Florida Criminal Attorneys Blog

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.

 

 

 

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Orange County -The Sheriff's office responded to a call regarding a stabbing at an Orange County boarding house on 17th Street, where a woman stabbed and killed her boyfriend.  According to a spokesperson for the sheriff's department "there was an altercation between her and her boyfriend and she apparently stabbed him."  The victim is a man in his 40's his name is yet to be released. 

There were two calls made; one to the Orlando Police Department and another transferred to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.   After the first call deputies responded relative to a domestic dispute, to find that there was no violence at the location.  After the second call deputies were able to locate the woman.  "She came to the pay phone to call law enforcement and she called twice," according to a spokesperson for the Sheriff's office.  "She is being very cooperative with detectives."

According to reports the sheriff's office responded to calls in the past in regards to the 17th Street location, twice for a burglary call and once for a routine investigation.  There was also another 911 call however deputies were not able to locate the caller.

There has been no information released as to the motive, however the woman has been charged on one count of first degree murder.

A criminal conviction will not only affect your future it will follow you for the rest of your life.  Do not hesitate involving an attorney, the sooner an attorney is involved the better the results.  When an investigation is involved, evidence can be mishandled.  An experienced and diligent criminal defense attorney will scrutinize all of the evidence involved.

If you or someone that you know is facing criminal charges it is vital that you retain an experienced criminal defense attorney without delay.  Attorney John Musca is an aggressive criminal defense lawyer who can make the difference between a prison sentence and a dismissed criminal charge.  Musca Law is on your side.

Jeffrey Grinder, 32, and Calvin Adams, 39, have both been convicted of murder. Each is serving a life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole in a facility in Grady, Arkansas. The pair recently hatched and executed a plan to escape from prison, although they were only briefly successful. The men likely figured that because they had already received life sentences for violent crimes, they did not have anything to lose (as escaping from prison cannot carry a sentence greater than the one which had already been imposed).

The Grady prison facility inmates make the uniforms prison guards wear, in addition to other tasks. Grinder and Adams apparently realized that they could secretly don the guards' uniforms and slip out of the prison unnoticed. They arranged with three other people who were not in prison to leave them a car parked in the parking lot of the prison and set out to make their plan work.

Last Friday night, the men stayed in the prison's library until about 6:00, when they secretly changed from their standard-issue inmate clothing to the guard uniform. They knew that the guards changed shifts at that time and the inmates suspected their presence was least likely to be noticed then as they left the building. They were correct.

Grinder and Adams acted natural and walked past a number of guards. Many were getting off of their shifts, but several were assigned to guard the doors and watch for any inmates. Five of those guards have been placed on unpaid leave while the state investigates their failure to stop the two men. The inmates set off in the car that had been left for them and drove away. Eventually, however, New York police caught up with the duo after the car failed to signal properly. The police chased the inmates, ultimately taking them into custody.

 

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.

A local Orlando man has been sentenced in federal court for faking injuries and receiving government benefits. Patrick Wilson plead guilty to two counts of theft of government property, in the form of disability benefits. Wilson told officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs that he was paralyzed and received tens of thousands of dollars in disability benefits. Law enforcement investigators videotaped Wilson walking just fine, however - engaged in work on his yard, roofing his house, and even dancing. Wilson will spend 13 months in federal prison and has been ordered to pay the Department of Veterans Affairs nearly $160,000 in restitution. It is not clear how long Wilson received veteran's payments before officials became suspicious of his paralysis claims.

In an extremely tragic story in south Florida, a Miramar man has been arrested for shooting his wife and their daughter. Police say the couple's 12-year-old daughter saw her father about to shoot her mother and attempted to intervene. When she interrupted, he shot the girl, as well. Dervis L. Lawrence, 39, was arguing with Odover Laird, 29, in the driveway of their home, the girl told investigators. She saw her father repeatedly shooting Laird as Laird attempted to escape. When the daughter grabbed her father's arm to stop him, he turned and shot his own daughter in her upper arm to prevent her from interfering.

Laird was pronounced dead at the home. Police did not release the name of the 12-year-old. Lawrence is being held in jail with no bond set. He has been charged with murder and attempted murder. The shooting incident occurred on the 3000 block of S.W. 173rd Way. The daughter was hospitalized with her injuries and is expected to recover. Miramar police reported that the couple was arguing about financial matters prior to the shooting.

Most citizens are familiar with the concept that the Second Amendment, part of the Bill of Rights in the federal Constitution, protects their right to bear arms. Gun rights activists have long maintained that the Second Amendment protects an individual right, meaning that regular citizens have the right to carry and own firearms. Nonetheless, there are still important restrictions with regard to the right of gun ownership for people who have a felony criminal record in the state of Florida.

Convicted felons are not allowed to possess firearms in Florida. A felony is a crime that is punishable by more than a year in prison, even if the actual sentence the defendant received was different - such as 18 months of probation rather than time in prison. Even if your case did not go to trial, but you pleaded guilty, you are considered by Florida criminal law to be a convicted felon.

Florida recognizes a separate crime which is usually called "felon in possession of a firearm," but is broader than the name suggests, applying not only to guns, but also to ammunition, tasers, tear gas guns, and concealed weapons more generally. The felon can be a person convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison - even if the conviction was in a different state or country or was a federal crime.

The felony conviction does not even have to be for a crime involving violence or the use of a gun or weapon of any kind. In fact, even white collar crimes and other nonviolent convictions can result in the loss of your right to possess a gun. Possession does not mean only ownership; it can also mean just holding onto another person's weapon or having one in your vehicle. The only way to regain your right to gun ownership if you have a felony conviction is to have your civil rights and firearm rights restored by the state.

If you have been charged as a felon in possession in the state of Florida, contact the criminal defense attorneys at Musca Law.

Crimes committed against children usually spark the most media attention and the most public outrage. The heavily publicized murder case of Caylee Anthony, who went missing last summer here in Florida, has drawn outrage not only in Caylee's own community but nationally. Her mother, Casey Anthony, has been charged with the toddler's murder. The girl's body was not located until months after her disappearance. Casey Anthony has told investigators that she left Caylee with a babysitter by the name of Zenaida Gonzalez, a story law enforcement officials believe is a fabrication. Gonzalez, who resides in Kissimmee, says she was unfamiliar with the Anthonys until police contacted her regarding the investigation. She has filed a civil lawsuit against Casey Anthony, alleging defamation.

The standards for proving murder do not change with the victim's age. However, children are an especially vulnerable population, so certain crimes are only made criminal acts because children are victimized. Other crimes are punished more severely when people under the age of 18 are involved.

Child sex offenses, for example, are punished more severely depending on the victim's age. A person who commits a sexual offense against victim under the age of 12 will face charges particularized child sex charges. Ignorance of the child's age is not a defense for committing the act and it does not matter if the child lied about his or her age such that the perpetrator actually believed the contact was consensual. Children cannot consent to sex acts.

Child abuse and child neglect are crimes that relate to the victim's age. A parent who strikes another adult would be guilty of battery, but doing so to her child becomes child abuse because of the special status of children under the law. Similarly, child neglect occurs when a parent or caretaker does not provide for a child's basic needs. Parents and guardians have a duty to care for their children.

If you have been accused of a child sex offense or any other crime, contact the Florida criminal defense lawyers at Musca Law to discuss your defense.

Delores Laster, 61, has taught first grade in Winter Garden, Florida for 40 years. She was on her way to work this week when law enforcement officials arrested her for the murder of her husband, who was killed on March 20, 1988. Laster had no other criminal record, other than a Kmart shoplifting incident 15 years ago in which the court withheld adjudication and sentenced her to probation.

Delores Laster and her husband Clarence adopted three children together, in addition to the six he had from relationships before he met his wife. Delores Laster called 911 from their Pine Hills home on the date of his death, after she returned from a trip to Gainesville. According to Laster, her husband had left home early the morning before with a person she did not know, and she had not seen her husband since - until she claimed she found him dead at their home.

At the time, Laster hired an attorney and became very protective of the couple's three young children. She did not permit investigators to interview them. Laster told officers that she found her husband's body in the garage of their home, yet all indications suggested that he was killed in their blood-soaked bedroom. Police found no evidence of a burglary, nor any suggestion that the motive was theft - even Clarence's wallet remained in open view, untouched on the bedside table.

Two of the couple's children, who were 10 and 12 at the time of their father's murder, were interviewed by investigators reviewing cold cases this year. Although the evidence that led to their mother's arrest has not yet been made public, law enforcement officials say it was information derived from those conversations that made the arrest of Delores Laster possible now, 21 years after the death of Clarence Laster. Investigators explored whether or not the couple had a history of domestic violence, but found no indication that such activity was occurring prior to the murder. Delores Kester is currently being held without bond in Orange County.

If you or a loved one has been charged with a crime in Florida, contact the criminal defense lawyers at Musca Law.

The Florida criminal lawyers at Musca Law are sorry to report on a tragic murder-suicide in Miami. According to law enforcement officials, a man showed up uninvited to a birthday party, angry with his estranged wife. Many of his wife's family members were present at the party, including her daughter. The birthday party was being held for her daughter's boyfriend. Police have not released the identities of the victims at this point, which Florida criminal lawyers say is consistent with their practice of notifying families about deaths prior to releasing information to the public.

The man apparently came to the party and announced that he blamed the people present - the wife's family - for the fact that their relationship was dissolving or that she had left him after about four years of marriage. After that, the man pulled out a gun and bullets rained out. People at the gathering fled, pouring out into the street. The man's wife, her daughter, and the daughter's boyfriend were all killed at the scene. Additionally, the mother of the wife was killed. Witnesses said that the man then departed from the scene in a red truck. A man who was walking his dog in the neighborhood at the time of the shooting said that, altogether, he heard over two dozen shots fired before the man left in the red truck.

Not long after, Miami police received another 911 call to report that a building and a truck were on fire. The shooter apparently set fire to his red getaway truck and the building in which he resided. At that point, he turned the gun on himself, taking his own life.

Florida criminal lawyer John Musca is sorry to hear of another tragic murder-suicide case. These crimes are difficult for families to grapple with, when innocent victims are killed and the person responsible dies on his own terms, never to face those left behind. Victims and their families often speak during sentencing after a criminal conviction, typically arguing for harsh sentences. The opportunity to express their views and to talk about the impact of the crime on their lives can be therapeutic for some victims and family members. A local newspaper report about the incident is available here.

Fred Cooper is accused of murdering Steven and Michelle Andrews, a young married couple, in a case that will go to jury deliberations later this week.  Law enforcement officials say that Steven and Michelle, both 28, were found dead on December 27, 2005. Both were in the bedroom of their home, where Steven was found shot to death and Michelle asphyxiated. An investigation led to the arrest of Fred Cooper on January 11, 2006.

Florida criminal defense lawyers say that the prosecution has established a strong motive for the slayings: revenge.  Detectives pieced together the secrets of Steven's life. Friends and family members had mentioned that the couple's marriage was on the rocks and that Steven might have been having an affair. Eventually, investigators located that woman, Kellie Ballew.  Ballew was Cooper's long-time girlfriend; they even had a child together.  Prosecutors maintain that Cooper was so enraged to discover the affair between Steven Andrews and Kellie Ballew that he snuck into their home to murder them.

The prosecution has presented evidence showing Cooper returning home on his yellow motorcycle at about 3:00 a.m. the morning of the murders. His gun and the jacket he was wearing that night are nowhere to be found, although he was spotted cleaning the jacket between the time of the murders and his arrest. Cooper's criminal defense attorney has maintained that his client is innocent and that he has nothing to hide.  After all, the legal defense team has pointed out, he cooperated all aspects of the investigation, including police searching his home and collecting DNA samples. Nonetheless, aspects of his defense have not gone over effectively.  For example, he claimed to have been in touch by phone with Michelle Andrews, but phone records do not support that claim. Likewise, he said he had met up with her in Steven's vehicle, but Steven's father dismissed that as unlikely because Michelle did not drive a stick shift.

The case is expected to go to the jury on Tuesday for deliberations regarding Cooper's guilt or innocence, which the judge in the case hopes to have completed by Friday.  After that, if Cooper is found guilty, the case will proceed to the sentencing phase.

The original story is from the Naples Daily News, Jurors hear from lead detective, victims' family in Gateway murder trial.