Jacksonville Criminal Lawyer Blog

Duval County, Florida Domestic Violence Addressed by Attorney General’s Office

Published on: April 23, 2008 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

According to the Florida Attorney General’s Office, Duval County (Jacksonville) was one of five counties with the highest rates of domestic violence fatalities in Florida in 2006. As a result, the Florida Attorney General’s Office is expanding a pilot program to deal with the increasing domestic violence fatality crime rates. According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, reports of domestic violence-related manslaughter or murder were up 17% from 2006 to 2007 in Florida.

The program is called INVEST (Intimate Violence Enhanced Services Team), and it offers prevention and protection services for people considered to be at high risk of suffering a fatal domestic violence attack in Duval County and the other high risk counties. Participants in the program, including the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Hubbard House, attempt to identify those at high risk of being victims of a domestic violence fatality and make contact with the victim and the suspected offender to prevent the violence from occurring. The program is actually derived from a similar program created in Jacksonville, Florida where, despite the continued high risk, domestic homicides are down an average of 46% in the seven years since the Jacksonville program has been in place.

In Florida, is a Drug Dog’s Signal a Sufficient Basis for the Police to Search?

Published on: April 20, 2008 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

Drug dogs (also referred to as canines or K-9’s) are used in Jacksonville by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Department and all over Florida. They are commonly used to walk around a vehicle that has been stopped by police to determine if the odor of marijuana, cocaine or other drugs is present. If the drug dog alerts to the odor of drugs in the vehicle (or some other container), the police will typically take that as a legal basis to conduct a search of the vehicle that complies with the Fourth Amendment search and seizure requirements.

However, the drug dog’s signal alone may not be a sufficient basis to search a vehicle. Take for example a situation where the police stopped a vehicle and asked the occupants some basic questions to which the police officer felt he received suspicious responses. The police officer then walked his drug dog around the vehicle, and the drug dog alerted to the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. The police officer then searched the vehicle. He did not find drugs, but he found evidence related to a recent armed robbery and both occupants of the vehicle were arrested. Was this proper?

The Florida court deciding the case said no. At the motion to suppress hearing, the police officer testified that he and the drug dog were certified and well-trained and the drug dog had been very reliable in detecting drugs in the past. However, the police officer testified that he did keep specific records as to the drug dog’s reliability and denied that the drug dog ever gave a false alert explaining that if the drug dog alerted and no drugs were found, that must mean that drugs had recently been present and the odor remained.

Felony Drug Charges for Jacksonville Nurses Allegedly Acquiring Prescription Drugs

Published on: April 17, 2008 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

Two nurses at Shands-Jacksonville Medical Center in Duval County, Florida were arrested for allegedly using their position at the hospital to acquire prescription drugs to be sold illegally on the street, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. One of the nurses was charged with multiple counts of fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance and one count of trafficking hydromorphine. The other nurse was charged with two counts of fraudulently obtaining controlled substances.

Apparently, Shands-Jacksonville, like other hospitals has a mechanism in place whereby the medical staff must provide a thumbprint before he or she dispenses prescription drugs. Shands-Jacksonville monitors the frequency with which the medical staff acquires those drugs. according to the JSO arrest report, one of the nurses was dispensing 30% more of the drugs than the average nurse.

Of course, dispensing certain prescription drugs raises more suspicion than others. Certain drugs like Hydrocodone, Oxycontin, Xanax, Vicodin, Percocet and Morphine are more commonly obtained illegally as they have become more popular among drug users, particularly kids, and can be highly addictive. According to a report from The Council of State Governments, over 6 million people aged 12 and older used prescription drugs illegally as of 2002. A more recent report cited by the American Medical News indicated that as of 2005, nearly 7 million Americans abused prescription drugs. Common ways for the prescription drugs to be obtained were: going to different doctors for multiple prescriptions (which got Rush Limbaugh into trouble), ordering drugs through internet pharmacies, theft, forging prescriptions and medical professional illegally prescribing the drugs.

Federal Sentencing Memorandum Filed by Government Asks for Maximum Sentence for Snipes

Published on: April 16, 2008 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

Federal government prosecutors have filed their sentencing memorandum with the federal court which asks the judge to sentence Wesley Snipes to the maximum prison sentence for his recent criminal convictions for failing to file his tax returns, according to a Reuters news release. In 2006, the federal government indicted Snipes on multiple counts including tax fraud, conspiracy and failing to file tax returns. A copy of the indictment can be found here.

Earlier this year, after hearing the evidence in his federal criminal trial in Ocala, Florida (which is about 100 miles southwest of Jacksonville, Florida), a jury found Wesley Snipes guilty of three counts of failing to file tax returns for the years 1999 – 2001. Each of the three counts on which Snipes was convicted, one for each year, is a conviction for a federal misdemeanor crime. That jury also found Snipes not guilty of the felony counts, which were tax fraud and conspiracy counts.

The federal crimes on which Snipes was convicted each carry a maximum sentence of 12 months in prison and associated fines. As a result of the three convictions, Snipes is facing a maximum sentence of 36 months in prison. That is exactly what the federal government is requesting along with a $5 million fine for failing to pay his taxes for those three years. According to the sentencing memorandum, the tax loss from Snipes’ failure to pay taxes for three years was over $7 million and the maximum fine would be over $14 million. The sentencing memorandum also asks the judge to hold Snipes in jail pending his appeal. Some defendants, after they are convicted, are permitted to remain out of prison on bond until their appeal is heard. Snipes also may likely face a civil action from the IRS to force him to pay millions of dollars in overdue taxes.

Illegal Drugs at Florida Schools in the News

Published on: April 11, 2008 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

At the University of North Florida (UNF) in Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida, five students were arrested for possessing and selling illegal drugs, including marijuana and LSD. Like many arrests on drug crimes, these arrests were the result of an investigation that started with a tip that students at the UNF were selling drugs and then undercover agents going onto the campus and buying drugs from the suspects. Police will then use the evidence of the undercover drug purchases to obtain a search warrant to search a residence or place where the drugs are suspected of being kept and/or to obtain an arrest warrant for anyone involved in selling the drugs. In this case, the undercover officers were apparently UNF campus police, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office police and Jacksonville Beach Police Department police. In addition to the serious penalties associated with drug possession and sales charges, if convicted these students also face the potential of separate penalties from UNF that could affect their abilities to further their educations.

Another recent article noted an increase in using websites popular with high school and college students as a way to promote drug sales in Florida. Myspace.com is a very popular, high-traffic website that is being used as a conduit for drug sales. It is estimated that there are over 100 million people with a Myspace account. Many of these users are kids and young adults. According to the article referenced above, in the two months before the article was written, the police in Punta Gorda, Florida made nine arrests of people using or trying to use Myspace to sell drugs like, marijuana, crack, cocaine and illegally obtained pills like Oxycontin. While preparing to write the article, the author typed “marijuana” into the search field on Myspace.com and came back with 212,000 results. This, of course, does not mean that there are 212,000 people selling marijuana on Myspace, but it does give an indication of how often marijuana is being mentioned or discussed on the website. Myspace representatives said they try to monitor the website for illegal activity, like drug selling and solicitation of minors, but they are unable to effectively monitor 100 million plus accounts.

Finally, according to recent reports, a new substance with effects similar to illegal drugs is becoming more popular among students. Salvia is a hallucinogenic herb that is smoked and has hallucinogenic effects similar to LSD, a very dangerous and illegal drug. It is currently legal, but Florida lawmakers have proposed a bill that would make possession of Salvia a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

DUI: Richie Sambora’s Bad Medicine

Published on: April 5, 2008 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora was recently arrested for DUI in California. Along with an adult woman, Sambora had his 10 year old daughter and another juvenile in the car with him at the time. According to police, Sambora failed several field sobriety tests. He opted to take a blood test, rather than a breath test. The results have not yet been released. Sambora is potentially facing additional charges relating to driving under the influence with juveniles in the car.

DUI is a charge that often touches the rich and the poor, the bad and the good, and the old and the young. Several celebrities have had their bouts with driving under the influence charges. Lindsey Lohan, Nicole Richie, Paris Hilton, Mel Gibson, Kiefer Sutherland, Mischa Barton and Michelle Rodriguez are just a few of the celebrities that have been arrested for DUI within the last few years.

The Florida legislature continues to crack down on DUIs by enacting progressively tougher legislation with mandatory sentencing requirements that binds the Court’s hands. Mandatory probation periods, fines, classes, driver’s license suspensions and sometimes jail time are just some of the punishments that Florida courts must levy on persons that are convicted of DUI.

Constructive Possession of Drugs in Case Where Florida Conviction Was Reversed

Published on: March 31, 2008 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

In a recent possession of marijuana and possession of cocaine case in Florida, the convictions of the defendant on those drug charges were reversed because the state prosecutor was unable to prove that the defendant was in either actual or constructive possession of the drugs.

What constitutes actual possession of drugs in Florida is usually simple. If a person is holding a bag of marijuana in his or her hand or if a person has cocaine in his or her pocket, they are in actual possession of those drugs. However, police often arrest people, and the state often charges people, when drugs are found near a person or in a house or car owned or occupied by a person. In those cases, the police and prosecutors rely on the concept of constructive possession of drugs.

A recent Florida criminal case explains what this means and explains a situation where such charges are improper. In this case, Mr. Robinson lived in a house with three other people. The police searched the house pursuant to a search warrant and found marijuana and cocaine inside a ceramic decoration in the kitchen that had been hollowed out. No fingerprints were taken from the decoration. The police arrested Mr. Robinson, the owner of the house.

Crime of Copper Theft to be Become a Felony with Increased Sentences in Florida

Published on: March 26, 2008 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

In Jacksonville, (Duval County) Florida, the crime of copper theft is increasing significantly, according to a recent article from First Coast News. Copper theft typically occurs when a person steals or breaks open air conditioning units in buildings and homes and steals the copper out of the units. That valuable copper is then resold for approximately $4 per pound.

Judging by the number of Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office police reports, there are several incidents of copper theft each week in the Jacksonville area because the crime is fairly easy to commit and the fruits of the crime are in high demand. Additionally, copper theft is currently classified as a misdemeanor in Florida which means that the maximum jail sentence if a person is convicted of the crime is 12 months.

However, in an effort to reduce the frequency of these crimes along with the often significant cost of the damage to homes and buildings that often accompany copper theft, the Florida legislature is working towards making copper theft a first degree felony which would subject people convicted of copper theft to potentially spending multiple years in prison and other penalties.

Increased Government Oversight of Contractors Suggested

Published on: March 22, 2008 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

Federal government paid contractors are the target of federal legislation currently being considered by Congress. Specifically, Congress is considering several bills that would restrict contractors from doing business with the U.S. government if they have not paid their taxes. Contractors with the federal government are paid over $400 billion per year.

The U.S. government estimates that there are thousands of companies who are delinquent in paying their taxes. This represents over $7 billion in money owed to the U.S. government. There is currently no system in place for the U.S. government to identify which customers who want to do business with the government are among those companies who have not paid their taxes. In order to identify those potential contractors who have not paid their taxes, Congress is considering a law that would require all companies bidding on a federal contract to submit a declaration that the company is current with their tax obligations. The proposed law would also bar any company that is delinquent in the payment of their taxes from being awarded a government contract. The proposed standard for disqualifying a company from contracting with the federal government is whether the IRS has filed a tax lien against the company. Therefore, companies with fairly insignificant amounts owed to the IRS would still likely be eligible to contract with the federal government if a tax lien is not likely to be filed against them.

Additionally, to prevent companies contracting with the federal government from setting up shell companies in foreign companies that act as the employer for the contractor so they can avoid paying Social Security and Medicare taxes, a proposed bill would treat foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies contracting with the federal government as U.S. companies for which are required to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes.

Dealing in Stolen Property in Florida: Knowing What You Should Know

Published on: March 15, 2008 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

The Florida legislature has made it a crime (punishable by up to 15 years) to traffic in, or endeavor to traffic in, property that you know, or should know, is stolen. The key words here are “should know.” The State doesn’t have to prove that you actually did know the property was stolen, only that you should have known.

The common Dealing in Stolen Property case arises when a person pawns property at a local pawn shop. If that property has been reported stolen in a recent (or even distant) burglary, the person that pawned the property is generally arrested for dealing in stolen property, regardless of whether there is any nexus between the burglary and the pawning.

The problem with the prosecution is that there generally is a lack of evidence concerning whether the person that pawned the property knew or should have known that the property was stolen. Most property does not come with a tag that reads “Stolen.” For example, you cannot tell whether a lawn mower is stolen by simply looking at it. Ownership of property can legally change hands with nothing more than a handshake. For example, Mr. Smith certainly can give Mr. Jones his lawn mower to pay off a debt that he owes Mr. Jones. And Mr. Jones can certainly pawn that lawnmower to recover the money that he loaned Mr. Smith.