Jacksonville Criminal Attorney Blog

In Florida, your property can be seized if you are arrested for a felony, That includes your:

- Car
- Money
- Guns
- Tools
- Books
- Records

These items have to be used in the commission of a felony, aid in the commission of a felony, or are bought with the money gained from committing a felony.

In Jacksonville, particularly in drug busts, narcotics detectives like to seize the cars and money that belong to the people they arrest. If any money is owed on the car, the probability of JSO keeping the car is reduced.

You are entitled to a civil forfeiture hearing before JSO completely takes ownership of your property. Call our experienced forfeiture attorneys at (904) 634-0900.

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Posted In: Your Rights

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Under Florida law, it is a crime to drastically increase the price of goods or services before or during an emergency. "Goods" include, but are not limited to:

Gas
Food
Water
Chemicals
Ice
Lumber
Hotels

If you think a business is "price gouging", call 1-866-9-NO-SCAM, which is a hot line set up by the Florida Attorney General.

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Posted In: Criminal Topics in the News

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In Florida and all over the country, inmates housed in prison are living longer. This, in turn, causes health care costs to rise. According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the cost for health care for Florida inmates is $11.54 per day per inmate. Some states are releasing non-violent elderly prisoners early and some are releasing them to treatment programs not associated with corrections.

In Florida,

- 14,549 inmates are 50 or older.

- 3,303 inmates are 60 or older.

- 612 inmates are 70 or older.

- 70 inmates are 80 or older.

- The oldest Florida prison inmate at 90 years-old is Frank Rowland.

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Posted In: Criminal Topics in the News

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In order to be arrested for DUI or Driving Under the Influence, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has to believe that the suspect's normal faculties are impaired. A person can be impaired by alcohol or drugs. If a person blows below the legal limit for alcohol, the police will request that the suspect provide a urine sample. The urine sample is tested by JSO and sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for a more reliable analysis.

The drugs that can lead to DUI are either illegal or legal. The most common illegal drugs found in the systems of people arrested for DUI are marijuana and cocaine. Legal drugs, prescribed or not, can also impair someone's normal faculties. The most commonly found legal drugs are Xanax, Oxycontin, and Hydrocodone.

The main problem with DUI's based on drugs in someone's system is there is no way to tell when the drugs were consumed. In addition, neither JSO or Florida Department of Law Enforcement tests for quantities of the drugs. There is no way to prove how much of the drug is in a suspect's system and no way to prove how long ago they were taken.

If you have any questions about a DUI based on drugs, please contact our Jacksonville DUI Attorneys at (904) 634-0900.

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Posted In: DUI - Driving Under the Influence

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On August 15th, two St. Johns County residents were arrested for aggravated assault. The alleged victim, Anthony Petrilli, claimed to be traveling north on Ponce de Leon Boulevard when the passenger of a car flashed a gun. As they went down the road, Petrilli claims the passenger then fired the gun three times at him. There were no injuries reported.

In order to prove the criminal charge of aggravated assault, the state attorney has to prove that:

1. The suspect intentionally and unlawfully threatened to do violence to the victim.

2. At the time, the suspect appeared to have the ability to carry out the threat.

3. The act of the suspect created a well-founded fear that the violence was about to take place.

4. The assault was made with a deadly weapon.

If you have any questions about aggravated assault charges, contact our Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorneys at (904) 634-0900.

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Posted In: Violent Crimes

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Did you know if you are pulled over for DUI (Driving Under the Influence), you will be arrested before you are ever given the opportunity to blow into the breathalyzer?

Many people think that they have to blow above the legal limit (.08) before they can be arrested for DUI. Not true. You will be placed under arrest for DUI at least an hour before you are ever in front of the breathalyzer.

Did you know if you blow .000, you are still under arrest for DUI in Jacksonville and will have to bond out of jail?

If you blow a .000, you will be asked to give a urine sample to test for the possible presence of drugs in your system. The results are not automatic and that means if you are innocent of DUI, you will have to bond out of jail and wait for the urine results to come back from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

If you have any questions about a DUI arrest and case, please call our Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorneys at (904) 634-0900.

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Posted In: DUI - Driving Under the Influence

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A Sanford, Florida police officer was arrested on August 11th for unlawful compensation for official behavior according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Officer Chris McClendon is accused of using his position as a police officer to aid a Sanford car sale company in repossessing cars. In return for this "help", the officer's personal auto loan was forgiven. Officer McClendon is accused of receiving $8000.00 worth of unlawful compensation.

Under Florida law, unlawful compensation or reward for official behavior is a second degree felony and is punishable for up to 15 years in prison.

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Posted In: Police , Police

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Police in Kansas, Denver, California, and Arizona are using DNA left at burglary crime scenes to identify the suspects, reports KansasCity.com. Many times, burglars leave all kinds of evidence at the crime scene. They eat food, touch glass, smoke and leave cigarettes, and sometimes hurt themselves at the scene.

According the the Federal Bureau of Investigation, over 2 million burglaries occur every year, but only 12% of the criminal suspects are arrested. If DNA testing is used more frequently to identify suspects in property crimes, the cost to local police will drastically increase. The testing itself costs $1400.00. It takes about $4502.00 to identify the criminal suspect and $14169.00 for each arrest. To then prosecute the criminal defendant, it will cost another $6169.00.

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Posted In: Criminal Topics in the News

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A Miami, Florida detective was suspended for three days after he pursued a relationship with the wife of a suspect he arrested. According to the Miami Herald, Detective Edward Hill arrested David Superville for his involvement in the murder of an electronics salesman. Police say Superville was hired by a jealous Brazilian businessman to follow the salesman.

Superville's criminal defense attorney believes the credibility of the detective is a major issue in the case. In particular, there is no physical evidence or eyewitness statements, just the word of a biased detective.

In criminal cases, the credibility of the police is a major issue. If you have any questions about police misconduct or credibility in a criminal case, contact our Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorneys at (904) 634-0900.

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Posted In: Police

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On August 8th, the State of Florida hosted the "Diaspora Conference on Gang Violence in Jamaica", which was put on by The United States Agency for International Development. The aim of the conference is to develop strategies to prevent gang violence in Jamaica.

Jamaica has one of the highest per capita murder rates in the world, according to the South Florida Times. Once crime is reduced, the participants of the conference believe social and economic conditions will improve in the country.

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Posted In: Criminal Topics in the News

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Police officers should be held to a higher standard than the average citizen. They have the power to take away your liberty, property, and life. There are many fine police officers in Jacksonville, Florida that want to make our city streets safe. There are also officers that abuse their immense power.

In 2003, three JSO officers were involved in abducting, robbing, and murdering Jacksonville resident, Sammi Safar. One of the officers worked off-duty at a Westside bank. He noticed that Safar made large cash transactions at the bank. These police officers pulled Safar over in, what looked like, a normal traffic stop. He was taken to R.L. Brown Elementary School where he was strangled in a police car by Karl Waldon.

Karl Waldon is serving life in the United States Penitentiary in Pollock, Louisiana.

Aric Sinclair is serving 17 years and 7 months in Federal Correctional Institution in Loretto, PA.

Jason Pough was sentenced to 5 years in prison and has been released.

In 2007, JSO officer, "Happy Cop" John Hairston, was convicted and sentenced for theft while on-duty. He was investigated because there were many reports that he kept money he found on drug dealers he pulled over while on duty. Police and FBI set up a sting and Hairston stole $3400.00 of bait money.

John Hairston was sentenced to 6 months and has now been released.

In 2008, JSO officer Shawn Pringle, while on-duty, committed sexual battery (rape). He was convicted of sexual battery and unlawful compensation. Shawn Pringle is serving 3 years in prison.

The one crime that a Jacksonville police officer has never been charged with is perjury. Under Florida law, if you make a false statement you know is untrue under oath in an official proceeding, like trial, you are facing up to 5 years in prison. Also, the officer's Arrest and Booking Report is a sworn affidavit that is notarized. Every officer who writes this report is swearing that its contents are true and correct.

With tremendous power comes tremendous responsibility. Let's hope that Jacksonville police officers tell the truth, not just under oath, but always.

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More residents in Duval County are wanting to carry guns legally. In Duval, 22,534 people have active concealed weapon permits. The number of people applying for permits has jumped over the past 4 years according to the Florida State Division of Licensing:

2004 - 1385
2005 - 1720
2006 - 2777
2007 - 3505
2008 - 4230

Under Florida law, if you carry a concealed firearm without a license and are arrested, the maximum punishment is 5 years in prison because the charge is a third degree felony.

If you have any questions about gun charges, contact our experienced Jacksonville Criminal Defense Lawyers at (904) 634-0900.

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Posted In: Gun Crimes

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