Articles Posted in Theft Crimes in Jacksonville

Police arrested a St. Augustine man accused of stealing more than $400 from a Girl Scout troop that was wrapping up cookie sales outside of a local grocery store. The 22-year-old man was arrested after he was found in a shed behind his home, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. When police found him, the suspect had marijuana and drug paraphernalia on him, the newspaper reported. He is now facing three charges – the most serious of which is grand theft, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in state prison. He is also charged with possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Both charges are first-degree misdemeanors with maximum penalties of up to one year in the county jail.

This St. Johns County Theft Case is a felony because of the amount the man is accused of stealing. The severity of charges in St. Johns County Theft Cases is always based on the value of the property that was allegedly taken. The threshold for a felony charge is $300. Between $100 and $300 would have been a misdemeanor petit theft charge, and the maximum penalty would have been the same as the two drug charges the man is now facing in county court. Police said the suspect was sitting on a bench outside the grocery store when the troop started packing up for the day and put all of the proceeds into one bag, the newspaper reported. The man walked up, took the bag, and left the area on a blue bicycle, the newspaper reported. Police found the bicycle, which belonged to someone else, but learned someone borrowed it at the grocery store, the newspaper reported. The Girl Scout leader identified a picture of the person who borrowed the bike as the person who took the bag of money. Police went to his home, as that’s where they say they found him in a shed with marijuana.

This is a St. Johns County Theft Case where the punishment may be more than normal, simply because of the facts of the case. Rarely do cases of people taking $400 make headlines in the local media. But this one has been news for days because the money was taken from a group of Girl Scouts trying to raise money by selling cookies. If the case can be proven and the man is either convicted or chooses to plead guilty in this St. Johns County Theft Case, this will be an element the defendant will have to answer to. Not all St. Johns County Theft Cases are treated equally and those that victimize vulnerable or sympathetic figures, such as children, seniors or charitable groups, tend to garner stiffer penalties. Our St. Johns County Theft Attorney represents people accused of all levels of theft – from misdemeanor charges on up to serious felonies.

Two 14-year-old boys and a 15-year-old girl were arrested this month, accused of beating and carjacking a Jacksonville man and trying to force him to withdraw money from his bank account. The man escaped by running into a Wal-Mart store where the teens planned to use his card inside the store, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. The man told police as he was getting into his car, three teens pulled him out of the car and punched him in the face repeatedly, the newspaper reported. The teens then stole his watch, wallet and phone, and threw him in the back off the car, threatening to kill him if he tried to escape, the newspaper reported. After two attempts to get money from the man’s bank account failed, the teens drove to the Wal-Mart and the 30-year-old alleged victim took off running into the store, the newspaper reported. The teens took off in the car and the man called police.

Police found the car a couple of days later being towed from a private lot and tracked the teens down using surveillance footage from various Wal-Marts and gas stations where the debit card was used, the newspaper reported. The teens were charged with kidnapping, carjacking, strong-armed robbery and fraudulently using the man’s ATM card, the newspaper reported. All four Jacksonville Violent Crime charges are felonies and the total prison time exposure could essentially be a life sentence – even for teens. The key in this case is whether the state will charge any or all of the three as adults, or treat these as Jacksonville Juvenile Crimes Cases. It will be an interesting and closely scrutinized decision. The violent nature of the crimes is exactly where prosecutors in Clay County, Duval County and Nassau County have been choosing to treat the teens as adults and bring the cases through adult court. But, the defendants are particularly young in this case – with two 14-year-old boys and a 15-year-old girl facing serious felony charges in this Jacksonville Violent Crimes Case.

If the state decides to pursue the cases in juvenile court, there are five levels of incarceration, from essentially house arrest on up to what amounts to a prison for teens. The court system in Jacksonville Juvenile Crimes cases is meant to punish teens for their crimes, but also take into consideration that they are not adults and do not have the critical decision-making skills that adults have. Crimes like these would likely lead to something close to a life sentence for an adult, if all charges could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down life sentences for juveniles not convicted of murder, so that would not be an option in this case. But a lengthy prison sentence could be on the table, so it will be interesting to see if these cases end up in adult or juvenile court.

A Jacksonville man faces life in prison after a jury found him guilty of armed robbery and several other counts in connection with a robbery of a local fast-food restaurant in 2012. Police said the man approached the closed McDonald’s at drive-thru window and asked employees to let him inside, according to a report from News4Jax. When the employee told him no, the man pointed a gun at him and demanded all of the money in the register, the television station reported. The suspect then fired a shot into the window, reached through the glass, took the money and ran away, the television station reported.

Police found him that evening, with the gun used in the robbery and $700 cash in his pocket, the television station reported. The man was charged with several Duval County felonies, the biggest being armed robbery. He was also charged with armed possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana which is also a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison. The same marijuana charge without a gun is a third-degree felony with a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The armed robbery charge, though, is the most severe, and the one for which he could face a life sentence. Often times the two words are used interchangeably, but there is a huge difference between burglary and robbery in Jacksonville Theft Cases. A burglary is taking something from a home or a car without a confrontation. Robbery is taking something directly from a person, with violence or the threat of violence. For example, a Jacksonville Theft Case is a burglary when someone breaks into a car and takes a cell phone, or even just opens an unlocked car door and takes things from the vehicle. Burglary is a third-degree felony – unless the home or vehicle is occupied, even if the suspect doesn’t know people are there. Then it becomes a second-degree felony. The basic point in the felony degrees is, the more directly the crime relates to threatening or injuring a person, the more severe the crime and the punishment.

In this Jacksonville Robbery Case, the suspect was convicted of firing a gun, which brings the life sentence into play. The life sentence is not automatic, as it is in a first-degree murder case and in some Jacksonville Sex Crimes Cases, but it’s certainly a possibility, given the facts of the case. Our Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney is experienced in all types of Jacksonville Theft Cases – from misdemeanor petit theft cases on up to burglary and armed robbery.

A former bookkeeper with Clay County schools was arrested last week, charged with several felonies and accused of stealing $57,000 from the school district. The bookkeeper resigned last year while she was being investigated and said she did not intentionally take any money, instead pointing to poor paperwork and recordkeeping, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. Law enforcement sees it differently and the state charged her last week with grand theft, uttering a forged instrument and running a scheme to defraud.

The multiple charges come in because of the manner in which these Clay County Theft Crimes were allegedly committed. For example, police say the woman forged receipts and paperwork that made it look like she paid for school expenses with her own money, though in reality she use a school credit card, the newspaper reported. That likely led to the charge of uttering a forged instrument, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. In Clay County Theft Cases, the uttering charge that is always a third-degree felony is more the exception than the rule. In most all other Clay County theft cases, the charge and the potential penalty are based on the value of the property the suspect is accused of stealing. Theft itself can be a misdemeanor or run all the way up to a first-degree felony.

The same escalating scale applies in the scheme to defraud charge the woman is also facing in this Clay County Theft Case. According to Florida law a scheme to defraud is” a systematic, ongoing course of conduct with intent to defraud one or more persons, or with intent to obtain property from one or more persons by false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises or willful misrepresentations of a future act.” Because she is accused of taking $57,000, she can be charged with a first-degree felony, punishable by up to 30 years in state prison. She narrowly exceeded the threshold – anything from $20,000 to $50,000 is a second-degree felony with a maximum sentence of 15 years in state prison. A scheme to defraud that the state says netted less than $20,000 is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

After his initial dismissal and arrest on theft charges, police implied there may be more charges filed against a former Clay County information technology director accused of stealing and pawning county property. Those charges came this month in his Clay County Theft Case, with prosecutors filing an all-compassing charge with major ramifications, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. The charge brings at least 80 confirmed cases against Michael Hamilton under one umbrella, the newspaper reported. Hamilton was arrested in December on three felony charges.

This time, Hamilton is charged with running a scheme to defraud. As with all Clay County Theft Cases, the felony degree and, subsequently, the maximum prison time, is determined by the value of the property involved in the alleged scheme. In this Clay County Theft Case, Hamilton comes in at the very top of the scale. He is charged with a scheme to defraud more than $50,000, a first-degree felony that carries a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in state prison. According to state statutes, a scheme to defraud is “a systematic, ongoing course of conduct with intent to defraud one or more persons, or with intent to obtain property from one or more persons by false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises or willful misrepresentations of a future act.”

Police say dozens of computers and other electronic equipment were stolen, pawned and then traced back to Hamilton, the newspaper reported. Police have tracked down about 60 percent of the items and about $15,000 in equipment is still unaccounted for, the newspaper reported. There are two tracks the state can take in a Clay County Theft Case such as this. Prosecutors can stack all of the cases up together and charge Hamilton with dozens of theft and dealing in stolen property charges, the most serious of which is a second-degree felony. Second-degree felonies have a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, so if Hamilton was found guilty of several of them, his maximum sentence could be well into the triple digits. But judges are often more likely to let defendants serve sentences concurrently, meaning if he received 15 years on 20 different counts, he would likely just serve the 15 years and be done. Now, the maximum will be 30 years and the state will have laid out its entire case, showing the sheer volume it alleges Hamilton stole. The state often holds back a couple of theft charges it can try individually, a sort of insurance policy if something happens with the larger case. Our Clay County Theft Attorneys represent people accused of all levels of theft – from misdemeanors with something worth less than $100 to first-degree felonies that Hamilton is now facing.

A former director with the Clay County Clerk of Courts is now facing charges, accused of stealing county equipment and selling it a local pawns shop. Michael Hamilton was arrested this month on three felony charges, shortly after he was fired for suspicion of misconduct, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. More charges could be coming, as he is a suspect in the disappearance of dozens of computers and other electronic equipment over the past few months, the newspaper reported.

For now in this Clay County Theft Case, Hamilton is charged with grand theft, dealing in stolen property and false verification of ownership. Grand theft is a third-degree felony with a maximum penalty of five years in state prison; dealing in stolen property is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison; and false verification of ownership will also be a second-degree felony in this Clay County theft case. The punishment and felony degree in Clay County Theft Cases is mostly determined by the value of the property that the defendant is accused of stealing. This Clay County Theft Case falls between might seem to be thresholds on the false verification of ownership. It’s a third-degree felony if the property is values at less than $300, but at more than $300 it crosses into a second-degree felony. The firewall system Hamilton is accused of stealing in this Clay County Theft Case is valued at $2,000, but he only received $200 for it at the pawn shop, the newspaper reported. The pawnbroker value does not determine the actual value when it comes to criminal charges.

There are often two paths police can take when they think someone is a part of a larger crime scheme, as Hamilton is suspected of in this Clay County Theft Case. They can wait until they have all of the pieces lined up and then make the arrest, or they can pounce on the first thing they find and try to piece the rest together before the case resolves. It appears they have gone for the latter in this Clay County Theft Case. Police may be telling him they will recommend leniency with the court if he confesses to all he took and they wrap up the investigation. If Hamilton chooses not to talk to police, which is his right, the case may be in the system longer, and could result in several more charges if police can prove it was Hamilton behind the rest of the stolen property in this Clay County Theft Case. In a case like this when a defendant knows there is a bigger investigation ongoing, a Clay County Theft Attorney can help sort through the case – and be there when the suspect speaks to police, if he or she decides to do so.

A man who was working as a correction officer for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office was arrested this month, accused of stealing identities of inmates and filing false tax returns under their names. Harold Walbey has pleaded not guilty to a variety of tax and identity theft charges in federal court and faces up to 57 years in prison, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. He is accused of filing $257,000 is fake tax returns and making more than $100,000 through the operation, the newspaper reported. An interesting twist in Walbey’s Jacksonville Felony Crimes case came shortly after his arrest, when the newspaper – not the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office – discovered that Walbey had been convicted of a felony in 2001 while working for the sheriff’s office and that his employer did not know.

Walbey started with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office in 1990, resigned, and returned to the agency in 1992, the newspaper reported. In 2001, while working for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, he was charged with child abuse in Washington County, a rural county in the Florida Panhandle, the newspaper reported. Walbey pleaded guilty in 2002 and was sentenced to a year of probation, the newspaper reported. According to Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office policy, Walbey could have faced discipline – even termination – for a felony arrest, let alone a felony conviction. Officers are supposed to report any arrest to their employer within 24 hours, but Walbey did not do so, the newspaper reported. Fast forward to 2013. Walbey retires in February and is collecting a city pension, the newspaper reported. Months later, he is arrested on these latest Jacksonville Felony Crimes charges and it comes to light the sheriff’s office has had a convicted felon working with inmates for more than 10 years. It is extremely rare that a law enforcement agency would hire a convicted felon, and most departments have strict policies against the practice.

Now, Walbey runs the risk of losing his city pension for his latest Jacksonville Felony Crimes case. If a person is convicted of a felony that involves gaining a profit through use of his or her official powers, the pension can be revoked. That would be up for debate in this case. It’s cut and dried if Walbey paid inmates for their information, but if he just stole them from a computer system, that could be more of a gray area. But the point some are making is valid – if police would have known a little more about Walbey in 2001, he may have been fired at the time and this conversation about his Jacksonville Felony Case and his pension would not be taking place. Jacksonville Felony Crimes convictions not only have serious implications in terms of a person’s freedom, but can be a huge factor in someone keeping a job or being able to find employment in the future. Our Jacksonville Felony Crimes Attorney can explain your options and help you or your loved one make an informed decision going forward.

A Jacksonville mail carrier could face decades behind bars, accused of lying to residents on his mail route and talking them into giving him more than $33,000 over the last four years. Gregory Niebel allegedly repeatedly asked for money from residents for his girlfriend’s medications and told the people he’d be paying them back when she received a large settlement from a lawsuit, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. But a U.S. Postal Service investigation found Niebel’s girlfriend was not sick, but healthy in Brevard County and using the money for living expenses because Niebel told her he didn’t want her to have to work, the newspaper reported.

The key to the Jacksonville Theft Case against Niebel is the fact that he allegedly told the residents the payment were loans and that he would be paying them back. The scheme to defraud charge would still be there for asking for money under false pretenses, but theft is more difficult to prove if a person does not have any expectation of getting the money or items returned. The resident who prompted the investigation gave Niebel close to $20,000, and nine others gave between a few dollars and into the thousands, the newspaper reported. He’s facing nine different charges in this Jacksonville Theft Case, the most serious being operating a scheme to defraud, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in state prison. The remaining eight charges are Jacksonville theft charges and range from second-degree misdemeanors on up to third-degree felonies with a maximum sentence of five years in prison on each count. In all, Niebel could be sentenced to upwards of 35 years behind bars in these Jacksonville Theft Cases.

In Jacksonville Theft Cases, the degree of the charges – and the range of punishment – is determined by the value of the property a defendant is accused of stealing. For example, three of the charges Niebel is facing are second-degree misdemeanors, punishable by no more than six months in the county jail. That charge is petit theft of property worth less than $100. The charge becomes a first degree misdemeanor if the amount is between $100 and $300 and carries a maximum penalty of one year in the county jail. When the value reaches $300, that’s when the Jacksonville Theft Case becomes a third-degree felony and puts time in state prison on the table. The charge remains a third-degree felony until more than $20,000 is stolen. Charges are also based on individual incidents, not the entire operation. So if Niebel, for example is accused of taking $350 from one person and $500 from another, he’d be facing two felonies, even though both would be part of the same overall scheme. In many Duval County Theft Cases, the state may offer a sentence far below the maximum penalty as long as the defendant agrees to pay the money back, depending on the severity of the crime and if the victims agree to that type of sentence.