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Posted: May, 2011

Florida Drug Arrest Lawyer :: Tampa Bay Buccaneer Arrested, Again - Alex Magee Charged with Misdemeanor Possession of Marijuana

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Tampa Bay Bucs defensive end Alex Magee was charged with possession of marijuana Monday afternoon after being pulled over for an expired tag. During the traffic stop, police reportedly smelled marijuana coming from the interior of Magee’s 2009 Black Dodge Charger and after searching the vehicle a misdemeanor amount of field test positive marijuana was found.

Magee was charged with possession of marijuana and having an expired tag of more than six months. Magee was released with a citation due to the offense being classified as a misdemeanor.

The Duquenois-Levine test is widely used by detectives to determine if a suspected substance is a positive match for marijuana. The test is easy to administer and results are determined through chemical color reactions. An officer performs the test by placing a particle of the substance in question on a micropipette of chemicals, if the chemicals turn purple then marijuana is a possible culprit. While the tests are simple and keenly looked upon by law enforcement agents, results can return false positives which can result in unfortunate arrests.

A large number of marijuana arrests occur after a vehicle is stopped for traffic violations. Many times the officers who pull you over for traffic infractions are street cops that are not veteran law enforcement agents or narcotics detectives who have the knowledge of conducting a lawful search of your person or vehicle. How an officer finds any amount of suspected marijuana is crucial information in a drug charge because if the search was illegal, oftentimes the charges can be dropped.

Continue reading " Florida Drug Arrest Lawyer :: Tampa Bay Buccaneer Arrested, Again - Alex Magee Charged with Misdemeanor Possession of Marijuana " »

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Posted In: Drug Charges , Hillsborough County

Posted: May, 2011

Brooksville, FL Child Neglect Attorney :: Father of 2-Year-Old Arrested after Neighbor Finds Child Sitting in the Street

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The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office arrested a 22-year-old dad Sunday on a charge of child neglect after he allegedly left two small children alone. A neighbor found a 2-year-old child sitting alone in the street and a deputy found a 10-month-old baby asleep alone on a couch inside the man’s home.

The neighbor took the 2-year-old and called the police when the parents could not be located. The child was not wearing shoes and supposedly told police that he sat down because his feet were burning.

According to police reports, the father returned home about 35 minutes after the deputy found the sleeping baby alone. He told the deputy he had been at a neighbor’s for about 10 minutes.

The National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System reported that approximately 1,760 children died of an injury caused by neglect or abuse in 2007. Nearly 600 of those deaths were the result of child neglect alone.

In Florida, child neglect is defined as depriving a child of food, shelter, clothing or medical care, supervision or even the mishandling of child support money. When deprivation or the state of a child's environment causes the child to become emotionally, mentally or physically impaired, Florida also considers this child neglect. The crime of child neglect is considered a felony of the third degree in Florida. If convicted of child neglect, the penalties can include up to five years in prison, up to five years of probation and up to $5,000 in fines.

Continue reading " Brooksville, FL Child Neglect Attorney :: Father of 2-Year-Old Arrested after Neighbor Finds Child Sitting in the Street " »

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Posted In: Child Neglect , Hernando County

Posted: May, 2011

Bartow, Florida Criminal Defense Attorney :: Polk County High School Teacher Tasered and Arrested for Drug Possession

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Police pulled over a 33-year-old high school teacher Monday for a traffic stop shortly before 11 a.m. and observed a plastic bag in his mouth after talking to him. The man allegedly refused to cooperate with police by showing them what was in his mouth so he was shot with a Taser stun gun, which supposedly caused him to spit out five individual bags containing marijuana, the weight totaling 4.7 grams.

The man is an 11th and 12th grade teacher at Bartow High School, assigned to teach International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement students. He was on probation for reckless driving involving alcohol and is now charged with possession of marijuana, violation of probation, and resisting an officer without force or violence.

A conviction for any drug-related offense, such as possession of marijuana, will result in an immediate and automatic two year suspension of your Florida driver’s license. This is done regardless of whether your arrest was driving-related. Also known as weed, cannabis or pot, marijuana possession of any amount in Florida is a crime resulting in misdemeanor or felony charges. Marijuana possession of less than 20 grams, equivalent to one ounce, is a first degree misdemeanor. Possession of anything more than 20 grams is a third degree felony.

A conviction for a misdemeanor possession charge carries a combination of penalties of one year in jail, one year probation or a fine up to $1,000. If convicted of a felony possession of marijuana, the crime is punishable by up to five years in prison, five years probation or a fine up to $5,000.

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Posted In: Drug Charges

Posted: May, 2011

Florida Outstanding Warrant Criminal Attorney :: “Flavor Flav!” Arrested for Outstanding Warrants…"Yea Boy!”

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The hip-hop celebrity known as Flava Flav was arrested in Las Vegas Friday after being pulled over by police for a traffic violation. After police ran his name through the system they supposedly found that there were four warrants out for his arrest.

Flav’s real name, William Jonathan Drayton Jr., allegedly had outstanding warrants for parking violations, driving without proof of insurance and two cases of driving without a license all within the Las Vegas area.

According to TMZ.com, Flavor Flav was arrested at 10:57 p.m., taken to a nearby jail, booked and eventually released. He has yet to comment on the arrest.

If you have an outstanding warrant for your arrest in the state of Florida it is important to be aware that you could be arrested at any time. With online databases being linked within law enforcement agencies and with innovative license plate scanning technologies, or just the vindictive neighbor, an ex or even a drunk “friend," you don’t even have to partake in suspicious criminal activity to be found. The problem with old warrants is if you go into custody on them you may sit for two to three weeks before any law enforcement decides whether or not they’d like to send for you. Best bet – if you have a warrant, contact a skilled criminal attorney immediately to handle them, before you wind up in a jail cell waiting for some Sheriff to decide what to do with you.

The Florida courts look much more favorably on people who are attempting to amend past legal troubles as opposed to those who run from or ignore these issues.

Continue reading " Florida Outstanding Warrant Criminal Attorney :: “Flavor Flav!” Arrested for Outstanding Warrants…"Yea Boy!” " »

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Posted In: Outstanding Warrants

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Jason M. Melton

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