The Polk County Sheriff's Officer arrested five (5) men for solicitation for a lewd act at Saddle Creek Park yesterday. This was another lewd/prostitution sting. These men will likely be charged with solicitation for prostitution which carries a $5,000.00 "civil penalty" if the person charged pleads to the lewd act or is found guilty. I...
Read MoreBlog
Lakeland Police Officer arrested for serious armed sexual battery charges, faces life in prison.
Lakeland Police Officer Julio Pagan was arrested Thursday and charged with armed sexual battery by a law enforcement officer and armed aggravated stalking. Officer Pagan was formerly with the Bartow Police Department. Officer Pagan was booked into the Polk County Jail today. These charges carry a sentence of up to life in prison. Pagan was...
Read MoreSouth Florida physician charged after pill mill raid by drug enforcement agents
Seven people, including a local doctor, were arrested and charged with illegally dispensing and distributing oxycodone. Due to a recent drug enforcement raid, seven South Florida residents face federal charges of illegal dispensing and handing out a variety of powerful drugs, including a well-known highly addictive drug, oxycodone. After the raid and the arrest of...
Read MoreFlorida texting ban goes into effect October 1, 2013
In a couple weeks, Florida's first law prohibiting texting-while-driving goes into effect. There will be no advertising campaign to promote this new law so drivers must educate themselves. Many lawyers do not understand how the new law works either. The text while driving ban is a "secondary' offense. This means that an officer can not...
Read MoreLakeland dance teacher arrested for lewd exhibition and indecent exposure
Today, the Polk County Sheriff's Office arrested a high school color guard choreographer and dance instructor charges of felony Lewd or lascivious exhibition and misdemeanor indecent exposure charges. The Plant City school teacher allegedly committed these acts with three separate people who reported seeing a man masturbating in his vehicle. Because of the ages of...
Read MoreLakeland DUI attorney Thomas C. Grajek quoted in Ledger article.
Today's Ledger has another article regarding the problems with Lakeland Police department and their DUI unit that I discovered. This deals with the problem with Lakeland's DUI police reports. The article dealt with LPD's "internal investigation" regarding the policies and practices of its DUI unit and officers in general. You can read the article here:...
Read MoreDNA Samples May Be Garnered from Criminal Suspects Without a Warrant
The legal landscape just changed with regard to obtaining a warrant to collect DNA from criminal offenders. The U.S. Supreme Court has delivered a decision that has enormous ramifications for criminal offenders and criminal defense attorneys. The Court handed down a ruling that says law enforcement officers may gather DNA samples without getting a warrant...
Read MorePolk County Sheriff deputy arrests man for DUI for riding a bicycle with only a 0.04 BREATH TEST LEVEL!!!
This week, a Mulberry man was arrested for Driving Under the Influence for allegedly riding his bike down the street while impaired. Can a person get a DUI while riding a bike in Florida? Yes! In Florida, a person is guilty of DUI if they are driving a “vehicle” while impaired. Notice that “motor vehicle”...
Read MorePolice Department investigates its own DUI unit. What's wrong with this "investigation"?
After the prosecutor dropped the DUI arrest of a lawyer involved in the Bubba and MJ lawsuit, there has been increased scrutiny on the Tampa Police Department's DUI unit. The charges were dropped because the prosecutor determined that the lawyer had been set up for the DUI arrest. It was as if he was framed...
Read MoreFlorida criminal statute 843.19 Offenses against police dogs, fire dogs, SAR dogs, or police horses
Florida Gator football player Antonio Morrison was arrested this weekend for "harassing" a police dog and resisting arrest without violence. This was his second arrest in a month. The other was for battery, which is a crime of violence, and he was allowed into a diversion program. The diversion program results in criminal charges being...
Read More