Jacksonville Criminal Attorney Blog

Self-Defense, also called Justifiable Use of Deadly Force, is an affirmative defense in Florida. That means that the person arrested asserts the defense as an "excuse" for committing homicide.

In Florida, it is a defense to murder if the death resulted from the justifiable use of deadly force.

Deadly Force is defined as force likely to cause death or great bodily harm.

Deadly Force is allowed if you reasonably believe that the force is necessary to prevent your imminent death or great bodily harm or to prevent someone else's imminent death or great bodily harm.

In using deadly force, you can't be committing a forcible felony. You also cannot be the initiator of the violence unless:

The force used against you made you believe your were in imminent death or great bodily harm and you exhausted every reasonable means of escape.

Call our Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorneys to discuss your legal rights at (904) 634-0900.

A former teacher was sentenced on child abuse charges in Jacksonville last week. Odis Moreton entered a plea of guilty to one charge of child abuse, which is punishable for up to 5 years in prison. A Jacksonville judge sentenced him to 1 year in jail and 1 year probation following his release.

Moreton was originally arrested for sexual battery and lewd molestation in Jacksonville. He originally faced up to life in prison. If he had entered a plea to the sex charges, Moreton would have had to register as a sex offender. Because he entered a plea to the child abuse charge, he will hot have to register.

If you have been arrested for sex charges in Jacksonville or child abuse charges in Jacksonville, contact our Jacksonville Sex Crimes Law Firm at (904) 634-0900.

Chicago police officer, Anthony Abbate, is defending himself in a criminal trial this week. Abbate was arrested and charged with 15 counts of Aggravated Battery, Intimidating Witnesses, and Official Misconduct. He allegedly, on video, beat a 115 lb woman in a bar. After the alleged beating, he is accused of trying to change witness' testimony through intimidation. He faces 5 years if convicted.

If you are arrested for aggravated battery in Jacksonville or anywhere in Florida, the state attorney's office would have to prove that you

1. Intentionally touched or struck someone against their will or intentionally harmed someone

and

2. When committing the battery, you intentionally caused great bodily harm, permanent disfigurement, or used a deadly weapon.

If convicted of an aggravated battery in Jacksonville, you are facing up to 15 years in prison because it is a 2nd degree felony.

If you have been arrested for battery charges in Jacksonville, call our Jacksonville Battery Law Firm at (904) 634-0900.

A Fort Lawn, South Carolina police chief has been let go after being arrested for misconduct. Mike Revels was arrested for stealing money from an alleged victim in a case he was working on. Revels denies the charge and criminal charges are pending.

In order to be convicted of theft charges in Jacksonville or anywhere in Florida, you must take something that belongs to someone else with the intent to permanently or temporarily deprive them of their right to the property.

If you have been arrested for theft charges in Jacksonville, call our Jacksonville Theft Attorneys at (904) 634-0900.

A former Tennessee detective has been sentenced to 2 years probation to pay over $11,000 for stealing from the police evidence room. Bill Matthews was a captain and is entered a plea to official misconduct, a felony.

Police began an investigation after several items were missing from the police property room, including drugs and a gun. Matthews wrote a confession to stealing.

If you or someone you know has been arrested in Jacksonville, call our Jacksonville Criminal Attorneys at (904) 634-0900 for a free consultation.

A Philadelphia narcotics officer had to give up his police weapon and is on desk duty for being involved in obtaining false warrants. Thomas Tolstoy has been a drug officer for 10 years and is the latest officer to be implicated in bad warrants. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been investigating Philadelphia narcotics officers who have been accused of lying on search warrants in order to get into alleged drug houses.

The District Attorney's Office in Philadelphia has opened over 50 drug convictions due to possible problems with the search warrants.

If you have been arrested on a search warrant in Jacksonville, call our Jacksonville Search Warrants Attorneys at (904) 634-0900.

A former Leoni, Michigan police officer has been convicted and sentenced for misconduct in his office. Jerry Massey Jr. was arrested for filing a false felony and misconduct in office. He arrested a man for assaulting him and reported that the man hit Massey's shoulder causing an accidental firing of his weapon. The Michigan Police investigated and found that Massey accidentally fired his gun, but the man didn't attack him. Massey arrested the man for a felony simply to cover up his mistake.

Massey has been sentenced to serve 3 weekends in jail and 1 year probation.

If you have been falsely accused of a crime in Jacksonville, contact our Jacksonville Criminal Defense Lawyers at (904) 634-0900.

An ex-Florida Highway Patrol Officer has been arrested for committing sexual battery while he was on patrol. Ariel Valentin is accused of pulling a woman over for a traffic stop and then talked her into having sex with him to avoid the ticket. He is no longer a Florida trooper and is currently in jail with no bond.

If you have any questions about criminal charges in Jacksonville, call our Jacksonville Criminal Attorneys at (904) 634-0900.

Palm Beach County police officer, Robert Kijanka, has been arrested for introducing contraband into a detention facility. He is accused of bringing in pornographic movies and photographs into the jail and showing them to inmates. Kijanka's bond was $3000.00.

If you are arrested for introducing contraband into a detention facility in Jacksonville or anywhere in Florida, you are violating Florida Statute 916.1085. When you visit someone in jail, you are not allowed to bring them:

alcoholic beverages
drugs
guns
anything the jail determines to be hazardous

If you are convicted of this charge in Jacksonville, you are facing up to 5 years in prison because it is a third degree felony.

If you have been arrested for a felony in Jacksonville, contact our Jacksonville Felony Attorneys at (904) 634-0900.

A Kansas City police sergeant was arrested for DUI last week. Sgt. Jay Pruetting was pulled over by other officers while driving his car. Police report that Pruetting "staggered" while getting out of his car. Police then asked him to perform field sobriety exercises, such as walking the line, saying the alphabet, and the one leg stand. After allegedly failing the exercise, Pruetting refused to blow into the breathalyzer.

If you are arrested for DUI in Jacksonville and you refuse to blow, your driver's license will be revoked for 1 year. After 90 days into the suspension, you will be eligible for a hardship license that will allow you to drive to work and other select locations for the remainder of the year suspension. On the other hand, if you do blow and blow over the legal limit of .08, your license will be suspended for 6 months and you are eligible for a hardship license after 30 days.

If you have been arrested for DUI in Jacksonville, arrested for DUI in Clay County, arrested for DUI in Nassau County, call our Duval County DUI Law Firm at (904) 634-0900.

Pastor Darrell Gilyard, has entered a plea of guilt to two sex charges in Jacksonville. He is going to be sentenced in June to 3 years in prison and sex offender probation in Jacksonville. Gilyard will be sentenced for one count of lewd conduct and one count of lewd molestation.

Gilyard has to return for sentencing. That means if he comes to his sentencing on the date set by the judge, he will receive the negotiated sentence. If he fails to return for sentencing or gets arrested before sentencing, the plea will stand, but the negotiated sentence may not. That means the judge has the discretion to sentence Gilyard to up to 15 years in prison if he doesn't return or gets arrested in Jacksonville before sentencing.

If you have been arrested on sex charges in Jacksonville, call our Jacksonville Sex Crime Attorneys at (904) 634-0900 for a free consultation.

A Florida priest, John Skehan, who was convicted of stealing almost $9 million from his church, has asked a Florida judge to turn his 14 month prison sentence into house arrest. The Florida criminal defense lawyer filed a motion to modify Skehan's sentence.

A Jacksonville Criminal Attorney can file a motion that asks the court to reconsider the sentence it gave. There has to be substantial change is circumstances for a judge to modify a criminal sentence. Skehan's criminal lawyer argues that he has cancer and is depressed.

If you have any questions about modifying a sentence in Jacksonville, call our Jacksonville Criminal Law Firm at (904) 634-0900.

Police in Minnisotta are looking for Colleen Hauser, the mother of a boy who has cancer and refuses to get the boy treatment for religious reasons. She failed to appear at a court hearing that was scheduled. A judge determined that Hauser was neglecting her son because she refused to allow him to get chemo.

If you miss a scheduled court date in criminal court in Jacksonville, a judge can issue a "capias". A capias is a bench warrant, which means the judge is ordering the police to bring you to appear in front of him or her. A capias usually has a bond attached to it, which means if you are arrested on a capias in Jacksonville, you can bond out of jail before your upcoming court date.

If you have an outstanding capias, contact our Jacksonville Capias Law Firm at (904) 634-0900.

An Oregon corrections officer has been arrested for having sex with a female inmate in a control room.

Darcy MacKnight was arrested for custodial sexual misconduct and official misconduct. The case is pending.

If you have any questions about sex charges in Jacksonville, contact our Jacksonville Sex Attorneys at (904) 634-0900.

When someone is arrested for a felony in Jacksonville, the state attorney's office has to make a decision. They can file the case as a felony or divert the case. One place to divert the case is Jacksonville drug court. Your felony charges in Jacksonville are put on "hold" while you proceed through drug treatment. At the completion of the program, your felony charges will be dropped.

Recently the Florida legislature allocated over $20 million into these type of drug programs. The idea is to spend the money now on these non-violent offenders to lessen the chances of them re-offending in the future.

If you have any questions about drug charges in Jacksonville, call our Jacksonville Drug Attorneys at (904) 634-0900.

The DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) enforces drug laws and regulations in America. They investigate and prepare major drug cases for prosecution and seize property and drugs.

The DEA arrested

26,425 people on drug charges in 2008
29,098 in 2007
29,993 in 2006
29,005 in 2005

The DEA seized the following amounts of drugs in 2008:

49,823 kilograms of cocaine
598 kilograms of heroine
660,969 kilograms of marijuana
1,540 kilograms of meth
9,199,693 doses of hallucinogens

If you have been arrested and charged with drug crimes in Jacksonville, call our Jacksonville Drug Crime Lawyers at (904) 634-0900.

A Clay County Sheriff's Officer had her gun stolen from her car in Jacksonville. Her Glock was stolen from her trunk, which she told police she may have left unlocked. This was the gun issued to her from the Clay County Sheriff's Office.

If you have been arrested in Clay County, call our Clay County Criminal Defense Attorneys at (904) 634-0900.

Former federal judge, Samuel Kent, has been sentenced to almost 3 years in prison for lying about grabbing 2 employees, both women. The former judge entered guilty pleas in Houston for obstructing justice. Prior to entering the plea, Kent was also charged with 2 sex crime charges. He faced life in prison if he had taken all the charges to trial.

If you have been accused of sex charges in Jacksonville, contact our Jacksonville Sex Crimes Law Firm at (904) 634-0900.

A Seminole county man, Arnaldo Martinez, has been convicted of running pot into the country from Mexico to Florida through Texas. The police investigated this operation for 8 months. They found 200 lbs of marijuana in a house with 200 lbs on its way from Mexico. A Florida jury found that Martinez was the head of the drug smuggling organization and he is facing life in prison.

If you have been arrested in Jacksonville on drug charges, call our Jacksonville Drug Attorneys at (904) 634-0900.

The Florida Highway Patrol conducted "Operation Safe Ride" during March 18-21 and April 22-25. FHP wrote over 22,000 tickets during this time on all major state roads. The Florida tickets issued were:

10550 for speeding
1804 for not wearing a seat belt
199 for DUI in Florida
216 for not using a turn signal

If you have been arrested in Jacksonville, contact our Jacksonville Criminal Law Firm at (904) 634-0900.

Two Baltimore police officers have been arrested. Officer Robert Cirello was arrested for first degree assault, second degree assault, and two counts of reckless endangerment. Cirello is accused of throwing his tobacco juice at a citizen's car and pointing his handgun at the driver and passenger.

Officer Joseph Bannerman was arrested for domestic battery after punching and choking his girlfriend.

If you have pending criminal charges in Jacksonville, call our Jacksonville Criminal Attorneys at (904) 634-0900.

New Castle, Delaware police officer, Joshua Giddings, has been arrested for:

official misconduct
sexual extortion and
taking a bribe.

Giddings is accused of arresting a woman, but instead of taking her to jail to get booked, he had her do sexual favors for him. After receiving the benefit of the sex, he issued her a notice to appear instead of formally arresting her. The woman later told police about the incident and they tested her clothes. Giddings DNA was found on her items.

Giddings has not been fired yet, but has been suspended without pay.

If you have been arrested in Jacksonville, call our Jacksonville Criminal Defense Lawyers at (904) 634-0900.

JSO police officer, Marcus Kilpatrick, will be arrested and charged in Jacksonville with giving a false statement to law enforcement (lying) and criminal negligence. He is accused of lying to the Florida Highway Patrol about having his emergency lights on after an accident that killed a resident of Jacksonville. Kilpatrick said he was chasing a car that possibly had illegal window tint.

The majority of Jacksonville Sheriff's Officers are good, hard working men and women, but the problem is there is no system to weed out the lying, rogue officers. These officers who make up facts to effectuate an arrest have a great support system that enables them to do as they wish. Police officers have great powers, including the right to take away your liberty and your life. Let's hope that in the future, bad police officers are taken off the force before someone else is killed.

Every year, the Department of Justice tracks statistics on U.S. prisons. Prisons are institutions that holds sentenced inmates over 1 year. In 2008:

Women in prison (federal or state) rose 1.2% from 2007.

The number of men in prison increased .7% from 2007.

2.3 million inmates were in prisons across the country.

4777 black males out of every 100,000 were in prison.

727 out of every 100,000 white men were in prison.

Contact our Jacksonville Criminal Attorneys at (904) 634-0900 if you have any questions about criminal charges in Jacksonville, Florida.

The U.S. Department of Justice has many duties, one of which is keeping track of jail statistics in the United States. Jails hold inmates awaiting trial and sentenced inmates for up to one year. Some interesting jail stats:

In 2008, there were 258 our of every 100,000 people in jail.

Almost 90% of inmates in jail is male.

During the past 18 years, the number of black inmates has grown by 3.3%. White inmates grew by 3.8% and Hispanic inmates grew by 4.5%.

If you are facing criminal charges in Northeast Florida, contact our Jacksonville Criminal Defense Law Firm at (904) 634-0900.

A police officer in Los Angeles, California has been arrested for 7 drug charges, including conspiracy to smuggle drugs into the North County Jail. Peter Felix turned himself in this week and is looking at 12 years in prison if convicted of these drug charges. Felix resigned after being caught getting cash in exchange for drugs.

If you have been arrested on drug charges in Jacksonville, contact our Jacksonville Drug Law Firm at (904) 634-0900.

Orlando DJ, Shannon Burke, has been arrested on several charges. He is accused of shooting his wife's dog and in the process, hitting his wife as well. He was arrested for Aggravated Battery with a Deadly Weapon and Felony Animal Cruelty.

Even though Burke posted the bond, he could not get out of jail because the new charges violated his probation for DUI. When you are on probation in Jacksonville or all of Florida and you are arrested on new charges, your probation will be violated as long as the new arrest is supported by probable cause.

If you have been arrested for violation of probation in Jacksonville, contact our Jacksonville Probation Attorneys at (904) 634-0900.

If you are arrested and convicted for a DUI where someone is injured in Jacksonville or anywhere in Florida, you could be facing more than the criminal justice system. A woman in Orlando, Florida who entered a plea to a DUI manslaughter has been ordered to pay over $6 million to the victim's family. A civil case was brought after the woman entered a plea to the DUI manslaughter in Florida. Police say the woman was not only drunk driving, but was also on pain pills when the accident occurred.

If you have been arrested for DUI in Jacksonville, Florida, contact our Jacksonville DUI Law Firm at (904) 634-0900.

A new law was passed during this legislative session that will make everyone arrested for a felony in Jacksonville or anywhere in Florida give a DNA sample to put in a database. The law has to be signed by the governor to go into effect.

As it stands now, you only have to give your DNA if you are enter a plea to a felony or are found guilty of a felony. If the law is signed, even people who are wrongly arrested in Jacksonville or people who have their felony charges dropped in Jacksonville will still have to give their DNA.

If you have been arrested for a felony in Jacksonville, contact our Jacksonville Felony Lawyers at (904) 634-0900.

More than 70,000 lbs of lobster worth over a million dollars has been stolen from a Miami seafood distributor. The suspects went into the freezer and stole the seafood.

If arrested in Florida on stealing these lobsters, because the value stolen is over $100,000, the suspects could be charged with first degree felony of Grand Theft. That means they are looking at a maximum of 30 years in prison.

If you have been arrested for grand theft in Jacksonville, call our Jacksonville Theft Attorneys at (904) 634-0900.

A Jacksonville Beach Police Officer ran over a woman who was lying on the beach this weekend. The officer, Lewis Keller, drove over Ann Griffin in the middle of the day. At this time, no disciplinary actions have been taken against the Jacksonville police officer. Police officers who drive their SUV's on the beach should have a set of rules governing their behavior because it is inherently dangerous to be driving a car, let alone a full blown sports utility vehicle over sand that people regularly lay down on.

If you have any questions about criminal charges in Jacksonville, Florida, call our Jacksonville Beach Criminal Defense Attorneys at (904) 634-0900.

A Florida police officer from Avon Park has been arrested again. Officer Alberto Perez has been arrested for extortion and official police misconduct according to Tampa Bay Online. Perez was arrested in 2008 for telling someone he pulled over that they could avoid getting a traffic ticket if they paid him.

Even though there are now two arrests, this man is still a police officer on administrative leave.

If you have been arrested in Duval County, contact our Duval County Criminal Defense Law Firm at (904) 634-0900.