Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

February 19, 2011

OAKLAND PARK: Man Arrested for Sexually Assaulting a Dog!! WTF?

BEWARE: This story, reported in the south Florida Sun-Sentinal is bizarre and twisted and may be inappropriate for those that love animals. OK. You’ve been warned.

A 40-year-old man has been arrested on a charge of Sexually Assaulting his roommate’s dog in Oakland Park, Florida according to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.

Tomas Bautista, of Oakland Park, was taken into custody Thursday evening, on one (1) count of Animal Cruelty, a Third-Degree Felony, said sheriff’s spokeswoman Dani Moschella. However, as I learned when handling another disturbing man-on-dog sexual abuse case (while at the Pinellas County State Attorney’s Office) Florida is one of about a dozen states with no law specifically banning sex with animals.

The 3-year-old female Chihuahua mix, named Mimi, is recovering, said her owner, Clemente Velasquez, 67, on Friday afternoon. After being treated by a veterinarian, “she is now just lying down on the sofa,” Velasquez said. “She’s not happy like she normally is.”According to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, Velasquez, who is Bautista’s roommate, arrived home Thursday and found Bautista drunk. He told him to go to bed, but Bautista instead went to the backyard. Mimi (the dog) followed him outside.

Soon after, Velasquez heard Mimi yelp, so he grabbed a flashlight and ran outside. He saw his dog running from Bautista and found Bautista passed out with his pants down.

Mimi was bleeding, so Velasquez notified authorities and took her to the Coral Springs Animal Hospital.On Friday afternoon, Bautista was in Broward’s main jail on $2,500 bond.

Hopefully, if no one has done so yet, this story will be posted on www.pet-abuse.com
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February 9, 2011

CALIFORNIA: Marijuana Production in Oakland: Who’s in Charge Here?

by Blake & Dorsten, P.A.

From time to time, the Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog publishes submissions from other practicing attorneys throughout the county. The following article was submitted by Thomas Greenberg of the Law Offices of Thomas Greenberg in Redwood City, California (San Mateo County). Enjoy.

In 1996, California became the first state in the nation to legalize Marijuana use for medical purposes. The medical marijuana industry germinated during the Clinton Administration and grew during President George Bush’s tenure, despite the Bush Administration’s opposition. When Obama took office, he voiced public support for medical marijuana and assured that the Department of Justice would not prosecute patients or dispensaries in states where medical marijuana was legal. Economies are responsive to political and legal change, and the relaxation in the threat of prosecution led the medical marijuana industry to flower.In July 2010, Oakland City Council passed a measure to grant licenses to four (4) industrial-scale pot growers with the provision of hefty ($200,000+) licensing fees and a sales tax beginning at 1.8% and increasing to as much as 12%. The measure passed with the allure of a potential to raise $38 million for the city, annually. The Council also saw regulated, industrial-scale growing as a way of reducing small-scale production and the Robberies and personal safety issues it sometimes attracts.

In the months after the measure passed, the City Council considered the rules for regulating the first large-scale Marijuana warehouses in the country. A major issue was to whom to award the four (4) coveted permits, and criteria were created to reward entrepreneurs for best business model, security plan and, of course, being pesticide-free. In November, voters approved a measure that imposed a 5% business tax on all marijuana growers and dispensaries. The City Council planned to award the four (4) permits by December 20, 2010.Then came a major buzzkill–the Obama Administration issued a “blunt” message that the Department of Justice (DOJ) would prosecute large-scale growers and distributors, and potentially penalize Oakland for getting a cut of the profits. Another lesser problem was that the permit process failed to heed state law that was supposed to restrict medical marijuana growing to “patient-caregiver collectives.” The City Council went back to redraft the permitting process and bring it into compliance with state law by tying each farm to an individual marijuana dispensary.

January 28, 2011

PINELLAS PARK: Did Pam Bondi Throw out the Baby with the Bath Salts?

by Blake & Dorsten, P.A.

According to a recent story on BayNews9.com, “bath salts” sold in specialty and tobacco shops are being pulled off the shelves after an emergency order was issued on Wednesday making the product illegal.

“Our kids can overdose on this,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said.Bondi compared the product to other illegal drugs.

“We want to have it made a Schedule I drug,” she said. “So to put it in perspective, that’s right up there with Cocaine and Heroin.”

However, Rockin Cards and Gifts owner Randy Heine said the government is being “hypocritical” and “overreacting.”

“Based on nothing, on hearsay,” he said. “When you read the Order it’s kids could, may, can…there’s no documented evidence of anybody dying from these products. She needs to prove it. She needs to lay her cards on the table and show us people who got sick and died off this.”

Health experts say a synthetic chemical chemical in the “bath salts” known as MDVP can cause reactions from rapid heart beats to psychotic behavior.Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen wrote a letter to the Attorney General’s office expressing his concern about the substance and problems it could cause during spring break.

The emergency order making substances containing MDVP illegal will last until the legislature is in session. Bondi hopes lawmakers will make the ban permanent.

Heine has cleared all of the “bath salts” off of his shelves.

“If you like the product or not, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “They’re taking away your personal freedoms.”

For more information on this topic, please check out this online story entitled: “More People Snorting ‘Bath Salts’ to Get Cocaine-Like High.”
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January 24, 2011

DAYTONA BEACH: Legal Drugs Can Still Lead to a DUI

by Blake & Dorsten, P.A.

The Daytona Beach News-Journal published a good story this week about the rise in DUI arrests involving both “legal” prescription drugs as well as over-the-counter drugs.

Whether it’s cold medicine, cough syrup, a legal prescription drug or alcohol, if you ingest too much and drive a vehicle, you can be charged with Driving Under the Influence.”Even if someone is taking prescription drugs legally, they can be charged with DUI,” said Sgt. Kim Montes, spokeswoman for the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) district that includes Volusia County. “If a trooper evaluates someone, either on a traffic stop or at a crash scene, and determines they are impaired from alcohol, illegal or legal drugs, or another substance, they can be arrested.”

The FHP recently charged a man with DUI Manslaughter in an Orlando case because they believe he had inhaled computer cleaner, Montes said.

Toxicology reports, which reveal the presence of substances in the blood that can lead to impairment, can take several months to complete, said FHP Lt. Bill Leeper. He noted authorities are awaiting toxicology results in at least one Flagler County crash involving serious injuries.

The Friends Drive Sober organization devotes a section of its website to prescription and over-the-counter drugs and their effect on drivers.

“Drugs impair our bodies in a variety of ways,” the site reads. “They may blur our vision; make us tired or too excited; alter depth perception; make us see or hear things that may not be there; raise or lower blood pressure; react too quickly, too slowly, or not at all. They cause problems with concentrating on the task at hand.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention specifically lists cough and cold medications containing dextromethorphan as one of the most commonly misused over-the-counter drugs, “to get high.”

“The pivotal issue when it comes to controlled substances is impairment,” said Chris Kelly, spokesman for the State Attorney’s Office (emphasis added).

The short answer, he said, as to whether a person is guilty of Driving Under the Influence depends on two things: the impaired individual is “in [actual physical] control of the vehicle” and, per state statute, that “the person’s normal faculties are impaired.”

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) runs a panel for all controlled substances when blood is drawn, said spokeswoman Susie Murphy.

“We don’t typically test for huffing (inhaled) agents,” Murphy said. “We don’t test for over-the-counter drugs at all.”

But that doesn’t mean a person can’t be charged with DUI for taking over-the-counter medication.

“If someone were to ingest enough over-the-counter medicine, they could also be arrested for DUI if it is determined that they are impaired,” Montes said.
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January 16, 2011

ST. PETE: Woman Arrested for Battery on a Police Horse

by Blake & Dorsten, P.A.

According to a story on BayNews9.com, the St. Petersburg Police Deaprtment (SPPD) arrested a woman who they said slapped a police horse on the nose early Saturday morning.

According to reports, the police officer was trying to control crowds in the 100 block of First Avenue North in downtown St. Petersburg, at about 3:00 a.m., when Stephanie Six, 29, slapped the horse.Police said Six also “pushed off against the horse with her other hand.”

After she was released from the Pinellas Couny Jail Sunday, Six called in to Bay News 9 to tell her side of the story.

Six said her and a group of friends were leaving Durty Nelly’s in downtown St. Petersburg when a police officer told them to leave.

According to Six, she didn’t understand why and continued to wait for one of her friends (who was in an altercation and later tased) which is when the two officers came in on their horses.

“A horse was literally right in my face all of a sudden, so I put my hand up into his face as a reaction,” she said. “They’re saying I slapped this horse when that’s not the case. I was basically getting it out of my face. I just moved his face out of my face, I did not hit him.”Six was arrested and charged with Battery on a Police Horse, a First Degree Misdemeanor in the State of Florida.
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January 12, 2011

CA: Jaime Pressly Blows .22 Following Recent DUI Arrest

by Blake & Dorsten, P.A.

Authorities in California say actress Jaime Pressly has been arrested in Santa Monica for investigation of Driving Under the Influence of alcohol.Lt. Darrell Lowe says the co-star of TV’s My Name is Earl was stopped for a Traffic Violation around 11:00 p.m. Wednesday and booked on suspicion of DUI but he’s not releasing any details.

The Los Angeles County sheriff’s website says the 33-year-old actress-model spent the night in jail and was released Thursday morning after posting $15,000 bail.According to an online story several days later on The Huffington Post, Jaime Pressly’s DUI arrest on January 5th was no close call — the My Name Is Earl star registered a .22 blood alcohol level, nearly three (3) times the legal limit.

January 11, 2011

NEBRASKA: Jury Finds Man Dressed as a Breathalyzer, for Halloween, Guilty of DUI

by Blake & Dorsten, P.A.

As many of our regular readers already know, attorney Nicholas J. Dorsten, of the Clearwater-based Blake & Dorsten, P.A., searches the web for interesting (and sometimes humorous) legal stories for his Tampa Bay Criminal Lawyer Attorney Blog. Well, every once in awhile, we hit the proverbial jackpot (this week, courtesy of the JournalStar.com).

This week, in Lancaster County, Nebraska, a Jury found a 19-year-old arrested for Driving Under the Influence (while wearing a Breathalyzer costume) guilty of DUI.

Matthew Nieveen, of Lincoln, gained notoriety in the days after Halloween when Lincoln Police Chief Tom Casady posted his booking photo on his blog. Nieveen had been at a Halloween party before being stopped by law enforcement.An officer stopped Nieveen’s pickup early November 1st near 37th Street and Huntington Avenue and said Nieveen had “watery eyes” and “slurred speech” and smelled like alcohol. Police also found a bottle of vodka, a half-full bottle of Mountain Dew and vodka, and several cans and bottles of beer in his truck.

The officer cited Nieveen and took him to Cornhusker Place, where, a police report says, his blood-alcohol content tested more than twice the legal limit of .08 percent. The legal limit for minors is zero.

Nieveen is set for Sentencing in February.
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January 5, 2011

ST. PETE: Guilty Plea from Driver in Paris Whitehead-Hamilton Shooting

by Blake & Dorsten, P.A.

You may remember the three (3) St. Pete men that were charged in a high-publicity St. Petersburg shooting that killed an adorable young girl — who was caught in the crossfire of a gang/neighborhood dispute back in 2009.On Wednesday, Mario Lewis Walls pleaded Gulity to the Second Degree Murder of Paris Whitehead-Hamilton. As part of his plea deal, he has agreed to testify against his two (2) co-Defendants: Dondre Davis and Stephen Harper..

Back in 2009, Whitehead-Hamilton, who was then 8 years old, was killed when bullets fired by rival gang members flew into her St. Petersburg bedroom. The shooting caused an outrage in the city of St. Pete because of its high-level of violence (as well as the fact that no one would step forward as a witness or provide the St. Pete Police Department (SPPD) or the State Attorney’s Office (SAO) with any information on the suspects.

The investigation into this shooting revealed an often-complained-about informal policy of “no snitching” in the city of St. Pete. It also raised issues of trust between the residents of St. Pete and their own police department.

In total, more than fifty (50) rounds of assault-rifle ammo were fired into Paris’ home at 771 Preston Avenue South. That street now bears her name after the city changed it to Paris Avenue.Investigators say Walls was the getaway driver. He faces life in prison. However, because the State allowed him to plead Guilty to Second Degree Murder instead of First Degree Murder, in exchange for his cooperation and testimony, there is a good possibility that he will receive a lighter sentence.

Davis is next up for Trial in April. If he his found Guilty of First Degree Murder, there are only two (2) possible sentences: LIFE in prison (without the possibility of parole) or the death penalty.
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December 30, 2010

ST. PETERSBURG: Street Crimes Unit Seizes Nine (9) Pounds of Marijuana and Cash

by Blake & Dorsten, P.A.

According to BayNews9.com, the St. Petersburg Police Department’s (SPPD) “Street Crimes Unit” seized 9.3 pounds of Marijuana from two (2) vehicles Wednesday afternoon.Police said they conducted two (2) traffic stops; one near 21st Avenue South and 16th Street in St. Petersburg and the other at 7348 U.S. Highway 19 North in Pinellas Park (its unclear why the SPPD was conducting a traffic stop in Pinellas Park).

Officers discovered nine (9) gallon-size zip lock bags in the two (2) vehicles containing about 9.3 pounds of marijuana. Apparently someone in this operation had a heavy hand and stuffed and extra 3/10 of a pound into the gallon-size bags.

Officers also found (and seized) $4,488 in cash (although I’m sure that money was legitimately earned during the suspects’ day jobs and will have to be returned to them).

Three (3) men, all from St. Petersburg, were arrested for Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute. They are: Floyd J. Green, 29; Gregory Thomas, 31; and Doniell Massey, 30.

No doubt, one (or more) of their attorneys will claim that the Marijuana was for “personal use.”

Thomas also faces charges of Driving with a Suspended License.

The obvious lesson to be learned here: If your license is suspended, do not drive with nine (9) pounds of marijuana in your car…..
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December 29, 2010

TAMPA BAY: “No Refusal” DUI Checkpoints are Coming to Take Your Blood

by Blake & Dorsten, P.A.

Now that New Year’s Eve is only a couple of days away, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) expects this to be one of the deadliest weeks of the year on the roads.To combat this, law enforcement is considering a new weapon in their fight against drunk driving.

And it’s a change that could substantially increase the State’s likelihood to obtain a DUI conviction.

“I think it’s a great deterrent for people,” said Linda Unfried, from Mother’s Against Drunk Driving (MADD) in Hillsborough County.

Florida is among several states now holding what are called “No Refusal” DUI Checkpoints.

So, what does this mean for you as you head out to enjoy your Holiday Season?

It means if you refuse to submit to a breath test during a traffic stop, an on-site Judge can issue a search warrant allowing the police to take an involuntary blood sample (by using actual force, if necessary).

According to WTSP.com 10 News, It’s already being done in several counties, and now Unfried is working to bring it to the Tampa Bay area.

“I think you’ll see the difference because people will not drink and drive. I truly believe that,” she said.However, not everyone agrees with Unfried about “No Refusal” DUI Checkpoints.

“It’s a slippery slope and it’s got to stop somewhere,” says local DUI defense attorney Kevin Hayslett. He asks “what other misdemeanor offense do we have in the United States where the government can forcefully put a needle into your arm?”

The Federal government says Florida has among the highest rates of breathalyzer refusal.

“Now you’ve got attorneys telling their clients, don’t blow, don’t blow! Because we know from the results from these machines that they’re not operating as the State or the government says they’re supposed to operate,” said Stephen Daniels, a local DUI consultant and DUI expert witness.

“We don’t want to violate people’s civil rights. That’s the last thing we want to do, but we’re here to save lives,” Unfried said.

She adds that this type of checkpoint would be heavily advertised, with the goal of deterring any drunk driving.U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has recently said he wants to see more states hold similar programs.
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