Articles Posted in Theft Crimes

A conviction on a theft charge can have serious ramifications. A Florida judge can suspend your driver’s license even if your conviction is only a misdemeanor. If you’re facing theft charges, a skilled Tampa Bay criminal defense lawyer may have many options in your case. These could include challenging the value of the item(s) in question, arguing mistaken identity, or contesting your intent to deprive the owner of their property (among other possibilities.) With all these potential avenues out there, contacting an experienced lawyer about your case is well worth your while.

A well-worn phrase posits that it is “better to be lucky than good.” In one recent local theft case, the operative phrase arguably could have been: “If you’re not going to be smart, it is good to be lucky.”

The suspect in the case was M.K., a 33-year-old Clearwater man who traveled to a St. Petersburg tattoo parlor during the evening of Dec. 2 to obtain some new body art. A true aficionado of haute cuisine, the customer elected to get a five-inch-wide replica of the Waffle House logo tattooed onto his right calf.

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In Florida criminal cases, details matter. Sometimes, seemingly small details may make a big difference. That’s why you need to be sure you have legal representation from a skilled Tampa Bay criminal defense attorney. A skilled advocate can spot all those details, great and small, and make sure that you are protected from the harmful ones to the maximum extent possible, and that you are using all of the beneficial ones to your maximum advantage.

As an example, we can look at this recent case from the Keys. K.K. was arrested and charged in the break-in of a home in Islamorada. Among the items stolen from the home were four Rolex watches and “rare, historic jewelry from Tibet.”

At trial, K.K. faced a charge of grand theft over $20,000. That’s a very serious charge. Grand theft of more than $20,000 is a second-degree felony, punishable by imprisonment of up to 15 years and a $10,000 fine, and K.K. was convicted of that crime.

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There’s something in the law called a “statutory inference” and, although you’ve probably not heard of it, it can be very important in your criminal trial. These inferences come from statutory laws and say that juries can infer certain things even without actual proof. Given what a big help that can be to a prosecutor’s case, one of the things you may need to do as part of your defense is to convince the judge that the facts of your case do permit the use of any statutory inferences. Doing this successfully often requires an in-depth knowledge of the statutes, case law and court rules. In other words, having a knowledgeable Tampa Bay criminal defense attorney can go a long way toward success in your case.

To understand a little more about how these inferences can work, the case of A.L. serves as a good example. The origins of A.L.’s case dated to early June 2017, when several items were stolen from several cars in Brandon. Eventually deputies came to search a bedroom in a home in pursuit of the stolen items. The bedroom was shared by A.L. and his brother. The brothers’ uncle gave permission to search the bedroom. In the room, the deputies found many of the items that residents had reported stolen.

Based on that evidence, the prosecution charged A.L. with several crimes, including five burglary counts, one count of grand theft, three counts of petit theft, and one count of criminal mischief. At the end of his trial, A.L. made several requests of the court. One was to deny the state’s ability use a statutory inference under subsection 2 of Fl. Stat. 812.022.

File this one under “why not”?  Per the local paper,  a local transient man found himself in hot water for brewing some hot water.

Treasure Island Police arrested 51-year-old Raymond Eugene Furr for multiple charges when he broke into a garage and started making coffee.   When the homeowner discovered his garage door opened and damaged, he also found the suspect helping himself to the coffee selection.  Raymond fled when he was confronted by the owner who quickly called the police.

It did not take long for the police to find Raymond Furr as he was arrested less then 45 minutes later. When he was caught, he was found with a pair of scissors in his front pocket.  The police charged him armed burglary, petit theft (of the coffee) and criminal mischief (for the garage door).

LEGAL ANALYSIS

Why ARMED burglary when there was no proof that the suspect  was armed at the time of the break in?  Could he have been unarmed and then found the scissors in the garage?  There are two separate issues here. Burglary is covered under Florida Statute 810.02.  It specifically states that one is guilty of armed burglary if during the course of the “break in”, the suspect either comes with a dangerous weapon or becomes armed with one during the course of being in the dwelling, structure, or conveyance.  This means that the state would have to prove that the suspect either broke into the garage while in possession of the “dangerous weapon” or while in the garage he found and armed himself with the scissors.  

The state would have to prove that the scissors were on the suspect or stolen from the garage during the course of the burglary.  Being in possession of the scissors 45 minutes later when he was arrested would not be sufficient to sustain an armed burglary charge.  On a side note, the question if the scissors would even be considered a “dangerous weapon” per the statute is another issue.

Finally, Armed burglary with a firearm    is considered an extremely serious crime.  As shown above, a suspect can break into a home unarmed.  If during the course of the burglary, he/she finds a gun and steals it, the charge is immediately upgraded to burglary with a firearm.

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When it comes to criminal law, there are many things that the law says that the state must prove before an accused person can be convicted. Regarding many crimes, the law requires proof of two essential elements, described in the Latin terms actus rea and mens rea. The first of those two means that you must have committed some type of overt act. The second means that you must have intended to commit that act. These elements, especially the intent one, can provide an opportunity for an accused person to mount a successful defense. However you choose to pursue your defense, it helps to have skilled Florida criminal defense counsel working for you.

A recent case from Miami, in which the defendant’s appeal was successful, shows the importance of intent. Carl, the defendant in this case, was a carpenter who did cabinetry work. One of Carl’s satisfied customers referred him to the customer’s aunt. Carl and the woman agreed to a deal, with the woman paying him $2,250 as a 50% deposit. The check was cashed the same day. Carl was supposed to complete the work in two weeks’ time. After several weeks, he stopped returning the woman’s calls. She eventually hired another carpenter to do her custom cabinetry work.

This might sound like the factual background of a civil lawsuit. The state, however, charged Carl criminally with third-degree grand theft and contracting without a license. The defendant asked the court to issue an order of acquittal in the case, but the judge denied that request. Carl was convicted and received a sentence of 60 months.

If you or a loved one are facing criminal charges, there may be multiple different methods for defending against those accusations. One type of defense is to prove that you didn’t do it, or at least to cast doubt on the state’s case that you did do it. Another type of defense is persuading the court that, whatever you did or did not do, your actions could not constitute the crime that the state has charged you with committing. Whichever type of defense you mount, it helps to have a detailed knowledge of the law, which means it pays to have a knowledgeable Florida theft crime attorney on your side.

One case in which the defendant succeeded based upon the latter of the two types of defenses discussed above was the case of Pedro from Hendry County. Pedro offered to sell a man “discount” farm supplies. What Pedro didn’t know was that his would-be buyer was cooperating with the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office. Thus, when Pedro made his offer to the man, the man gave Pedro’s name to law enforcement, and they set up a controlled sale of stolen herbicide between the man and Pedro. Pedro made the purchase, and that sale got Pedro arrested for dealing in stolen property.

At his trial, the state brought forward evidence that Pedro bought the herbicide and that he planned to use it on his farm. The prosecution specifically argued that Pedro made a phone call to trigger the start of the chain of events, which included the acquisition of the herbicide, and that Pedro bought the herbicide with the intent to use it.

When you or a loved one stands trial for a crime, it is important to put up the most vigorous defense possible, even when the crime in question is only a misdemeanor. Even misdemeanors can have serious consequences, and the difference between, say, a first-degree misdemeanor and a second-degree misdemeanor can be substantial. In a recent case of theft from a Walmart, the state managed to secure a conviction of first-degree petit theft, even though it lacked hard proof that the goods allegedly stolen were worth more than $100. Because of that shortage of evidence, the Fourth District Court of Appeal threw out that first-degree petit theft conviction.

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