Articles Posted in Property Crimes

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A pantsless and shoeless Jonesboro, Arkansas woman is being charged with DUI after crashing her 2001 Pontiac Grand Am into a mobile home last week. Witnesses told authorities that Jamie Jeannette Craft, 28, then got out of her car and into a child’s Power Wheels truck and attempted to flee the scene of the crime. Despite the undoubtedly high speed chase that ensued the owner of the souped up Power Wheel truck’s father caught up to Craft and made her exit the vehicle. Craft then walked to her mother’s home where officers later found her to be irate, intoxicated, and disorderly. Upon arrest Craft was taken to jail and blew a very reasonable .217 just shy of three times the legal limit. It is unknown what the legal alcohol limit is to drive a Power Wheel while pantsless. Craft was ultimately charged with DUI and leaving the scene of the accident.

Whoa. This story has everything you could possibly want. Redneck? Check! No pants? Check, check! Ridin’ dirty in a damn Power Wheel!?!?! Yep, have that too! Despite all of her alleged wrongs, at least she looks beautiful in her mug shot… A Tampa DUI lawyer could tell you that the meat and potatoes of a DUI or DWI allegation are pretty much uniform from state to state with some unique differences. In Florida, under Florida Statute 316.193 the State could prove a DUI under Ms. Craft’s factual scenario by showing that she drove or was in actual physical control of a vehicle and while driving or in actual physical control of the vehicle she had a breath alcohol level of .08 or more grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath. Specifically because there was damage, should they charge her with being at fault for that damage they would have to make an additional showing that as a result of her operating her Pontiac, she caused or contributed to causing damage to the property of whoever owned the mobile home she so delicately nudged. In Florida generally an officer must see all elements of a misdemeanor in order to make an arrest. For a DUI there is an exception that a lay witness can testify as to a Defendant driving when there is a traffic crash amounting to a breaking to pieces of something on the vehicle or object hit. If your Tampa DUI attorney can show that there was no crash, he may be able to get your DUI dismissed on a pretrial motion as our Tampa DUI lawyers did for one of our clients. If one of these witnesses saw Craft behind the wheel and there was damage amounting to a crash, this case could be proven in Florida. If this case was proven in Florida, the Defendant would face enhanced DUI penalties because of the high breath test and would be liable for restitution for the damage caused.
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Chinese food takeout driver Stan Worby, 39, can be said to be West Yorkshire, England’s very own version of Bruce Wayne for his actions last Monday morning. Worby, after attending a soccer game dressed in full Batman attire, brought a man wanted for handling stolen goods and fraud to the police station and told the officers in his presence that he had “caught this one for you.” At the time Batman left ,he failed to give his information and vanished into the night, much like the superhero for whom he was dressed.

It is reported that the man delivered by the Caped Crusader was on the lamb for a while with British authorities making diligent inquiry locally in an effort to apprehend him. The equivalent Tampa criminal charges for which he was wanted in merry ole England would likely be dealing in stolen property and perhaps scheme to defraud though it’s impossible to speculate without the specific facts. For argument’s sake, a Tampa criminal lawyer would have to defend on accusations that one trafficked in or endeavored to traffic in property that he or she knew to be stolen. Florida Statute 812.019 governs dealing in stolen property and a conviction for a charge of the like can be a second-degree felony, or a first-degree felony if the individual is found to be an organizer in the scheme. A Tampa criminal attorney must overcome proof that one actually engaged in a scheme to defraud someone out of property or anything of value. Depending on the monetary value of the property at issue will be the level of felony charged. As with any other theft related crime, the higher the value of the subject of the crime the more serious the charge will be. Scheme to Defraud is governed by Florida Statute 817.034. Lastly, depending on whether the wanted man was previously issued a bond after initial arrest, he could be subject to similar repercussions as Florida’s Failure to Appear Statute provides. In Florida, under 843.15, if one is arrested and posts a bond and then fails to appear they can be guilty of a third degree felony if their initial crime was a felony, or a first degree misdemeanor if their original charge was a misdemeanor.
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Fanatical Alabama supporter Harvey Updyke had his pretrial release revoked yesterday after Prosecutors moved the Court to take him back into custody. Updyke is infamous for allegedly poisoning the Auburn Oaks at Toomer’s Corner and later appearing on a high traffic Alabama sports radio program to boast about his deeds. At Updyke’s pretrial hearing Prosecutors showed Judge Jacob A. Walker III a video of a recent arrest of Updyke on a terrorizing charge in Louisiana after an altercation with Louisiana home improvement store workers. The video was shown to prove that Updyke violated a pretrial release term of not getting arrested while on bond. Despite Updyke’s lawyers lobbying to keep him out of jail by citing the notion that the Louisiana arrest was without just cause, Updyke’s bond was revoked and he was taken into custody. Updyke awaits trial on criminal mischief charges for the Auburn Oaks incident scheduled for April 8, 2013.

In Florida if one is arrested they will generally at the very least have a bond amount set. If they can post that amount or hire a bondsman to provide a surety bond they can get out of jail during the pendency of their case. With a Judge’s granting of a bond generally comes certain standard conditions pursuant to Florida Statute 903.047. An obvious condition is to refrain from criminal activity of any kind. If there is a victim of a crime, the defendant cannot have contact with them and for all those out on bond, they must comply with other conditions of pretrial release specially imposed. Any Tampa criminal attorney will have the coming to Jesus meeting with his client insisting that they absolutely not put themselves in bad situations in order to avoid criminal activity. As our Tampa criminal lawyers have often said, we can protect our clients against most things but we cannot protect them from themselves. In other words, if someone is hell bent on putting themselves in arrestable situations, there isn’t much the criminal defense attorney can do about it.
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Brooksville, Florida man, Timothy Carr, was issued a DUI for driving through a Brooksville Walmart on a motorized shopping cart earlier this month. It is reported that Mr. Carr was quite intoxicated while cruising through the store drinking alcohol that he had plucked from the shelf while inside and also knocked several additional items from their shelves. When confronted by police, Mr. Carr told them that he had no money to pay for any of the items he was drinking and carrying in his cart. Police learned during questioning of Mr. Carr that he is homeless and has two prior arrests or convictions (the report was unclear) for theft. Based on police observations and their impression of his criminal history they have recommended that he be formally charged with disorderly intoxication, DUI and felony theft.

Unlike some other states, a person can receive a DUI in Florida so long as they are driving or in actual physical control of a “vehicle” as defined in Florida Statute 316.003(75). The motorized shopping cart driven by Mr. Carr fits the definition of vehicle as it is a “device in or upon by which a person or property may be transported or drawn upon a highway, except for devices travelling on stationary rails or tracks.” In other words, because a motorized shopping cart could be driven on a highway, Mr. Carr could be charged with a DUI. Of course conviction could be another story as field sobriety tests would likely need to be conducted and show impairment along with a chemical test or refusal of that test. If no other signs of impairment are present, a Tampa DUI lawyer could argue that Mr. Carr is simply not of sound mind or suffers from collateral medical issues, thereby preventing a shopping experience without incident. Would it work? Who knows. Tampa DUI charges, like other charges, are fact driven and unique. The short answer… It depends.
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Local Tampa man, Cort Allenbrand has been arrested on arson charges after authorities allege that he set his girlfriend’s house on fire in Seffner, Florida early Wednesday morning. Hillsborough County Fire and Rescue authorities claim Cort Allenbrand went to his ex-girlfriend’s home early this morning with fire accelerant and lit a fire near the back of the residence. Before the fire could engulf the house and cause major damage a nearby neighbor was able to put out the blaze with a fire extinguisher. Police say Allenbrand was able to flee the scene but was arrested a few hours later at 3:30AM and booked into the Hillsborough County Jail. As it stands now, police are recommending to the State Attorney’s Office that he be charged with the first degree felony version of arson due to the subject matter of the arson being considered a dwelling. In Florida, arson of a dwelling is a first degree felony regardless of whether it is occupied.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say Allenbrand or whoever started this fire had an axe to grind in some way, shape, or form against his ex-girlfriend or her mother. In my experience as a Tampa criminal attorney, arson is a crime committed by a kid, is committed by someone trying to cover something up, or as I believe in this case, is committed by someone who is angry with someone else. What most arsonists don’t take into consideration is just how seriously Florida police agencies and State Attorney’s Offices take an allegation of arson.

Arson is codified under Florida Statute 806.01. Defined, arson occurs when one willfully and unlawfully, or while in the commission of any felony, by fire or explosion, damages or causes to be damaged any dwelling occupied or not, or its contents or any structure or its contents, where people are normally present. Examples of places covered under this Statute could be: jails, prisons, or detention centers; hospitals, nursing homes, or other health care facilities; department stores, office buildings, business establishments, churches, or educational institutions during normal hours of occupancy; or other similar structures; or any other structure that the individual knew or had reasonable grounds to believe was occupied by a someone. Complete this magic circle of fun and you’ll be staring down the barrel of first degree felony, first degree arson punishable by up to 30 years in the Florida Department of Corrections and a $10,000 fine.
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In special remembrance of Elizabeth Macias and her 2011 Black Friday pepper spray incident, we’ll run through the dos and don’ts for the busiest shopping day of the year in the hope that you’ll stay out of a Tampa Bay area jail. As you may recall from last year, Macias was accused of unleashing a hellfire fury of pepper spray on other Black Friday shoppers in Porter Ranch, California. Initially police claimed Macias hosed down her shop mates over discounted X-Box gaming systems. After the “spray” settled Macias faced no felony charges and ultimately threatened to sue Wal Mart for inadequate security. At the end of the day the failure to file charges isn’t overly surprising if there was in fact a scrum around the X-Box’s and there was a risk of injury to her or her children. It would be tough for a prosecutor to show she wasn’t happily hosing others in self defense or defense of her kids. We hope you find the following tips helpful in avoiding Machine Gun Macias’ fate.

Don’t use pepper spray on other people. If you do in Tampa, Florida you will face at minimum, a battery charge and perhaps and aggravated battery if the spray causes permanent injury to another. All that is necessary to show a battery is that you intentionally touched or struck someone else against his or her will, OR intentionally caused bodily harm to someone else. No one I know enjoys being doused with pepper spray so chances are if you break out the water weenie full of pepper juice, you’re guilty of battery. For an excellent explanation of assault and battery check this Jacksonville criminal attorney‘s write up.

Where things could get really serious is if your pepper spray causes permanent harm to a third party. If you hit someone in the eye and said eye is permanently broken, you’re going to face second degree felony charges for a Florida aggravated battery. Aggravated battery charges generally mean prison time. I’ve never been to prison but I’ve been told the selection at commissary isn’t quite as nice as Target. Food for thought.

Don’t threaten someone whether you have pepper spray to back up your threat or not. In Florida, if you threaten someone by word or act and have the immediate ability to do so coupled with an overt act that leads them to believe you’re about to make bad dreams come true, you my friend, have committed an assault. Assault is a second degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. Possibly worse is the fact that your shopping day will be done.
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Former WNBA superstar Chamique Holdsclaw turned herself into the Atlanta Fulton County Jail Thursday night after a warrant was issued for her arrest. Holdsclaw is accused of committing an Aggravated Assault, causing Criminal Damage to Property of another, in addition to Reckless Conduct. Holdsclaw, a former All-American for the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers and a perennial WNBA All-Star, is accused of bashing out the windows of her ex-girlfriend’s SUV and shooting a 9MM handgun through the back driver’s side window and into the back passenger door.

Victim and ex-girlfriend Jennifer Lacy told police that Holdsclaw showed up to one of her workouts and asked for her keys to put something in her car. When Lacy got in her vehicle she was alerted by the smell of gasoline and noticed Holdsclaw following her. Lacy then went to a friend’s house only to be followed by Holdsclaw. Upon arrival at the house Holdsclaw became enraged and the above mentioned incident occurred while Lacy was still in the driver’s seat of her vehicle.

Regardless of State, any Tampa criminal lawyer will tell you that when a firearm is present or discharged during the commission of a crime, the situation gets serious in a hurry! Were this incident to have occurred in Florida, I believe Holdsclaw would be facing Aggravated Assault with a Firearm charges, amongst others. Simple assault is a threat, either through words or actions, to do violence to another person while having the apparent ability to do so, and doing an overt act that creates a well founded fear in the victim that violence is imminent. An aggravated assault is an assault when using a deadly weapon, in this case a handgun. Florida and Federal law takes crimes of this nature very seriously. In Florida, Holdsclaw would be facing a minimum mandatory 20 year prison term per Florida Statute 775.087(2)(a)(2) due to discharging the firearm in the commission of the aggravated assault. Without a charge reduction negotiated between a criminal defense attorney and Prosecutor, both the Prosecutor and Judge are bound by statute to a sentence of at least 20 years.
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