Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

Minutes before a hearing on whether the state's Stand Your Ground law would clear an elderly Jacksonville Beach man in the shooting death of man visiting his girlfriend, the 77-year-old opted to plead guilty to a manslaughter charge. Vannie Collier pleaded guilty this month to manslaughter, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. The plea agreement calls for Collier to be sentenced to between five and 15 years in state prison and, as a result of the plea, the state dropped the second-degree murder charge for which Collier could have received life in prison.

Collier and the victim had a long-standing argument and police said Collier has displayed his gun and fired it in the air before because he did not like people walking in front of his home, the newspaper reported. Collier was set to have a Stand Your Ground hearing, claiming that he fired because he felt he was being threatened and was in fear for his life from the 38-year-old victim. Collier's children in the courtroom audience urged him not to take the plea deal, and, when he asked for more time to think about it, prosecutors told him he had to take it or leave it, the newspaper reported. The notion that everyone has a right to a Stand Your Ground hearing may technically be true, but this case shows the leverage game prosecutors use and the true cost of a hearing. If Collier went through with the hearing, the plea deal would come off the table and his only options would be to plead guilty to second-degree murder or go to trial on that charge, where he faced a minimum of 25 years in prison and a potential life sentence. At 77, the 25-year minimum would likely equate to a life sentence because there is no gain time on a minimum mandatory sentence and Collier would be more than 100 years old at his scheduled release.

This move by prosecutors effectively limits Collier's potential defense and typically ends up guaranteeing the state some sort of plea in the case, albeit one at a far reduced charge. Now, the state doesn't have to negotiate in the first place, so there is nothing illegal about the move, but it is a common tactic of local prosecutors when they want to force the issue. If they had nothing to be afraid of on the Stand Your Ground motion, why wouldn't they keep the offer open? Likely because they know the client will take the deal, as Collier did, and not risk what will amount to a life sentence. The plea limits Collier's exposure and we'll know next month how much time he will serve in this Jacksonville Gun Crimes Case. Our Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney has represented hundreds of clients and understands the ins and out of plea negotiations to be able to lay out all of the options so you or your loved one can make the best possible decision.

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 Gun Crimes Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A Jacksonville man who narrowly lost a "razor-close" decision that would have allowed him to walk free from murder charges has pleaded guilty to a Jackosnville reduced charge of manslaughter. Quintavious Seay pleaded guilty last week to manslaughter once the state agreed to drop the second-degree murder charge and cap the maximum prison sentence Seay will receive, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. The Florida manslaughter charge has a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, but the plea agreement calls for the sentence to range from 5 to 15 years, the newspaper reported.

Seay will be sentenced next month. The judge is not legally bound by the agreement but, in a majority of cases, once the judge accepts the plea, he or she generally issues a sentence within the agreed-upon range. Seay shot at three men who jumped him and friend for retaliation from an earlier fight, the newspaper reported. The three men attacked Seay and his friend, kicking his friend until he was almost unconscious in the street, the newspaper reported. When the men turned their attention back to Seay, he pulled out a gun and fired, killing one of the men. Witnesses said the fight was already over when Seay started shooting, which was likely the determining factor in Seay losing his Stand Your Ground defense. The Stand Your Ground law in Florida allows a person to use deadly force instead of retreating if the person fears for his or her life. The judge said in court he ruled against Seay in a "razor-close" decision and, when Seay's Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorneys appealed the ruling, an appellate court agreed with the local judge, the newspaper reported.

The plea in this Jacksonville Gun Crimes case allows Seay to limit the potential damage in his sentence and, eventually, move on with his life. If he was found guilty at trial of second degree murder, he faced up to life in prison. Seay, 20, will now likely be out of prison before or shortly after his 30th birthday. Seay was 16 at the time of the shooting and has been in the Duval County jail since December 2009. Any sentence the judge imposes on the manslaughter charge will include credit for the more than three years Seay has already served. So a 5-year sentence would really be less than two years and a 15-year-sentence would be less than 12 years.

In many cases, like this Duval County Gun Crimes Case, the role of a Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney is to get the best possible outcome for his or her client. Sometimes that means pushing a case to trial. In other cases, it means continuing to push for a reduced charge and taking a sure thing instead of risking a damaging result at trial.

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 Gun Crimes Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Two men and a female driver were arrested on armed robbery charges in Clay County last week after two victims were robbed and shot in what police are describing as a drug-related incident. The suspects drove off after the robbery and police eventually spotted the vehicle driven by Kelia Smith at a convenience store, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. Smith was arrested in Clay County. The two passengers, Calvin Bolden and Marquise Roberts, allegedly both ran when police arrived, but were eventually arrested at the apartment complex where the alleged shooting took place, the newspaper reported.

All three are charged with armed robbery with a firearm, a first-degree felony that carries a potential life prison sentence. Bolden and Roberts are also charged with aggravated battery and other drug charges, the newspaper reported. Smith, who had her 2-year-old son in the car at the time, was also charged with child neglect and marijuana possession.
Depending on how it shakes out in terms of which one of the men is accused of firing the weapon, there are minimum mandatory sentences that could be at play here. Under the state's 10-20-Life law, using a firearm in the act of a felony allows the state to file for a 10-year minimum mandatory sentence. Both men are accused of showing guns, but only one is accused of firing his, the newspaper reported. Minimum mandatory sentences do not allow the judge to sentence to anything lower and require the defendant to serve the term in its entirety. In most other cases, defendant serve 85 percent of their sentence - assuming the stay out of trouble in prison. If a gun is fired, the minimum mandatory can be increased to 20 years. If someone is hit, it can then be escalated to life in prison. And because people were shot in this case, it could escalate to a mandatory life sentence, though there are other elements that may be in play. Minimum mandatories are generally not filed immediately by the state, but come into play down the road and are often used as leverage in negotiation.

An interesting piece of this Clay County Armed Robbery case, in terms of leverage, will be what the state chooses to do with Smith. She was the alleged getaway driver, which makes her part of the armed robbery, even though it appears she was in the car and not actively involved in the physical robbery. Prosecutors are likely starting first with her to determine if she will talk and, more importantly for the case, if she is willing to testify against the two men in this Clay County Armed Robbery Case. Prosecutors often go to a person on the periphery of the case, but someone who still has intimate knowledge of the case, and will trade information for a recommendation of a more lenient sentence. It's unclear at this point what Smith's ties are to the two men, so the likelihood of her talking is impossible to predict. However, loyalties can go out the window quickly when someone is facing life in prison and our Clay County Robbery attorney has seen family members flip on each other to save themselves some prison time.

If you or a loved one needs a criminal defense attorney in Orange Park or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a FREE CONSULTATION. Our Clay County Robbery Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A former police officer is now facing an attempted murder charge in St. Johns County for allegedly shooting at a local firefighter after the two had a disagreement on the road. Nathaniel Juratovac, a former Flagler Beach police officer, was charged in the shooting last week, which hospitalized Jared Parkey, a Flagler County firefighter, according to a report in the Daytona Beach News-Journal. Parkey was hit twice in the upper body, but has since been released from the hospital, the newspaper reported.

Police have not yet said what caused the argument between the two men, who were both driving south on U.S. 1 in St. Johns County, though the newspaper reported Parkey, his wife and toddler son were on their way back from South Florida and were five miles from home when the incident occurred. Juratovac also had his wife and a young child in the car at the time, the newspaper reported. What does appear to be clear is an argument started and there was some sort of back-and-forth between the two drivers and both men eventually pulled over to the side of the road, the newspaper reported. Juratovac fired several times into the car and Parkey was hit in the upper body twice, the newspaper reported.

From a criminal defense perspective in this St. Johns County Attempted Murder Case, some of the keys will be the interplay between the two men and the actions of both during the argument. Yes, it appears that Juratovac ended the argument by shooting into the car. But, is it possible his actions could be seen as self-defense, depending on the facts of the altercation? Right now it seems like a longshot, but the picture will become much clearer once the St. Johns County Violent Crimes attorneys have a chance to dig further into the details. There are varying degrees of attempted murder in the state of Florida, and the decision prosecutors make will have a significant impact on the potential prison time exposure for Juratovac, should he be convicted or enter a plea in the case. Attempted first-degree murder would expose Juratovac to up to life in prison in this St. Johns County Attempted Murder Case. The state would have to prove Juratovac had a premeditated attempt to kill Parkey, but was just not successful. That's unlikely to be proven, given the facts of this St. Johns County Violent Crimes case, but it may be where the case begins. Juratovac could also be charged with attempted second-degree murder, which basically means he was engaged in an inherently dangerous act with a disregard for the fact his actions could kill someone. Attempted second-degree murder is a second-degree felony in Florida, punishable by up to 15 years in state prison. Either way, a seemingly routine drive appears to have led to an incident where Juratovac is now facing a significant amount of time behind bars.

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 Violent Crimes Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A Jacksonville woman was arrested in Jacksonville on a murder charge last week, accused of shooting her ex-boyfriend several times when he went to a Jacksonville Post Office to pick up some mail. Arianne Myles was arrested the day after the shooting, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. Police say Myles was driving and saw Harold Davis in the Post Office parking lot. She then pulled into the parking lot, got a gun from the trunk of her car and opened fire, shooting Davis several times and killing him, the newspaper reported.

Myles is in jail with no Duval County bond and will be arraigned on formal charges next month. Prosecutors have not yet filed the charges, they have 40 days to do so, and it's not yet clear what degree murder Myles will be charged with. If the state does decide to file a first-degree murder charge, it must go to a grand jury to have the decision approved. If Myles is convicted of or pleads guilty to first-degree murder in this Jacksonville Violent Crimes Case, the only possibilities for her sentence are life in prison or the death penalty.

The difference between first-degree murder and other murder charges is the state must prove the killing was premeditated for it to be first-degree murder. Myles and Davis dated for more than two years and Myles ended the relationship but then sought to get back together, the newspaper reported. By that time, Davis had moved on. There have been no media reports of how Myles happened upon Davis that day, and happened to have a gun in the trunk of her car. The newspaper reported she did not have any concealed weapons permits, nor did she have any criminal record. There also did not appear to be an argument in the parking lot, or anything that may have started small and escalated to the point Myles allegedly decided to go get a gun to protect herself.

Premeditation can be tricky when it comes to charges in a Jacksonville Violent Crimes case like this. While it's often thought of as a detailed, well thought-out plan, the length of time in premeditation is not a factor. For example, if Myles spotted Davis and then pulled into the parking lot with the mindset to get her gun and shoot and kill him, that could be considered premeditation. It may be somewhat spur-of-the-moment, but the sole reason she would have turned into the parking lot was for this confrontation and, if she didn't try to talk to him or anything else, it would indicate her sole purpose was to kill Davis.

Second-degree murder can charged is a person kills another person, but there is no premeditation to kill the other person. The premeditation issue will likely be the predominant issue in this case, should the state ultimately decide to file first-degree murder charges. But just because it is charged, doesn't mean it will stick. Earlier this year, the state sought first-degree murder in a somewhat similar domestic murder case, but the jury instead convicted the suspect of second-degree murder. (See our previous Jacksonville Criminal Attorney Blog) The sentence has yet to be given in that case, but that jury decision could be the difference in whether the defendant is ever released from prison.

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

In rare move for Jacksonville prosecutors, the state dropped a first-degree murder charge against a Jacksonville man and instead allowed him to plead guilty to lesser charges that now amount to five years in prison. Keir Delancy instead pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and attempted manslaughter, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. Delancy was sentenced to five years in prison on each count, but the judge ordered they be served concurrently. That means Delancy serves the two sentences at the same time and will serve just five years total for the two charges. The judge also allowed Delancy to serve these two sentences concurrent to the 15 years he is now serving for selling cocaine, charges he pleaded to last year. So on the 25 years he was sentenced to for various Jacksonville Gun Crimes and Jacksonville Drug Crimes, Delancy will only serve 15 years. And if he stays out of trouble in prison, he will serve just 85 percent of that time and be released in less than 13 years.

That's a remarkably good deal for Delancy and a far cry from the mandatory life sentence the 26-year-old would have been facing had he gone to trial on the first-degree murder charge. In first-degree murder cases, the judge does not have any discretion and Florida law requires the sentence to be either life in prison or the death penalty. The state was not seeking death in this case. Delancy and another man were both charged with first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder for their roles in a drive-by shooting that killed one man and injured another in 2010. Delancy's co-defendant, Brandon Acker, has yet to go to trial. Delancy and the victims had an ongoing dispute, presumably over drugs sales, the newspaper reported. The newspaper report does not say if Delancy agreed to testify against Acker, but that could certainly be one obvious reason for the state to pull the first-degree murder charge and offer Delancy a deal that is typically unheard of in Jacksonville. Prosecutors declined to discuss why the murder charge was dropped and the attempted murder charge was reduced, the newspaper reported.

In recent years, prosecutors have been extremely reluctant to drop any charges, let alone a first-degree murder charge. Had the case been solid, it's very unlikely the state would have an offer as generous on the table for Delancy. It will be interesting to see if something similar comes around for Acker in this Jacksonville Gun Crime and Jacksonville Drugs Crime Case. Or if Delancy will appear on the witness stand to testify against him.

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

Four men whom allegedly at one point had their hands on a stolen gun that was eventually used to kill a Clay County detective are now facing significant prison time. All four were charged with Clay County dealing in stolen property, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. Police tracked the gun using its serial number and several interviews with witness, the newspaper reported, and this case shows how wide of a net police can cast in a gun case.

Last year, one Clay County detective was killed and another injured when they were raiding a suspected meth lab and Ted Tilley opened fire from inside the home. Tilley tried to run away and was eventually shot and killed by police. Several people in the home were charged with murder in connection with White's death. But the trail did not end there. Police then targeted the gun Tilley used and traced it to being reported stolen out of Jacksonville in 2011. The gun changed hands four times, with everyone involved knowing the gun was stolen, the newspaper reported. The last person with the gun gave it to Tilley, a convicted felon who would not have been legally permitted to own or even possess a firearm.

All four men were arrested in Clay County last week and booked into the county jail in this Clay County Gun Crimes case. Three had bonds set at $50,000 and the fourth at $100,000, showing the weight the state is placing on this case. In order to prove someone is guilty of dealing in stolen property in Florida, the state must show the person either knew or reasonably should have known that the item in question was stolen. It's not clear in this case if the men were selling the gun each time it changed hands but, in this case, that is not relevant. Typically, this crime is charged when people are stealing items from businesses or homes and then selling the items. But in this Clay County Gun Crimes case it was used to show the trail of the gun and make all parties who touched it along the way responsible in the death. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were both involved in the investigation.

Clay County Gun Crimes cases are serious and, as this case shows, any connection with a stolen gun can lead to serious consequences down the road - even if you or your loved one never pulls the trigger. If you or a loved one needs a criminal defense attorney in Clay County or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a FREE CONSULTATION. Our Clay County Gun Crimes Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

After two days of deliberations, a Jacksonville jury said it was hopelessly deadlocked and unable to reach a decision on whether a 21-year-old Jacksonville man was guilty of first-degree murder as the state alleged. That led the judge to declare a mistrial and now a second trial awaits Reginald Renard Battle, accused of shooting Eric Michael Burney in the back of the head after robbing him during a dice game in July 2010, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union.

Police said Battle and two other men were at a park one evening when a group of men were playing a dice game, the newspaper reported. Battle testified at the trial that he left the park before the shooting, and surveillance cameras do show his truck leaving the area, the newspaper reported. But police argued he let one of his friends borrow the truck and Battle stayed behind at the park. Both of the friends have pleaded guilty in this Jacksonville Gun Crimes Case - one to second-degree murder, the other to accessory after fact - and both testified against Battle.

Battle's Duval County criminal attorney argued the men were lying to try to avoid life in prison. Because Battle is charged with first-degree murder, he faces mandatory life in prison if convicted. In jury trials in the state of Florida, decisions must be unanimous. Now that doesn't mean there isn't plenty of discussion and convincing that goes on behind closed doors in the jury room. That's what deliberation is all about. However, it takes every single juror to agree with the decision for it to stand up. In most cases, the criminal defense attorneys on the losing side will ask to have the jury polled, which means every member of the jury will be asked, under oath, if the announced verdict was indeed their verdict.

In this Jacksonville Gun case involving Battle, jurors spent two days deliberating and then told the judge they would not be able to reach a verdict. The judge then declared a mistrial. A mistrial essentially means both sides need to start over. A new jury will be picked and a whole new trial in Jacksonville will be conducted. A mistrial can also be declared during a trial if one side or the other makes a procedural error. For example, if the judge rules prior to the trial that a police interview will not be allowed in as evidence and the state brings it up anyway - intentionally or not - the Jacksonville defense will almost certainly move for a mistrial and the judge will then decide whether to grant it.

A second trial can have its pluses and minuses. On one hand, attorneys can fine-tune their cases and possibly eliminate some things that might not have worked. On the other hand, you've already shown your cards, so the other side already knows what is coming. In some cases, a mistrial will bring the two sides closer together in negotiations and an agreement can be worked out, but the state has been clear in various media reports that it intends to try Battle again in this Jacksonville Violent Crimes Case.

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 Gun Crimes Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A local man was charged with 10 counts of Jacksonville Aggravated Assault for shooting into a crowd at his neighbor's house during a house party last week. Police reported that Randall Wilkie was upset about the noise coming from the party and fired the shots into the house where about 15 people were gathered, according to a report on News4Jax. No one was hit with any of the shots, the television station reported.

But Wilkie has a completely different story that he told his mother, according the news report. He said he came home and saw his girlfriend outside at the neighbor's house, then three cars pulled up and several people jumped out and started a fight, the television station reported. Wilkie said some of the people started beating his girlfriend, so he ran to his house to get a gun and started shooting to protect her, according to the news report.

Wilkie is charged with 10 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Jacksonville. Each count is a third-degree felony in Florida with a maximum penalty of five years in prison, which means Wilkie would be looking at a maximum of 50 years in prison if convicted of all counts and the judge opts to give him consecutive sentences. But it could get much worse for Wilkie. Because he discharged a firearm, he could be subject to a 20-year minimum mandatory sentence under the state's 10-20-Life law for gun crimes.

The state has the option to do so in Duval County aggravated assault cases with a firearm and the judge would have no choice but to sentence him to 20 years in prison. The law has been the subject of highly publicized cases, including one were Jacksonville mother Marissa Alexander was sentenced to 20 years in prison after firing a warning shot to get away from what she said was a threatening, abusive husband. The judge's hands were tied and could not sentence her to anything lower than 20 years, but prosecutors said their offer of three years was on the table until the week of the trial. The minimum mandatory is generally used as leverage if the person doesn't take the deal the state wants the defendant to take, as it was in the Alexander case.

There is plenty of investigating to do in this case, especially because the stories are so drastically different, so a decision on the minimum mandatory does not need to be made now. When police came to talk to Wilkie at his home, he declined to speak to police and told them he wanted to talk to a Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney first. If police want to talk to you and you have reason to believe it is because officers feel you are a suspect in a criminal case, you should always ask to speak with a Jacksonville Criminal Lawyer. The line police read people is not to be taken lightly: Anything you say really can and really will be used against you in court.

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

A Jacksonville teen trying to sneak into a Clay County movie theater is now facing a felony charge of carrying a concealed firearm after police found a gun in his waistband. The 17-year-old is charged with carrying a concealed weapon, resisting arrest and trespassing, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. The concealed weapon charge is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. The teen could be charged as a juvenile and avoid prison time, but the newspaper reported he also had three warrants out for his arrest in Duval County, so the state may be unwilling to keep him in juvenile court. The resisting arrest without violence charge and the trespassing count are both misdemeanors in Florida.

People are on high alert for guns in movie theaters after the mass shooting in Colorado over the summer. A prime example was when police evacuated a St. Johns County movie theater last week after there was a report of someone bringing a gun into the theater. After further investigation, it turned out the person was simply trying to sneak in a submarine sandwich to eat during the show. So the recent Clay County case will be thought of as a teen bringing a gun into the theater, but it's really a trespassing case where the person happened to have a gun on him. He was trying to watch a movie without paying for a ticket and got caught. There is no evidence that's been made public about the teen planning to shoot people inside the theater and he didn't show it or try to use it when he was running away from police. In fact, the newspaper reported the teen told police about the gun before they found it.

It is not illegal to carry a concealed weapon in the state of Florida, but there are several requirements that must be met. First, a person must have a permit to do so. In this case, the teen was not even eligible, because a person must be at least 18 to even apply for a permit. There are also restrictions on where a person can bring a gun and it is a felony for a convicted felon to possess or own a firearm.

Clay County Gun Crimes cases are treated very seriously by prosecutors and, in many cases, the state is looking for sentences close to the maximum if it is willing to negotiate at all. For the teen in this Clay County juvenile gun crimes case, there doesn't appear to be much he can argue. He admitted to having the gun and police found it on him, so the proof is there. But the key in this Clay County gun crimes case will be trying to keep the case in juvenile court.

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

Shaketa Sharell Jones was convicted of the same crime, the same charges, the same everything. But the second time around, she was sentenced to life in prison on felony murder and armed robbery charges in Jacksonville, instead of the 35 years she received on her first conviction, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union.

Jones was convicted this month for the second time for her role in planning a Gate gas station robbery her boyfriend was carrying out when he was shot and killed by two Jacksonville police officers in 2010. She was initially convicted in 2011 and sentenced to 35 years in prison, but her convictions were reversed because of an error during the jury selection process. The state took Jones to trial again this month and she was convicted again of the same charges. Assuming she would have earned gain time and served the 85 percent of her sentence that most inmates in the Florida Department of Corrections system serve, Jones, 31, would have been released from prison at about age 60. Now, she'll be in prison for the rest of her life with no chance of getting out. The only thing that changed in the case was the initially ruling was reversed on what appears to be a technicality. And Jones is the one being held accountable for it with a significantly tougher sentence than she received the first time around. But her fate was in the hands of a different judge, who saw the case differently and handed down a life sentence.

Jones was charged with murder under a Florida law that allows prosecutors to charge a person with murder is f they are committing a felony when another person is killed. Police said Jones was the mastermind behind a series of armed robberies and was serving as the lookout and talking to her boyfriend Jessie Cooper when he was robbing a gas station. Police had been following Jones and staking out the Gate station, so they approached Cooper immediately after he fled the store. Police said they told Cooper to show his hands and, when he didn't, officers shot and killed him, the newspaper reported.

In many Jacksonville criminal court cases, a sentence that a person could have gotten in a negotiated plea is often lower than what he or she receives if convicted at trial. It tends to fly in the face of a person's right to a trial in front of a jury of his or her peers, but that's a reality of the system. Jones experienced a similar fate, only her sentence was hiked up after her appeal. There are inherent risks in any aspect of trying to dispose of a criminal case - whether it's a negotiated sentence of pushing a case to trial. Our Jacksonville Criminal Attorney has represented thousands of defendants over the years and will investigate the case against you or your loved one, then lay out all of the options so you can make an informed decision.

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 Felony Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Police were not able to prove Toddrick Ashley shot anyone in a Jacksonville mass shooting that injured 11 people in 2011, but Ashley will still serve four years in prison. There were too many people at the shooting scene to prove what exactly happened, though police said Ashley opened fire at a party of about 150 people at a Jacksonville park, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. Ashley, who was released from prison just months before the shooting after serving time for Jacksonville Grand Theft, was arrested by a task force two weeks after the shooting and police found a gun inside his home, the newspaper reported.

Prosecutors ended up charging Ashley with two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in Duval County and a jury convicted him of the charges. He was sentenced last week to four years in prison and five years of probation once he is released. The charge is one the state often files in cases like this where there is little proof of the actual crime, but is still trying to punish someone in the case. It is one of the most cut and dried charges the state can possibly file. There are only two elements the state needs to prove: that the defendant is a convicted felon and that he had a gun. That's all.

A convicted felon is not permitted to possess, much less own a firearm. The charge is a second-degree felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. So Ashley was facing 30 years in prison for his connection to a shooting police could not prove. The judge, however, chose to sentence him to a fraction of what he was facing. But as a felon with a gun, there was very little Ashley could do as a defense. As long as he had a gun, the jury has little choice but to find him guilty. Ashley can deny any involvement in the shooting - which he must have or else he would have been charged with attempted murder or another charge that had to do with the physical shooting. Prosecutors often file this Jacksonville Gun Crimes charge as part of several other charges, for example in an armed robbery. In some cases, the jury will come back with a not guilty verdict on most of the charges, but guilty on the possession of a firearm with a convicted felon, simply because the proof is generally there.

And it is a crime. Think of it as a type of permanent probation, just involving a firearm. Much like someone on probation in Duval County has a specific set of rules to follow before the probation can be terminated, a released felon must do the same. The difference is a felon with a gun faces a brand new Jacksonville gun crimes charge with a 15-year maximum penalty - far tougher than simply violating probation.

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

A judge vacated a 20-year prison sentence of Clay County man last week, getting a man initially convicted of murder a step closer to leaving prison. Jonathan David Williams was convicted in 2008 of murder and aggravated battery in Clay County for killing a man and injuring a teen after firing shots when a group of people came to his home to collect a $35 debt, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. But the charges and convictions have been eroding away since. The murder conviction was overturned in 2011 and Williams was granted a new trial. But his new Clay County Criminal Attorney argued Williams' actions were protected under Florida's Stand Your Ground law. A judge agreed and the Clay County criminal charge was dismissed.

And, now that the aggravated battery sentence has been vacated in this Clay County violent crimes case, Williams' defense attorney will likely pursue a similar Stand Your Ground claim. Because both charges stem from the same incident, it stands to reason that if a judge thought Williams was warranted in fearing for his life and shooting, the same thinking would apply on the aggravated battery charge as with the murder charge. Moreover, the judge wrote in his ruling vacating the sentence that Williams' first lawyer erred in not filing a Stand Your Ground motion.

Florida was the first state in the nation to pass a Stand Your Ground law, which does not require a person to retreat if they reasonably fear for their life or serious bodily injury. The law has become particularly polarizing of late with some high-profile cases, including the shooting last month of an unarmed Jacksonville teen at a gas station following an argument over loud music. Opponents argue it has been too loosely applied and should be repealed because it condones unnecessary violence.

In Williams' case, a neighbor brought his daughter and her friend to Williams' house to collect $35. An argument began on the porch and Williams went inside to get a rifle. In his opinion vacating the sentence, the judge wrote the neighbor approached Williams in an aggressive manner and was trying to come into Williams' home without permission. Williams said he heard a loud boom when the neighbor charged at him and Williams fired. The neighbor was shot twice and his daughter's friend was shot in the leg.

With the current laws in Florida, a Stand Your Ground claim should at least be examined by a Clay County Violent Crimes Attorney in any confrontation that escalates into gunfire. The claim is always argued before trial. If it is granted, the case is dismissed and there is no need for a trial.

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

A Jacksonville woman was found guilty of second-degree murder for a second time, convicted for her role in planning the gas station robbery her boyfriend was committing when he was shot by two Jacksonville police officers in 2010. Shaketa Jones was found guilty last week in the death of Jessie Cooper, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. She had been found guilty of the same Jacksonville criminal charge last year, but an appellate court reversed the conviction, ruling the judge put a person on the jury over the valid objection of the Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney representing Jones, the newspaper reported.

Jones faces up to life in prison after her conviction. The first time, she was sentenced to 35 years. With the new conviction, that sentence has no bearing on this case and her fate is in the hands of a different judge this time around. Jones was charged under a provision in Florida law that allows prosecutors to charge a person with murder if they are committing a felony at the time another person is killed. The state pegged Jones as the mastermind behind a series of robberies in a Jacksonville neighborhood that had escalated to the point police were watching Jones in the days leading up to this attempted robbery, the newspaper reported. Jones, who was also convicted of armed robbery, was accused of planning the robbery and acting as a lookout from a nearby parking lot, talking with Cooper on the phone while he approached the gas station. Cooper pointed a gun at the store manager and grabbed thousands of dollars Jones knew the manager would be taking to a local bank at that time, the newspaper reported. Police were on the scene immediately and blocked Cooper from leaving. Police said Cooper refused to get out of his car and pointed a gun before two officers fired at Cooper, killing him, the newspaper reported.

Jones' Duval County criminal attorney argued she was not responsible for the murder because police did not have to shoot Cooper, but the jury sided with the state. Her case is another example that a person does not have to be the one who pulls the trigger to be convicted of murder.

A group of three teens were convicted of felony murder in a similar case in 2009. In that case, their unarmed getaway driver from a robbery of a video game store led police on a high-speed chase and was shot by an officer after refusing to put his hands up in a dark Jacksonville backyard. The teens were miles away when their friend was shot, but cases like theirs and Jones' are becoming increasingly common in Jacksonville and throughout Florida.

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 Gun Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A Brevard County man is facing a Duval County second-degree murder charge for shooting and killing a Jacksonville teen outside a Southside gas station. Michael David Dunn, 45, is being held in the Duval County jail awaiting trial for the November shooting, and the story his criminal defense lawyer is giving differs dramatically from what police and other witnesses say happened, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union.

Dunn and a group of four teens including Jordan Russell Davis got into an argument after Dunn asked them to turn their loud music down, the newspaper reported. Dunn then fired several shots into the car and then fired off a few more as it started to leave and then drove off himself, the newspaper reported. But Dunn's criminal attorney says he only acted because the teens pointed a shotgun at him. Police said there were no weapons found in the car and the teens' vehicle never made it out of the parking lot, implying it it's unlikely they could have ditched the gun if there was one. Dunn, who was in town for his son's wedding, said he didn't know Davis was killed or that anyone was even injured until he saw it on the news, the newspaper reported. Witnesses got his license plate and police tracked him down in Brevard County last week, though his attorney said he was planning on turning himself in.

Many have drawn parallels to the case involving Trayvon Martin, a teen shot in a Sanford subdivision by Neighborhood Watch volunteer George Zimmerman. Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder, just as Dunn is. Dunn's criminal defense attorneys have already tried to distance their client from any connections to Zimmerman, saying Dunn is not a "vigilante" and simply responded when threatened, the newspaper reported. Zimmerman's defense will include the Stand Your Ground defense, a Florida law that allows people to use necessary force when they feel threatened instead of being forced to retreat. Dunn's attorneys have not commented on whether they'll ask for a Stand Your Ground hearing, though his next court appearance is still two weeks away.
As it stands now, there are two vastly different stories. And the police report seems to lean more toward the teens than it does Dunn - especially when it comes to the gun. It's one thing to shoot once a gun is pointed at you, but the absence of a gun would make it a much tougher sell that Dunn had little other choice than to shoot into the car.

Remember, this Jacksonville Gun case is still less than two weeks old and there is plenty of investigating yet to be done on both sides. Once more information becomes available, the pieces will likely start to fill in. Dunn appears to be facing an uphill battle at this point, yet this is exactly why our criminal justice system provides for a right to a trial and not simply snap judgments in the immediate aftermath of tragic event.

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 Gun Crimes Attorney, Victoria "Tori" Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.