Criminal

Published on: September 6, 2012

Police Arrest New Hampshire Woman 4 Times in 26 Hours for Blasting Loud Music

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

A New Hampshire woman was arrested four times in 26 hours last week for playing loud AC/DC and Guns N’ Roses music and allegedly throwing a frying pan at her nephew.

Police claim they first visited the woman’s home last Tuesday and warned her to turn down the music. An hour later police arrested her because the loud music was apparently still playing.

The 53-year-old woman was released on $500 personal recognizance bail, but was arrested a second time just five hours later because of additional reports of loud music.

She was released on $1,000 bail.

Four hours later she was arrested for a third time after another loud music complaint. She was released later on $10,000 bond.

Police claim the woman was blaring AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” as well as music by the group Guns N’ Roses when they arrived at the woman’s home the first four times.
Police visited the woman’s home a final time for a report of a domestic disturbance.

The woman’s nephew apparently told police the woman threw a frying pan at his head when he attempted to remove some of his belongings from her home.

She was arrested a fourth time, and a judge ordered her to undergo a mental health evaluation. Upon completion of this, the judge said she will be released to home confinement with electronic monitoring.

The judge also suggested the woman should invest in headphones. She is due back in court on Oct. 15.

If a judge believes a person accused of committing a crime, or as this case shows, several crimes, may be unable or unfit to stand trial, he or she may order the defendant to undergo a mental competency evaluation. Mental health experts, such as psychologists, social workers and psychiatrists will evaluate the defendant through a variety of methods in order to answer any questions brought forth by the judge as well as prosecuting and defense lawyers. If the tests results are sufficient, the defendant will either be deemed able to stand trial or will receive proper mental health treatment.

Mental health evaluations are used to appropriately determine if a defendant is in fact capable of assisting in his or her defense and to ensure that court proceedings do not violate the defendant’s civil rights. Those accused of crimes are expected to make decisions about entering innocent or guilty pleas, waiving their right to legal counsel or waiving their constitutional rights. However, if the accused is mentally ill or disable and cannot make these important decisions, the court must be aware of these conditions so the defendant’s rights are not violated. If the findings of a mental health evaluation reveal that a defendant is incompetent, the accused can be admitted to an institution immediately to begin receiving proper treatment.

Published on: August 30, 2012

Florida Teen on Trial for Impersonating Doctor :: Whittel & Melton

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

The trial of an 18-year-old teen accused of impersonating a physician assistant and four counts of practicing medicine without a license is scheduled to commence Tuesday in Florida.

The teen was 17 at the time he allegedly worked at the Osceola Regional Medical Center in the emergency room, changing bandages, handling IVs and helping to conduct exams.

Following his arrest, the teen apparently told police that he performed CPR on a patient suffering from a drug overdose.

The teen went to the hospital in August 2011 to obtain a badge for his job as a clerk at a doctor’s office across the street. However, someone messed up the paperwork and the teen was somehow put in the system as a physician assistant.

An Osceola County Circuit Court Judge anticipates the trial to last three days.

The teen has entered a plea of not guilty to the charges and has sought to get his confession thrown out of court.

He was arrested in September 2011 and was released on bail.

He was arrested again in January of this year for impersonating a police officer.

If you are suspected of practicing medicine without a license in Florida, you could face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000 per count. Criminal charges for practicing medicine without a license usually occur from partaking in any of the following activities:

• Prescribing medication without actually possessing the proper license to do so
• Using any abbreviations that may imply a person is a licensed professional, such
as M.D. or D.O.

• Medically diagnosing a patient
• Delivering any form of medical treatment to someone without holding a valid medical license
• Providing medical examinations, although lacking the appropriate medical license to be able to legally do so

Published on: August 23, 2012

Tampa Mom Arrested for Allegedly Threatening to Blow up Day Care :: Whittel & Melton

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

A 27-year-old Tampa mother was arrested Wednesday night after she allegedly sent a text message to a local news reporter threatening to blow up a child care center.

The reporter contacted law enforcement officials after receiving the text.

Deputies searched the premises of the child care facility, but did not find anything out of the ordinary.

The woman was arrested and charged with threatening to discharge a destructive device around 8:40 p.m. Wednesday night.

Officials claim she admitted to sending the text and showed police her cellphone.

She was taken to jail and held on a $7,500 bond.

Due to general concerns regarding terrorism over the past few years, security has been heightened and bomb threats are viewed more seriously than ever. While most bomb threats do not actually involve a bomb, the threat itself is a criminal offense that is punished quite severely under Florida law. Many people are surprised to find that threatening to discharge a destructive device in the state of Florida is a felony, punishable by stiff fines and lengthy prison time.

If you have been arrested or charged with making a bomb threat, in order to best protect your rights, you must contact a criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible. Making a false bomb threat in Florida is considered illegal no matter how it is carried out, whether by mail, telephone, text message, e-mail, a written note or even through a social media post, such as Twitter or Facebook. Additionally, law enforcement officers and prosecutors tend to have little sympathy for those that make false bomb threats, even if they were simply joking. Despite the facts surrounding your arrest, the Florida Criminal Defense Attorneys at Whittel & Melton may be able to negotiate or litigate a positive outcome for your case. Our number one goal is to get your charge reduced to a lesser offense, or dismissed entirely so that a conviction does not leave a mark on your criminal record.

Published on: August 8, 2012

Florida Airboat Captain Who Lost Hand to Gator Charged with Unlawful Feeding :: Whittel & Melton

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

A 63-year-old Florida airboat captain who lost his hand to a 9-foot alligator in June was recently charged with unlawfully feeding that same gator.

According to reports, the man was attacked in the Everglades while leading a boat tour for an Indiana family.

The family claims the man was holding a fish with his hand at the water’s surface when the gator attacked.

Following an investigation conducted by Florida Fish and Wildlife officers into whether the man provoked the attack, police arrested the man July 27.

The man was jailed and released after posting a $1,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 22.

Unfortunately, the man’s hand is gone forever. It was recovered from the stomach of the gator, but doctors were not able to reattach it.

While alligators are abundant in Florida, it is uncommon to hear of attacks by these animals. However, things can get dangerous anytime humans are in the presence of gators. Alligators are large, powerful, sometimes ill-tempered reptiles with lots of sharp teeth and strong jaws. Alligator bites have the potential to deliver devastating injuries and can even result in death. These bites can result in severe infections and the loss of limbs, so alligators should never be provoked.

Feeding an alligator is a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. This man is not the only person who has been reprimanded by the law for allegedly provoking a gator recently. According to reports, six people were warned from Jan. 2011 to May 2012, and 13 were cited in Florida for feeding or luring an alligator. The State seems to be looking to make an example out of this man, so it will be interesting to see how this case plays out.

Published on: August 3, 2012

Two Indicted for Attempting to Sell Stolen Henri Matisse Painting to Undercover FBI Agents :: Whittel & Melton

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

A Miami resident and a Mexican national were indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday for allegedly trying to sell a $3 million Henri Matisse painting to undercover FBI agents.

The duo is accused of attempting to sell Matisse’s “Odalisque in Red Pants” to undercover agents for $740,000 in a Miami Beach hotel room. They were arrested once the alleged deal was made on July 17.

According to reports, the painting was stolen from a museum in Venezuela in 2002 and swapped with a fake. One of the suspects apparently told police the theft had been an inside job.

The two were charged with transporting and possessing stolen property.

They are scheduled to appear for arraignment this week.

Possessing stolen property is viewed as a serious crime in Florida. While no news has surfaced whether the pair will be charged with the original theft of the painting, charges of dealing in stolen property can carry harsher punishments than any theft charge. Depending on the specific set of facts surrounding the case, dealing in stolen property can be charged as a first or second-degree felony. Second-degree felonies in Florida carry mandatory prison terms, and this duo could each face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of the crime.

Published on: July 30, 2012

Juror’s Facebook Comments Lead to Murder Case Mistrial :: Whittel & Melton

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

A Canadian judge declared a mistrial Wednesday morning in the first-degree murder trial of a man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend due to comments posted by one of the juror’s on a Facebook site.

The man’s family apparently visited some Facebook pages after the 12-person jury was selected and cross-referenced the names of the jurors with comments made on the sites.

They discovered that juror No. 12 was a member of a group that disliked the suspect and had posted comments on the site.

The family immediately alerted the Crown about the juror’s social media history.

The judge claims he had no choice but to declare a mistrial, seeing that the woman could have tainted the rest of the jury.

The misuse of social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook by jurors during trials can lead to the overturning of court rulings, convictions and as this case shows, mistrials. Using social media sites has become an everyday task to many people, and continued use during a trial can be very tempting to jurors. With most people owning smartphones, it’s even easier now for jurors to violate the rules of banning them from chatting about the trial. It’s hard to control the use of smartphones as jurors are free to use these devices once outside the courtroom.

According to a Pew Research Center survey, nearly 66 percent of adult Internet users use social median platforms. The increasing popularity of sites like Facebook and Twitter make it extremely hard to regulate a juror’s conduct via social media sites during a trial. Social media use by jurors has become a more recent problem and attorneys and judges are wrestling with how to deal with the problem as well as how to stop it from happening in the future.

Florida is one of 20 states that explicitly instruct jurors to steer clear of newspaper and television reports on the case, as well as stay away from social media outlets like Twitter, Facebook, Google and e-mail. Jurors are expected to decide the outcome of a case based solely on the facts presented at trial. In fact, courts can hand out harsh punishments to jurors caught using social media sites during a trial. Recently, a Florida court held a juror in contempt and sentenced him to three days in jail after he apparently used Facebook to ‘friend’ a defendant in a personal injury case.

Published on: July 10, 2012

Two Homosassa Men Charged with Intent to Manufacture Meth :: Whittel & Melton

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

Two Citrus County men were arrested Tuesday after Citrus County Sheriff’s deputies claim they purchased items consistent with the manufacture of methamphetamine.

Deputies arrested the men after allegedly witnessing them purchase lye, Ephedrine, fertilizer and camping fuel, which are the components known to be used in what is called one-pot meth manufacturing.

The men were stopped by a deputy on patrol after allegedly running a red light.

A K-9 deputy was called to sniff the vehicle. Police apparently uncovered camping fuel, lye, fertilizer and a pill bottle with baggies inside that tested positive for cocaine residue.

Both men were allegedly read their rights, but agreed to speak to law enforcement.

According to police, both men apparently admitted that they had not manufactured any methamphetamine, but intended to. Police claim one of the men told them he had recently lost his job and could not pay his electric bill, so the meth cook was a last-ditch effort to make some money.

After searching one of the men’s home, law enforcement officers allegedly uncovered chemicals and other paraphernalia including two syringes, a spoon and devices used to smoke spice, several marijuana seeds and trace amounts of marijuana.

Both men were arrested and transported to the Citrus County jail.

One of the men was charged with intent to manufacture meth, petit theft, possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia and listed chemicals intended to manufacture a controlled substance.

The other man was charged with intent to manufacture meth and possession of drug paraphernalia and listed chemicals intended to manufacture a controlled substance.

Both of their bonds were set at $151,250.

Methamphetamine, also called meth, speed or ice has become increasingly popular due to the fact that it is relatively easy to manufacture at homes or backyard meth labs using chemicals that are readily available and perfectly legal to buy. Since the chemicals and components to manufacture this drug are affordable and easy to come by, police have increased their efforts to arrest those suspected of possessing, distributing or manufacturing meth.

Methamphetamine charges carry severe consequences. Possessing 14 or more grams of methamphetamines, or the chemicals used to make meth is classified as felony trafficking in Florida. The penalties associated with a conviction can range from a minimum mandatory sentence of 3 years in prison and a $50,000 fine to 15 years behind bars and a $250,000 fine. There are numerous other factors that could increase the consequences related to a methamphetamine case, including the proximity to school property or other locations, the presence of firearms, past criminal convictions, and whether you face state or federal charges.

Because shutting down meth manufacturing operations has been the focus of law enforcement officers throughout the state of Florida in recent years, police may try and perform illegal searches in order to prosecute these crimes. The Florida Drug Crimes Defense Lawyers at Whittel & Melton can protect your rights and make sure that law enforcement officials followed the strict state and federal laws for collecting evidence in a meth raid. Drug crimes are incredibly complex in the state of Florida, so it is absolutely vital to have a criminal defense lawyer in your corner. At Whittel & Melton, we can guide you through this difficult experience and work with prosecutors to possibly have the charges against you reduced.

Published on: June 29, 2012

Port Charlotte Man Arrested for Posting Bomb Threat on Facebook :: Whittel & Melton

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

The Charlotte County Sheriff’s office arrested a 29-year-old Port Charlotte man Wednesday after he allegedly sent a comment to his “friends” alerting them of a bomb at Town Center Mall.

One of the man’s “friends” called CCSO immediately. Deputies and Charlotte County Fire/EMS went to the mall and began evacuating employees and shoppers right away.

Detectives went to the man’s home and advised him they were informed about his comment on Facebook mentioning a bomb in the mall. The man allegedly denied posting the comment and said he was not currently using his Facebook account.

The man apparently allowed detectives into his home. Detectives claim they found the man’s computer on with Facebook running and could see the man’s post about the bomb on the screen.

Detectives told the man they needed to know where the bomb was in order to protect people from injury. The man allegedly told detectives there was no bomb and that he posted the comment because he was suffering from stress and depression since he could not find a job.

The man was arrested for felony False Bomb Threat. He was taken to the Charlotte County Jail with bail set at $5,000. Mall management and security were notified of the facts and allowed employees and shoppers back in the mall just before 1 p.m.

The state of Florida takes bomb threats and false statements regarding explosive devices quite seriously. Knowingly making a false bomb threat is classified as a felony in Florida. A conviction can carry a lengthy prison sentence and hefty fines. However, being arrested or charged with this crime does not mean your case is hopeless. The Florida Criminal Defense Lawyers at Whittel & Melton can provide you with the aggressive legal representation needed to negotiate and defend these charges in order to receive a positive resolution.

If you are charged with making a bomb threat, it is essential to speak with a criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible. The Florida Criminal Defense Lawyers at Whittel & Melton can assist you with telling your side of the story. We can explore the facts surrounding your arrest and examine whether your Miranda Rights were read to you, whether the police conducted any illegal search and seizure and whether any of your rights were violated during questioning. By thoroughly investigating the circumstances and facts surrounding your case, we may be able to get your charges reduced or dismissed.

Published on: June 25, 2012

Largo, Florida Man Accused of Bringing Baby to Pinellas Drug Deal :: Whittel & Melton

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

A 31-year-old Largo man was arrested Friday night after he allegedly brought his 8-month-old son with him to buy drugs.

Police caught up with the man after his wife was pulled over for driving fast and erratically in Clearwater. She was apparently rushing to get to a home where she believed her husband had gone to buy drugs with their son in tow.

Police followed the woman’s directions and allegedly found the man’s car parked outside the
home with the child locked in the back seat.

Police claim the man was inside the home trying to buy crack.

Clearwater Fire Rescue was called to check on the child, who turned out to be fine and was returned to his mother.

The man was taken to jail and charged with child abuse. According to reports, he was wanted by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office on a domestic battery charge.

Child abuse is defined as any act that physically, sexually or emotionally injures or harms a child. Following allegations of child abuse, it is in your best interests to not speak about the charges with family members or law enforcement, as doing so can only make your situation worse. Crimes involving children carry severe punishments and often those charged with these crimes are presumed guilty by police, prosecutors and members of the community. Due to these speculations of guilt, child abuse charges must be defended from as early on as possible. Time is of the essence.

A child abuse conviction can result in lifelong consequences, including jail or prison time and the possibility of losing your parental rights. Pleading guilty to child abuse or being convicted of this criminal offense does not necessarily call for mandatory time behind bars. However, factors such as the circumstances leading up to the charge, severity of injuries, criminal history and probation or parole status can have some bearing on mandatory minimums and even lead to increased maximum sentences.

The crime of child abuse is one of the most emotionally fueled offenses within the Florida Court System. The Florida Criminal Defense Lawyers at Whittel & Melton can use these emotional factors to build an effective and powerful defense on your behalf. We will investigate every facet of the charges and mount a defense based on protecting your rights and keeping you out of jail. Our number one priority is to help you minimize the consequences associated with a child injury crime. We know that child abuse charges can place you and your family in a tough situation, which is why we stand ready to help you in any way we can.

Published on: March 20, 2012

St. Petersburg Criminal Defense Lawyers Whittel & Melton :: Woman Accused of Attempting to Burn Down Boyfriend’s Apartment

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

A 49-year-old St. Petersburg woman was arrested Monday morning for allegedly attempting to torch her boyfriend’s apartment while his sister was inside.

The woman was charged with arson, possession of cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

St. Petersburg police claim the woman and her boyfriend got into a domestic dispute early in the night, which prompted the woman to go over to the man’s apartment.

The man’s sister apparently saw the woman knocking on the door through the window, but did not let the woman inside.

According to reports, around 3:50 a.m. the woman allegedly hauled a grill to the front door and placed “combustible” items like a pillow, paper, wood and a floor mat on the grill outside the door and proceeded to set the items on fire.

The woman allegedly dragged a plastic garbage can filled with trash to another door at the rear entrance of the apartment and set that on fire as well.

Police were called to extinguish the fires. No one was injured in the fire, nor was the apartment seriously damaged.

Police did not say if the boyfriend was actually inside the apartment.

The woman was taken to the Pinellas County jail with bail set at $52,150.

Residential fires can start for a variety of reasons, but when law enforcement believes a fire was intentionally set, the accused can be charged with arson. To be charged with arson, no person needs to be home or present in the area. In the state of Florida, arson may be classified as a first-degree or second-degree felony, punishable by up to 15 or 30 years in prison. There are many factors that determine the level of the charge. The prior criminal record of the accused, the circumstances of the particular case and the damage done to the property can all influence charges and potential penalties.

Law enforcement agencies working at the local, state and federal levels have sophisticated methods of handling evidence in crimes scenes involving arson that allows them to identify the exact cause of the fire. At Whittel & Melton, our attorneys work with chemical and explosives experts to help those accused of arson. This knowledge can be helpful when investigating the case as well as in creating a zealous defense against the charges. Sometimes these cases can be dismissed based on one mistake by law enforcement or crime scene investigators.

Arson is classified as a violent crime, and like all violent offenses, an arson conviction carries harsh legal consequences. Arson cases are typically prosecuted quite vigorously by the State, which is why it is essential to contact a Florida Criminal Defense Attorney immediately following an arson arrest. If you are convicted of arson you could face imprisonment, restitution expenses and major fines.