South Florida Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
Robert Chester Double, 51, was caught by authorities in Orlando after being identified as the man who has been groping girls in the water. Aside from the “Chester the Molester” jokes, Chester Double actually was a molester in this case. He allegedly would collide with girls in the water, by using the rolling waves, to pull their suits aside and grope them. Disney security eventually located the man, but investigators said it was difficult to make a positive identification on him due to the crowds and busyness. Orange County Sheriff’s Department has a video of the man in the criminal act thus making some conclusive evidence that will very likely hold up in court. Double was formally charged with lewd and lascivious conduct while being held on a $5000 bail.
Florida Man Sentenced 27 Years for Child Sex Crime
Seth Jerchower, 47, was charged with soliciting sex with a minor. Jerchower was caught in an undercover operation online chat. He believed he was talking with the mother of 2 children, age 9 and 11, who were being made available for sexual relations. Sentencing for Jerchower took place at the Gainesville federal courthouse two years after his December 2007 arrest. The University of Florida had not renewed Jerchower’s contract by the February deadline. The main organizations taking credit for this arrest are the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, Gainesville Police, and the FBI. Child Predator CyberCrimes Unit was the main central command being led by the attorney general in Jerchower’s apprehension as well as other child sex offenders across the U.S.
Florida Child Rape Suspect Apprehended
Aaron Lamar Howard, 21, took a child under the age of 12 at knifepoint and sexually assaulted her. Howard gained entry into the home by use of a key and kidnapped the child. While maintaining a knife to her throat, he kidnapped her into his truck and drove away from the home of the child. She was then raped in the backseat after being punched in the face and bound down. Howard was a family friend, the victim’s family claims. Yet they were uncertain how he obtained a key to the domicile. Howard was arrested later, after releasing the young girl immediately and threatening her not to tell anyone. He was charged with marijuana and cocaine possession, as well.
Florida Seat Belt Stop Leads to Felon’s Arrest
Palm Bay Police Department conducted a seatbelt checkpoint stop recently. During the checkpoint, officers apprehended Travis Lee Brown, 22, for possession of cocaine, possession of controlled substance, and resisting arrest. Brown fled the stop and had to be tasered down to the ground in order to be taken into custody. While in the station he became “irate” and had to be bound in restraints in order to protect himself. Police found cocaine and oxycodone on Brown prior being taken downtown to the station. Bond was set at $4500, as well as orders for his transport back to Richmond County, GA.
Florida Statute 843.01 defines “resisting arrest with violence” as a third degree felony with up to 5 years in a state prison. The other portion of Chapter 843, “resisting officer without violence” is a first degree misdemeanor with a maximum of 1 year in a county jail or detention center. This crime is defined by the state as “whoever shall resist, obstruct, or oppose any officer … in the lawful execution of any legal duty without offering or doing violence.”
Death of Florida Man Triggers Push for a New Law
After the death of John Waldo, 42, in Gainesville, FL, fiancé Monica Kraft has pushed for tougher laws regarding ticketed cars and vehicle inspections. Back in February, Waldo was found dead in the backseat of his vehicle parked on a residential road. The BMW was ticketed a whopping seven times but no one had found the body until Waldo had been missing for twelve days. A University of Florida student ended up discovering the body after closely looking in through the car window. No foul play has been detected and police are still investigating for evidence of murder.
Kraft has met with numerous city officials including the Gainesville Police’s Captain Ed Book in an effort to see what can be done to prevent this from happening again. Currently under way in city government is the enactment of an ordinance that would would require city employees to visually inspect the inside of any vehicle after being accruing three consecutive unclaimed tickets. This law would be known as the Waldo Law. The exact design of the law would be to require law enforcement agencies to run the tag number of an abandoned vehicle that is receiving any ticket.
Florida Man Deposits Drugs Into His Bank Account
Cameron Jefferson, 38, was arrested for possession of cocaine and cannabis in Tallahassee. While he was at the drive-thru teller window of a bank, he decided it would be a clever idea to throw in some drugs with the $200 dollar deposit. Needless to say, his prank wasn’t taken lightly and officials were called in immediately. Further investigation of Jefferson’s car led to the discovery of three marijuana cigarettes. $3000 in bail was posted by Jefferson after his arrest.
Cocaine possession of any amount is always going to be a felony. Marijuana can range from a misdemeanor to a felony, depending on the amount. Sometimes a small fine will be cited to the offender and handled just like a speeding ticket. The amount was not totally specified in the article, but given the cost of the bond the amount of drugs was most likely not too large. Jefferson was arrested for possession, but a variety of other charges may come about from a drug-related incident. Some of these charges may be cultivation/growth of a narcotic, delivery of illegal drugs, fraudulent sale or possession of a prescription drug, or possession of drugs with intent to sell.
New Florida Law To Cut Down Prescription Abuse
Governor Charlie Crist has signed into law a prescription drug tracking bill that will put a damper on the pill pipeline into eastern Kentucky. One such case that recently has been completed revolving around this “pipeline” is that of a Broward County pain clinic patient accused of obtaining pills and selling them in Kentucky. Oxycodone was the drug involved in this crime.
The new law will “definitely help,” says Sheriff Terry Keelin of the Boyd County Sheriff Department in Kentucky. 90 percent of the suspects in the Boyd Sherrif Office have been obtaining their pills from Florida. “Operation Pill Crusher” has received 105 people indicted during the program, and of those a large number were also from Florida clinics.
Domestic Violence by Use of Cheetos Food Product
James Earl Taylor, 40, and Mary S. Childers, 44, were arrested last Sunday for domestic assault. Bedford County Sheriff’s Department stated that their deputies arrived on the scene to find the couple in an argument. The two were “involved in a verbal altercation” during which the Frito-Lay product of Cheetos snacks were used to assault one of the partners. Sheriffs found evidence of the assault yet “no physical marks on either party and the primary aggressor was unable to be determined.” Both members of the party were charged $2500 in bond.
Florida Man Caught Out of State as a Rape Suspect
Crescencio Rojas, 43, was arrested in Brownsville, Texas. Rojas was wanted in the perpetration of rape of an elderly person. More precisely, he was accused of sexual assault, battery, and lewd and libidinous acts against an elderly person. US Customs and Border Protection intervened at the Veterans International Bridge in the Brownsville area and apprehended Rojas as he was riding a bus coming back to the United States from Mexico. A warrant check on the national system showed that he had a warrant for sexual assault out of Dade County.
Florida Drug Trafficker Pleads Guilty to Charges
Michael Mayer, 55, pled guilty to federal charges regarding his actions of supplying oxycodone pills and cocaine on a major level to street-level and other small distributors. Drug trafficking charges in this situation carry a sentence of at least 10 years of imprisonment as well as $4 million dollars in fines.
Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute is not a charge to be laughed at and Mayer will be paying the price for this. $2.64 million and forfeiture of real estate, cars, watercraft and other personal property in Mayer’s homes in Costa Rica and Columbia are on the chopping block.