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Every-once-in-awhile, we read about an arrest that, when juxtaposed against the time/background/location, really makes us wonder what is going on in our society. This happened earlier this week when Charles James Brown, 61, a security guard at All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg was arrested on five counts of Sexual Performance by a Child, otherwise known as Possession of Child Pornography. For the complete story, check out the article in Monday’s St. Pete Times.While deputies were serving a search warrant at Brown’s residence in Clearwater, at approximately 2:00 p.m., he was in the process of downloading more child pornography, according to Pinellas County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Marianne Pasha.

Brown, who was hired by All Children’s Hospital in 2005, had a “very solid” work history as a full-time security officer, said hospital spokeswoman Cindy Rose. He had a background in military and police work and passed all background checks before being hired by the hospital. At this point, detectives have found no evidence to suggest that Brown acted inappropriately while at the hospital, says Pasha.
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Corey Robert Munn, a 40-year old St. Pete man, has been charged with having sex with a woman and not informing her of his HIV-infected status. According to arrest affidavits filed with the Clerk of Court, Munn had a consensual sexual relationship with a woman for 18 months but neglected to tell her he was infected with the virus. For the original story and reader comments, check out this week’s Tampa Bay Online article.Having prosecuted Sex Crimes for the State Attorney’s Office in Clearwater, I know that this type of sex offense is (fortunately) not-so-common in the Tampa Bay area (or at least it is not-so-common to report the commission of this offense).

The Blake & Dorsten, P.A. in Clearwater provides an aggressive, experienced and zealous defense for individuals that have been arrested, or are under investigation, for various sexually-motivated offenses. This year to date, the Blake & Dorsten, P.A. has represented individuals charged with the following offenses: Capital Sexual Battery, Lewd or Lascivious Molestation, Lewd or Lascivious Battery, Failure to Register as a Sexual Offender, Possession of Child Pornography, Unlawful Sexual Activity with a Minor and Transmission of Harmful Material to a Minor by Electronic Communication.
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Yesterday, a Safety Harbor man was arrested on various charges stemming from his involvement in a counterfeit money order scam. Raul Francisco Zelaya, 50, was arrested for Scheming to Defraud a financial institution, Communications Fraud and Possession of Counterfeit Checks. For the complete story, check out today’s Tampa Bay Online article.On Tuesday, when investigators finally arrested Zelaya, he had an additional 243 counterfeit money orders valued at over $230,000. Zelaya is believed to have obtained these checks from a known online check-cashing scam. These type of scams typically appear online as “work from home” job opportunities and can be posted on websites or appear in spam e-mail.This is not the first time that this Zelaya character has been involved in this type of activity. According to the Clearwater Police Department, Zelaya previously took part in a similar scam that was investigated by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.
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The Polk County Sheriff’s Office just concluded a Prostitution sting which focused on the use of Craigslist’s online “adult services classifieds.” According to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, his agency’s investigation revealed that “Craigslist, despite saying they’re cleaning up their exotic section, continues to facilitate prostitution, and they derive proceeds from prostitution.” Judd says that “Craigslist encourages organized prostitution around the country by providing an outlet to sell sex services.”

For the complete story which was featured in today’s The Ledger of Lakeland.

While I generally like Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, I think we really need to second-guess whether, during these difficult economic times, he should have led an investigation where Polk County Sheriff Detectives prowled the personals sections last week for Lakeland, Tampa and Orlando adult services advertisements.The San Francisco company has been at the center of a national controversy about its erotic services section, prompting it to make changes to how advertisers post.
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Another sad Traffic Fatality case unfolded this week in Judge Thane Covert’s Pinellas County courtroom. Agustin Palma Trejo, who was 18-years old at the time of the accident, was driving a trackhoe the wrong way on U.S. 19. In an unfortunate twist of fate, Donald Cochran was on his way to Biff Burger, on April 21, 2007, when his truck swerved and struck the large construction trackhoe that Palma Trejo was operating. For the complete story, check out the article in today’s St. Pete Times.This case is a bit unusual for several reasons. To begin with, Palma Trejo was charged with Manslaughter, not DUI Manslaugher. Secondly, both the State Attorney’s Office and Palma Trejo’s attorney agreed that the trackhoe was only traveling at the rate of 4 mph. However, the State and the defense disagreed on whether the trackoe’s lights were on and whether Palma Trejo was properly trained to operate the large piece of machinery.

Last month, Palma Trejo entered an “open plea,” meaning that he did not have a plea agreement with the State Attorney’s Office. After entering an “open plea,” the Judge can sentence a Defendant to any legal sentence (i.e., up to the maximum sentence allowed by law or something less than what the sentencing guidelines would normally call for). In Palma Trejo’s case, he could have received 15 years in prison on the Manslaughter charge, which is a Second Degree Felony.At his sentencing hearing earlier this week, Palma Trejo pleaded to the judge for leniency. With the assistance of a court translator, he stated “I only want to ask the family for foregiveness… I know what it is like to lose a father.”

Because Palma Trejo was under 21 years of age, his attorney was asking the Court to sentence him as a “Youthful Offender,” which would have allowed Judge Covert to sentence him below the recommended guideline sentence (to include any form of community supervision such as community control or probation).
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Improvements in technology, as well as social media, have led to the creation of some rather new and popular crimes (that didn’t exist when our parents were growing up). For instance, anyone who reads a newspaper is probably familiar with the following “new-school” types of criminal activity: “Cyber-bullying,” “Sexting,” “Texting While Driving,” and “Cyber-stalking.”

However, one of the classic (ripped straight from a Lifetime movie or recent episode of Law & Order, never-gets-old type of cime has occured, once again, in Tarpon Springs, Florida this week.A Tarpon Springs mother and daughter face Felony Burglary and Battery charges after law enforcement determined that they beat up a recreational cheerleading coach.

Karen Joanne Wood, 41, and her 16-year old daughter, Kyersten Wood, were arrested September 5th after reportedly assaulting Sharell Ortiz, 34, at Jasmine Sports Complex in Tarpon Springs. For more information, check out today’s full St. Pete Times article.As suggested by some of the readers’ comments following the St. Pete Times article, “wft” is wrong with parents these days?
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Another week has passed and another NFL star has given me something to blog about. We can now add San Diego Charger Shawne Merriman’s case to the list of celebrity athletes that the Blake & Dorsten, P.A. in Clearwater will be following. For more information on the alleged Domestic Battery and False Imprisonment charges, committed upon MTV reality star Tila “Tequila” Nguyen, you can check out the full story online at CNN.com.According to the CNN story, Tila Tequila told deputies that she had been choked and physically restrained by Merriman when she attempted to leave his residence in suburban San Diego at approximately 3:45 a.m. Sunday morning.

Merriman’s attorney, Todd Macaluso, has indicated that Nguyen was “extremely intoxicated and inebriated” and that his client had made arrangements for her to leave his house. However, the district attorney’s office will determine whether criminal charges will be pursued.

As “Tila Tequila,” Nguyen starred on the MTV reality shows “A Shot at Love with Tila Tequilqa” in 2007 and “A Shot at Love 2 with Tila Tequila” in 2008.Merriman, who has made three Pro Bowls, is entering his fifth year with the San Diego Charges after playing college football at my alma mater: the University of Maryland @ College Park.
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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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Hernando County Circuit Court Judge Jack Springstead denied a former Central High School teacher’s request to expunge a 2004 incident where he was arrested for Soliciting a 16-year old student to perform oral sex. Judge Springstead, in denying the motion, stated that “potential school districts need to be made aware of the charge and disposition.”

James Jensen, a former history teacher at Central High, pleaded no contest in July 2004 and received a “withhold of adjudication” along with three (3) years of probation and a revocation of his teaching license.

This story caught my attention as I routinely handle requests to Seal & Expunge Arrest Records and the result of this case is highly unusual. Continue reading

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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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