Tampa Criminal Lawyer Blog

Under Florida law, theft is defined as the taking of property from another with the intent to either temporarily, or permanently deprive an individual of their property. Florida theft charges are divided into petit theft or grand theft, and depending on the value of what was stolen, may be charged as a second-degree misdemeanor all the way up to a first-degree felony. Theft crimes reflect on an individual's honesty and a conviction can make it difficult later on to get a job, or earn a prospective employer's trust.

Shoplifting and theft are serious crimes under Florida Law, as well as they are enhanceable crimes. This means each subsequent offense results in more severe penalties. Because theft law is so broad, and covers a wide variety of situations, many theft charges occur after a misunderstanding among the parties involved. A skilled Florida criminal defense attorney can help sort through the facts of the situation and protect the rights of an individual charged with a theft. 

Grand Theft attorneys at Musca Law recently assisted a client accused of Grand Theft achieving the best results possible. Our client had moved from Virginia to join a local Christian church. The church pastor invited him to live in the church boarding house in exchange for manual labor. Prior to living in the boarding house, our client was homeless and living on the street. A few months into the arrangement, the pastor accused our client of removing items of furniture and appliances from the house. Police arrested him and charged him with Grand Theft. Our attorneys aggressively challenged the State on being able to meet its burden of proof; the State dismissed the charge of Grand Theft against our client.

The right to a trial by a jury of one's peers is among the most sacred within the Florida and federal criminal justice systems. Nonetheless, the prospect of jury duty is still horrifying to many - perhaps even most. In recent months, courts around Florida are reporting a surge in requests to defer or reschedule jury duty to another time for economic reasons. Many potential jurors report that they are concerned about losing their jobs in tough times. Others simply say that they cannot afford to miss a day off work, whether it is because they fear the possibility of being laid off or they need the money from every single day to provide for themselves and their families. Some potential jurors called in for duty work multiple part-time jobs instead of a single full-time position and so are not afforded vacation time or other leave.

Unfortunately, there are other jurors who simply do not show up to jury duty when notified, for several reasons. The first, completely innocent reason is that they were not actually notified. For over a decade, the courts have used a system of pulling potential jurors from a list of licensed drivers provided by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. However, these are often out-of-date. In the interim since last obtaining or renewing a driver's license, many Floridians have moved to another county or state. In some cases, the potential juror is deceased.

Volusia County Circuit Judge Robert Rouse says, "It is a never-ending source of frustration for the court system. We don't want to call in hundreds of people. But we need jurors. This is our system of law." Generally, notices for a juror to appear will have contact information for the court if you are unable to serve or are exempt. Certain people, such as those over 70 years of age and parents caring for small children, are not required to serve.

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

The theft of cable television and satellite services has been in the Tampa Bay limelight recently after an area man was arrested and charged with such a theft. The State Attorney's Office alleges that Sergio Soto, 36, who resides in Avon Park, stole close to $8,000 worth of services from DirecTV, which provides satellite television around the country. At the time of the theft, which allegedly occurred between August 2006 and August 2007, Soto was employed as a subcontractor who performed assignments for DirecTV. He allegedly used a different user's personal account information in order to access the system for his own benefit. He has been charged under Florida law with the fraudulent interception of communications and fraudulently obtaining property valued at $300 or higher.

Comcast, the cable television service provider, estimates that cable theft costs the cable industry about six billion dollars every year - and the problem continues to grow. DirecTV, however, maintains that they have succeeded in eradicating theft of their satellite television products with new technology. Through the invention of a smart card device, which is associated directly with each individual user, the company believes it has stamped out theft. The card, which is also known as an access card, resembles a credit card in its dimensions. It allows the satellite subscriber to access the services he or she purchases and is able to read the encoded signals transmitted to that user. Whether the smart card technology will ever successfully be evaded by tech-savvy thieves, however, remains to be seen in the years to come.

O.J. Simpson was famously sued for satellite television theft. The former professional football star was ordered to pay DirecTV $25,000 in compensation for his theft, in addition to the company's legal fees and other associated costs. Although similar civil lawsuits for cable signal theft are on the rise, criminal prosecution for such activities remains minimal.

There is an old saying "come to Florida on vacation, leave on probation." A dream Florida vacation can quickly turn into a nightmare if you are charged with a crime. Suddenly you are faced with the probability of a delay in your return home, extended time off from work, as well as a future criminal proceeding with unknown consequences.

If you are arrested for a crime in the State of Florida, only a Florida lawyer can defend you in court. A local criminal defense lawyer who is familiar with the legal process and the prosecutors can help resolve your case as quickly as possible. Misdemeanor charges, such as most DUI's, may be settled without requiring personal appearance in court. This is referred to as a "Plea in Absentia" and requires the approval of the Court. Attorneys at Musca Law have represented many out of state residents who have become involved in a Florida tourist arrest. Our attorneys are well-respected among prosecutors and judges, and utilize aggressive defense strategies.

Our client traveled from Pennsylvania to Florida to spend some vacation time in the Sunshine State. Police observed his vehicle traveling on the highway and noticed his license plate was obscured. The officer could not tell which state his tag was from and conducted a traffic stop. Upon making contact with the occupants of the vehicle, the officer claimed they were rude and condescending. The officer issued a ticket for the traffic offense and the driver became extremely upset. The officer explained to the driver his options and warned him that he would be arrested if he did not sign the citation. Even though he was warned, our client still refused to sign the citation and was placed under arrest for Refusal to Sign Summons, under Fla. Statute 318.14(3).

Our attorneys filed a Plea in Absentia on behalf of our client and pursuant to a Plea, there was no conviction/no finding of guilt. Our client's case was resolved without the need for him to travel back to Florida to appear in court. Furthermore, he is eligible to have his records sealed.

 

In the 1910s and 1920s, a gang called the Ashley Boys repeatedly evaded capture. Led by John Ashley, the gang cruised around Florida causing trouble. They were particularly known for bank robberies.

John Ashley had previously escaped capture when he was wanted for a 1911 murder. Eventually, he turned himself in, but the judicial circus that ensued resulted in a mistrial. During an attempt to move him to another venue, Ashley escaped, and left Florida for three years.

John Ashley wore a glass eye due to an accident during one of the Ashley Boys' first bank robberies, which occurred in 1915, shortly after his return to Florida. The gang was holding up a bank in Stuart, Florida, when John Ashley was accidentally shot by Kid Lowe, a member of the Ashley Boys. The bullet wound cost the gang time, allowing Sheriff Baker to catch up with them.

The Ashley Boys were tried for the robbery and John Ashley did a brief stint in prison for his role. He was acquitted, however, of the 1911 murder. He escaped from prison in 1918 and reformed the gang. The Ashley Boys continued their mischief and in 1921, John Ashley was sent to prison again for his bootlegging activities.

John Ashley managed to escape from prison yet again and resumed his criminal activities immediately. John Ashley was pursued by the new sheriff, the son of the first Sheriff Baker. John Ashley still had it out for the new Sheriff Baker, however, and during each of their many bank robberies, he took to leaving a gun loaded with a single bullet behind - for Sheriff Baker.

Eventually, an informant from the Ashley Boys tipped off Sheriff Baker about when the gang would be coming to town to visit John Ashley's father. An armed group surrounding the gang and every member of the Ashley Boys was killed. The Sheriff and his posse were cleared of any wrongdoing, although there were suspicions that the gang members were killed in police custody rather than while trying to escape the law yet again.

If you have been arrested or charged with a crime in Florida, contact the Tampa criminal defense lawyers at Musca Law.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the San Francisco Bay area was terrorized by a serial killer who came to be known as the Zodiac. The Zodiac enjoyed taking credit for his work. He sent letters to various local newspapers, some partially encrypted with a code, and appeared to be mentally ill. The killer apparently believed that his victims would become his slaves in afterlife.

The Zodiac also made a point to taunt local police. He sent them a map, with clues regarding the past and future locations of attacks. He personally reported several of the murders to the police department from pay phones just blocks away. He even claimed that police had spoken with him just moments after a murder was reported and taunted police for their shoddy investigative skills.

None of the Zodiac murders were ever solved. The Zodiac ceased all communication with police and newspapers by the late 1970s. Eerily, he tended to leave his running tally at the bottom of his letters to the newspapers, crediting himself with a growing number of murders and always assigning the San Francisco Police Department a zero for their failure to solve the murders or to apprehend him. He would eventually claim responsibility for 37 deaths, although police attribute only seven victims, five of whom died, to him. The Zodiac also enjoyed when his letters, full of misspellings, were published.

The Zodiac did not seem to have a particular goal in mind. He killed a cab driver and attacked several young couples. He may have been responsible for the murder of a young woman who was studying at her college library and he is also suspected in the murder of a nurse, whose body was never located. He often used guns and sometimes knives. Police were never able to solve the mystery, despite composite sketches and fairly good descriptions given of a young man with brown hair and a stocky build. Now, must of the Bay area police departments have closed the Zodiac cases.

Our client, a citizen of Brazil, was attempting to relocate. He did not have a valid driver's license and was pulled over for speeding. He was arrested and charged with Operating a Motor Vehicle without Valid Driver's License, Fla. Statute 322.031.

The Defendant had an employment opportunity in New Jersey and subsequently moved out of state. He retained the highly-skilled criminal defense team at Musca Law to handle his case. Our attorneys are experienced in dealing with situations of a client living out of state. The State of Florida is well known for tourist arrests and we have handled many cases for out of state residents. Having a local attorney represent a defendant in absentia can save thousands of dollars in airplane tickets and lost wages.

Our attorneys filed a Plea of Absentia on behalf of the Defendant. Cases involving out of state residents facing criminal charges in Tampa,Florida, a Plea of Absentia allows us to negotiate with the State Attorney to reach a resolution on their charges without the need for them to return to the State of Florida.  Our attorneys attend all necessary court appearances, alleviating the defendant's obligation to appear in court. After extensive negotiations with the Prosecutor assigned to the case, adjudication was withheld and our client did not get convicted.

 

Prosecutors have released more documents in the now-famous murder-for-hire case that has gripped the Tampa Bay community. Edward Graziano, who is 53, has been charged with solicitation to commit murder. According to the State Attorney's Office and law enforcement officials, Graziano hoped to have his wife killed for financial gain.

Graziano apparently wanted to benefit from the monetary damages he anticipated receiving as a result of the civil suit his family has filed against the famous family of Hulk Hogan, the former professional wrestler and reality television star. Nick Bollea, Hulk Hogan's son, was the driver in a serious car accident on August 26, 2007, which injured John Graziano. John suffers from brain damage caused by the wreck and, as a former veteran, remains in the James A. Haley Veterans Administration Hospital. John Graziano is the son of Edward Graziano.

Graziano tried to hire a private investigator who had previously done work for him. The investigator, alarmed at Graziano's plans, notified police. Police bugged him to listen to their conversations, during which Graziano appears to state his plans to pay just $2,100 to have his wife killed. A man was supposed to follow his estranged wife in her car, running her off the road. If she survived, he would then break her neck to assure her demise.

The documents released by prosecutors this week also show that the he intended to live off of his son. Out of work, Graziano believed he would get paid for caring for his son from the monies for John's care from the Hogan/Bollea family. Without his wife present, he reasoned, he would be primarily in charge of the decisions related to his care and also the primary beneficiary of funds. "You know I probably won't have to work because I would get paid for taking care of him," he said at one point on the recordings.

He apparently had difficulty with the decision, but nonetheless forked over the money to the private investigator. He was arrested in February and has been held in the Pinellas County jail. Edward Graziano had been married to Debra for nearly three decades.



If you or someone you know has been arrested for a solicitation crime, contact the Tampa criminal lawyers at Musca Law.

Read more here.

The Tampa Bay area hosted a law enforcement conference this week at the Marriott Waterside Hotel and Marina. The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Law Enforcement Executive Development Conference drew police officials from throughout the country, as well as a variety of vendors selling wares targeted at the law enforcement community.

When one of the vendors reported that some of its merchandise had gone missing, Tampa police were surprised. After all, who would steal t-shirts and jackets emblazoned with the conference logo from a location crawling with police? Apparently, the answer is one of their own.

The Tampa police department reviewed surveillance films taken overnight at the conference after the vendor reported the stolen items. What they found surprised them: images of Jim Spencer, 60, taking items from the vendor.

Spencer is a civilian reserve officer, who is reportedly well-liked and respected within the agency. He did not have a disciplinary record with the agency, but was relieved of his duties and is facing criminal charges in connection with the theft. Spencer's colleagues said that he typically volunteers about 12 hours each month in addition to his regular duties.

"It's just an enormous embarrassment and disappointment to the department, and not representative of the other men and women working here," Tampa police spokesperson Laura McElroy told reporters. The police chief personally apologized to the vendor for the problem. Additionally, Spencer has been contrite and immediately returned the stolen goods when confronted. "He was very apologetic," Elroy said of Spencer's demeanor after his police interview about the stolen goods.

Tampa police are continuing to review all segments of the film, because they believe that additional items were stolen by another culprit. Spencer took several items while working at the conference overnight, but it was not clear when the other merchandise disappeared.

If you have been arrested of a theft crime in Tampa or elsewhere in Florida, contact the criminal defense lawyers at Musca Law to begin working on an aggressive defense.

While attempting to board a flight in Atlanta, a former Hillsborough County resident became aware that a warrant had been issued for his arrest. He was surprised to discover that a past mistake had caught up with him and he was now facing criminal charges. Over a decade earlier he had been employed with a surveying company in Tampa. He was laid off from the company and was approved to collect unemployment compensation from the State of Florida. The man was unaware of the fact that his part time cleaning job actually disqualified him for unemployment. Unable to secure work in the Tampa area, he moved to another state.

The Labor Department conducted a fraud investigation and brought a charge of Unemployment Compensation Fraud, under Fla. Statute 443.071(1), against the defendant. According to their records he had fraudulently collected unemployment for 6 months; this resulted in a warrant for his arrest being issued in Hillsborough County.

Unemployment Compensation Fraud is defined as, "any false statement or failure to disclose material fact, knowingly made for the purpose of obtaining or preventing payment of benefits contrary to the provisions of the Unemployment Compensation law." The responsibility to establish intent in determining a claim to be fraudulent is up to a Benefits Payment Control associate. Intent is important in referring a case for prosecution. Being found guilty of Unemployment Compensation Fraud is a 3rd degree felony and can result in jail time.

Realizing the serious consequences of the criminal charges he was facing, the defendant retained the services of Tampa criminal defense lawyers at Musca Law. Our knowledgeable legal team has over 100 years of combined experience and provides our clients with comprehensive legal services. The defendant had the peace of mind knowing that skilled local attorneys would be providing his defense. We used diligent efforts in negotiating with the State Prosecutor, focusing on whether our client had intent to commit fraud against the State. Our defense strategy prevailed and the State dismissed the case against our client!

 

Violent crimes can take many forms, from ranging from sexual battery to child abuse to murder. Violence results in harsher sentencing. The criminal justice system particularly frowns against the use of firearms. A conviction for just one felony in the state of Florida results in the permanent loss of the right to carry a gun. This is true even for non-violent felony convictions, such as grand theft, embezzlement, forgery, voting fraud, and similar offenses.

Murder is perhaps the crime that comes to mind most readily. Florida law classifies murder into degrees of severity or culpability. Premeditated murder is the form in which the offender bears the most culpability for his actions, followed by murder which occurs while committing another felony - even if it was not planned. For example, a person who commits an act of arson that kills another human being has committed murder, even if it was not his intention for anyone to die.

Florida has retained the use of capital punishment, although recent concerns about the reliability of criminal convictions have led the state of New Mexico to repeal its use entirely. New Hampshire may be on the same path, as its House of Representatives voted last week to repeal the death penalty, as well. A clear majority of states retain it, however, and the federal government permits its use for certain federal crimes.

Self-defense is always a defense to a murder charge. It is an affirmative defense, because it acknowledges that the defendant committed a crime, but provides an excuse for having done so. Florida has broad legislation that allows a person who is attacked to meet force with force - and he has no duty to retreat from his attacker. If attacked in his home or vehicle, the victim is presumed by law to be in fear of his life, and so the use of lethal force is generally justified in those circumstances. If you have been charged with murder, a criminal defense lawyer can advise you of your rights and the best defense options in your situation.

If you have been arrested in Florida, contact the Tampa criminal defense attorneys at Musca Law immediately to begin developing the best defense possible.

The term property crime encompasses a wide range of criminal activity. The prosecution must prove each necessary part of the crime in order to convict the defendant.

Traditionally, burglary was a crime that could only occur at night. More complicated than simply trespassing, the would-be burglar had to actually break into another person's home between sundown and dawn intending to commit a felony within the home - such as a large-scale theft, arson, or sexual battery. Now, Florida and most other states have expanded the definition of burglary to include crimes that take place during the daylight. The building or structure does not even necessarily need to be a home. For instance, a boat could be burglarized. However, a building that is open to the public, like a grocery store during business hours, cannot be the subject of a burglary. Also, the offense the burglar seeks to commit can be any offense and need not be a serious felony if he enters secretly; if he intends to commit certain felonies, his entry can be blatant. Florida classifies burglary as a felony, although punishment varies depending on factors such as whether the building was occupied and if the burglar was armed.

Theft is the most common type of property crime. Shoplifting goods from a store is a particular type of theft. These crimes are punishable by the worth of the items or money stolen. Usually, this is determined by the actual amount of cash taken or the monetary value of the goods, but certain items receive particularized treatment. The taking of a will, although it is not generally worth large sums of money alone, is considered a grand theft due to the importance of having the true wishes of a deceased person carried out. Similarly, stealing a gun, a fire extinguisher, stop signs, and certain construction site signage are also felonies under Florida law.

Arson is an exceptionally notorious property crime. It occurs when a person purposely sets fire to a home or any other building that he should have reasonably believed to be occupied, such as an office building during business hours. Arson also applies when the fire is not set intentionally, but occurs when committing another felony, such as armed robbery. Arson is a first-degree felony in Florida, punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

If you have been arrested in Tampa for any property crime or other offense, contact the criminal defense lawyers as Musca Law as soon as possible for a consultation regarding the specific facts of your case.

A 2006 traffic citation for driving with an expired license was not an immediate priority for a young woman living in Sarasota County at the time. The 27 year old immigrant was in the US on a VISA. She failed to get the traffic violation resolved before moving to Colorado with her husband. Two years elapsed and the situation got out of hand. Driving with a License Expired more than 4 months, Florida Statute 322.34(2), is a 2nd Degree Misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in county jail and fines up to $500 with court costs.
The defendant's failure to appear before the Court for arraignment resulted in a bench warrant being issued for her arrest. Since she was now living out of state the situation was even more difficult to deal with. She engaged the services of Tampa criminal defense attorneys at Musca Law. Having experienced local criminal defense attorneys is imperative in resolving criminal charges, especially when living out of state. 
Our attorneys filed a Waiver of Appearance with the Court. The Waiver was accepted and our client was not required to be present at the pre-trial hearing. We then motioned the Court to set aside the bench warrant. Our Motion was granted and we entered a Plea of Absentia. Our Plea was also accepted and allowed us to negotiate with the State Attorney to reach a resolution on this case. We successfully reached a negotiation to our client's criminal charges without her ever having to return to the State of Florida.
Knowledgeable local representation can save an individual thousands of dollars in travel costs and time lost from employment, not to mention peace of mind.