Seven months after a state and federal law enforcement dragnet resulted in the arrests of 57 Floridians on racketeering charges, only 17 defendants remain. In March, employees of charitable gambling cafés run by Allied Veterans of the World were hauled in from...
Tampa Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer
Month: November 2013
Innovative or Intrusive? Feds Follow Fraud Suspects on Facebook
A recent Florida case certainly wasn't the first time law enforcement agents have used social media to track criminal suspects. Over recent months, media stories have revealed that the tactic is growing common among both state and federal law enforcement agencies.Some...
Court Finds Appellate Counsel’s Assistance Ineffective
In Martinez v. State, 38 Fla. L. Weekly D2250d (Fla. 1st DCA 2013), Martinez petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus contending that he received ineffective assistance of counsel on direct appeal of his sentence for attempted 2nd-degree murder.Martinez put forth that...
Convictions for Cultivation of Cannabis and Trafficking in Cannabis Violated Double Jeopardy Principles
In Gonzalez v. State, 38 Fla. L. Weekly D2212a (Fla. 4th DCA 2013), Gonzalez pled guilty to cultivation of cannabis for count one and trafficking in cannabis over twenty-five pounds for count two. Gonzalez was adjudicated guilty and sentenced to sixty months in prison...
Reckless Driving Conviction Overturned
In Stracar v. State, 38 Fla. L. Weekly D2209a (Fla. 4th DCA 2013), Stracar was convicted of two counts of vehicular homicide. Stacar argued that the trial court erred in denying her motions for judgment of acquittal on the basis that the State's evidence failed to...
Sentence Reversed for Scoresheet Error
In Shea v. State, 38 Fla. L. Weekly D2205b (Fla. 4th DCA 2013), Shea appealed the denial of a rule 3.800(a) motion to correct an illegal sentence, The Appellate Court reversed in part.Shea was convicted as charged of 1st degree premeditated murder with a firearm for...
First DCA Reverses Excessive Sentence Then Reverses Sentence Again
In Sprott v. State, 38 Fla. L. Weekly D2238a (Fla. 1st DCA 2013), Sprott pled guilty to count one: uttering a forged bill, count two: possession of forged notes, count three: attempted scheme to defraud, and count four: possession of a forged, stolen, or fictitious...
Court Reverses Carjacking Conviction on Double Jeopardy Grounds
Figgs timely appealed his sentence on double jeopardy grounds his sentences for carjacking with a firearm, sentences, and armed robbery. He contends that the trial court committed fundamental error in adjudicating him guilty and sentencing him on both the armed...
Prosecutor Withheld Information In Regard to a Juror
In Davis v. State, 38 Fla. L. Weekly D2247b (Fla. 1st DCA 2013) a prosecutor withheld knowledge of a sitting juror's involvement in the law enforcement investigation of the case being tried although the prosecutor was unquestionably aware of that fact.The prosecutor...
Defendant’s Testimony Delayed in Navy Veterans Assoc. Fraud Trial
The testimony of a man accused of running an allegedly fraudulent Tampa charity called has been delayed due to the birth of his defense attorney's child . The 66-year-old defendant has been charged with theft, fraud and money laundering because, prosecutors claim,...