Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
This one will be hard to explain… a Tampa man has been arrested on multiple charges after being found in bed with a 10-year-old boy by the boy’s mother!
The importance of being Ernest…just not with a child. 25-year-old Ernest Johnson of Tampa was arrested Monday on multiple charges including burglary of an occupied dwelling, possession of burglary tools and lewd and lascivious molestation.
Per a police report, Tampa PD was called out after 4:30 a.m. for a reported burglary. The victim’s mother told police that she found a man naked inside her minor son’s bed!
“I turned his light for his room, I see that face,” said the boy’s mother. “He was laying in the bed. Like normal, like it was his bed.” She woke Johnson by hitting him multiple times, jarring him awake.
The man leaped out of her son’s bed, dived out of the same window he forcibly entered and was gone before the police arrived. Using a K9 unit, police were able to track down Johnson and make an arrest.
The man appeared in Hillsborough county court Monday morning and was denied bond. A brief look at his prior criminal record did not show that he was on a sex offender registry. It does appear however, that the defendant has a prior exposing himself to a minor charge out of Sarasota where he was given almost one year in county.
In addition, this new arrest seems to have violated his probation for another charge.
Not even counting what a violation of probation charge may do to him, these new allegations are extremely serious. Burglary of an occupied dwelling, (Florida statute 810.02(3)) is a second degree felony, punishable by up to 15years in prison and it will score mandatory prison time.
The L&L, depending on how it is filed, can be anywhere from a second degree felony all the way up to LIFE in prison! In addition, a conviction under this statute will result in mandatory registration as a sex offender/predator.
The defendant may have some mental health issues as he had previously violated parole by not receiving mental health treatment. If this is so, he may have possible competency defenses depending on the nature of any mental illness.
Have you or a loved one been arrested for a burglary or a criminal charge? Then call the criminal defense attorneys at Blake & Dorsten, P.A. today! These former prosecutors are experienced trial attorneys.
The lawyers of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. handle all criminal and personal injury cases along the Gulf Coast including Tampa, Saint Petersburg, Clearwater, Bradenton, Largo, Seminole, Pinellas Park, Gulfport, Safety Harbor,and Brandon.
To speak directly to your Tampa Bay criminal defense lawyer click on the contact button or call them at 727.286.6141. Blake & Dorsten, P.A…when your case matters!