Jacksonville Criminal Attorney Blog

Jacksonville police have many duties and responsibilities that many of Jacksonville’s citizens ignore or forget. However, one duty that the public does not overlook is public safety, particularly reasonless speeding. If one has been charged with such a crime, one should contact an experienced attorney to aggressively fight for one’s case.

According to the Florida Times-Union, two Putnam County Deputies were fired for driving well over 100 miles per hour on a rural road which posted speed limit was 45 mph. These deputies were responding to a noise complaint and as initial investigation shows, the deputies decided to race.

Jacksonville police crimes normally are reported for something controversial, be it improper evidence tampering, unlawfully discharging firearms, or police brutality. However, unreasonable speeding is one crime that police officers normally cite for but do not self-regulate.

The two police officers said they had been holding on responding to the noise complaint for an hour, and were thus responding quickly to recover time. However, the Putnam County Sheriff’s office believes otherwise. Most police departments have a device in their vehicles called an Automatic Vehicle Locator that helps the police station know the state of their vehicles. This device is similar to the electronic black box that records speeds and engine signal communications sent in the car during normal operation.

According to the Automatic Vehicle Locator, one officer was going 124 mph and the other was going 119 mph. The first officer tried to pass, and during this pass, the officer hit a concrete median and damaged his vehicle. The Sheriff’s office said that there was no need for these officers to be speeding that fast. The Sheriff’s office has since fired these two officers; however, the actions of these officers may be in question criminally.

These officers have broken Florida’s reckless driving laws, and will be subject to some possible scrutiny from the legal system as well as the court of public opinion. However, these officers still need a defense. If these officers are to be held to any standard, it should be the standard of the law, not the standard of public opinion. Should these officers end up being charged criminally, or if this kind of situation arise in a private citizen’s own personal life, one should contact an experienced Jacksonville police crimes attorney to fight for one’s case and ensure one’s rights are protected.

Continue reading "Jacksonville Area Police Cited For Wrecking Cruiser at 124 MPH" »

Jacksonville’s juveniles can have some extreme thoughts about obtaining what they want. Even though the actions juveniles choose are most of the time non-violent, sometimes the results of those non-violent actions can be deadly to the juvenile. When this happens, one should contact an experienced Jacksonville juvenile crimes attorney to mount the best defense possible for their deceased love one.

According to the Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville police gunned down a 17 year-old who held up a West-side convenience store with a fake gun. The 17 year-old, Craig Ruise, was shot by two officers after the teen was said to have been holding the store up at gun point at around 3am.

Jacksonville juvenile cases can be quite difficult to deal with, and as this case in particular shows, juvenile cases can be quite heart-breaking. Ruise was carrying a plastic Colt 1911 handgun, which police mistook for a real gun, as it was painted black. The police shouted for Ruise to drop the weapon, which when Ruise failed to do so, the police officers shot him.

Jacksonville police actions have been scrutinized for many years, and for good reason. Many people from Jacksonville have had run-ins with the police that could have ended very differently, had the actions of that officer or set of officers been more thought out.

Many law enforcement officials, when considering facts similar to Ruise’s unfortunate case, will say, like Jacksonville police’s Chief Hackney said, that the police responded in the proper manner. However, police do not often consider without a superior suggesting it, that alternative methods of subduing suspects could and should be used.

Jacksonville police have at their disposal the ability to tase, bean-bag, or at least partially wound a suspect without fatally wounding them. However, most police officers, when put under the pressure, will react at the first remedial measure available: a gun.

The actions of some police officers tend to be just assumed right and the actions of the accused or deceased assumed completely wrong. However, in many situations, the police officer’s actions should be more scrutinized, specifically those cases with fatal consequences.

Many gun cases are similar to Ruise’s, even those that are not fatal. Most tend to be cases where the accused was not given time to put down the weapon, the police thought that the accused was acting in a way that seemed threatening, or the police felt that the problem of the accused needed to be dealt with more aggressively. Whatever the case, the accused in these cases tends to suffer at the hands of the police rather than the hands of the judicial system.

Continue reading "Jacksonville Juvenile Gunned Down After Attempted West-side Robbery" »

Jacksonville police are highly trained and are in mass numbers to protect and serve our city. However, many times police overstep their bounds and abuse their discretion, ending in the death of Jacksonville’s citizens. When this happens, one should obtain an experienced attorney to fight for their case and make sure that the one that is deceased did not die in vain.

According to The Florida Times-Union, the Texas police gunned down Jaime Gonzalez, a 15 year old eighth-grader, in the hallway of his middle school. The police arrived on the scene after a report that Gonzalez was brandishing a firearm in the school. Police arrived on the scene, where there was a statement made that Gonzalez was willing to die; police shot Gonzalez soon after.

Police discretion in Jacksonville, as well as other areas around Jacksonville tend to be less strict than other areas where lawmakers have more control. Many law enforcement experts agree that when a suspect raises a weapon and does not put it down when requested to by police, the police are justified in taking the suspect’s life. However, just because deadly force is justified does not make deadly force necessary.

Police have the duty to protect society from dangerous people; however, dangerous people, no matter what they have done, have rights, both constitutional and fundamental. One of these rights is the right to live. It is for the court to decide through criminal proceedings whether someone’s life should end, rather than a police officer who sometimes acts as the final judge.

In the case of Gonzalez, Gonzalez was brandishing a pellet gun and refused to put the gun down. However, the police say they thought that this was a higher caliber weapon. Even though Gonzalez had not at any point fired a shot, he was still gunned down because the police believed he was dangerous.

There are many ways by which the police are able to subdue someone dangerous, for example tasers, gas, bean bag guns or other various methods. However, these methods are not first considered before using deadly force to subdue the suspect. Because of these decisions, be it from the supervising officers or the individual officers facing the suspect, many die, forever stopping their right to a trial.

According to Gonzalez’s school district superintendent, Gonzalez was not a bad child. Gonzalez was simply a child who made, maybe a crazy decisions, but a decision nevertheless, that cost him his life. Gonzalez could have been subdued, had a trial, and then gone through rehabilitation, rather than meet his very unfortunate end.

Continue reading "Limiting Jacksonville Police Discretion after Texas Eighth Grader Gunned Down In School" »

An eight-year veteran of the Neptune Beach police department was recently arrested and charged with participating in an illegal gambling operation, The Florida Times-Union reports.

The 41-year-old detective now faces a charge of being a keeper of a gambling house, a third-degree felony in Florida. Her 54-year-old boyfriend is also charged. Two others were previously charged.

Illegal gambling in Jacksonville has taken many forms over the years. But as lawmakers wrestle with regulations on casino-style gaming at Native American reservations, the issue resurfaces year after year.

Jacksonville criminal defense attorneys are prepared to defend a variety of criminal charges related to gaming. According to Florida Statutes 849.01, keeping a gaming table, room or machine for a person to gamble is considered punishable by five years in prison.

According to the newspaper, the detective owned a game vending company in Jacksonville. The company's web site states that it operates a 6,000-square-foot showroom with pinball machines, pool tables and video poker.

According to a police report, the company's machines were installed at several bars in Clay County. After deputies investigated, the two other suspects in the case were observed installing the machines and retrieving money from them. Deputies said the company owned by the police officer and the bars would split profits 50-50.

The woman's supervisors say she has been an outstanding police officer and her attorney claims he doesn't know what she is accused of doing. She has denied wrongdoing and has been released on $2,500 bail.

First Coast News is reporting that the charges stem from the officer's business using gaming machines illegally by allowing people to play for money. In most video poker or video slot machines throughout Florida, users must play with money, but can't win actual money from the machines. In many cases, the companies give out gift card or pre-paid debit cards, but not actual cash.

This is a legal way of getting around the Native American's strict grip on gaming in Florida. It's unclear what the crime here was since the news media reports that deputies only observed workers taking money out of the machines, not anyone actually winning real money when they played.

It will be interesting to see how this case plays out. It isn't illegal for a police officer or anyone else to run a business as a side job and it's sad that this officer's name is being dragged through the mud. Police detectives must have solid proof before they make an arrest. They may not take into consideration that an arrest can ruin a person's reputation and their life.

Once arrested, many in the public think defendants are guilty, even before any proof has been established. It is critical that a Jacksonville criminal defense attorney get involved as quickly as possible in order to begin working the case quickly. This can only lead to good things for the defendant. Waiting too long can hinder a person's ability to mount a defense.

Continue reading "Neptune Beach Police Officer Arrested in Alleged Gambling Operation" »

A Jacksonville Sheriff's Office worker has been arrested for eleven felonies in Jacksonville. Kenitra Casper was arrested for Official Misconduct, Disclosure of Confidential Criminal Justice Information, and Misuse of Confidential Information. She was a record keeper at the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and had access to this information. These crimes are all third degree felonies in Jacksonville. Casper has been denied a bond in Jacksonville and is in the jail. She is accused of releasing pictures of narcotics officers who are undercover to drug dealers.

According to police reports, Casper accessed the secure JSO information database on nine different occasions and subsequently releasing the information to people who personally gained from receiving the information. Narcotics detectives routinely disguise themselves and try to buy and sell drugs on the streets of Jacksonville. They often only arrest the street level seller with very little marijuana or cocaine. Many of these street level individuals enter a house to get the drugs that they eventually sell to the police. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office rarely, if ever, seeks to get a search warrant of the "drug" house and instead busts the low man on the totem pole who is probably selling drugs to support his drug habit. The average drug sale in Jacksonville is around $20.00 according to police reports. These drug "sellers" are often convicted of the drug sale in Jacksonville and the public thinks JSO is getting a large number of big drug dealers off the streets.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office utilizes police dogs for a variety of tasks. One job of the dogs is to alert when the dog smells drugs. If a drug-detection dog alerts to the exterior of a car, that gives the officer probable cause to search the car without getting a warrant. An alert is a gesture or noise the dog makes when it smells the illegal drugs.

As a Jacksonville Drug Attorney, I have had many cases where the drug-detection dogs were used. Many times, the officer will pull over a car for a civil infraction (ticket) and will call the drug officer to the scene. As long as the drug dog and the handler get there within the time it takes for the officer to write the ticket, the dog sniff is considered valid. The officer will walk the dog around the exterior of the car and if the dog alerts, the officer can search the interior of your car without your permission.

In order for the search to be valid, the officer must have a reasonable basis for believing the drug-detection dog is reliable. After being arrested in Jacksonville for something found in your car after a dog alerts, such as illegal drugs or a gun, the prosecutor must present the training and certification records of the dog, an explanation of the meaning of the particular training and certification of that dog, field performance records, and evidence concerning the experience and training of the officer handling the dog.

A police officer in Flagler County has been arrested for DUI. Diego Morales has been charged with Driving Under the Influence, Driving Under the Influence with Property Damage, and Careless Driving. It is not known at this time whether or not Morales was on duty at the time of the DUI crash. There has been no other information released at this time.

If you get into a traffic accident in Jacksonville, the police will always check to see if any of the parties involved had been drinking alcohol. Normally, an officer will notice the odor of an unknown alcoholic beverage coming from someone's breath. If the police notice the smell of alcohol after a crash, there is going to be a DUI investigation in Jacksonville. Police will look for other indicators of impairment, such as:

how strong the odor of alcohol is
red eyes
watery eyes
slurred speech
stuttering speech
mumbled speech
thick tongued speech
overall bad attitude
disorderly clothing
unbalanced walking or standing

If the officer develops enough reasonable suspicion to believe you were driving while impaired, he or she can ask you to perform field sobriety exercises. They are the eye test (also called the HGN), the walk and turn, the one leg stand, the rhomberg alphabet, and finger to nose. If the officer thinks you failed these tests and had probable cause to believe you are DUI in Jacksonville, you will be arrested for DUI. You will not have the chance to blow into a breathilizer until after you have been arrested and brought to the jail. Even if you blow .000, meaning no alcohol in your breath or blood, you will still have to bond out and will be facing a DUI charge in Jacksonville. If you have been arrested for DUI (also referred to as DWI) in Jacksonville, you should contact a Jacksonville DUI Attorney to discuss your rights.

A JSO officer has been arrested for the second time in Jacksonville for Violation of an Injunction for Protection Against Domestic Violence. In addition to this new charge, Megan Ray has a criminal mischief charge pending against her.

The charge of violation of an injunction is a first degree misdemeanor in Florida punishable by up to one year in jail. Police say Ray was observed inside Shooters, a Jacksonville gun store. The officer wrote that he observed Ray with an assault rifle, which is actual possession. Ray did not buy the assault rifle, but reportedly did try to trade in a pistol. There is apparently a video of this.

All of these actions would be perfectly legal for Ray, but there is a problem when you have an injunction against you. In January of this year, the current wife of Ray's ex-husband petitioned and was granted a temporary injunction for protection against domestic violence against Ray. According to the injunction, Ray is not supposed to possess a firearm or ammunition. A motion to dismiss the injunction is pending and a permanent injunction has not been granted.

A Jacksonville Sheriff's Lieutenant, Reginald Lott, has been arrested in Jacksonville for Organized Fraud, a first degree felony, and Grand Theft, a third degree felony. Lott resigned right before being fired by the JSO.

From June 1, 2009 to January 31, 2011, Lott was the Treasurer for the Jacksonville Brotherhood of Police Officer's Inc. During that time frame, Lott got a check card which gave him access to the non-profit's bank account at Bank of America. He is accused of utilizing the check card to make many financial transactions in excess of $51,000 for his own use.

On April 20, 2011, Lott made a $40,000 withdraw from the account and used it for personal things. The Brotherhood's board told police the withdraws were NOT authorized.

The charge of Engaging in a Scheme of Organized Fraud is a first degree felony. The amount obtained must be valued at $50,000 or more. This crime is punishable by up to 30 years in prison. Grand Theft is a third degree felony in Florida. It is punishable by up to 5 years in prison.

Lott posted bond and was released prior to going to first appearance court (also called J-1). This is unusual because people who are arrested for felonies in Jacksonville typically have to go in front of a judge to set a bond on the felony in order to be released.

Living in Jacksonville, we all know police officers use force. Sometimes, it is deadly. Law enforcement officers do not have to retreat or stop their efforts when they are making a lawful arrest of someone. Under Florida law, the police officer can use ANY force:

1. Which he or she reasonably believes to be necessary to defend himself or herself or someone else from harm while making the lawful arrest or

2. When necessarily committed in capturing escaped felons or

3. When necessarily committed in arresting fleeing felons. In this case, the officer is justified in using DEADLY force if he or she gives a warning and REASONABLY believes the fleeing felon poses a threat of death or serious bodily harm to the officer or others or the officer REASONABLY believes the fleeing felon has committed a crime that involves hurting others seriously.

A JSO officer has been arrested and is being held in Clay County Jail for two charges of Violation of Injunction. Michael E. Williams has been employed as a Jacksonville police officer for 16 years, but he resides in Clay County. Since working at JSO, Williams has received many complaints, both external and internal, while at JSO. He was even suspended for a total of 20 days for improper conduct, but continues to remain employed.

An injunction in Jacksonville is a court order meant to keep someone away from someone else. Injunctions can be temporary or permanent and can prohibit all contact or just violent contact. If an injunction is granted for "no contact", the "respondent" cannot have any contact with the "petitioner". In Jacksonville, "no contact" means that the respondent cannot go within 500 feet of the petitioner's residence or place of employment and cannot go within 100 feet of the petitioner's car, whether or not it is occupied. The injunction will also usually prohibit the respondent from possessing a gun.

Any person who willfully violates an injunction can be arrested for Violation of Injunction, which is a first degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 1 year in jail.

As a Criminal Defense Lawyer in Jacksonville, I have read thousands of arrest and booking reports. Almost all of the arrests in Jacksonville stem from a police officer making contact with someone.

There are 3 levels of police encounters with the public.

The first is called a "consensual encounter". This is supposed to involve only minimal police contact and the citizen is free to comply with an officer's requests or to ignore them. A citizen is free to leave at any time. JSO uses these "consensual" encounters to develop reasonable suspicion to further detain a citizen. Most people think if a police officer calls out to them, they are not able to walk away. If a police officer asks you to stop on the street, ask if you are being detained. If not, you are able to walk away.

The second way police stop you is called an investigatory stop. A police officer can reasonably detain someone only if he or she has a well-founded, articulable suspicion that the person is engaged in criminal conduct. Mere suspicion is not enough to support a stop.

The third level of police encounters is an arrest. The officer has to have probable cause to believe a suspect did commit a crime.

Orlando police officer, Wendell Robey, has been arrested in Florida for grand theft, dealing in stolen property, and identity theft. The officer and his wife are accused of selling employee tickets to Disney World and Universal Studios on craiglist.com. Employees are given these tickets by the companies and are not for resale.

In order to convict Robey of Grand Theft in Florida, the state would have to prove that he knowingly took someone;s property with the intent to temporarily or permanently deprive them of the property. If the value of the property is over $300, the crime is a third degree felony punishable for up to 5 years in prison.

Dealing in Stolen Property is a second degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. The prosecutor would have to prove Robey bought or sold property he knew or should have known was stolen.

Identity Theft, also called Criminal Use of Identification Information, is a multi-level felony in Florida. The prosecutor would have to prove Robey willfully and without authorization, fraudulently used the personal identification information of someone else without obtaining their consent. If the value received is less than $5000, this is a third degree felony punishable up to 5 years in prison.

If the value received is $5000 or more or if the suspect fraudulently used 10 or more people's information but less than 20, the crime is a second degree felony punishable to up to 15 years in prison. It also carries a 3 year minimum mandatory, which means if convicted, a suspect would have to spend 3 years in prison day for day.

If the value received is $50,000 or more or 20 up to 30 people got the their identities stolen, the suspect could receive up to 30 years in prison with a 5 year minimum mandatory.

A ten year minimum mandatory is applied if the value received is $100,000 or more or 30 or more people are victims of the ID theft in Florida.

Generally, before the police can enter a house, they must have a search warrant. As a Jacksonville Warrant Attorney, I review many warrants. A search warrant can be issued when any property contains evidence relevant to proving that a felony has been committed. Before a judge can sign a warrant, he or she has to be supplied with sufficient information to support their independent judgment that probable cause exists for the warrant.

The affidavit for the warrant must have sworn testimony from a credible witness stating that he or she has reason to believe that a crime is being committed on the premises. It must state, truthfully, that a particular person has committed a crime and that evidence relevant to the probable criminality is located at the place to be searched. The affidavit itself must have either information concerning the informant's veracity or corroborating evidence.

The reasons cited by the police must be sufficient to create a reasonable belief that a crime has been committed. If your home has been searched by police with a warrant, you should consult with a Criminal Defense Lawyer in Jacksonville. A Jacksonville Criminal Attorney can review the warrant and the affidavit for the warrant to make sure all the legal requirements are met.

As a Jacksonville Criminal Lawyer, I come across many cases where the police enter someone's home. Even though there are strict rules on how JSO can enter a home, they are not always followed.

Generally, the police can't enter someone's home without a warrant signed by a judge. Warrantless searches are considered, under the 4th Amendment to the Constitution, unreasonable, subject to certain exceptions. Police can't go into a dwelling without a warrant absent consent or exigent circumstances.

One way police justify getting into a house without a warrant is to conduct a "protective sweep". A protective sweep is a quick and limited search of the premises, incident to an arrest and conducted to protect the safety of the officers or others. Whether the arrest is made inside or outside the house, the police can conduct a fast and cursory search of the house when they have reasonable grounds to believe that there are other people inside who might present a security risk or who may destroy evidence.

A police lieutenant has been arrested in Flagler County for Elderly Abuse and battery. Robert Milstead has been a police officer for 32 years and has been with the Flagler Beach Police Department for 3 years. He is charged with yanking a disabled driver out of his car, putting him in handcuffs, and spraying him with pepper-spray during a traffic stop. The battery charge comes from another man who said Milstead used pepper-spray on him as well and called him racist names.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has been investigating these allegations and says they have other police officers who were witnesses.

A police officer in Lawtey, Florida has been arrested on felony charges. Kenyatta Sheffield was arrested for two counts of bribery and two counts of receiving unlawful compensation. When Sheffield pulled people over for speeding in Lawtey, which is what most officers in Bradford County spend their time doing, he would allegedly offer drivers a "special" payment option. Instead of paying the fine to the clerk of court, the officer would ask for cash on the spot and allegedly keep it. Over his career, Sheffield wrote about 200 traffic tickets.

As Jacksonville Traffic Lawyers, we represent many people who are written traffic citations and even arrested for traffic offenses in Jacksonville. If you are given a ticket, you can pay the ticket and will be assessed points on your license, go to traffic school, or fight the ticket in court. If you hire a Jacksonville Attorney to represent you on a ticket, the Jacksonville Lawyer will go to traffic court for you and try to get the ticket dismissed or at the very least, get NO points assessed on your license.

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.

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

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.