Jacksonville Criminal Attorney Blog

Officer Marc Garza has been arrested in Jacksonville for a second time. Garza has a pending felony charge of official misconduct and misdemeanor charge of filing false police reports. He is out of jail on a 150,000 bond in Jacksonville. The charges in the new arrest are aggravated battery, a second degree felony in Jacksonville and official misconduct, a third degree felony. Garza, a 15 year JSO officer, is now facing three felonies in Jacksonville and one misdemeanor.

In the new felony battery charge, Garza is accused of beating a handcuffed suspect in the back of a patrol car. The suspect was arrested for possession of cocaine, battery on a law enforcement officer, and resisting an officer with violence in Jacksonville. The suspect was reportedly repeatedly struck in the head by Garza causing a 2 inch cut. The suspect had to be taken to the hospital where he received staples for his injury.

A man has been arrested in Jacksonville for cultivating 99 marijuana plants. David Franqui was arrested on May 4th for cultivation of marijuana in Jacksonville, a third degree felony. This crime is punishable for up to 5 years in prison. In addition to the pot plants, police found 5 pounds of marijuana in a freezer. JSO got a warrant to search Franqui's home.

As Jacksonville Marijuana Lawyers, our clients are often arrested after the police execute a search warrant on their home. In order to get a warrant to search someone's home on suspicion of cultivation, the police must demonstrate probable cause to believe the house is being used for the purpose of violating the laws relating to drug abuse. The officer will first list his or her qualifications, how long they have been on the force and narcotic experience. Police will then usually examine JEA records on the residence to demonstrate the suspect's bill is high compared to comparably sized homes. JSO will then usually conduct a "knock and talk" at the house. Inevitably, when the police approach the door, they will smell the odor of marijuana emitting from the home. The officer will then take this information to a judge to get a search warrant. The first thing a Jacksonville Pot Attorney will analyze is the affidavit for the search warrant to make sure the police followed proper procedure. If JSO did not get it right, the Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney can file a motion to suppress everything that was found as a result of the illegal search in Jacksonville.

As Domestic Battery Lawyers in Jacksonville, we have represented many people charged with domestic violence crimes. Domestic Battery is probably the most common domestic related crime in Jacksonville. In order to prove a domestic battery, for example, the prosecutor has to prove that you intentionally touched someone against their will or intentionally hurt someone. The "victim" and you have to be family or living as if a family.

According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the total domestic violence crimes for Jacksonville (Duval County) went up 9.9% from 2008 to 2009. Domestic violence crimes in Jacksonville include homicides, rapes, assaults, battery charges, and stalking. In 2009, there were 9 domestic homicides, 53 rapes, 838 aggravated assault offenses, 6781 simple assault charges, and 5 aggravated stalking offenses in Jacksonville.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement keeps track of crime data all over our state. The department tracks arrest data, reported crimes, and information about police officers.

In 2009, many law enforcement officers were assaulted or battered while in the line of duty. Here are the numbers of officers assaulted over the last 3 years without injury:

6449 in 2007
6103 in 2008
5709 in 2009

Here are the numbers of officers battered with injury for the past 3 years:

1995 in 2007
1998 in 2008
1791 in 2009

Our Jacksonville criminal law firm handles criminal cases exclusively. As Northeast Florida criminal defense attorneys, we are constantly tracking arrest data in Jacksonville and all over the State of Florida. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement keeps track of crime statistics throughout the state. The department has developed a "crime clock", which calculates the frequency of the commission of certain crimes based on the previous year's numbers.

Here are the numbers:

A violent crime is committed in Florida every 4 minutes, 38 seconds.

A property crime is committed every 44 seconds in Florida.

One murder is committed every 8 hours, 37 minutes.

One sex crime is committed every 52 minutes.

A rape is committed every 1 hour, 36 minutes.

A robbery is committed in Florida every 17 minutes.

One aggravated assault is committed in Florida every 7 minutes.

One burglary is committed every 3 minutes in Florida.

A theft is committed every minute.

A former Jacksonville Sheriff's Officer has been arrested again on drug related charges. Carl Kohn is being federally prosecuted for allegedly distributing cocaine from Flagler to Jacksonville. He is being held in jail because the judge said he was a danger to the community and a flight risk. In bond hearings in Jacksonville and anywhere in Florida, a judge has to decide how potentially dangerous someone is or how inclined they are to flee the jurisdiction. If you have someone you love that has been arrested, contact a Jacksonville Bond Attorney as soon as possible.

This is not the first time Kohn has been arrested for drug crimes in Florida. When he was a JSO officer, he sold cocaine while wearing his uniform from his police car. Kohn served 6 years in prison for sale of cocaine in Jacksonville.

JSO officer, Marcus Kilpatrick, will be fired after entering a plea to culpable negligence in Jacksonville. This was a misdemeanor and he was sentenced to probation and community service. Kilpatrick was going 98 miles per hour in a 40 mph zone, supposedly chasing a car for improper window tint, and killed a citizen in a traffic wreck.

Kilpatrick was originally additionally arrested in Jacksonville for lying to law enforcement and failure to use due care, but those charges were dropped by the state attorney's office. Witnesses at the scene told the Florida Highway Patrol that he did not have his lights or sirens on, but after the accident turned them on. Kilpatrick told the FHP he had his lights on the whole time.

Kilpatrick was not sentenced to ANY jail time and as long as he completes his probation, will be "punished" no more.

Many agencies have the power to arrest people in Duval County. There are 13 different "arms of the law" that can detain you and ultimately put you in jail. Here are the names of some of the law enforcement agencies and the number of people they arrested in 2009:

The Atlantic Beach Police Department arrested 961 people.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office arrested 44, 801.

The Jacksonville Beach Police Departmentt arrested 1,798 people.

The Neptune Beach Police Department arrested 446.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrested 104.

The University of North Florida police department arrested 31.

The Jacksonville Port Authority arrested 26.

The Duval County School Board Police Department arrested 919.

No matter which police force arrests you, you have rights. Contact a Jacksonville Criminal Defense Lawyer to discuss your case and your options.