Florida Criminal Attorneys Blog

An elderly man struck a pedestrian in Winter Park on Friday night. John Sepelak, Jr., 78, hit Paula Carrison, 48, who lives in Winter Park. Carrison was taken to a hospital, where doctors pronounced her dead. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Sepelak was driving on Howell Branch Road when Carrison began crossing that street near Banyon Tree Road. Carrison apparently stumbled and fell as she made her way across and Sepelak drove over her when she was on the ground.

Sepelak stopped and assessed the situation, but according the law enforcement report, he "became scared and drove off." A local good Samaritan saw him, however, and tailed him for more than five miles to Lake Howell Road. The witness who followed him there blocked in Sepelak's vehicle.until police could get there. According to law enforcement officials, they do not believe that Sepelak was intoxicated at the time of the accident, but criminal charges against him are expected.

It is not clear whether Sepelak's age played any role in the accident or if he was simply unable to see Carrison because she had already fallen to the ground at the time of the accident. Still, many road safety advocates have proposed differing rules in order for elderly motorists to retain their drivers licenses. Drivers over the age of 65 account for far more than their fair share of motor vehicle accidents, just as drivers under the age of 18 do.

Just four states have laws stating that age may never be a factor in determining the method of drivers license renewal. Only two states require a road test for the elderly; both Illinois and New Hampshire require the same type of road test at age 75 that most drivers took when they were 16. Ten states do not require that younger drivers take a vision test in order to renew their drivers licenses, but require that older drivers must - although the age varies significantly - anywhere from 40 years old to 80. Florida's vision retesting does not begin until age 80. Most commonly, older drivers must renew their licenses more frequently than other drivers.

 

Unfortunately, one of the most common forms of child abuse is the shaking of infants. Frequently, inexperienced caretakers, like baby-sitters and family members, or even young parents, become overwhelmed with the task of caring for the child. The caretaker may become extremely tired and angry, usually about the baby's crying. The caretaker may shake the child violently in an effort to force the baby to stop crying. The violent shaking motion injures the child's neck and head.

The infant may lose consciousness, even suffering from brain damage. Babies have large heads and skulls in relation to their body size, but they are still developing. An infant's skull remains somewhat "soft" to allow for the comfortable expansion of the child's head. The shaking can break blood vessels in the child's head, causing bleeding and swelling in the skull. Ultimately, the child's brain can hemorrhage from the shaking. If that occurs, serious brain damage may result and the infant is at risk of dying.

Medical personnel may be tipped off by a shaken baby's symptoms or an injury that just does not add up. The caregiver may act as though he is not aware that the child is injured or he may have developed an unlikely cover up story. The key indicator for this type of child abuse crime is head trauma.

Shaken Baby Syndrome was first recognized in the 1970s and affects only babies who have suffered that particular form of child abuse. Victims may show many symptoms, such as vomiting, failure to thrive, dilated pupils, and even a larger-than-normal head. The baby may seem cranky or it may not breathe normally. Broken bones on the torso, such as the ribs or parts of the infant's back, are also key signs that a baby is being abused in this manner. The person perpetrating the child abuse is more likely to be male.

Shaken Baby Syndrome results in the death of about one-third of the infants who experience it; another full third suffer long-term effects as a result of the child abuse. They may have seizures as adults, learning or speech disabilities, cerebral palsy, and problems with sight.

If you have been accused of a crime anywhere in the state of Florida, contact the statewide criminal defense team at Musca Law.

Drug crimes have been a point of contention, especially among politicians, since the 1960s. Now, some advocates insist that drug treatment is the solution to drug abuse, and that imprisonment only creates more problems. These proponents of rehabilitation cite the hardening of criminals in prison as a potential issue, as well as the sense that it is not necessarily just to send a person to prison for a mandatory minimum sentence of three years for getting caught with a bottle of pills. Others, however, insist that tough drug sentencing is necessary to deter potential drug users and those who sell and traffic the substances. The "tough on crime" crowd also makes the point that in order for a drug abuser to truly kick the habit, he often must hit "rock bottom" - and prison, in their view, is the best and easiest way to instill that reality into an addict.

Interestingly, arrests for drug crimes, including marijuana possession, have remained stagnant for juveniles. From 1970 through 2005, drug arrests for suspects under the age of 18 have varied little. Meanwhile, however, the adult drug arrests tell a very different story: they have skyrocketed, increasing from about 350,000 nationwide in 1970 to about 1,700,000 in 2005. Juvenile arrests have increased only somewhat. The figures included arrests for possession, manufacture, sale, growing, and trafficking in illegal drugs.

Adult drug arrests spiked in 1989, dropped slightly, and then continued climbing. The jump was likely caused by the sudden infiltration of crack cocaine around that time, a substance which received widespread media coverage and gave legislators a headache. Punishment for possession of crack cocaine typically exceeded that for powder cocaine. Crack is highly addictive and comparatively inexpensive, making its proliferation occur much more quickly.

If you have been arrested for a juvenile or an adult drug crime anywhere in the state of Florida, including marijuana possession, contact the Florida criminal lawyers at Musca Law.

Many of us have heard an older person, perhaps a grandparent, pine for the "good old days" when life was simpler and crime was nonexistent. In reality, there has always been crime, although it has undoubtedly been more prevalent in recent decades than in earlier times. Crime victimization has dropped overall in recent years for both men and women, although men's numbers have dipped more dramatically.

Would you expect more women or more men to report being the victim of a violent crime? Some might say women, due to crimes such as domestic violence and rape. Men, however, are more likely to self-report that they were the victims of violent crimes. Numbers for males are consistently higher, although women may underreport certain types of victimization.

According to the United States Department of Justice, about 68 of every 1,000 males over the age of 12 reported being the victim of a crime - a staggering figure. Meanwhile, females' rates of victimization were less than half of that number. Victimization rates for both sexes peaked in 1982, reflecting the troubled times. The numbers through the rest of that decade are consistently around 35 for women and 56 for men, plateau-like through the Reagan years. Starting in about 1989, there is a short, but steady, increase each year until another peak in 1993. That year saw about 40 women per 1,000 reporting violent crime victimization, the highest level ever. Men held constant at about 60. Thereafter, through the 1990s, the figures took a sharp downward turn, which correlates with the economic good times of those years. The most recent figures available, for the year 2006, show that the trend continued all the way through that year, registering the lowest levels since the survey began for both sexes: 15 for women and 25 for men.

If you have been accused of a crime in Florida, contact the criminal defense attorneys of Musca Law as soon as possible.

A routine traffic stop lands an underage Defendant in trouble with the law after he is linked to a Felony Grand Theft and a Felony Burglary. Police clock a vehicle speeding 75 mph in a 50 mph zone. The Officer on duty is in oncoming position and identifies the Defendant as the driver of the vehicle. The Officer follows the speeding automobile, but cannot retrieve license plate information because the tag light on the vehicle is out. At this point, the Officer initiates a traffic stop.
Upon walking up to the car, the Officer identifies another driver behind the wheel with the Defendant sitting comfortably in the passenger seat. The Officer requests that the new driver exit the vehicle to discuss the situation. During the interview, the new driver confirms that she is the owner of the car and discloses that the Defendant woke her up from sleeping in the passenger seat to switch positions. The Defendant is then placed under arrest for traffic charges.

Continue reading "Underage Party Goer Facing 10 Years in Prison for Grand Theft and Burglary: No Felony Conviction on Either Charge!" »

Hendry County, FL.  An informant notified police of a noticeably intoxicated elderly man leaving a local establishment in the middle of the afternoon. The Defendant's vehicle was described as a white van pulling a camper. The police caught up with the van/ camper combo and observed the driver swerving. The driver swerved so violently that the camper's wheels left the ground.  Police also noticed the taillights and turn signals on the camper trailer were not functioning properly. The Officer initiated a traffic stop.

The driver smelled of alcohol, had bloodshot and watery eyes, slurred speech, difficulty with balance and difficulty understanding instructions. The Officer requested that the Defendant take a Field Sobriety Test and he agreed. Prior to beginning the test, the Defendant explained to the officer that he sustained a leg injury in the Vietnam War and took 8 prescription medications daily for the treatment of pain and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The officer requested that the Defendant walk the white line and he performed poorly. The officer placed the driver of the van/camper under arrest and charged him with DUI. 

Continue reading "Medicated Veteran Swerving in Camper & Charged with DUI: Defense Scores with No DUI Conviction! " »

Kareem Merthie, who is 26, is set to be freed from the Florida facility which locks up child sex offenders even after they have completed their prison sentences. Under the Jimmy Ryce Act, the state can civilly commit certain individuals who a judge agrees are sexual predators. At the treatment facility in Arcadia - which has received widespread criticism - they are supposed to be rehabilitated.

Merthie appeared before a judge in Seminole County. Both the state and Merthie's defense counsel acknowledged that Merthie has changed significantly since he was committed to the facility in Arcadia. The judge agreed to release Merthie, as the state can no longer hold him if he does not meet the legal definition of a sex offender who remains a danger to the community. He has reportedly cooperated with his treatment, which included significant therapy, and that the state hospital cannot treat him further. Merthie hopes to enroll in a community college and move back to Sanford, his hometown.

Merthie was arrested in 1999, when he was just 16 years old. Since as early as 1992, he allegedly sexually abused children at the church, New Life Word Center, where his father was the minister. He is believed to have abused as many as 20 children there. He was sent to a juvenile detention facility in 1999 after he pleaded no contest to sexually abusing two young boys. Later, while serving time in a facility in Jacksonville which treats and detains teenaged sex offenders, he apparently abused another boy at the center.

Merthie's parents, Willie Ruth Merthie and the Rev. Ronald Merthie, attended the hearing in which the Circuit Court Judge ordered their son's release. Shortly thereafter, Mrs. Merthie collapsed in the hallway. Paramedics attended to her, administering CPR, but she was pronounced dead after an ambulance took her to a nearby hospital.

If you have been arrested for or accused of committing a sex crime, contact the criminal defense lawyers at Musca Law as soon as possible.

The profile: a young man, under the age of 30. He did not attend college and perhaps did not even finish high school. He likely has a criminal past, possibly arrests for domestic violence or drugs. He does not hold down a job well and is probably unemployed. Although he may not have any biological children, he probably dates young women who have at least one young child.

The profile, according to the Florida Department of Children and Families, reflects the typical boyfriend who is likely to abuse or even kill his girlfriend's baby. Increasingly, child welfare advocates have found that these men begin dating young, single women who have one or more children. After a short period of dating, the mothers entrust the boyfriend with babysitting, at least sometimes, while the mother goes to work or to the grocery store. They men, who are frequently unemployed, agree to watch the child. Unfortunately, the lack of knowledge about babies or how to properly care for a child leads to trouble in some instances.

When the baby will not stop crying, the boyfriend does not know how to handle it, and may shake the infant. Eventually, the man will do something that seriously injures the baby, such as head-butting the infant. Babies' delicate skulls and brains cannot withstand this kind of trauma. By the time the mother arrives home, the child is seriously wounded, or possibly even dead. She takes the baby - who is most often a white male child - to the emergency room, where doctors confirm that the injuries are related to child abuse. When police question the boyfriend, he almost invariably lies about the source of the injuries, but may eventually come clean later.

Although no two child abuse scenarios are identical, the frequency with which this situation is occurring in Florida is alarming. Some child advocates have called for the state to provide free or very inexpensive child-care services so that young mothers do not feel as though they must resort to their boyfriends, who they may not even know well. Investigators have also found that early intervention is key to preventing these deaths, as the child has usually been abused by the boyfriend on an earlier occasion.

Collier County, FL.  A twenty-six year old father of four was stopped when an officer noticed a defaced license plate and what appeared to be an illegally tinted window on the vehicle. When a routine check revealed that the license of our Client was suspended for delinquent child support payments, he was arrested for Driving While License Suspended (DWLSR).

At the time of arrest the Client was on probation for Burglary of a Dwelling, Grand Theft and Habitual Driving on a Suspended License.  Therefore, he received additional charges of two Felony Counts of Violation of Probation. If convicted on the Violation of Probation charges, the Client was facing a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. 

In the State of Florida, there are two types of probation violations, technical and substantive. A technical violation is any violation of either the general, or special, conditions of the probation. Some examples include: failure to pay court costs or fines, missing a probation meeting, or change of address without permission. Substantive violations occur when the probationer commits a new criminal offense. Violation of probation is a serious offense. Penalties for violating probation can result in a judge revoking probation. If a judge revokes probation, Florida law allows the judge to impose the maximum penalty for the charge.

In Florida, as in most states, the failure to pay court ordered child support can give rise to many forms of penalties. A teaching certificate or professional license may be suspended or denied along with other licenses or registrations, like fishing, driving and hunting license. 

 
However, the Florida Statute (FS 322.34) provides that the driver must have actual knowledge that the license was suspended. During his extensive research of the case, the Musca Law Defense Attorney discovered that the Client had no actual knowledge of the child support hearing that lead to the penalty that suspended his license. The Attorney argued, to the

Continue reading "Father of Four Facing 25 years for Probation Violation: Found NOT GUILTY by Judge!" »

The Florida Legislature has been extremely busy lately, especially with negotiations that ultimately resulted in a state budget with cuts to make up for the loss of revenue associated with the current economic recession. During all of this, and amid plenty of controversy surround issues like state employee salary cuts, they still found time to revise the Florida seat belt statute.

Formerly, a driver could be ticketed for a seat belt violation as a secondary offense. That means that if the driver was stopped for a different offense - a faulty taillight, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or running a stop light, for example - then a law enforcement officer could also ticket the driver for a seat belt violation. Now, Florida joins Georgia as only the second state to enact a primary offense seat belt law: a police officer will be able to pull over your vehicle and ticket you solely for your failure to wear a seat belt when driving.

Critics of the bipartisan seat belt law effort are those who think that seat belt laws can be used to justify looking for real criminal activity, as a stop for an offense as simple as failure to wear a seat belt can be an excuse for a police officer to find evidence of an actual crime. For example, a seat belt stop might also allow an officer the opportunity to check a car full of college students for the lingering scent of marijuana. Some critics are also concerned that seat belt laws could allow law enforcement to engage in racial profiling.

New Hampshire - the live free or die state with a libertarian streak - is the only state in the country without any kind of seat belt law. Residents of New Hampshire seem to prefer minimal involvement of the government in their lives.

If you have been arrested in Florida, contact the criminal defense attorneys at Musca Law immediately to begin your legal defense.

In Tampa, the former spokesperson for the Department of Children and Families has been sentenced on a child pornography production charge. The DCF is the state agency which handles the welfare of children in Florida. Al Zimmerman, 41, pleaded guilty earlier this year. Zimmerman apparently took nude photos of young boys. He has been sentenced by a federal court to 24 years in prison.

The DCF fired Zimmerman last year, following his arrest by federal officials. The former media liaison intended to distribute the photographs to people in other countries. It is not clear if all of the teenaged boys were foster children, but at least one has been identified as a foster child in the care of the state.

In Utah, a firefighter is facing child pornography charges. Ryan Frandsen, 32, allegedly downloaded exploitative images from the internet. The state has charged him with nine counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, which is a felony under Utah law. "He's been with us for about 10 years. He was extremely motivated and hardworking," the local fire chief said of Frandsen, who remains on administrative leave.

Frandsen is involved in numerous community activities, including operating a business to help triathletes and raising money for sick babies. He was named the Utah Paramedic of the Year in 2006. Frandsen is married and has children.

In Florida, the child pornography statute has received scrutiny in recent years, especially as cell phones and the internet have made it easier to access and share photographs and videos. The Florida law even applies to minors. For example, a 15-year-old girl could be charged with distributing or producing child pornography for taking a racy cell phone picture of herself and then sending it to her boyfriend. Likewise, he could be charged with possession of child pornography. The sticky issues of teenagers, sex, and technology has been playing out in the courts as more teens face charges from similar situations.


If you have been charged with any crime, including a sex crime, in the state of Florida, contact the Musca Law criminal defense attorneys.

Collier County, FL.  At Musca Law, our traffic violation lawyers represent Florida residents, over-the-road truck drivers, and tourists who have received citations for traffic violations such as: speeding/racing/reckless driving, driving too fast for conditions, driving on a suspended or revoked license, drunk driving/DUI charges, careless driving, stop sign violations, Commercial driver's license (CDL) offenses, and improper or excessive lane changes. If you get a traffic ticket, an experienced Florida traffic violation lawyer can appear for you at a hearing, challenge the law enforcement officer to prove the infraction beyond a reasonable doubt, and minimize the damage to your driving record by requesting that no points be assessed by the court.

Frequently, a traffic infraction can involve complex issues that need to be sorted through. An experienced attorney can help guide the process to a successful outcome. Recently, Musca Law was retained by a client who was charged with an offense because her driver's license did not reflect the fact her vision was corrected through surgery.

Our client was pulled over for speeding and for an expired tag.  During the stop, it was determined that she did not have proof of insurance, had an expired tag, and was not wearing corrective lenses in violation of a restriction on her driver's license.  She was cited for expired registration (a traffic citation) and violation of restriction on driver's license, under Florida Statute 322.16 (a criminal misdemeanor offense).  She paid the traffic citation as it was the only way to immediately clear her driver's license and allow her to drive.  However, the misdemeanor offense remained.

Continue reading "Lasik Eye Surgery Client Caught Speeding - Charged with Violation of Driver's License Restriction: CHARGE DROPPED!" »

MONROE COUNTY, FL.  In the State of Florida every DUI defendant has the constitutional right to a trial by jury. At Musca Law, our experienced DUI trial attorneys have exceptional litigation and legal skills in the area of drunk driving defense. Our familiarity with the constitutional defense relating to reasonable suspicion of drunk driving, probable cause to stop a vehicle and make an arrest, or the permissibility of a checkpoint, can help prevent a DUI conviction. With over 100 years of combined legal experience, we use a team approach to aggressively challenge the State on proving the key elements necessary for a DUI conviction. Our attorneys devise effective DUI defense strategies designed to protect the driver's rights, push the matter to trial, and create reasonable doubt in the minds of jurors. We make every attempt to prevent a DUI conviction.

In a recent DUI court victory, Attorney John Musca fought to obtain a not guilty verdict for a DUI client. The accused drunk driver was searching for a friend's home in an unfamiliar neighborhood. A resident became suspicious of our client's vehicle and took it upon himself to contact an off-duty Florida Fish and Wildlife Officer living in the area. The eye witness

Continue reading "Man Accused of Drunk Driving Found With Xanax in Trunk & Open Bottle of Vodka - DUI Trial Attorney Obtains NOT GUILTY by Jury " »