Articles Posted in Crimes of Violence

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An interesting story in today’s St. Pete Times highlights the life, or lack thereof, of Teddy Braden, the former gang member turned blogger that blogs from the Pinellas County Jail.

Braden, who is in the Pinellas County Jail on Drug Charges, blogs with the help of his mother — who takes his notes and letters and posts them online at: teeninjail.blogspot.comBraden, who was arrested for the first time at age 13, has a Juvenile record consisting of various Drug Charges and a Residential Burglary. As an adult, he has been locked up for doing drugs, selling drugs, Grand Theft, Burglary and now Drug Trafficking.

In one of Braden’s blog posts he states that “One of my biggest regrets is joining a gang.” The quote sits below a picture of Braden, wearing a red t-shirt, hat and bandana, while throwing up a “B” (a noted gang hand sign for the Bloods). However, something about this photo tells me that Braden would not survive, on the streets, for very long.
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In a very emotional sentencing hearing, that I happened to witness while in the same courtroom on an unrelated case, a St. Petersburg mother plead guilty to Manslaughter on the morning her trial was to begin in a case where she let her 15-year old son, Shawn Ledesma, drive her car, which he crashed, killing one of his passengers, Raquel Carreras, a 14-year old student at Northeast High School.

For the complete story, check out this St. Pete Times article.Personally, I think this would have been a very interesting case had it gone to trial. While I certainly understand the position of the State Attorney’s Office (after all, someone’s child was killed that evening), I also think it is a bit unfair to treat this Defendant in the same way that we would treat someone who intentionally drinks and drives and kills someone leading to a DUI Manslaughter charge.

At trial, the State of Florida would have needed to prove that Lesa Ledesma “knew” or “should have known” that giving her car keys to her 15-year old son would have lead to someone being seriously inujured or killed. To me, that would have been a stretch as underage kids drive their parents’ vehicles a lot more than we probably realize or want to admit.

The mother of the now-deceased high school student stated that she would like for parents to “quit being a friend, and be a parent.” After many years of prosecuting and handling difficult and emotional cases such as this one, I could not have said it better myself.
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A recent Bay News 9 story indicates that crime and gun ownership are both up in Manatee County, Florida. Some residents have indicated that it’s the large increase in crime that prompted them to buy a gun. Specifically, Manatee County residents have been fighting back against a recent string of Home Invasion Robberys and Murders.Recent changes in Florida law have made it easier for each of us to defend our own home and property. Expanding the old concept of the “castle doctrine,” Florida lawmakers have given individual property owners additional tools to protect themselves from violent and/or gang-related activity.The Blake & Dorsten, P.A., in Clearwater, is a proud supporter of the Second Amendment and is a firm believer in allowing law-abiding property owners to possess firearms for the protection of their home and family.
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For all of you Tampa Bay Buccaneer fans out there…. this story has got to drive you crazy. Last year’s first round draft pick, Aqib Talib, who plays cornerback for the Bucs, was arrested early this morning for Battery and Resisting Arrest Without Violence after he allegedly struck a cab driver in the neck and ear while riding from a St. Petersburg club to a Tampa hotel.

For the complete story, check out today’s St. Petersburg Times article.

This is not the first time that Talib’s behavior has been called into question. In May, Talib was involved in a fight during a Bucs practice in which he hit his teammate Torrie Cox, as well as a bystander, with his helmet. Talib was actually trying to hit teammate Donald Penn. Cox, who was attempting to break up the fight, received multiple stiches in his face.Talib was also involved in a fight with then-teammate Cory Boyd at the NFL’s Rookie Symposium last year. Coincidentally, one of the topics discussed at the Symposium was “personal conduct.”

In college, at the University of Kansas, Talib reportedly tested positive for marijuana multiple times. This unfortunate news for the Bucs comes just days after Safety Tanard Jackson was suspended by the NFL for four (4) games for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy.
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Welcome to the odd world of random crime committed in the Tampa Bay area. As they say on “Law & Order,” here’s another story that has been “ripped from the headlines.” You just can’t make this stuff up.

Yesterday, the Chief of Tampa General Hospital’s trauma center pleaded “no contest” to two (2) misdemeanor charges and was sentenced to two (2) years of probation and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service. For the complete story, check out the full St. Petersburg Times article.

Documents which were released yesterday shed some light on this unusual crime. On April 21, 2009, Dr. Sergio Alvarez, a first year resident in the plastic surgery department of the University of South Florida, was assisting Dr. David J. Ciesla during a surgery when they located a bullet on top of the man’s liver. About an hour into the surgery, Dr. Ciesla was relieved by another doctor. However, prior to leaving the operating room, Dr. Ciesla reached into the fugitive’s body and removed the bullet. According to Dr. Alvarez, Dr. Ciesla stated “this is what we do with bullets” before placing the bullet inside the rubber glove on his right hand.

Unfortunately for Dr. Ciesla, two (2) agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement were sitting inside the operating room waiting to take the bullets into evidence. However, when questioned by the FDLE agents, Dr. Ciesla stated that the bullets were still stuck in the patient’s body.

Dr. Ciesla eventually returned his souvenir, one week later, after being confronted by University officials. For his part, Dr. Ciesla was charged by the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office with Providing False Information to Law Enforcement and Obstructing or Opposing an Officer without Violence.

Yesterday, County Court Judge Cheryl Thomas “withheld adjudication,” meaning Dr. Ciesla will not receive a conviction on his record (assuming he completes the terms of his probation successfully). He will also be eligible for an Early Termination of Probation, after serving one full year of probation, if all of his terms and conditions have been met.
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In one of the more irresponsible cases to catch the media’s attention this week, a New Port Richey woman was arrested for Driving Under the Influence. And while that, in-and-of-itself, is not real newsworthy, the fact that she had four (4) children in her car and a blood-alcohol level of .113 (a good bit over the legal limit of .08 in the State of Florida) has turned a normal DUI case into a case of Child Abuse and/or Child Neglect.

For more information on this case, check out the original story on Bay News 9.

While the Blake & Dorsten, P.A. in Clearwater handles many DUI and other Traffic-Related cases throughout the Tampa Bay area, it does not support or condone this type of reckless activity. Continue reading

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In another one-of-a-kind story that makes us all wonder why we continue to live in the Tampa Bay area, Eddie Lee Burney, 60, of St. Petersburg, was arrested for Aggravated Assault with a Firearm after he jumped out from behind a tree, at 5:25 a.m., and a pointed a loaded, chrome .38 special at his St. Petersburg Times delivery man.

Apparently Burney was known to make frequent complaints that his morning newspaper was being stolen. Taking matters into his own hands, Burney yelled “come get this newspaper” while placing his hand on the weapon and taking an “aggressive stance” towards the victim.

For his part, Burney is being charged with Aggravated Assault with a Firearm, a third degree felony in the State of Florida that is punishable by up to five years in prison. Burney will also have to deal with the three (3) year minimum/mandatory prison sentence that is required under Florida’s 10/20/LIFE law.
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A recent story in the St. Petersburg Times has indicated that crime is on the rise in the City of St. Petersburg, Florida. According to the latest numbers, Burglary
and Theft Crimes are rapidly increasing.

For the full story, click here:

Police Chief Chuck Harmon has suggested that the rapid rise in crime is due to many factors including the current economic crisis, rising unemployment and home foreclosures.

While Property Crimes like Auto Theft are on the rise, most Crimes of Violence are down this year. Robbery is down 12 percent this year and the number of Homicides have been cut in half.These statistics have lead to a steady increase in business for the Blake & Dorsten, P.A. in Clearwater. Criminal Attorney Nicholas J. Dorsten, of the Blake & Dorsten, P.A., handles all criminal matters arising in the City of St. Petersburg and throughout the Tampa Bay area.
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A jury was picked and the Trial has started in one of my all-time favorite cases that I handled while prosecuting in the Pinellas County State Attorney’s Office. I can remember the day that one of our local undercover detectives was shot as our Gang Prosecution Unit was already prosecuting several members of St. Petersburg’s “Haines Road Cru.”

What started as a small “neighborhood group” that bullied people around had turned into a small group of dangerous individuals robbing local pharmacies at gunpoint. Initially, each Robbery was done to get as much Oxycodone and Xanax as possible as the street value of those pills had gone through the roof in Pinellas County.

Soon thereafter, this small group, all clad in black with their faces concealed, robbed a Blockbuster Video in St. Petersburg. Unfortunately, at that time, the St. Petersburg Police Department was doing undercover surveillance on this group.Once the undercover units noticed that a Robbery was occuring at the Blockbuster, one of the plain-clothes detectives confronted Velislav Matzov. After the detective identified himself as a law enforcement officer, Matzov fired several shot almost killing the detective.For his part, Matzov was charged with Attempted Murder of a Law Enforcement Officer as well as various other Armed Robbery charges. His co-Defendant, Joseph Hollings is set for Trial next week. The driver of the vehicle, Danielle Karlau, has already entered a plea and is expected to be called as a witness. Matzov is facing Life in prison if he is convicted of the most serious charge: the Attempted Murder of a Law Enforcement Officer.

For more information on this case, including the initial St. Petersburg Times article and the Bond Hearing that I handled for the State of Florida, check out the St. Pete TImes article “Birthday Gift Blamed for Cop Shooting“.
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In another “only in the Tampa Bay area” type of case, a 29-year old Palm Harbor man was recently arrested for assaulting his 8 1/2 month pregnant wife while aboard an AirTran Airways flight from Baltimore to Tampa.This is an interesting twist on the typical Domestic Violence case since it occured mid-flight and is therefore a Federal Crime.

For more information on this case, click here:

The Blake & Dorsten, P.A., in Clearwater, handles many Domestic Violence cases throughout the Tampa Bay area.

Its important to remember that the State of Florida has a “pro prosecution” policy when it comes to Domestic Violence cases. That means, even if the victim may not want to press charges, the State of Florida will frequently file charges anyway. In my experience, these cases are best handled when an experienced criminal defense attorney is contacted immediately upon arrest (or even prior to a formal arrest).

If you or a family member has been accused of a Domestic Violence offense, the Blake & Dorsten, P.A. stands ready to assist you. 365/24/7.
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