Florida Criminal Attorney Blog

Published on: June 15, 2015

$700,000 Worth of Marijuana Seized at Grow House

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

A domestic disturbance led police to discover an alleged marijuana grow operation in the house next door, according to Hillsborough County deputies.

When deputies searched the house a week later, they claim they found 283 pounds of marijuana worth $700,000.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a domestic disturbance at a home on Wilkins Road last Friday. While investigating the disturbance, a deputy claimed he noticed the smell of marijuana coming from the house next door.

The deputy then alerted the Marijuana Grow House Task Force, and a search warrant was obtained. On Thursday, deputies searched the house and allegedly found the grow operation in a detached garage. Deputies said they seized 15 mature marijuana plants and 39 small marijuana plants.

Deputies found a 27-year-old Tampa man on the property and took him into custody. He is facing charges of cultivation of marijuana, trafficking in marijuana, owning/leasing/renting for purposes of trafficking marijuana, grand theft of electricity and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Marijuana cultivation is a serious offense in Florida. Depending on the quantity of marijuana involved, if you are convicted you could face the prospect of a very lengthy prison sentence. Whatever the specific circumstances of your case, it is important to obtain legal representation as soon as possible.

Owning and operating a marijuana grow house is a very serious offense. There is a potential for serious time behind bars as this charge often arises from marijuana cultivation, possession and distribution charges. When there is one charge, there are likely many other marijuana-related charges as well.

Published on: June 4, 2015

Manatee County Man Caught with 12-Year-Old Girl in Her Home

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

Deputies have arrested a man they claim arranged to meet a 12-year-old girl online and was caught in her home.

The 24-year-old man is accused of traveling to the girl’s home on the 3100 block of 9th Street E at about 2 a.m., according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

Detectives allege the man and the girl met on Facebook two weeks ago, and that they were texting each other back and forth. Detectives believe that on Wednesday, the girl texted him and asked him to come over.

Police claim the man knew the girl was 12, but still went to her home and was in her bedroom for about an hour when the girl’s grandmother walked in.

According to police, the grandmother called 911 and, then alerted other family members who started hitting the man. Reports indicate that once police arrived, the man ran out of the house, saying, “I’m getting killed.”

Detectives said both the girl and the suspect said nothing sexual happened while they were in the house together, and they were only talking.

The man was charged with traveling to meet a minor for unlawful sexual activity.

The investigation is ongoing.

While it is a crime to solicit a minor, it is a much more serious matter to be accused of traveling to meet a minor. After a solicitation is made online, in person or via text, and the adult travels any distance to meet the minor in person, he or she is in danger of very severe consequences. These harsh penalties may include a very long prison sentence and lifetime registration as a sex offender.

If you have been contacted by police, the best thing you can do is to not answer any questions or respond to statements. Police can be tricky and may even promise to give you reduced charges or dismiss them altogether if you talk to them. Just remember that even making a simple statement that you do not consider to be a confession can be extremely damaging to your defense.

Published on: June 3, 2015

Joint Lake & Polk County Sex Sting Yields 101 Arrests

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

An undercover cyber crime prostitution and child-sex sting conducted jointly by the Lake and Polk county sheriff’s offices netted 101 arrests Tuesday.

Of those arrested was an Orlando community activist who drove to a Clermont-area house intending to meet what he believed was a 12-year-old girl he had been chatting with online for sex, according to authorities. The man apparently drove to the house in a vehicle with a specialty “Invest in Children” license plate and was arrested after knocking on the door of the decoy house.

The two-week sting, which started on May 18, resulted in 79 people being arrested in the prostitution operation and 22 in the child-sex sting, according to officials.

The operation, dubbed “L & P” for “Lake” and “Polk,” used chat rooms and online forums to identify people seeking illicit sex. The first phase of the operation targeted people looking to have sex with minors from 10 to 14. The second phase of the operation targeted prostitution, and most suspects were arrested for attempting to engage in a sex act for cash. A few were busted for drug possession and one driver faces charges for taking a person to the house knowing prostitution was involved, according to reports.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is notorious for conducting sex sting operations around the county that are intended to target adults seeking underage individuals online to engage in sexual activities. Undercover officers usually claim that those arrested in these sting operations responded to ads that implied a minor was available for sex.

Regardless of the fact that many sex sting cases wind up getting dismissed, and many convictions are overturned due to entrapment, once arrested, the damage is already done. The media coverage sought by law enforcement in regards to these sting operations are ruthless to the point that the accused may find a TV news camera aimed at his face while being guided into the back seat of a patrol car. These accusations alone can negatively impact a person’s employment status, reputation, family and personal life.

Published on: May 27, 2015

FBI Arrests Miami Springs Police Sergeant Over Alleged Involvement in Drug Deal

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

On Tuesday the FBI arrested Miami Springs Police Sgt. Andres Quintanilla, a 16-year veteran of the force, on a federal corruption charge.

The 33-year-old was charged with “attempting to affect commerce by extortion under color of official right,’’ according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.

According to the federal complaint, a confidential FBI source claims he told Quintanilla in September 2014 that he was a drug trafficker. The complaint goes on to allege that instead of arresting the source, Quintanilla “offered to help the [informant’s] drug trafficking business.’’

Quintanilla allegedly provided the location of an undercover police narcotics office, gave the source the names of three Miami-Dade police officers and ran the name of a purported drug dealer in a law enforcement database when asked to do so by the source, according to the complaint.

The complaint states that by December 2014, Quintanilla had agreed to act as an escort during a purported 10 kilogram cocaine deal. Quintanilla is also accused of choosing a safe location in Miami Springs where the source could exchange 10 kilograms of cocaine for $250,000.

After the alleged deal took place, Quintanilla then apparently followed the source while wearing his uniform and driving his MSPD marked vehicle to an express package service center, where Quintanilla was under the impression that the source would ship the $250,000 of drug proceeds to New York, according to the complaint.

In exchange for his assistance, Quintanilla allegedly accepted $3,500 in bribe payments from the source.

In a press release issued Tuesday night, the Miami Springs Police Chief stated, “As a result of the charges filed against Quintanilla, he has now been relieved of duty without pay pending the results of the criminal case in the U.S. federal court.”

If convicted, Quintanilla, who started with the Springs police department as a public service aide in 1999 when he was 17, faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Federal corruption charges usually refer to any illegal activity conducted by public officials. Public officials, politicians, as well as the business executives who regularly deal with them are all at risk of being investigated for or charged with violations of federal corruption. Taking bribes, facilitating a crime by another and threatening punishment if certain services are not provided are all examples of actions that could result in a charge of corruption. Extortion and bribery are common charges that fall under the category of federal corruption.

Published on: May 4, 2015

Flakka: The Increasingly Popular Synthetic Drug Behind Odd Crimes

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

In the last few months, an increasingly popular synthetic designer drug called flakka has been the culprit of many strange and bizarre crimes.

One man ran nude through a Florida neighborhood, tried to have sex with a tree and told police he was the mythical god Thor. Another ran naked down a busy city street in broad daylight because he believed a pack of German shepherds was pursuing him.

Two others tried separately to break into the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. They said they thought people were chasing them. One even ended up impaled on a fence.

Also known as gravel, flakka is readily available for $5 or less a vial, and is a growing problem for police after bursting on the scene in 2013.

It is the latest in a series of synthetic drugs that include Ecstasy and bath salts, but police say flakka is even easier to obtain in small quantities through the mail. Flakka’s active ingredient is a chemical compound called alpha-PVP, which is on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s list of the controlled substances most likely to be abused. It is usually made overseas in countries such as China and Pakistan.

Flakka, a derivative of the Spanish word for a thin, pretty woman, is typically sold in a crystal form and is often smoked using electronic cigarettes, which are popular amongst young people and give off no odor. Flakka can also be snorted, injected or swallowed.

Judging from the evidence being seized by police around Florida, flakka is being used quite frequently. Submissions for testing to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s crime labs have grown from 38 in 2013 to 228 in 2014. At the Broward Sheriff’s Office laboratory, flakka submissions grew from fewer than 200 in 2014 to 275 already, in just the first three months of this year.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, reports of flakka have also surfaced in Ohio, Texas and Tennessee, but Florida appears to be the leading the nation.

The FDLE is training police to better recognize flakka and the symptoms it can cause.

The biggest challenge is that flakka manufacturers make subtle changes to its chemical makeup, foiling efforts to test for the drug, and it is frequently mixed with other substances, such as crack cocaine or heroin, with unknown effects.

With use for as little as three days, behavioral changes can be severe.

Police say that flakka is a dangerous drug that with prolonged use, can start to rewire the brain chemistry.

Published on: April 29, 2015

Hernando County Detention Deputy Allegedly Involved in Illegal Narcotics Transaction

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

A Hernando County detention deputy has been placed on administrative leave without pay pending the outcome of an investigation after he was arrested, along with his girlfriend, in an alleged illegal narcotics transaction.

The man, 41, has been charged with possession of a controlled substance. His girlfriend, 23, was also charged with possession of a controlled substance as well as possession of paraphernalia.

According to the sheriff’s office, the investigation started after they received a tip that a Hernando County detention corporal may be involved in illegal drug activity.

Published on: April 28, 2015

Lakeland Man Jailed on Child Sex Charges

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrested a 31-year-old Lakeland man and charged him with raping two children.

The man is currently being held in the Polk County Jail.

Authorities allege the man sexually assaulted two children, aged 10 and 12, on several occasions. Police claim the assaults took place at several locations, including the man’s workplace and his truck.

Deputies also allege that the man threatened the children if they spoke about the incidents. Authorities claim the man told the children that if they talked, he would cause them physical harm.

The man is facing 15 counts of sexual battery on each child.

Sex crimes usually carry long jail sentences and require registration as a sex offender for life. The stakes are extremely high! In sex crimes cases, early intervention by an experienced criminal defense attorney can make a tremendous difference in a case, especially when allegations of child sex abuse are involved. If you have been contacted by the Florida Department of Children and Families or by the police, or if you believe that you may be under investigation by the police, it is important to get immediate legal help and advice.

Published on: April 27, 2015

Loretta Lynch Announced by Senate as Attorney General

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

Loretta E. Lynch was announced as the new U.S. attorney general Thursday, with the Senate voting 56 to 43 to confirm the veteran New York prosecutor five months after President Obama submitted her nomination to Congress.

According to the Justice Department, Lynch is expected to be sworn in as the nation’s 83rd attorney general Monday.

Obama released a statement saying that “America will be better off” with Lynch in charge of the Justice Department. “She will bring to bear her experience as a tough, independent, and well-respected prosecutor on key, bipartisan priorities like criminal justice reform,” he said.

Lynch is the first African American woman to be nominated for the post, which has taken on a much higher profile than in the past due to the leading role the Justice Department has recently played in the debate over race and policing across the country.

The time Lynch had to wait between nomination and confirmation was the longest for an attorney general nominee in 31 years. With it all said and done, the confirmation vote margin was wider than expected: Ten Republicans joined the Senate’s 44 Democrats and two independents in supporting Lynch. Forty-three senators, all Republicans, were opposed.

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., stepping down after more than six years, said Lynch would be “an outstanding attorney general, a dedicated guardian of the Constitution, and a devoted champion of all those whom the law protects and empowers.”

Obama called the slow and final vote to confirm Lynch as “embarrassing” last week.

Obama nominated Lynch, 55, in November to replace Holder. The Senate, then under Democratic control, did not act on the nomination. Rather, they chose to spend time in the lame-duck session on judicial appointments that party leaders believed would stall in a Republican-controlled Senate.

The thinking was that a Republican Senate would not take its time in confirming a replacement for Holder, a frequent target of Republican enmity. However, that was not the case, especially after Lynch became involved in a deep partisan rift over Obama’s immigration policy.

During questioning before the Senate Judiciary Committee in late January, Lynch said she believed Obama’s executive actions on immigration last year passed legal and constitutional muster, angering Republicans who considered them an overreach.

Republicans reactions to this was that Lynch was publicly committed to denigrating Congress, and that they could expect to see a great abuse of power by her.

After the January hearing, it took nearly a month for the panel to advance Lynch’s nomination, and then the nomination became caught up in an unrelated political dispute over a bill to combat sex trafficking.

Last week President Obama released this statement: “It’s gone too far. Enough. Enough. Call Loretta Lynch for a vote. Get her confirmed. Put her in place. Let her do her job.”

On Thursday, senators voted on final confirmation around 2 p.m.

The Senate voted 56–43 in favor of Lynch, approving her with help of 10 Republican senators, including Sens. Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), Thad Cochran (Miss.), Susan Collins (Maine), Jeff Flake (Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Orrin Hatch (Utah), Ron Johnson (Wis.), Mark Kirk (Ill.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

Published on: April 23, 2015

27 Accused of Marriage Fraud in South Florida

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

Federal prosecutors charged 27 South Florida suspects Tuesday with marriage fraud, including organizers, recruiters and unlawful immigrants, according to reports.

The main defendants — two Hialeah men ages 50 and 57 and a 50-year-old Hialeah and a 33-year-old Marathon man— are accused of charging a fee to arrange fraudulent marriages between U.S. citizens and undocumented aliens.

The trio allegedly notarized phony marriage licenses, completed necessary immigration paperwork and prepared the participants for their interviews with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, according to police.

They are accused of arranging the fraudulent marriages between 2011 and 2014, and during that time two of the men also allegedly attempted to obtain naturalization illegally, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

The case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Published on: April 17, 2015

Ex-Florida Gator and NFL Player Aaron Hernandez Guilty of Murder

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

Former University of Florida Gator and New England Patriots football player Aaron Hernandez was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison Wednesday for the murder of 27-year-old Odin Lloyd.

Hernandez, 25, who once had a $40 million contract and a standout career ahead of him, will now be serving a mandatory sentence of life without parole.

The former football pro was also found guilty on weapons charges. The jury deliberated for 36 hours over seven days before rendering its verdict.

Lloyd was shot six times in the middle of the night on June 17, 2013, in a deserted industrial park near Hernandez’s home in North Attleborough.

Police almost immediately began investigating Hernandez because they found a key to a car that the NFL player had rented in Lloyd’s pocket. Hours after he was arrested, the Patriots cut the former Pro Bowl athlete, who was considered one of the top tight ends in the NFL.

Prosecutors presented a great amount of evidence during trial that Hernandez was with Lloyd at the time he was killed, including home security video from Hernandez’s mansion, witness testimony and cellphone records that tracked Lloyd’s movements.

Hernandez’s lawyer also acknowledged for the first time during closing arguments that Hernandez was there when Lloyd was killed.

But, Hernandez’s attorney told the court that two of Hernandez’s friends, Ernest Wallace and Carlos Ortiz, killed Lloyd. Wallace and Ortiz will stand trial later.

The prosecution never offered a motive other than Hernandez appeared angry with Lloyd at a nightclub two nights before the killing.

Hernandez still awaits trial on other murder charges. He is accused of gunning down two men over a spilled drink at a nightclub.

In the Lloyd killing, the defense argued that investigators pinned the murder on Hernandez because of his celebrity status.

Prosecutors believe that Hernandez organized the killing, made his two friends help carry it out and drove Lloyd and the others to the secluded spot in the industrial park. During closing arguments, prosecutors also allege that Hernandez shot the man, though under the law it is not necessary to prove who fired the shots to achieve a conviction.

Security video from inside Hernandez’s home showed him holding what appeared to be a gun less than 10 minutes after Lloyd was killed. The surveillance system also showed Hernandez, Wallace and Ortiz hanging out at his home hours after Lloyd was shot.

Hernandez was an All-American out of the University of Florida who was drafted by the Patriots in the fourth round in 2010.

This case does not end with this guilty verdict. There will undoubtedly be an appeal to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. There are many issues in this case that could be a strong grounds for appeal, including the fact that the judge allowed certain parts of the expert’s testimony on the Glock being the murder weapon, but excluded other parts. It could be asserted that the expert’s entire testimony was improper. The defense reminded the jury during closing argument that the expert’s testimony had been struck from evidence and should be disregarded. Because of the defense’s reference to this testimony during closing, it could be argued that asking the jury to ignore such incriminating evidence was unfairly prejudicial, which in turn would warrant a new trial.

It will most definitely be interesting to see how an appeal plays out for Hernandez.