Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

He faced up to 30-years for leaving the scene of a hit-and-run accident that killed a 23-year-old woman, but Michael Levi Beauregard was sentenced last week to just one year in jail. Beauregard will also be on probation in Jacksonville for five years for the May 2011 accident that killed a woman who was riding a motorized wheelchair on the side of a road, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. This Jacksonville vehicular homicide case was problematic from the start because there was no physical evidence and there were no eyewitnesses who could testify on court. Moon's fiancé was at the scene, but was unable to identify the driver. Beauregard is accused of speeding and hitting the woman, stopping briefly, then panicking and taking off, essentially leaving her to die. He admitted to the accident and said he did not see her in the road.

Part of the plea deal required Beauregard to pay $3,700 for the woman's funeral expenses and $2,000 for the wheelchair. The woman was not disabled, but had taken her finance's father's motorized chair to go pick up a pizza, the newspaper reported. The case is a prime example of the elements needed to prove a case in a trial, and how those may not always be there - regardless of what everyone thinks and assumes happened. Beauregard made a serious mistake and was willing to take responsibility and do some time as punishment. And it likely wasn't worth the risk of 30 years in prison if he was convicted at trial of vehicular homicide. But the state could not take the case to trial, and it obviously knew that. There was no one to put on the stand and say Beauregard was driving, no way to prove that he was even the one driving the truck. The cases that often seem the easiest to just rule with a "guilty" verdict aren't always like that.

An experienced Jacksonville Traffic Attorney knows what to look for to see if the state has what it needs to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Our Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, gives cases a comprehensive analysis and will then meet with you or your loved one to advise you or your best options going forward. Sometimes, that's a trial. In other cases, like this one, it can be best to take advantage of the state's weak case, get the best deal possible and move on.

If you or a loved one needs a criminal defense attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a free consultation. Our Jacksonville Criminal Attorney is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

More than two weeks after a Jacksonville teen was killed when a van drove into her bedroom, police have charged a 51-year-old man in her death. Ismet Sijamhodzic was arrested in Jacksonville and charged with vehicular homicide and was being held in the Duval County jail on a bond of $250,000, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. He faces up to 15 years in prison on the Florida second-degree felony charge. Sijamhodzic ran a stop sign about 2:40 a.m. on an August morning and drove straight into the bedroom of the Wolfson High School student, trapping her between the van and a wall, according to the newspaper report. There were no signs that he tried to stop or steer the van to avoid the home, nor were there skid marks in the road near the home, the newspaper reported.

Sijamhodzic had marijuana in system as well Xanax, a prescription muscle relaxer and anti-anxiety drug, and told police he hadn't slept for three days before the accident, according to the newspaper. In Florida, vehicular homicide that Sijamhodzic is charged with is a second-degree felony. In a case where someone leaves the scene or doesn't render the aid he or she could have to help the victim, it becomes a first degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison. Sijamhodzic was injured in the crash and hospitalized, so the enhanced charge would not apply in his case. The drugs in his system aren't likely to help him in terms of plea negotiations, nor are the 10 traffic tickets the newspaper reported he had received since 1996. Jacksonville traffic citations like these are not used in the sentencing guideline formula that is used by the court to determine a range for a sentence, but they are generally placed under consideration by prosecutors when they are determining what, if anything the state would offer in lieu of taking the case to trial.

Public opinion also plays a role, and the state may be unlikely to look like it is giving a favorable deal to someone who killed an innocent honor student while she was sleeping.
Yet there are still facts that are not known. Was the road wet that night? How exactly do police know he did not try to steer around something in the road? Sijamhodzic clearly has an uphill battle in this Jacksonville vehicular homicide case, but his lack of a serious criminal record could help reduce his sentence. He would have been wise, and may have, contacted a Jacksonville Traffic Crime Attorney immediately after released from the hospital. He had to know charges were coming and it is best in these cases when the defendant comes to police, with a Jacksonville criminal defense lawyer, instead of the police running the defendant down.

If you or a loved one needs a vehicular homicide attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a free consultation. Our Duval County Criminal Defense Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A Jacksonville man walked out of court a free man last week, acquitted of Duval County sex charges that he molested his 2-year-old daughter more than six years ago. Jerry Paul Tippins had been in jail for more than six years awaiting the trial, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. He was initially represented by the Public Defender's Office, but shortly before the trial was set to go, a conflict was discovered and another Jacksonville criminal defense attorney was appointed, adding to the delay. He was charged with Jacksonville sexual battery of a child under the age of 12 and molestation, facing up to life in prison if convicted. Tippins maintained his innocence the entire time and a jury agreed last week.
Police were initially brought into the case when Tippins and the child's mother brought the young girl to a hospital with bleeding from her vagina, injuries medical staff deemed consistent with sexual abuse, the newspaper reported. Medical experts presented at trial discredited those findings, as well as a jailhouse snitch who said Tippins confessed to him that Tippins and the child's mother involved their child in their sex life.

Sex crimes in Jacksonville can be by far the toughest accusations to live down, even if you are found not guilty, as Tippins was. During his time in jail, waiting for his day in court, Tippins' custody of his daughter was taken away by the state - even though he had not been found guilty of the sex crime.
If you are convicted or plead guilty to a sex crime in Florida, you will have to register as a sexual offender for the rest of your life. That means every time you move into a new neighborhood, everyone nearby will be notified of your presence and your past. And while these penalties for sex crimes are often the most severe in terms of life-long implications, the cases are among the most difficult to prove. In many cases, there is little if any physical evidence. In this case, there was blood on a diaper and a small amount of semen on a baby wipe that had Tippins' DNA, the newspaper reported. In the trial, Tippins' Jacksonville sex crime attorneys argued the child mother touched the wipe shortly after having sex with Tippins and that's how the semen got there, the newspaper reported.

It was enough for the jury to have reasonable doubt, and Tippins was set free. But not without sacrificing six years of his life in jail for a Jacksonville crime he didn't commit. In the long term, Tippins will not have to register as a sex offender and will not have a conviction on his record, though the arrest will remain on his record and be something he'll have to answer for the rest of his life. Our Jacksonville Sex Crimes Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, has represented hundreds of people accused of sex crimes and knows that false accusations are more common than people tend to think - especially in sex cases.

If you or a loved one needs a sex crimes attorney in Duval, Clay or Nassau Counties, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a free consultation. Our Jacksonville Sex Crimes Lawyer is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A former Jacksonville high school teacher pleaded guilty to sexually abusing one of his former students and two counts of unlawful sex with a minor in Duval County. But instead of getting the 15 years in prison he was facing, Leonard Adams Hoffman, was sentenced last week to one year in the Duval County jail, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. Hoffman, 32, will also serve eight years of sexual offender probation in Jacksonville, the newspaper reported. Hoffman has been in jail since March, when he was arrested in Sarasota County on a sex crimes warrant from Jacksonville, so he is scheduled to be released in early 2013. State prosecutors said they agreed to the deal so the 16-year-old victim would not have to testify at a trial, according to the newspaper report. The investigation into Hoffman began after the Duval County Public Schools suspended him in 2011 for throwing a pencil at a student and telling the class they were going to be discussing vaginas. Hoffman, who started teaching in Jacksonville in 2007, resigned after the administration recommended he be fired.

The police got involved and found he had sexually abused a student, the newspaper reported. It is not known why the three Duval County sex charges were separated, but it is likely because the student was a student of Hoffman's for one of the incidents, but not the other two. Very few details of the case have been released, as is the case in most Jacksonville sexual assault cases involving a minor. But avoiding any prison time at all for a teacher having sex with a student has to be considered a victory for the Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney. Hoffman will be on sexual offender probation into his 40s and it is very unlikely he'll be back in a classroom at any time. Florida sexual offender probation prohibits any unsupervised contact will a person under the age of 18, if the crime involved a minor as Hoffman's clearly did. Other requirements of sexual offender probation include being at home between 10 p.m. and 6 p.m., undergoing sex offender counseling, not working anywhere where children congregate and submitting to blood and DNA testing when asked. Some of the penalties never go away. Hoffman will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life and will always have to contact police when he moves to another residence and his status will be announced to all of his neighbors.

Understandably, many people charged with sex crimes are reluctant to plead guilty to anything because sex crimes are not crimes where you do your time and you're done. But that, coupled with the state often wanting to shield an alleged victim from a trial, can lead to complex negotiations.

Our Jacksonville Sex Crimes Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, has represented hundreds of clients charged with sex crimes in Northeast Florida and is experienced in balancing the desire to limit potential damages as well as the defendant's right to a trial. If you or a loved one needs a sex crimes attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a free consultation. Our Jacksonville sex crimes attorney is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Halfway through his own Jacksonville criminal trial where he is accused of attempted murder and facing up to life in prison, a Jacksonville violent crimes suspect changed his mind and opted for a Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney. Because of the defendant's change of heart, the judge said he had no choice but to end the trial and start over with a new jury and an appointed Duval County Criminal Attorney representing Delvin Thomas Jones, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. The trial had progressed to the point where Jones had cross-examined the man he was accused of shooting in the face, who told the court that Jones was the man who shot him. Shortly after that testimony, Jones told the court he wanted to be represented by a Jacksonville criminal defense attorney. An appointed criminal attorney had been on standby for the case, but the judge ruled the case was far enough down the road, the only alternative was to start over, the newspaper reported.

Prosecutors said they were disappointed the victim would have to testify again but, ultimately, the judge would have likely faced serious scrutiny from an appellate court if he didn't grant the defendant's request for a lawyer and begin a new trial. While there are countless television shows and movies that make a trial look like a simple operation that's opened and closed in an hour that is not the case. There are countless legal rules and procedures that must be followed to ensure a fair trial for both sides and someone without legal training is nearly guaranteed to miss - despite their best intentions. Most people wouldn't attempt a life-saving heart surgery on their own and, while it may seem like a stretch, representing yourself on a Jacksonville criminal charge where you face life in prison is a similar proposition. The trial is your one shot at not spending a significant time, most likely the rest of your life, in prison. Is that something you'd prefer to handle on your own, or put in the hands of someone who has represented thousands of clients in our criminal justice system?

A Jacksonville Criminal Trial Attorney has relationships with prosecutors and attorneys, knows who is likely to go to trial and who is more likely to want to work out a case, all things that can be critical to ensuring the best possible result that someone representing themselves would not be aware of. Granted, some people do represent themselves and are successful, but the examples are few and far between.

If you or a loved one needs a criminal defense attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a free consultation. Our Jacksonville Criminal Trial Lawyer, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A 97-year-old St. Augustine woman has already been declared incompetent to stand trial in the shooting death of her nephew, yet the state wants to keep her in jail until more mental health evaluations can be done. For now, Amanda Stevenson will remain in the St. Johns County jail while she is evaluated again by two doctors, according to a report in the St. Augustine Record. Stevenson's limbo comes from a July court ruling that declared her incompetent to stand trial, yet not in a condition that warranted her being committed to a facility run by the Florida Department of Children and Families, the newspaper reported. Stevenson's St. Johns County Criminal Defense Attorney argued the only alternative was for her to be sent home, and is trying to work out a set of conditions - including counseling, psychiatric care and terms of a court-ordered probation - that the court would accept. The only time a murder suspect is ever held in a county jail is when they are awaiting trial. A judge has already ruled Stevenson won't stand trial, which led St. Augustine Criminal Defense Attorneys to argue why she was even still there and file a motion asking for her release.

St. Johns County state attorneys are arguing that Stevenson is a danger to society and that, while she is frail and mentally ill, she is in court because she is charged with murder -- accused of shooting and killing someone. Until she can be placed somewhere that will ensure public safety, prosecutors said she should remain in jail, the newspaper reported. The case presents an interesting quandary regarding the mental health of defendants, especially when they are accused of serious crimes, as Stevenson is. On one hand, the charges against her are not going forward. On the other, she hasn't been cleared - simply found not of the mental state to understand what is going on around her and to face a trial. In similar cases, a defendant is typically committed to a state mental hospital where they live, receive treatment and are kept in confinement in many ways similar to a prison, though they are not around a general prison population. Residents are not free to leave, but have been deemed unfit by doctors to live on their own in society, based both on mental evaluations and the crime or crimes they are accused of committing. In this St. Johns County murder case, Stevenson has essentially been declared too mentally ill to stand trial, but not sick enough to be committed to a state hospital.

Our justice system is built on ensuring that people accused of crimes are able to receive a fair trial and able to defend themselves in court. When mental illness is an issue, it is imperative that the person is still treated fairly in the system. Our St. Augustine Criminal Defense Attorney understands the complications involved in cases with potentially mentally ill clients and has a network of physicians to evaluate a client and determine the best steps moving forward.

If you or a loved one needs a criminal defense attorney in St. Augustine or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a free consultation. Our St. Johns County Criminal Defense Lawyer, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Two family members accused of allowing a convicted sex offender to live in their home and abuse their young daughter are now scheduled to go to trial at the same time as the alleged abuser. The state plans to seat one jury for Christopher Perry, 41, charged with five counts of sexual battery in Jacksonville and one count each of molestation and of selling, distributing or showing obscene material to a minor, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. A second jury will be assembled to decide the fate of Robert Goeing Young, 52, and Patricia A. Woloszynowski, 63, both charged with Jacksonville child neglect and several counts of being principals to Young's crimes.

The dynamic of the three trials going on at once is interesting, but not surprising in a sex case involving a child victim. Much of this is likely being done in the interest of the child victim in the case. The state doesn't want her to have to testify in court more than once, which is understandable. But having all three trials at the same time could also be trouble for the defendants in this Jacksonville sex crimes case - particularly Young and Woloszynowski. If Young and Woloszynowski were tried separately from Perry, the jury would obviously learn about the details of Perry's crimes - it would be impossible for a jury to be asked to convict someone without at least that basic knowledge. But that's also much different than sitting through Perry's entire trial - when the state is putting its best case forward on how to convict Perry. Logistically, it's been done before. In 2010, three brothers accused of shooting into a home and killing and eight-year-old girl were tried simultaneously with two juries - one for two of the brothers and the other for the third. One of the juries was deadlocked, so a mistrial was declared, according to a Times-Union report. In that case, the judge sealed the verdicts of the first two brothers, and they were read at the end of the second trial for the third brother.

The dynamics in this Jacksonville sex crimes case are a little different. One man, Perry, is accused of committing the actual assault and the other two are essentially charged with letting it happen. There are several key questions that haven't been answered in media reports that will likely surface in the trial: What did Young and Woloszynowski know about Perry's criminal past - if anything? Were they aware the assaults were occurring and just chose to ignore them? Were they actively encouraging the sexual encounters between Perry and the girl? The case brings up interesting issues in terms of how criminally responsible someone can be found for a crime that someone else physically committed. Two others in the case pleaded guilty to charges similar to Young and Woloszynowski. They are clearly rolling the dice and would likely get more time if they are convicted at trial. Sometimes those calculated chances can be worth taking, and our Jacksonville sex crimes attorney has represented hundreds of clients charges with all types of sexual offenses.

If you or a loved one needs a sex crimes attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm, PA at (904) 365-5200 for a free consultation. Our Jacksonville Sex Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A botched Jacksonville Armed Robbery last week left one suspect dead and the other charged with murder, though he wasn't the one who pulled the trigger. Two men started threatening employees at a Dollar General store one night last month, with one of them holding the store manager at gunpoint with what police described as a BB gun that looked extremely authentic and was easily mistaken for a real gun, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union.
A man who just happened to be shopping in the store on his way home from work, saw the commotion at the front of the store and walked to the front with his gun drawn, the newspaper reported. The man ordered the suspect holding the clerk at gunpoint to drop his weapon and, when he didn't, the man shot the suspect in the head, chest and shoulder, killing him. The second suspect took off running and was arrested in Jacksonville the next day after a family member alerted police, the newspaper reported. The shopper has not been charged with a crime and is not expected to be, as police lauded his bravery in helping prevent further violence and crime that evening.

But the charges got exponentially worse for Aundre Krishna Campbell, 19, who is now charged with Duval County felony murder in the death of his accomplice. In Florida, a person can be charged with murder if someone is killed while that person is committing a felony. In this case Campbell and Rakeem Deveal Odoms were trying to rob the store - clearly a felony and Campbell is also charged with robbery in Jacksonville in this case. And the fact that the guns turned out to be fake has no bearing on the seriousness of the charges in this case. More charges against Campbell could be coming, because police say they suspect he and Odoms in several other similar robberies throughout town. The state uses felony murder charges pretty regularly in Jacksonville. Last month, a man accused of chasing and beating another man who was trying to drive off was charged with murder after the driver ran over another man and killed him. Several years ago, three teens who robbed a video game store were charged with felony murder after their getaway driver tried to elude police and was shot and killed by an officer after crashing the vehicle and running, refusing to put his hands in the air. In many cases, felony murder is a charge the state uses as a hammer in cases like this, trying to get a suspect to accept a lengthy prison sentence. It seems a little much to charge someone with murder when they don't even pull the trigger, but the state says it uses the charges as a deterrent for other violent crimes -- armed robbery, for example - that can lead to murder.

If you or a loved one needs a criminal defense attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a free consultation. Our Duval County violent crimes lawyer is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A University of North Florida student was arrested in Jacksonville last week for filing a false police report after her story about being sexually assaulted in Jacksonville in a recreation center locker room didn't check out. The woman was charged with filing a false report by the University Police Department, which said several women have done the same over the past couple of years, according to the a report by News4Jax. Police have pushed for each of the women to be charged with filing a false report, which in Florida is a first-degree Duval County misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. The State Attorney's Office will have the final say on whether charges will be filed against the female student. The school put up fliers all over the recreation complex and the woman provided police with a seemingly detailed description, including her alleged attackers' clothing and his height within two inches, the television station reported. Students who were interviewed by the station following the alleged Jacksonville assault said they were surprised it could have occurred because there are so many employees working around the gym at all times. It turns out they were right.

The false report charge about this Jacksonville Sex Crime appears to be more to send a message to others than it is to punish the student who lied about the rape, though it would be interesting to know how many man hours were spent investigating the case before the woman admitted to lying about the Jacksonville sex case. News reports that she made the story up came about a week after the alleged Duval County rape. It will be interesting to see how far the state pushes the false report case, if at all. One possible condition of a plea bargain could be her paying back the University Police for the money spent on the investigation of the alleged Jacksonville sex crime. Luckily, there was no one in their early 20s with dark blonde hair between 5-foot-10 and 6-feet tall that police had locked in on before the woman came clean. Sex crimes carry an enormous stigma and even an accusation can be extremely difficult to recover from. And, in many cases, all it takes is an accusation for the state to file charges. There is often very little physical evidence in Jacksonville sexual assault cases and the word of the alleged victim is sometimes the only evidence. The stakes are extremely high for a he-said, she-said case like that - especially since capital sexual battery carries a mandatory life sentence. Lesser offenses require people to register as sexual predators or offenders for the rest of their lives.

Our Jacksonville Sex Crimes Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, has represented men falsely accused of sexual assault, and taken cases all the way to trial to clear their names. If you or a loved one needs an experienced sex crimes attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a free consultation. Our Jacksonville sex crimes lawyer is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

As much black and white, letter-of-the-law work goes on in the criminal court system, it's sometimes easy to forget that everyone involved is human. And things happen in people's lives. That's evident in a bizarre twist in the case of a 22-year-old Jacksonville man accused of pistol whipping former Jacksonville Jaguar wide receiver Kassim Osgood and the cheerleader he was with in 2010, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. There are suggestions that the defendant, Julian Armond Bartletto, is not mentally fit to stand trial. The final hearing before Bartletto's trial is scheduled for October, and it's at that hearing that a doctor is scheduled to testify and discuss why he deems Bartletto competent and mentally fit to stand trial. But that doctor had a massive heart attack and it is not yet clear if he'll be in any sort of physical condition to take the stand - especially in a high-pressure case like this one.

If the doctor cannot testify, the court will likely try to figure out when he might be physically up to such a task. If it's going to be longer than the judge is comfortable with, he could have the option to assign a different doctor to the case. Prosecutors would undoubtedly be upset with that decision, especially because the competency is often an inexact science. And the state already has an opinion that favors its side in trying to prosecute Bartletto. Osgood and the cheerleader had been watching television in a second-floor game room of the cheerleader's parents' home when authorities said Bartletto came in pointing a gun with a plastic bag over his head, the newspaper reported. The cheerleader ran and ended up taking the man's gun, while Osgood jumped from an open window and ran to a neighbor's house and that person called 911.
Bartletto is charged with two counts each of Jacksonville armed burglary with assault and kidnapping and single counts of Jacksonville aggravated assault, armed robbery and attempted armed robbery. He faces up to life in prison if convicted of all of the charges. His competency will be the key issue and, for now, it rests on the health of a doctor who declared Bartletto fit to stand trial.

If you or a loved one needs a Gun Crime Attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a free consultation. Our Duval County Violent Crimes Lawyer, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A Jacksonville man sentenced to life in prison for rape while the co-defendant who testified against him got less than a year in Duval County jail was released last week after 25 years behind bars. DNA evidence that questions Billy Joe Holton's involvement in the case brought some attention to his plight, but a Jacksonville judge said the disparity between his life sentence and the deal for the co-defendant who admitted to the same crime is what led to his decision to release Holton, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. Holton was sentenced to time served, but must be on strict Duval County sex offender probation for 10 years that limits where he can live and requires frequent visits and contact with a probation officer. Holton's sentence was based partially on incorrect information as well, according to the newspaper report. Sentences are determined by what the court refers to as sentencing guidelines. Various factors, primarily the type of crime and the defendant's criminal history, are plugged into a formula to determine a numeric range of time in prison the defendant is likely to face. Judges are often hesitant to give sentences outside of the guideline range. In Holton's case, his guidelines included an armed robbery that occurred after the rape and should not have been a factor in his sentence, the newspaper reported. Without that charge on his record, Holton's guidelines would not have called for a life sentence.

Tim Smith testified that he and Holton broke into a Springfield home and both raped the woman, taking turns holding her son, the newspaper reported. They told her to lay under a blanket while they left. Police found semen on that blanket, the newspaper reported. Smith was sentenced to the seven months he'd already served in jail awaiting trial and was set free. Holton got life. But in 2009, new DNA technology was used to test the semen on the blanket and Holton was ruled out. Other attorneys are working to overturn the conviction and the judge said in court last week the DNA evidence was part of the reason he let Holton out of prison, the newspaper reported. Prosecutors asked that Holton's life sentence be upheld. The work on throwing out the conviction can continue, the important part was getting Holton out of prison first - that work can now be done on its own timeline.

Despite having the guidelines, the range is often broad and people can commit similar crimes and have vastly different sentences. Not typically life for one and time served for another, but sentencing disparities definitely exist. And, without question, if one person cooperates and provides significant information that wasn't known otherwise, the one who helps the state will get a better deal. The strategy involved in the decision to plead and negotiating a sentence rival the strategy needed during a trial, though it doesn't often get that sort of recognition from people who aren't around the courthouse every day. Our experienced Jacksonville Rape Lawyer has worked out thousands of cases and tried her share, too, and knows not just if an offer might be worth taking, but when to take it or keeping pushing.

If you or a loved one needs a Sex Crime Defense Attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a free consultation. Our Duval County Sex Lawyer, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A tip from a neighbor led police to a Jacksonville home where they found 36 marijuana plants and other evidence of a grow operation inside the residence. When police arrived, they smelled the odor of burning marijuana, knocked on the door and Derrick Anton Warren let the officers inside, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. Once inside, police found 36 pot plants inside a bedroom, two garbage bags of freshly picked marijuana and dried processed marijuana throughout the home, as well as empty cultivation pots, the newspaper reported. Warren was arrested for Jacksonville Cultivation of Marijuana, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. While he certainly would have always faced some prison time for having large quantities of pot and plants in his home - a fairly new law passed by the Florida legislature in 2008 put an additional hurting on smaller-scale pot growers like Warren.

The law, part of a legislative crackdown on marijuana in Florida, now makes it a second-degree felony to grow 25 or more plants - a fraction of the previous threshold of 300 plants. The law, called the Marijuana Grow House Eradication Act, also made it a first-degree felony (punishable by up to 30 years in prison) to grow 25 or more plants in a home with children present, though there were no indications from the newspaper report that children were living in Warren's home. The 2008 law also makes owning a house for the purpose of cultivating, packaging and distributing marijuana a third-degree felony in Duval County, punishable by up to five years in prison. The law also made it easier for law enforcement to collect evidence - a subtle change that is important once cases get down the road for a potential trial. Police used to have to find places to store the large grow equipment, often a comprehensive labyrinth of lights and wires, to preserve it as evidence. The change in the law allowed police to simply take pictures of the equipment, making it easier to move forward from a prosecution perspective.

Time will tell how much evidence police have against Warren, outside of what they found inside his home. Police in Duval County, Clay County and St. Johns County commonly use electric utility records to help cases - sometimes even to initiate an investigation - because growing pot takes a significant amount of light and people who grow typically use several times more electricity that the average consumer. And according to what is out now, Warren appears to have voluntarily let the police inside his home. Who knows exactly how that conversation occurred, but you do not have to let police into your home unless they have a warrant to search it. And if they were only acting on a tip from a neighbor, they likely do not have had enough evidence for a judge to sign a warrant. The ideal scenario in such an instance would be for the homeowner to not let police in and immediately call a Jacksonville Marijuana Lawyer to discuss the situation.

If you or a loved one needs a drug crimes attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a free consultation. Our Duval County Drug Crimes Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Guilty pleas and sentences are now rolling in for the 19 men caught in an undercover, underage sex sting in Clay County and there appear to be few outliers in terms of the punishment. Last week, the tenth defendant in the case was sentenced to seven years in prison. He pleaded guilty to the Clay County Sex Charges of traveling to meet a minor to do unlawful acts, use of a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony and soliciting a child via computer to engage in sexual conduct, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. When he was arrested, police found drugs on him, so he also ended up pleading guilty to both possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana in Clay County, the newspaper reported. The sex charges for he and 18 other men stem from a five-day sting "Don't Play in Clay" in April where various police agencies set out to arrest men seeking sex from young girls, the newspaper reported. The Clay County Sheriff's Office, Florida Department of Law Enforcement and FBI joined forces to pose as a 14-year-old girl and chat online with men interested in sex. Once the men arranged to meet her at a Fleming Island home, police were waiting for them when they arrived. Most of the men are receiving five years in prison and 10 years of Clay County sex offender probation, the newspaper reported.

The sting is similar to the now-infamous "To Catch a Predator" stings that used to air nationally on Dateline NBC. Cases like this can be fraught with entrapment issues as to who is actually initiating the meeting. But in most cases there is enough of a record built with the online chat transcripts alone that taking a case to trial and having it read out loud in court would not play well to a jury. That's why, in most cases, defendants are taking plea agreements. And what appears to be happening in this case is common for similar large busts of this nature: the precedent is set by the first couple of people who plead guilty and the rest can either fall in line or go to trial. All of the men are charged with similar sex crimes but they are not dependent on one another. This differs from a large-scale drug bust, where people are often flipping on each other and helping police in hopes of getting a reduced sentence. For the Clay County sting, police don't need Suspect 1 to help their case against Suspect 19 - it serves them no purpose. Part of the benefit an experienced Clay County Sex Crimes Attorney brings to the table is knowing when the state's best offer is going to come - and being willing to take it quickly when it does. This comes from working in the system long enough to know how different prosecutors operate, and knowing how different crimes and busts are treated - such as the "Don't Play in Clay" investigation.

If you or a loved one needs a Sex Crimes Attorney in Clay County or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a free consultation. Our Clay County Sex Crimes Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A Jacksonville man died last week, five days after being run over by a car in a parking lot shortly after the bars closed at the Jacksonville Landing. Taylor Evans, 22, was hit by man driving a truck, apparently fleeing from a group of people chasing and beating him, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. Police have offered very few details in the Jacksonville hit and run case, including whether they know who the driver was, though Evans' friend told the newspaper police had spoken with the driver and have yet to file charges. Police did ask for help seeking a woman who was being hit by a man at Maverick's, the night club where Evans and others attended that evening, though police have not said if that plea from the public is in any way connected to the man accused of running Evans over.

In this case, and in any Jacksonville criminal case, the decision to file charges lies with the State Attorney's Office. Most are routine and quick decisions - the police find drugs on someone during a traffic stop, the state files Duval County Drug Possession charges and the case moves on through the system. But not all cases are that cut and dried. There appear to be many moving parts in this case. Witnesses said the driver was being chased and beaten on his way to his car, even when he was inside the car, the newspaper reported. The driver apparently tried to speed off to escape and smashed into several parked cars before he drove over Evans and kept going. The driver could clearly faces charges of Jacksonville vehicular manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident causing a death. Vehicular manslaughter can be charged as either a Duval County misdemeanor or a felony, depending upon the severity of crime. For example, if someone is speeding and causes a crash, that is more likely to be a Florida misdemeanor, but if someone is driving under the influence at the time of the crash that kills someone, it is typically charged as a felony.

That brings up another unanswered question in this case: Was the driver intoxicated at the time of the crash? That would open up a whole separate set of possible Jacksonville DUI charges. And, of course, if the driver is the one accused of beating a woman at the club, he could face battery or domestic battery charges in Jacksonville in that incident as well, depending on the relationship with the woman involved in the incident. But what about the people chasing and beating the driver? Could they face charges in Evans' death in that Jacksonville parking lot? Believe it or not, they could. Take this hypothetical: If there was a weapon involved in the alleged beating, some people in the group could technically be charged with aggravated battery - a Jacksonville felony. And, under Florida's felony murder law, anyone committing a felony during an incident that leads to a death can technically be charged with felony murder.

This case has loads of potential issues, most notably the ability of the driver to identify which individual attacker did what. But nonetheless, serious charges could be filed for people in a number of different roles in a case like this. In a situation such as this, it is extremely important to consult with a Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney immediately if you think police may be asking you questions. An Aggressive Criminal Defense Attorney can be with you, if and when you meet with police, and best advice you of your options. If you or a loved one needs a criminal defense attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm, PA at (904) 365-5200 for a free consultation. Our Duval County criminal defense attorney is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The former Tampa teacher whose 2004 sex case involving a 14-year-old male student made international headlines was ordered back on Florida sexual offender probation by the Florida District Court of Appeal. A judge last year released Debra Lafave four years early from her sexual offender probation, granting a request made by Lafave and her criminal defense attorney, according to a report in the Tampa Bay Times. Lafave pleaded guilty in 2008 to two counts of lewd and lascivious battery and her deal called for her to serve three years of house arrest and seven years of sexual offender probation, the newspaper reported. The only catch was that Lafave had to agree to serve the entire sentence. But last year, Lafave, now 32, told the judge of her struggles working two jobs, how she is engaged to be married and has already served three years of house arrest, the newspaper reported. The judge granted her request, shortly before he retired, and left four years of probation she did not have to complete. The state opposed the early termination and appealed, arguing it set a horrible precedent and takes the teeth out of a negotiated agreement if a judge can just go in and change it whenever he or she sees fits. The appellate court sided with the state and ordered her probation reinstated. In the ruling, the court wrote: "permitting the circuit court to go behind the terms of the plea agreement would undermine the public trust and confidence in the judicial branch," the newspaper reported. Lafave will soon be scheduled to appear in court and be given instructions as to how to finish her probation.

Ending probation early, whether in Jacksonville or any other Florida city, is clearly not unheard of, but it is something that is asked for far more often than it is granted. The hook in this case is that the lengthy probation was part of what both sides - including Lafave - agreed to because the young victim's family wanted to avoid the spectacle of a trial, even though she faced up to 30 years in prison if convicted. Many, including nationally televised crime pundit Nancy Grace, hammered the initial plea agreement for being too lenient on Lafave, so prosecutors were, without question, going to fight this decision. What often gets lost in cases like this, from the perspective of a Jacksonville Sex Crimes Attorney, is the state ultimately was a part of the decision not to take the case to trial. Our Jacksonville Sex Probation Lawyer has seen when prosecutors try to hammer someone on a Duval County probation violation, for example, because they don't think the person got enough time on the original crime. Just because a prosecutor has buyer's remorse on a deal doesn't make it right to try to get even on a violation.

Our Duval County sex crimes attorney will be keeping a close eye on this case, especially if it is appealed to the Supreme Court, which Lafave's criminal defense lawyer told the newspaper is a distinct possibility. It could have serious ramifications on how plea deals are handled across the state, including in Clay County, Duval County, Nassau County and St. Johns County.

If you or a loved one needs a sex crimes attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a free consultation. Our Duval County sex crimes attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.