Crimes of Violence

April 26, 2013

Tampa man tried to kill victim before his rape trial

As reported in the Tampa Bay Times, a 27 year-old man is accused of hiring a hit man to murder a woman and her daughter. The woman? An alleged victim of the man who was all set to testify against him at there upcoming rape trial.

Demetreius Morris was awaiting the trial in a Tampa jail. He sent out several notes to an unknown individual saying that he wanted to hire someone to kill the victim of a sexual assault charge he was preparing to fight. According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, these notes were intercepted (and there are signs all throughout the Orient Road jail saying that all non-legal mail will be read).

The suspect was facing a rape charge from September when DNA matching him was found on the victim.

The 70 year-old victim was by a man with Mr. Morris’ DNA when she was giving him a tour of a church.

The police had previously gotten DNA from the Defendant when he was found guilty of a 2002 lewd and lascivious act on a child.

This DNA sample helped link him to the church rape and he was charged with kidnapping, sexual battery and lewd and lascivious molestation of an elderly person among other counts.

While he was in his Tampa jail cell he began writing a series of notes to the unnamed source. Between April 12 and April 21st, he wrote multiple times wishing to have the victim killed before the May 8th trial date. He “corresponded via hand-written notes to the listed witness expressing his desire to have a ‘hit’ placed on the victim and the victim’s daughter.” per the Sheriff’s Office.

How was he going to pay the hit man? With our tax dollars of course! He promised to pay the bill with his social security money that he was scheduled to get.

As of this writing, his May 8th trial date for rape is still going. Mr. Morris now finds himself facing an additional charge: solicitation to commit murder, a first degree felony punishable by up to thirty years.
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October 11, 2012

Tampa juror going to jail?

by Blake & Dorsten, P.A.

From the Tampa Bay Times website, a Hillsborough county judge is vowing to send a juror to jail because he took it upon himself to research a suspect accused of murder…

In Tampa, after ignoring multiple warnings from the assigned judge not to research a murder case starting this week, a potential juror found himself in the crosshairs of the enraged judge.

The juror, name withheld, along with 200 other potential jurors were given written warnings not to research this death penalty case. They were also warned multiple times by the judge not to discuss the case with their fellow jurors. 199 of them apparentely listened. One man did not. And when Judge Bill Fuente of Hillsborough found out that the would-be juror disregarded his instructions he was out of patience. The judge told the wanna-be sleuth to leave his address with the bailiff because he was going to jail. He then threw the juror out of his courtroom!

This judge is presiding over a first-degree murder trial of a man, 30, charged with raping and brutally stabbing a mother of three back in 2007. Because the state is seeking the death penalty, this trial is expected to last up to a month.

This judge had previously attempted to try the suspect last year but was unable to because the criminal defense lawyers couldn’t find 12 acceptable jurors out of a pool of only 60.

Though not his fault, this same judge has previously presided over another failed high profile murder case earlier this year. Dontae Morris, accused of killing multiple people, including police officers, had a mistrial after the judge dismissed over 80 prospective jurors when he learned that they were talking about the case over lunch, against the judge’s instructions.<

For this current case, the judge was extra careful this past Monday. After ordering a panel of 200 prospective jurors he gave all of them a written order not discuss the case with anyone and stressed that they were NOT to research the case. Between lunches and breaks, he reminded them about the order and warned them not to talk about the case.

Then yesterday, a fellow juror reported the suspect talked over lunch about Googling the murderer's name at home the previous night. The juror reported the conversation to the bailiffs who informed the judge. This time, the angry honor did not dismiss the entire panel, but said the man could count on a jail sentence.

As far as the man goes, he is claiming that he didn't read the written order and knew nothing about it. He is also claiming that he learned nothing about the murder suspect from his online research and assummed other jurors did the same thing. This juror claims he cannot afford a criminal defense lawyer for his case so is doing the only thing he can think of…writing a letter of apology to the judge, admitting he was wrong and begging for forgiveness!
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October 4, 2012

Clearwater men arrested after battering a law enforcement officer

by Blake & Dorsten, P.A.

From the Tampa Times, two men were found hiding on a roof after injuring a police officer…

Two Clearwater men accused of agrravated battery of a police officer and fleeing and eluding were arrested this morning after fleeing to a rooftop in an attempt to avoid capture.

Earlier that nigh police were summoned to an apartment complex in Clearwater after reports of people waiving guns inside a car.

When police arrived at the apartments, the suspects committed aggravated battery on a police officer by intentionally driving his car into one of the officers. According to police reports, the officer tried to jump out of the way but was hit by the side of the vehicle, suffering minor injuries.

Officers began a high spped chase of the suspect’s car, which ended in a crash on U.S. 19 near Druid road. It is unknown at the time of this writing if the driver was charged with leaving the scene of an accident with property damage.

Three men got out of the wrecked vehicle and began to run. K9 units tracked two suspects to the Clearwater mall where a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office helicoptor found them on the roof at Lowes!

While one man remains at large, the other two men were Id’ed as Clearwater residents. One man was charged with aggravated battery, drug possession, and obstruction. The passenger faces a burglary charge.

On a side note, more charges may soon be coming. When police searched the crashed car, they found eight pounds of marijuana, five grams of crack cocaine and several guns!
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September 6, 2012

In St. Petersburg, Florida are Tattoos the new DNA?

by Blake & Dorsten, P.A.

From an article in the Tampa Times, new evidence that tattoos are increasingly being used to ID criminals. Some of this “ink” is so unique, it is replacing the old photo packs as tools to identify suspects…

Police were investigating a robbery in St. Petersburg. They had no suspects but were canvasing the area for leads. They happened to interview a nearby employee of the Mariner car wash who remembered a man with an unusual arm tattoo that read “Most Wanted”. That man happened to have a previous conviction for a different bank robbery. Based on the tattoo description, police ran his DNA and found a match to the suspect. The man, 43, received 30 years in prison and the state attorney prosecuting the case claimed the visual ID of the tattoo was invaluable in getting the conviction.

In Florida, this man joins a growing army of criminals who are being identified mainly though their tatoos and “markings”. As tattos have exploded in popularity, polce agencies are increasingly photographing and distributing the photos in a catalogue to help identify more criminals.

In St. Petersburg alone, these tatoos have helped solve multiple crimes. When a man was shot behind a pool hall in St. Petersburg last year, the suspect was easily found. he reason? The large “727” tattoo (the St. Petersburg area code) on the back of his neck! Ironically, the suspect (Dwayne Bailey) had previously talked to because he was already a suspect. He has been charged with murder and is awaiting trial.

Another St. Petersburg case ended in an arrest, this time for sexual battery. Two out of three victims described a tattoo that said “Ride or Die”. The suspect, who had that tattoo etched on his neck, is also awaiting trial.. Another man from nearby Riverview was identified in a burglary by his large state of Florida tattoo put right on his face.

Tattoos as evidence is not just a Florida phenomenon. In California a man was convicted of a murder outside a liquor store. This murder was unsolved until police got a big break. The assigned detective was going through a tattoo book and saw the defendant with the murder scene tattooed on his chest!

When interviewed, a St. Petersburg police spokesman admitted that while not all tattoos are helpful, generally the more unique one is, the better it works in identifying a person. Thanks to modern technology, police now have computer databases and can run a tattoo through a system to see if it matches a prior arrest. Recently, a St. Petersburg woman was caught on tape committing credit card fraud. She was seen on camera and had a large tattoo on her right shoulder. She was later arrested on a seperate case and in booking, her tattoo was found, resulting in additional charges.

In nearby Tampa, a tattooed woman was accused of purse snatching at a Publix and then using the stolen credit cards. Once again, while her face was hidden, her tattoo was visible…making the police hopeful they will soon be making another arrest…
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August 31, 2012

The aftermath of the Tampa RNC, much ado about nothing?

by Blake & Dorsten, P.A.

We had previously written in an earlier blog post about what to do if approached by the police during the Republican National Convention. Thee were panicked stories about anarchists who will purposely destroy property and hurt people. Based on previous convention arrest number, the Tampa police department were estimating over 1,000 arrests and had been approved for a 50 million dollar federal grant to beef up their equipment and numbers. As of Friday morning with the convention winding down the grand arrest total is…maybe a few dozen?!

A combination of Hurricane Isaac, overwhelming police numbers and a “kinder, gentel” police force led to some confrontations but no mass arrests and little property damage. Per an article in the Tampa Times, even many protesters were impressed with how polite and restrained many of the over 60 police agencies involved in convention security were. Police spokesmen were happy but gave much of the credit for peace to low turnout. For instance on Monday 500 people showed up at a protest that was expecting over 5000. Per the spokesmen, the violent anarchists needed a larger crowd to move in, the smaller crowd did not allow for much mayham.Of course there were still arrests. Earlier in the week, a man was arrested and charged with carrying a concealed weapon when he was found with a machete in his pants. There were also several arrests for disorderly conduct, marijuana possession, battery and criminal mischief among others.

Overall Tampa and St. Petersburg got lucky. There was very little property damage, only a few arrests and by most accounts a safe and fun convention for guests and home town folks alike. In this case both the multiple police agencies and even many of the protestors themselves deserve a big hand for both keeping the streets safe and allowing the first amendment right to assembly to flourish.
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July 27, 2012

What is child abuse vs. child discipline in Florida?

by Blake & Dorsten, P.A.

An article from an Orlando paper dealt with a man arrested and charged with child abuse. The man, Johnny Nguyen, was arrested by police when he put his five year old daughter in his car trunk for over one minute. A witness yelled at Mr. Nguyen to stop and called 911. The Defendant claimed he was punishing her daughter for misbehaving in church. Is this child abuse? The answer in Florida is a resounding…maybe?

Florida, like the rest of the union, has certain built in exceptions for parental discipline over children. If a stranger hits a child, he may be arrested for child abuse or battery but a parent is permitted the lawful exercise of corporal punishment. Generally, Florida case law spells out what is considered “lawful” with a few examples below…

In State v. Figarola, 788 So.2d 1109 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001), the defendant was charged with felony child abuse for hitting his son multiple times in the face when the boy would not eat dinner. This caused the boy to have a split lip. The court ruled that the facts did not show “that the parent’s behavior was so excessive or unreasonable and beyond the scope of parental discipline to constitute child abuse.” Id. at 1011.

Another case with a similar outcome is Wilson v. State, 744 So.2d 1237 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999). In Wilson, the defendant was accussed of slapping her six year old son in the face once with an open palm in response to him ignoring her requests to behave. The slap resulted in a red mark on his face but no permanent injuries or medical treatment. Here the Court ruled that these facts constituted not child abuse but permissible discipline.As Clearwater criminal lawyers, and former prosecutors, we have handled hundreds of child abuse cases. Many times, the person being charged is not a parent, rather a school teacher or another authority figure. The State of Florida has walked a thin line to both protect the children while upholding the rights of certain individuals to discipline appropriately.

In State v. Lanier, 979 So.2d 365 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008), the defendant, an elementary school teacher was arrested for child abuse. He was accused of stomping on a four year old’s foot after the child had stomped on another student. In this case the Court determined that the defendant’s actions were permissible and did not amount to an “act that could…’reasonably be expected’ to cause physical injury.” Id. at 368.

Finally, in King v. State, 903 So.2d 954 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005) the defendant, an administrator at a Christian academy, was charged with felony child abuse. The defendant allegedly spanked an eight year old child with a paddle two times, leaving large welts and bruises on her buttocks. This was done because the child was being punished for lying and cheating. The defendant did have a signed permission slip allowing corporal punishment at this school and the Court concluded that the spanking alone did NOT constitute felony child abuse.

What does this mean for Mr. Nguyen? His criminal defense lawyer may try and argue permissible corporal punishment. That may depend on several unkown factors at this time such as the weather, the defendant’s past history and what if any injuries did his daughter receive?
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April 3, 2012

Florida “Stand Your Ground” Law and Trayvon Martin, Part Two

by Blake & Dorsten, P.A.

In part one of this blog, we discussed the history and background of Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law and what it means. In this section, we will be discussing both the potential charges Mr. Zimmerman, the alleged shooter, may be facing as well as if this law itself even applies…What are the possible charges that George Zimmerman faces?

As of this writing, no arrest has been made in this case. Police continue to investigate with no hint of what direction they are leaning to. The most obvious charge is murder. In Florida, murder can be of varying degrees, often depending on if the act was premeditated. If the police determined that Mr. Zimmerman acted with negligence in the killing of Mr. Martin, under Florida law, her could be charged with manslaughter. Mr. Zimmerman could possibly face federal charges if the federal government decides to get involved (possibly through a civil rights violation). Finally, it is important to remember that this is all conjuncture, no charges have been filed yet and Mr. Zimmerman is innocent until proven guilty.

Does Florida “Stand Your Ground” Law apply?

The short answer is…nobody really knows! This law prevents prosecution for murder or other criminal charges but ONLY if George Zimmerman was not the instigator. Using a hypothetical, suppose George Zimmerman repeatedly followed and harrassed Trayvon Martin or if George attacked Trayvon. Then pretend Trayvon started to fight back or retaliate against George. This law could not be used as a defense by Mr. Zimmerman because in that scenario, HE was the instigator and did not try to retreat from the situation. Contrary to many media depictions, this law is not a “get out of jail” card that you can use just because you started a fight and began to lose!

However, suppose Mr. Zimmerman was following Mr. Martin and Trayvon then began to get aggressive towards George. George then retreats but Trayvon continues to attack. If Mr. Zimmerman has a reasonable fear that he may suffer death or great bodily harm, that law may now apply.

The truth is we may never know what occurred that night. Already, there has been much inacurate media portrayals of both parties. All we can hope for is that justice will be done…
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March 28, 2012

Florida “Stand Your Ground” Law and Trayvon Martin, Part One

by Blake & Dorsten, P.A.

By now, the whole country has heard about the Trayvon Martin shooting. As of this writing, the facts are still being sorted out and the accused shooter, George Zimmerman, has yet to be arrested. However, there has been much outrage and blame directed towards Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law. The real question remains…does this law even apply to the facts as we know them?

F.S. §776.013(3) – Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” Law
“A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity, and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony”.

As I am a criminal defense lawyer, I have been recently asked to explain Florida’s so-called “Stand Your Ground” law. To explain how we got here, we first need to know where we have been. That takes us to Florida “BSYGL” or “Before Stand Your Ground Law…Before the 2005 passing of Florida’s “Stand Your Ground”, a person could only use non-deadly force to defend against the imminent use of unlawful non-deadly force. The only time deadly force was authorized was to defend you or another against immediate deadly force/ great bodily harm. The use of deadly force was also allowed to stop the commission of a forcible felony.

A previous law, the so-called “Castle Doctrine” provided that a person had no duty to retreat prior to using deadly force against an intruder only if you were in one’s home or workplace. You would still need a reasonable belief that deadly force was necessary to defend against great bodily harm, deadly force, or the commission of a forcible felony (such as a robbery or sexual assault). Unlike the later “Stand Your Ground” law, you had a “duty to retreat” prior to using deadly force.

Florida ” ASYGL” or “After Stand Your Ground Law”

This “Stand Your Ground” Law introduced two (2) presumptions that would favor a criminal defendant who is making a self-defense claim:

1.The presumption that the defendant had a reasonable fear that deadly force was necessary; and 2.The presumption that the intruder intended to commit an unlawful act involving force or violence.

These two presumptions protect the defendant from both civil and criminal prosecution for any unlawful use of deadly or non-deadly force in self-defense. Additionally, the defendant/gun owner has no duty to retreat, regardless of where he is attacked, as long as he is in a location he is lawfully entitled to be when the danger occurs.

Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” Law acts as a “presumption of innocence” from prosecution, as opposed to an affirmative defense that you would need to assert in Trial (after being arrested and charged by the State of Florida).

So the question remains…Is this “Stand Your Ground” law in any way responsible or encouraged the killing of Trayvon Martin? Part Two of this blog will talk about both the potential crimes that the shooter may be charged with as well as if this law applies…
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March 16, 2012

Florida Hate Crimes: Are they a step forward or a step back?

by Blake & Dorsten, P.A.

A former Rutgers student, after jury trial, has been convicted of anti-gay hate crimes related to invasion of privacy, tampering with evidence and a host of other related crimes. The ex-student faces 10 years in prison based upon his conviction as reported by the LA Times.

The Florida Legislator has deemed many violent crimes specifically targeting a class of individuals as hate crimes. Hate crimes are defines Federally under the 1968 Civil Rights Act, 18 U.S.C. § 245, which establishes a number of criminal penalties for the use of force or intimidation to prevent the free exercise of civil rights on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin. The Act provides penalties for whoever, “by force or threat of force willfully injures, intimidates or interferes with, or attempts to injure, intimidate or interfere with” another (1) “because of” that person’s “race, color, religion or national origin. Florida statutes mirror the Federal law: if a crime is deemed as a “hate crime” prosecutors can seek enhanced penalties against the person accused of such acts.

This brings up many important questions regarding race and sexual orientation in the modern era? Aren’t all crimes of violence in one way another motivated by an evil intent? In a modern society, should we still inquire about someone sexual orientation or skin color? Do certain members of society need “extra” protection under the law? Are we imposing reverse discrimination to those individuals not in a protected class?

Let’s take a closer look at the concept of hate crimes. For example, if two persons of the same race get into a fight and one commits a battery on the other, presumably there is no “hate crime” and the person who allegedly committed the battery would not be subject to enhanced penalties. However, if we alter the hypothetical and the victim of the battery is in a protected class being gay or African American then the same accused could potentially receive a harsher penalty. Is this fair? Presumably both individuals are in a fight and both individual presumably “hate” each other at that moment. Should one individual receive a harsher penalty based upon his or her skin color?

On the other hand, I think society would agree that committing a crime or discriminating toward an individual based upon their race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or nation origin is egregious. Due to the current laws on the books, Legislators feel that those members in the protected class need protection. An important question however is how long does a specific class need “protection”? At what point to we become a color blind society and every individual is treated the same regardless of race and sexual orientation? All these questions are something to think about and society along with the Florida Legislator need to be able to adapt to the changing times of society. Many classes that needed protection in the past may be more mainstream and no longer need or desire the extra protection. The more individuals that are treated differently than others the greater the potential for discrimination.

Hate crimes are based upon America’s history of past injustices. At what point are those injustices rectified and America can treat all citizens equally? Only time will answer all the questions. As for now, individuals targeting protected classes to bully or intimidate them, like the former Rutgers student, will face enhanced penalties for their actions. Everyone can agree targeting someone because they are different than the majority is egregious. The only question is, at what point do we determine that all crimes against our citizens are equally egregious?
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October 14, 2011

FORT LAUDERDALE: Plea Deal Reached in Phoney Breast Exam Scam

by Blake & Dorsten, P.A.

According to an online story on SunSentinal.com, a Coconut Creek man accused of posing as a doctor and offering free door-to-door “breast exams” has reached a deal with prosecutors, lawyers told a Broward County judge on Tuesday.

Phillip Winikoff, 81, was accused in April 2006 of carrying on the ruse with women at an apartment complex in the 3200 block of Northwest 40th Street in Lauderdale Lakes. Investigators said two (2) women took Winikoff up on the offer, allowed him into their apartments and realized something was amiss only after the phony “breast exams” started.Winikoff was charged with three (3) Felony counts of Sexual Battery, two (2) counts of Practicing Medicine without a License, two (2) counts of Simple Battery, and one (1) count of Using the Title of Doctor without a License.

If tried and convicted, he could have been sentenced to more than forty-five (45) years in the Florida State Prison system for the Sexual Battery charges and another ten (10) years for Practicing Medicine without a License.

It was not revealed Tuesday whether the deal Winikoff reached with prosecutors will keep him out of prison.

Winikoff, who was in court with a half-dozen family members, was scheduled to enter a plea of either Guilty or No Contest, but by the time the prosecutor and Winikoff’s lawyer arrived, Broward Circuit Judge Sandra Perlman said she had a Trial to oversee and needed to reschedule the Winikoff plea. No firm date was set.

At the time of Winikoff’s arrest, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office said he carried a little black bag to lend credibility to his claim of being a doctor. The first victim, 36 years old at the time, told detectives he started the exam by fondling her breasts, and she knew something was wrong when his hands wandered elsewhere.By the time the victim called 911, Winikoff had already found a second victim, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office said.

LADIES, PLEASE TAKE NOTE: The next time a man shows up on your doorstep claiming to be a doctor who performs free door-to-door “breast exams,” think twice about accepting his offer. Yes, even if he’s got a black doctor’s bag.
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