Florida Criminal Attorneys Blog

Delmer Smith III is being held for a month's long string of home invasion attacks on middle-aged and elderly women including the fatal beating of a woman in Terra Ceia in July.  Authorities said that Smith is responsible for one of the most violent crime sprees ever in the region.

Authorities say that Smith is responsible for 12 violent home invasions in Manatee and Sarasota counties over a number of months last spring and summer, which included the murder of Kathleen Briles.  Briles was the wife of a prominent Palmetto physician.

Smith came to Florida with a lengthy criminal record in Michigan.  He faced criminal charges for stealing a car in Detroit before being arrested three years later for a Detroit area bank robbery.  Smith was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the bank robbery.  Smith moved to Florida after his release on the bank robbery conviction to be with the woman who he wed in a jailhouse ceremony during his incarceration.

However, Smith was also having a series of extramarital affairs.  It was one of his mistresses, a 34 year old North Port woman, that was instrumental in his arrest for the spree of robberies.  Smith was arrested for his involvement in a violent fight in a Venice bar in August.  While in custody, Smith asked his mistress to remove all of his property, which included a .380-caliber pistol, from a storage facility according to federal arrest reports.  During one of the telephone conversations while Smith was in custody, he told his mistress, "You never got anything from my storage, he said in the recorded phone call.  "You don't know anything about my storage."

Investigators later discovered items that were taken from Briles home during the robbery amongst the items in Smith's storage including a rare Mickey Mouse keychain, diamond necklace, gold coins and an inscribed medical encyclopedia.  DNA also linked Smith to 4 of the Sarasota County home invasions.  According to authorities, Smith's cell phone signal was recorded on a tower about a mile from Briles home a short time before the robbery.  "The presumption of innocence applies despite the public's fear linked to the home invasions," said criminal attorney John Musca.

Smith is currently being held in Sarasota County Jail without bond.  Smith has also become a main suspect in several other cases including a murder on Jo-An Drive in April according to Sheriff Tom Knight.

Musca Law Firm has over 100 years of combined legal experience with convenient offices located across the State of Florida.  Our criminal defense team will aggressively defend your rights on the State and Federal level.  The prosecution is looking to punish you to the fullest extent of the law.  You need a knowledgeable attorney that will watch out for you.  Contact Musca Law for a free, comprehensive review of your case.

Orlando police arrested a 40 year old man during an online sting in which he allegedly performed and solicited lewd acts from an Orange County investigator posing as a 14 year old girl.  The arrest was made at the Peabody Orlando Hotel where he was staying, told investigators he worked for Liberty Mutual Insurance and was in town for a hurricane conference.  Bond was posted at $5900 and was released from Orange County Jail on Friday.

When chatting with the investigator, he thought was a teen girl, the "suspect solicited the detective for various sexual acts."  The investigator with the Orange County Sheriff's Office Sexual Offender Squad entered a chat room posing as a 14 year old girl on Thursday and was quickly contacted by the 40 year old man.

According to a news release from the Orange County Sheriff's Office, he disrobed and committed a lewd act while chatting with what he believed was a 14 year old girl.  The investigator's affidavit also indicated that during the chat, "The male stated his name, and even showed his convention name tag with that name printed on it to the webcam."

It is also alleged that he offered to pay for a cab to bring the person he thought was a 14-year-old girl to the hotel.  Once investigators arrived at the hotel, they texted him to let him know that the "girl" had arrived.  He responded and indicated he was in his hotel room.

When they got to the door of his room, an officer identified himself and asked for permission to enter the room.  "I asked him if this was the computer he used to chat with (the girl) on and he stated yes," the report said.  "I then asked if he would show me his Yahoo Account and he stated yes."  He booted up the computer but the chat session had not been saved.  The officer also asked to search the computer, but he said he could not give permission because it was a company computer.  He is charged with one count of solicitation of a minor via the internet and three counts of transmitting harmful material to a minor.

Continue reading "Police Online Sex Sting Leads to Arrest of Man from Killingly " »

Casey Anthony is facing trial and a potential death penalty sentence for allegedly murdering her daughter Caylee.  Casey has pled not guilty in the murder case of her daughter, whose remains were discovered in a wooded lot in December 2008.  Caylee was 2 years old when she was reported missing in 2008.

Casey is also facing 13 charges for writing approximately $650 in bad checks from a friend's account over a seven-day period in July 2008, during the month period when her daughter was missing.  The disposition of her bad check case could seriously impact her murder trial.  If she is found guilty or pleads guilty in the bad check case, it might affect the defense's strategy in her murder trial.  If Casey is convicted in the bad check case and decides to testify in the murder case, she would be forced to answer "yes" if she is asked if she is a convicted felon.  This might mean that the defense might be more inclined to keep Casey from testifying in the murder case because that answer could make her seem less credible.

The outcome of Anthony's bad check case could also affect sentencing in her murder case.  If there is a death penalty hearing, the prosecution could not introduce the bad check convictions as an "aggravating circumstance" for prior criminal history.  The legislature does not consider theft offenses serious enough to be used by prosecutors arguing for the death penalty.

However, if the defense in a death penalty hearing tries to introduce the "mitigating circumstance" of "no significant history of criminal activity," Anthony's bad check convictions could likely be revealed.  The disposition of Casey's bad check case could have a serious impact on the defense strategy and disposition in her murder trial.

Continue reading "How the Disposition of Casey Anthony's Bad Check Case Could Impact Her Trial for Murdering Her Daughter " »

Over the objections of prosecutors, Judge J. Michael Hunter set bail at $300,000 in the complex murder, kidnapping case in which Stobert "Toby" Holt is accused of being responsible for the disappearance of Robert Wiles.  Judge Hunter characterized the case against Holt as an "extremely strong circumstantial case."  Holt, of Cocoa Beach, Florida faces charges of first degree murder, kidnapping, extortion, and writing threats to kill or do bodily harm.

The prosecutors in the case had argued that bail be denied entirely.  However, Judge Hunter said to deny bail the evidence must show "proof of guilt is evident and presumption is great" - an even higher standard than "beyond a reasonable doubt."  Prosecutors also requested that if Holt intends to post bail that a hearing be conducted to determine the source of the funds.  The judge also set other conditions on Holt's release including an ankle monitoring device, forfeiture of his passport and firearms and remaining in his home except for employment, attending medical appointments and meeting with his attorneys.

In their attempt to have bail denied, Prosecutors previewed their evidence in support of a conviction.  Prosecutors initially set out to establish that Wiles, who has been missing since April 1, 2008, is dead.  The prosecutors offered evidence that Wiles has had no financial activity or contact with family and friend and that he left behind his personal items including his passport.  Holt was the last person known to have seen Wiles alive before he left work at 6 or 6:30 p.m.

Holt claimed that after leaving National Flight Services, at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport on the day of Wiles disappearance, he went to Hooters on South Florida Avenue.  Wile's family owns National Flight Services where Holt and Wiles both worked.  However, surveillance video did not show Holt entering or leaving Hooters.  Holt indicated he then ate dinner at Outback Steakhouse and paid by credit card but no financial record has been found to support this claim.

Holt's cell records show he called Home Depot shortly before it closed at 9:00 p.m.  Prosecutors contend that Holt called to verify that the store was still open so he could purchase items he needed to dispose of the body including a box of plastic wrap and duct tape.  The store records show someone purchased these items for cash but again Holt did not appear on surveillance footage.

Someone sent an email to Wiles father demanding $750,000 on April 2, 2008 using Wile's cell phone.  The email instructed that the ransom be placed inside Wile's office which was adjacent to Holt's office.  Prosecutors suggested this was strange because the building had a security system.

Cell phone records indicated that someone was calling Wile's father that night from Wile's cell phone.  There is video footage from a toll station where it appears that Holt is talking on a cell phone but his cell records do not show his phone was being used at the time.  Cell records also showed that both Holt and Wile's cell phones were using cell towers on nearly the same path that night.

Holt also told police he did not have any weapons in his vehicle.  However, police later found a .40 caliber Sig Sauer handgun under the hood of the car.  Evidence was also introduced that Holt spent $200 at a gun store in an attempt to change the characteristics of the gun barrel.

Continue reading "Toby Holt Bail Set at $300,000 in Murder, Kidnapping of Robert Wiles " »