struve and Goldman were charged with trafficking in stolen property.