THE ROMAN DEFENDER

Clearwater man accused of two thefts on beach

While in school studying to become a criminal defense attorney, I supplemented my income as a Clearwater Beach Lifeguard. During my days at work, it would be rare for an entire day to go by without a beach patron to approach me and say "someone stole my bag!" Unfortunately, thefts of personal property can, and do occur on Clearwater Beach rather frequently. In addition to the legal discussion below, take a lesson from this article and always keep an eye on your belongings while enjoying the beautiful Gulf of Mexico at Clearwater Beach.

Joshua W. Timmons, of 1606 Sherwood Drive, took the belongings of two different sets of beachgoers who left their bags unattended while swimming, Clearwater police spokeswoman Elizabeth Watts said.  As Timmons stole the second bag, two eyewitnesses notified the owners and began to follow him as he walked away down the beach. When one of the victims started to run after him, Timmons began to run away, dropping the second bag in the process.  Clearwater Police stopped Timmons shortly thereafter and recovered some of the stolen property from the first bag theft. Timmons was then arrested and charged with two counts of Grand Theft and one count ofPossession of Marijuana. According to Clearwater Police, the bags contained cell phones, jewelry, and keys.

From a criminal defense perspective, Mr. Timmons may not have many defenses here. We have two eyewitnesses that can place him at the scene and would testify that they saw him take the second bag, which didn't belong to him. Even though he dropped the second bag, he can still be charged with Grand Theft (we are assuming the the bag contained more than $300) because even an attempt of a theft can be charged the same as if the crime was completed.

Mr. Timmons' factual scenario brings up an interesting portion of Florida law  that most people should know about. For instance, assume Mr. TImmons committed a misdemeanor offense (instead of a Grand Theft felony) outside of a police officer's presence. In that situation, the officer may not make a warrantless arrest of Mr. Timmons unless the misdemeanor crime falls within several exceptions, such as domestic batteryand about 17 others. If the officer makes a warrantless arrest for a misdemeanor committed outside his presence that does not fall within one of the exceptions, an experienced Clearwater criminal defense lawyer may ultimately be able to have the charges dismissed, as the arrest would be deemed illegal.

 

Sopranos' actor Gannascoli arrested in Tampa on DUI charge

Actor Joseph Gannascoli, who played Vito Spatafore on The Sopranos, was arrested June 18, 2010, in Tampa on a DUI charge. He was arrested at about 3:00 a.m. at 3629 West Kennedy Boulevard.  Mr. Gannascoli was in town to promote his new cigar, The Cugine.

According to law enforcement, the Sopranos actor was pulled over because he made a wide right turn onto Kennedy Boulevard from Armenia Avenue, then began to weave, straddling lane markers as he drove down the road. Once Tampa Police pulled the vehicle over, the officer noted that Mr. Gannascoli had a distinct odor of alcoholic beverage about his breath and his eyes were watery and bloodshot. According to the officer, Mr. Gannascoli was unable to perform a field sobreity test and was transported to the jail where he provided a breath test sample of .111.

A Driving Under the Influence charge in Florida can carry serious consequenses such as high fines, increased insurance premiums, loss of driver's license, probation, and even jail time. If you find yourself in Mr. Gannascoli's position, you will need to hire an experienced Tampa DUI Attorney to make sure that your rights are protected and to possibly avoid some of the harsh penalties that a DUI conviction carries. Taking Mr. Gannascoli's case for example, a Tampa DUI attorney would examine several critical stages that occur in almost every DUI traffic stop.

1. Was the officer even justified to pull Mr. Gannascoli over in the first place? Specifically, was Mr. Gannascoli's driving pattern so erratic that it would lead to no explaination other than to suggest an impaired driver was behind the wheel?

2. Was the officer legally justified in having Mr. Gannascoli perform field sobriety exercises? Additionally, did the officer ask Mr. Gannascoli to perform the exercises or was he ordered to perform them?

3. Did the officer have enough probable cause to even arrest Mr. Gannascoli?

4. Was the breath test administered properly? Was the Implied Consent Law read correctly? Was the machine in working order? Did the officer manipulate the machine to obtain a higher reading?

The above are only SOME of the MANY areas that an experienced Tampa DUI attorney would examine to make sure Mr. Gannascoli recieved the best result possible.

 

Safety Harbor man charged in assault that involved stolen police gun.

A 22-year-old Safety Harbor man was recently arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, dealing in stolen property, and possession of a controlled substance.

According to police, while in his house, the 22-year-old man threatened to shoot a woman with a gun that was reported stolen out of a police vehicle.The woman left the house unharmed, then called the police and reported the incident. When police made contact with the 22-year-old man, he admitted that he knew the gun was stolen, but produced a bill of sale he received when he bought the gun from another person.

Police also report an 18-year-old man was also present at the time of the altercation and assisted the 22-year-old threaten the woman. The 18-year-old is also being charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Even though these men were arrested they should be considered lucky as the State is not charging them with aggravated assault with a firearm. If they were being charged with such a crime, they would be facing a minimum mandatory prison sentence. Since they are only charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, there is no minimum mandatory prison sentence, however the crime is still considered a third degree felony.

It raises eyebrows that the 18-year-old was also charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon even though he was not the individual to use the weapon in a threatening manner. The State would have to proceed under the principal theory of prosecution. That is, they would have to show that he did something in furtherance of the 22-year-old's crime of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The State would need to show how exactly he "assisted with the threatening." The principal theory of prosecution is somewhat dangerous because an otherwise innocent person may be wrongly grouped with the truly guilty party by just being there, or simply "guilt by association."

Any arrest as described above involving aggravated assault, possession of a controlled substance, or dealing in stolen property can carry serious consequences if not handled by an experienced Tampa assault lawyer or Clearwater defense attorney. Contact the attorneys at Roman & Roman today for a free consultation.

Hillsborough deputies arrest 3 men suspected in FishHawk Ranch car burglaries

Toward the end of May about 40-60 cars in the FishHawk Ranch area of Tampa were burglarized. Specifically, May 23 through May 26 was when the alleged crimes were committed according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (HCSO). HCSO officials classify these burglaries as "car hopping." "Car hopping" occurs when an individual goes around and attempts to open each car in a parking lot by just checking the handle to see if the owner forgot to lock the car. Once an unlocked car is found, the burglar helps himself/herself to whatever they can get their hands on. Breaking into 40-60 cars in this manner may seem somewhat harmless when compared to burglaries where windows are smashed or locks are popped, but crimes such as "car hopping" still carry harsh penalties if convicted.

On May 25, HCSO arrested three men in connection with these "car hopping" burglaries. One man was located and arrested because he pawned a GPS unit that was reported as stolen from one of the cars.

These three men now face several felony and misdemeanor offenses.  Not mentioned in the news release was how these suspects were identified. In addition to forensic analysis (ie. dusting for fingerprints) of the burglarized vehicles, law enforcement frequently searches pawn shop databases to determine if any of the stolen property (like a GPS unit) was pawned for money. If law enforcement determines that the stolen property was pawned within a few hours or even a few days from the time of the burglary, then they can charge the person who pawned the property with committing the burglary where the property was originally stolen. Under Florida law, this theory of prosecution is called "unexplained possession of recently stolen property."

If you or someone you know is being charged with burglary, grand theft, or dealing in stolen property, contact an experienced Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney to discuss your/their rights and any possible defenses you/they may have. 

"Not All Traffic Stops Are Legal."

When police conduct a traffic stop on an individual, the law requires that the stopping Officer to have developed reasonable suspicion or probable cause before the traffic stop is made. When you hire a criminal defense attorney, they will make sure your rights were not violated when the police conduct such a stop of your vehicle. Reasonable suspicion or probable cause can arise from a multitude of factors. Examples can be: speeding, running a stop sign, equipment malfunction, failing to signal, weaving, etc...

When a traffic stop is made without reasonable suspicion or probable cause, defense attorneys can file a motion to suppress alleging that law enforcement detained their client in violation of the 4^th Amendment of the Constitution. If the Court grants the motion to suppress, then all evidence obtained after traffic stop will be thrown out of court and unavailable for the prosecution to use against the Defendant. Such evidence can be: the Defendant’s identity, drugs, firearms, incriminating statements, observations by law enforcement, performance of Field Sobriety Exercises, breath tests, etc... Often, without this crucial evidence there is nothing left for the State to rely on to prove the charges against the accused therefore forcing the prosecution to drop the entire case.

For example, just because someone:

1. fails to use a turn signal when switching lanes,

2. weaves within or outside their lane of travel,

3. makes a wide turn,

4. has a nonfunctional brake light,

5. has a cracked windshield,

6. is parked behind a closed business,

   7. drives with an improper tag attached to the vehicle,

8. drives with a partially obscured temporary tag attached to the vehicle,

9. drives a vehicle that is registered to someone who has a suspended license,

10. drives a vehicle with a cracked tail light,

11. squeals their tires,

12. stops their vehicle in the roadway,

13. improperly backs their vehicle in the roadway,

14. has an item in the rear windshield obstructing the driver’s view,

15. has an item hanging from the rearview mirror,...

...does NOT always give law enforcement the legal right to conduct a traffic stop!

The Motions to Suppress described above are only one of the many ways the attorneys at Roman & Roman can help to FIGHT YOUR CHARGES!!!