Articles Posted in Theft Crimes in Jacksonville

A man who came back to a Clay County gas station to pay off a $3 debt ended up handing himself to police for an arrest on an armed robbery charge. A gas station clerk was telling a police officer about her “good deed” by loaning a man in an old truck $3 for gas and that he even left his wallet for collateral, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. As the woman described the man, the officer realized the description was similar to that of a man accused of robbing a local sandwich shop the night before, the newspaper reported. When Brian Jeffers returned to the store to pay off his debt an hour later, police were waiting for him and arrested him for armed robbery in this Clay County Theft Case, the newspaper reported.

Jeffers is facing up to life in prison on the armed robbery charge, which is a first-degree felony. In this Clay County Theft Case, Jeffers is accused of walking into the restaurant and keeping his hand in his coat pocket like he was carrying a gun, then demanding cash and coming around the counter to grab about $200, the newspaper reported. It is not clear from the newspaper report whether or not Jeffers had a gun during the robbery, though, according to Florida law, it does not matter in terms of his charges. A person can be charged with armed robbery by threatening to use a weapon, as long as it would be reasonable for the victim to assume that the suspect had a gun. If someone points his or her finger inside a coat pocket insinuating he or she is armed, that can qualify as an armed robbery. The charge often applies in bank robbery cases if a person passes a note indicating he or she has a gun and is demanding money.

The same is true if a person uses a toy gun or an air gun in a robbery. The Clay County Theft Case becomes an armed robbery if the victim is reasonable in thinking the gun is real, and the fact that it is not in fact a deadly weapon does not matter. Armed is in the eye of the alleged victim in Clay County Theft Cases, whether a person has an actual gun or not – though there are plenty of arguments a Clay County Theft Attorney can make to try to have the crime reduced to a robbery, which has a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Our Clay County Theft Attorney has represented hundreds of people charged with various theft crimes and is experienced in the elements the state must prove to qualify a robbery as an armed robbery.

A Jacksonville man spent nine months in jail for a robbery he didn’t commit, and it took those nine months for prosecutors to pay enough attention to the case to figure it out and release him from jail. Joshua Angel was arrested in September 2012, the night two men robbed a man in a wheelchair of $20 using a toy gun, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. Angel was charged with robbery in Jacksonville and, because he has a criminal record, the state was planning to charge him as a habitual offender, exposing him to 30 years in prison, the newspaper reported.

This Jacksonville Theft Case is a perfect example of why eyewitness testimony in Jacksonville Criminal Defense Cases is inherently flawed, as is the way it is often obtained by police. In this case, the victim called police immediately after the robbery at a gas station that ended in him being knocked from his wheelchair and gave police a description of the two suspects, including their approximate ages, clothing and any tattoos they had, the newspaper reported. Police canvassed the area and found Angel at a different gas station nearby and pulled him out of a group of people, even though he was eight inches taller than the description, had exponentially more tattoos and slightly similar clothing, the newspaper reported. Officers then told the victim they found someone matching the description, showed him the side of Angel’s face and the victim, who was not wearing his prescribed eye glasses, told police he was the guy and Angel was arrested.

Angel was furious with police and proclaimed his innocence, but he was still arrested in Duval County and, most likely, his record didn’t do him any favors. Police had what they needed. But the way the identification was conducted has some questioning the tactic and it’s a common criticism in Jacksonville Criminal Defense Cases. By bringing the person there and saying he matches the description, police are inherently suggesting they think they have the guy. And it takes a lot for a victim, especially one who is probably shaken up and angry an hour after being robbed, to tell the police they are wrong. Study after study consistently shows the unreliability of eyewitness testimony. Two people can see the exact same thing and describe it differently, especially in the heat of the moment. Other evidence in the case also pointed away from Angel. Most notably, the victim ended up with the toy gun that was used and, when it was tested for fingerprints, there were no ties to Angel. Angel’s attorneys had to hire a an expert to examine the surveillance video to prove that it wasn’t Angel for prosecutors to even look at the case – something that should be done before criminal charges are filed. Angel was eventually released in June, but he had to prove his innocence to get out. So much for innocent until proven guilty in this Jacksonville Criminal Defense Case.

A Jacksonville man facing decades in prison for stealing and then pawning jewelry he removed from dead bodies was sentenced to 90 days in county jail. Christopher Allen was forensic investigator with the Medical Examiner’s Office and faced five felony charges after an investigation pinned him as the person responsible for missing jewelry, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. The most serious was one of two dealing in stolen property charges, which was charged as a first-degree felony, and can be when a person is the one organizing and plans the thefts and the sale of the property. In Allen’s Jacksonville Theft Case, he was accused of acting alone so that charge would fit. As a first-degree felony, Allen faced up to 30 years in state prison on that charge alone and a total of 60 years with all five counts.

It’s unclear from the newspaper report just how much jewelry Allen was accused of taking from the bodies in this Jacksonville Theft Case, but records showed he pawned 62 pieces of jewelry in a year’s time, the newspaper reported. In all, he was charged with official misconduct, two counts of dealing in stolen property (one being the more serious organized stolen property) and two counts of giving false verification of ownership of pawned items. Allen and prosecutors negotiated an agreement where he would plead guilty to official misconduct and organized dealing in stolen property, allowing the remaining charges in his Jacksonville Theft Case to be dropped. Allen received 90 days in jail, but will be out this month because he was already in jail for 74 days since his arrest, unable to post bond.

The newspaper report depicts Allen as a hardworking law enforcement officer who fell on tough financial times and made some poor decisions to try to get out. His past undoubtedly played a role in a comparatively light sentence in this Jacksonville Theft Case. This appears to be the first time Allen, 48, has ever been arrested. He will have to forfeit his law enforcement powers, pay more than $1,000 in restitution, another $600 in court costs and serve three years of probation. But when you’re looking at up to 60 years in prison for a Jacksonville Theft Case, especially one that tends to anger people as much as stealing from dead bodies at a morgue, that’s a very favorable disposition. When it comes to sentencing or negotiation in Jacksonville Criminal Defense Cases, a defendant’s criminal history is a huge factor. Sentencing guidelines are based on the current charges and a person’s record – if he or she has one. You generally only get one crack at a deal like the one in this Jacksonville Theft Case, but it’s an opportunity for people to turn things around and become productive members of society, instead of sitting in prison.

Police arrested a man accused of taking a wallet and cellphone out of a car while the driver was renting a movie from an outdoor kiosk. Christopher Tate turned himself in after seeing his picture on the news in connection with the crime, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. Tate is now charged with Florida burglary from an unoccupied structure and grand theft. Both charges are third degree felonies, punishable by up to five years in state prison, so Tate could be looking at up to 10 years in prison.

In Clay County Theft Cases, taking something valued at less than $300 is a misdemeanor punishable by no more than a year in the county jail. The crime becomes a felony at $300 and then exposes the defendant to up to five years in state prison. In this Clay County Theft Case, the phone Tate is accused of taking was valued at $600, which made the case a felony. The other charge Tate is facing in this Clay County Theft Case is burglary. While the two terms are often used interchangeably, there’s an important distinction to be made in between a robbery and burglary in Clay County Theft Cases. A burglary is taking something from a building or a car. In most Clay County Theft Cases, burglary is a third-degree felony. It can become a second-degree felony if the suspect is accused of going into a home with people inside, or if the person has a weapon on his or her person.

A robbery is a Clay County Theft Crime where someone is accused of taking something directly from another person by using or threatening violence to force the victim to hand over the money or other property. Robbery is viewed much more seriously by the court in Clay County Theft Cases. At the bare minimum, robbery is a second-degree felony. If the defendant has a weapon, the crime is a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison. If the defendant is accused of showing the weapon in the course of the robbery, he or she could be sentenced to up to life in state prison. Burglaries and robberies are both serious Clay County Theft Crimes, but they are not treated equally by the court system. Our Clay County Theft Attorney is experienced in defending both types of crimes and will thoroughly investigate the case against you or your loved one.

Just weeks after being found guilty on 103 counts of gambling-related charges, Jacksonville attorney Kelly Mathis is asking the court for a new trial. The state pegged Mathis as the mastermind of a $300 million gambling operation that prosecutors say used the Allied Veterans of the World nonprofit as a front for the ring, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. Mathis and his defense lawyers in this Florida Felony Crimes Case said all along that Mathis was simply providing legal advice to the group. And, before the Allied Veterans case broke and 57 people including Mathis were arrested, the internet cafes were legal in the state of Florida.

Testimony regarding the legality of the machines is at the crux of the request for a new trial. During the trial in this Felony Crimes Case, Mathis was not allowed to present evidence showing that his legal advice was correct and that local governments had voted in laws to regulate these internet operations, the newspaper reported. Because that evidence could not be presented, Mathis argues the point could not be made clearly to the jury that the internet cafes were legal at the time. Mathis’ defense team planned to call state legislators, county sheriffs and other lawmakers to testify about laws regulating or banning the machines, but was not allowed to do so, the newspaper reported. The guilty verdicts were a surprise to many observers, especially given the relative slaps on the wrist other defendants received in the case. Half of the other 57 people charged had reached a plea deal – and none of those included prison time. Even former directors of Allied Veterans and the person who made the software for the machines were given deals without prison time, though they said if called to testify against Mathis they would simply say Mathis gave the group legal advice. The state’s gambling expert was barred from testifying at trial and the judge dropped dozens of charges during the trial, so many thought the case was looking favorable for Mathis.

In any Jacksonville Felony Case, a defendant is entitled to present evidence as an alternative to the state’s case. The defendant can call witnesses and bring in testimony, just like prosecutors can. And when that defense is restricted, that’s where appellate issues can arise. People are entitled to defend themselves in a criminal trial. That’s a hallmark of our judicial system. Would that testimony about the legality of the cafes have made a difference in the minds of this group of jurors in this Jacksonville Felony Case? No one knows. But if the higher court agrees they should have been able to weigh that evidence, another group of jurors may get to hear it in a second trial.

A longtime officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office was arrested this month and charged with 27 felonies after authorities say an internal investigation found he falsified time sheets. Police say Denny Hamlin, a 17-year veteran of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, lied about more than $4,000 in overtime, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. Hamlin resigned from his position after being confronted about the falsified documents, the newspaper reported.

The investigation in this Jacksonville Theft Case allegedly revealed that of more than 40 overtime submissions between January and June, 26 were falsified, the newspaper reported. For each of the 26, Hamlin was charged with misconduct by a public official – a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. Hamlin was also charged with grand theft and the severity of the charge varies based on the amount stolen, what was taken and where it was taken from. In this Duval County Theft Case, Hamlin was arrested on a first-degree felony grand theft charge, presumably under the provision in state law claiming the money was “law enforcement property.” Normally, the amount Hamlin was accused of taking would only merit a third-degree felony. Instead, he is looking at the possibility of 30 years in prison for the first-degree felony, and 130 more if sentenced to the maximum on each of the 26 official misconduct counts. Now, it’s highly unlikely anyone would receive that amount of time for allegedly stealing about $4,000, and that is not expected in this Jacksonville Theft Case.

But this does show what could be the balance of power between police officers and prosecutors when it comes to Jacksonville Theft Cases. Police officers make the arrest and suspects are booked into jail on charges that police believe qualify. Prosecutors then examine the case and determine which charges they will file. Typically, there are a few weeks between when a person is arrested and when he or she is formally arraigned on charges – and that delay is partly to allow prosecutors to make that decision. In this Jacksonville Theft Case, Hamlin’s arraignment was set for about three weeks after his first appearance in court. This period is also a time where a Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney can begin talking with the prosecutors about the case, even starting negotiating if the client wishes, before charges are officially filed. In many Jacksonville Theft Cases, prosecutors are hesitant to drop or reduce charges once they have been filed.

A forensic investigator with the Medical Examiner’s Office faces three felony charges amid allegations he was taking jewelry off of dead bodies and pawning the items for cash. Christopher Allen was arrested at work in September after a four-month investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. The investigation stemmed from a complaint when family members noticed several pieces of jewelry missing from a deceased woman earlier this year, the newspaper reported. Allen had allegedly pawned more than 60 pieces of jewelry at local pawn shops in the last year, and many of the items were things he would have had access to through work, the newspaper reported.

In these Jacksonville Theft Cases, Allen is charged with falsifying a document as a public official, giving false verification of ownership of pawned items and dealing in stolen property. Dealing in stolen property in Duval County is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison, while other two are both third-degree felonies with maximum sentences of five years. In all, he is facing up to 25 years in prison for these Jacksonville Theft Crimes. Allen has not been charged with theft yet, which could be a second shoe to drop in the case. Though, in Florida, theft is often a less serious charge than dealing in stolen property. If the Jacksonville Theft Case involves property that has a value of less than $300, it is a Petit Theft and the charge would be a misdemeanor, not a felony. The maximum jail time on a misdemeanor is one year in jail and a person cannot be sent to state prison on a misdemeanor conviction. If the property is valued between $300 and $20,000, the charge is a third-degree felony that carries a maximum penalty of five years in state prison.

But selling the items changes the charges in Duval County Theft Cases and severely ups the ante. And the cases can be much easier to prove, especially if the property is taken to a pawn shop. If it is, the person selling the items must provide identification and, in many cases, leave a thumbprint that serves as another form of identification. The other element of the crime is that the person had to either know the property was stolen or should have known the property was stolen before selling it. In this Jacksonville Theft Case, if Allen was indeed the one taking the items himself, he obviously would have known they were stolen. Depending on the nature of the crime and the defendant’s record, Jacksonville Theft Cases can be cases where a defendant is offered some sort of pretrial intervention program that can include probation and restitution costs for what was stolen. The nature of Allen’s crime may make that difficult, but it can be an option for others charged in Jacksonville Theft Cases.

St. Johns County police have arrested four teens in a rash of recent thefts from unlocked cars that have become prevalent over the past several months. A family member of one of the suspects tipped police to the location of some of the stolen property, and police are still investigating whom all of it belongs to, according to a report on News4Jax. Two suspects are likely facing more severe penalties than the other two — and this has nothing at all to do with their involvement in the cases versus the other suspects.

It is based solely on age.

Two of the suspects are 17 and will most likely have their cases heard in juvenile court, whereas the other two suspects – at 18 and 19 – would appear in traditional, adult court. In St. Johns County Juvenile Crimes Cases, penalties are often far less severe with an eye toward punishment, but also making sure a youthful mistake does not end up being something that stays with the defendant his or her entire life. Juvenile defendants can be arrested and incarcerated just like adults, but the difference is they are taken to a special youth jail. In St. Johns County Juvenile Crimes cases like this, it would be more common to see the teens put on some sort of probation or monitoring system as opposed to sending them away to any type of prison. Another difference for the 17-year-old defendants in this St. Johns County Juvenile Crimes Case is the role of the parents in the resolution of the case. Parent play a major role in juvenile crimes cases and are required to be in court. They are ultimately the ones responsible for any restitution the defendant must pay back in theft cases such as this, and must also pay for any costs to monitor the child, such as probation.

A Jacksonville lawyer publicly pegged as the mastermind of a massive scheme to use a charity as a front to making millions on Internet Café gambling said he has never considered any sort of plea deal in the case. Mathis is charged with racketeering and money laundering, but insists he wants his day in court to clear his name, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. In a rare move for someone facing serious Florida criminal charges, Mathis and his attorneys invited the media for a discussion with Mathis the day after another one of the alleged ringleaders of the criminal enterprise entered his own guilty plea in this Jacksonville Theft Case, as did three members of his family, the newspaper reported.

Johnny Duncan, former national commander of Allied Veterans of the World, pleaded guilty to five Florida felonies but didn’t fully admit that he committed any crime, the newspaper reported. Duncan’s attorney said his client, 66, suffers from serious health problems and the ongoing case was too stressful for him and his family, the newspaper reported. The key takeaway from the Duncan plea: Prosecutors agreed to recommend probation instead of prison time for Duncan, who has agreed to testify against the others involved in the case.

What prosecutors need from Duncan – or from somewhere in their case against Mathis – is proof of intent to steal and intentionally divert money alleged to be earmarked for charity. Mathis has said all along he was the attorney for Allied Veterans and was paid to research the legality of the operations and advise his clients, which he did, the newspaper reported. With Duncan’s less than hearty admission and a ruling from the judge that the gambling expert the state was planning to use cannot testify, it appears from the outside that the state’s proof in this Jacksonville Theft Case could be on shaky ground. The arrests made statewide headlines as more than 50 people were charged, including high-ranking officials within the Jacksonville Fraternal Order of Police. The cases are now based in Seminole County, where the warrants and investigation ended, though Mathis’ attorneys are asking the case be moved to Jacksonville, where most of the crimes are alleged to have taken place – and where most of the witnesses live. Mathis is using his right to a speedy trial, which means the state has to take the case to trial within six months of the arrest. The trial in this Jacksonville Theft Case, sure to get plenty of notice statewide, is set to begin in September.

The regular rundown of Clay County property crimes published in the Florida Times-Union can be an entertaining read of the things people steal. The most recent installment includes copper tubing from linked propane tanks at a Winn-Dixie, a backflow preventer from the water line of a business, a lawnmower and a motorcycle, the newspaper reported. The items are compiled by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and are pulled from reports from the victims, so they may have arrested people in some of the Clay County Theft Cases and not in others.

Punishments vary dramatically depending primarily on what the person is accused of stealing and where they allegedly stole it from. Theft is taking something that is out in the open: a bicycle from a parking lot, the copper tubing from the propane tanks. The punishment for theft is predominantly determined by the value of the property or the financial amount of any physical damage caused. Stealing something valued at less than $300 is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in county jail. But once that amount exceeds $300, the charge becomes a felony and the defendant is now looking at up to five years in state prison. Burglary to a conveyance is stealing from something that is not a building or a residence. The most common example is a vehicle. For example, the recent Clay County crimes report shows power and hand tools stolen from a dump truck and a purse taken from an unlocked vehicle. This Clay County Theft Crime is a third-degree felony, also punishable by up to five years in prison.

Burglary to a structure or dwelling is entering a building, business or home to take an item or items. In most instances, this is a second-degree felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. The second-degree felony would also apply to a theft from a car – if there was someone in the car when the alleged theft occurred. Armed burglary is not only what would initially come to mind, someone walking into a home or business with a gun and stealing things from inside. In Clay County Theft Cases, armed burglary also applies when a person steals a gun. So someone can walk in unarmed, take a gun and thus become armed, and the armed burglary charge applies. Armed burglary is a first-degree felony punishable by up to life in prison. Our Clay County Theft Attorney has represented people on all of the above charges, from minor thefts to armed burglaries – and everything in between. Our Clay County Criminal Defense Attorney knows the ins and outs of each of the charges and the elements the state needs to prove each of them beyond a reasonable doubt.