Tampa Criminal Lawyer Blog

The Greenwood County Coroner Jim Coursey ruled that despite the fact that former Tampa defensive end Gaines Adams had marijuana and alcohol in his system when he died neither substance contributed to his death on January 17.  The coroner found that the cause of death was cardiac arrest due to an enlarged heart.  Adams only had a blood alcohol level of .021, which is about one-fourth the level at which it is legal to drive a car.

Adams was originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the fourth overall pick in the 2007 NFL draft out of Clemson.  It was hoped that Adams would revive Tampa Bay's pass rush, but Adams never lived up to expectations.  During Adams 47 games over 3 years with the Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Adams had 67 tackles, including 13.5 sacks.  Adams did not live up to the mark set for him by Tampa coach Raheem Morris who said at the start of training came that Adams could be considered a "bust" if he did not have at least ten sacks.  He was eventually traded to Chicago in October for a second round pick in the 2010 draft.

Morris said of Adams after his death, "'[A] true team player and a positive influence on everyone he met.  My prayers go out to his family.  The Tampa Bay Buc's ownership and Tampa players were saddened by his death."  Roger Goodall, the NFL commissioner said of Adams, "I remember him at the 2007 draft as a fine young man.  Our condolences to Gaines' family, his teammates on the Bears and Buccaneers, and their organizations on their loss."  Adams teammates with both Chicago and Tampa have commented on Adams enormous potential.  "He had so much potential that had yet to be achieved, and I am very sad that the full extent of his life won't be realized," said cornerback Ronde Barber.

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Tampa drug lawyer John Musca has learned that a local man has been arrested again, this time on drug charges. Salvador Sanchez, who is 24 years old, resides in Tampa and is all too familiar with the local law enforcement agencies. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office picked up Sanchez earlier this week on charges that he had two pounds of marijuana and 23.6 grams of cocaine. Sheriff's deputies located Sanchez near Holloway Road and Gunn Highway.

Sanchez was charged with possession of marijuana with the intent to sell the drug, possession of cocaine, and three counts of probation violation. Sanchez allegedly violated the terms of his previously-imposed probation by carrying a concealed weapon (a firearm) and two counts of burglarizing an occupied dwelling. The Sheriff's Office did not indicate whether Sanchez was subject to a prior warrant for the violation of probation.

Despite his young age, Sanchez is no stranger to the criminal justice system. This latest drug arrest marked his 32nd arrest in total. Florida state law prohibits the release of juvenile records, so it is unknown if Sanchez was arrested for or convicted of any juvenile criminal charges. The 31 prior arrests have all been for adult offenses, although it is possible to charge juveniles as adults in some particularly serious cases. There is no indication that Sanchez was ever charged as an adult while a juvenile.

States like California instituted the "Three Strikes" law in order to keep repeat offenders behind bars. Those types of laws, however, are typically triggered by multiple felony convictions. Some small-time criminal defendants rack up a multitude of very minor charges, such as loitering. In this case, it is not known for which offenses Sanchez was previously arrested, nor if any resulted in criminal convictions.

Marquist Polite, a Tampa resident who was wanted on federal drug charges in addition to assaulting a Florida Highway Patrol Trooper, was arrested on these charges last week by the United States Marshal's Office. Tampa criminal defense lawyer John Musca has learned that the Marshals received a tip that Polite was residing on Sixth Avenue in Tampa and subsequently conducted surveillance around the area with assistance from local police. The Marshals and local Tampa police officers then formed a perimeter around the house and arrested Polite without any significant difficulties. In addition to his federal charges, Polite was booked on several state felony charges including: battery on a law enforcement officer, obstructing or opposing an officer with violence, depriving an officer of means of protection, criminal mischief causing $1000 of damage or more, obstructing or opposing an officer without violence and violation of probation for felony fleeing to elude.

Polite, a known gang member, was accused of violently attacking a Florida State trooper on July 3rd of this year after the trooper stopped Polite for not wearing a seat belt on Brandon Town Center Boulevard. After the traffic stop, the trooper conducted a pat down of Polite to look for weapons based on what he described as Polite's suspicious behavior. During the patdown Polite allegedly struck the trooper in his arm. Polite then hit the trooper several other times before fleeing. The arresting officer reported that he attempted to grab Polite's shirt to stop him from fleeing, but was unsuccessful. At the time of the stop Polite had open warrants for felony violation of probation as well as the federal drug charges. Crimestoppers had offered a reward for any information regarding Polite's whereabouts after the incident which may have led to the tip that the United States Marshals received that helped them discover his location.

Prescription drugs, notably pain medications like oxycodone and hydrocodone, have become increasingly available on the street, says Tampa criminal defense attorney John Musca. Commonly known by their street names - "reds" and "blues" - these drugs seem harmless, but are putting large numbers of Floridians behind bars.

Pain clinics have popped up throughout Florida and, according to some media investigations, result in easy access to highly addictive pain medications. These clinics, of which Florida has an unusually high number, cater to patients seeking strong prescription drugs used to treat chronic pain. Many of these patients have legitimate, long-term, severe pain problems, such as ruptured disks in the back. Others, however, are drug-seeking, and obtain and fill these prescriptions at several different clinics and pharmacies either to support their own addiction or to sell to others. In some instances, patients who have serious pain problems become addicted to these habit-forming painkillers, and ultimately seek out more to satisfy the addiction.

Possession, sale, and trafficking of these prescription drugs, when done without a lawful prescription from a doctor, carries hefty sentencing. For example, if Bob has a chronic pain problem, he may see Dr. Jones once per month to obtain a prescription for hydrocodone to treat the pain. Eventually, Bob becomes addicted, and seeks more than Dr. Jones will prescribe. Bob then visits Dr. Smith, who writes Bob an additional prescription for the same medication, unaware of treatment by Dr. Jones. Bob fills the second prescription at a different pharmacy, keeping half of the extra medication for himself and selling the rest to Jane. Bob and Jane can both face tough sentencing under Florida Statute 893.135. If the quantity was between four and 14 grams of hydrocodone, each could face a mandatory minimum sentence of three years. Larger quantities can result in mandatory minimum sentences of up to 25 years, although the number of pills required to reach this threshold is low.

Drug crimes are treated seriously by law enforcement agencies and prosecutors alike in Florida, say the Tampa criminal attorneys at Musca Law. In fact, Florida drug crimes are often subject to tough mandatory minimum prison sentences, even for relatively small amounts of illegal substances. For example, selling drugs within 1,000 feet of a school carries a mandatory minimum three year prison sentence, says Tampa criminal attorney John Musca. Likewise, trafficking - which often means possession of a certain amount of - of some prescription medications, such as those containing hydrocodone, also carry lengthy mandatory minimum sentences, some as long as 25 years.

Drug crimes are most frequently nonviolent criminal offenses, the Tampa criminal attorneys at Musca Law have found during their decades of combined experience. Most criminal defendants facing drug charges are simply charged with possession of a controlled substance, such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin, oxycodone, hydrocodone, Percocet, ecstasy, or other drugs. Selling the drugs can result in higher penalties, especially if the sales occur within close proximity to certain locations, such as schools, churches, and day-care centers.

Marijuana possession, even of small amounts, carries stiff penalties in Florida. If a court of law finds a defendant guilty of possession of marijuana in an amount less than 20 grams, he faces up to one year in jail for the first-degree misdemeanor. Additionally, this criminal offense will also result in the revocation of the person's driver's license for two years. Trafficking in marijuana or cannabis (see Florida Statute 893.135) can result in mandatory minimum prison sentences of three to 15 years, depending on quantity. Mandatory minimum sentences for other drugs can run as high as 25 years, just for possession (for example, see Florida Statute 893.135).

If you have been arrested for the sale, trafficking, or possession of a controlled substance, contact the Tampa criminal lawyers at Musca Law to discuss your legal rights.

The indoor marijuana grow houses thriving in the area have caught media attention, as the number police detectives are locating has surged. Law enforcement officers with the Florida Domestic Marijuana Eradication Program seized thousands of marijuana plants last year in connection with their operations - many of them undercover and fueled by informants' tips. But what becomes of the marijuana after the law enforcement agency seizes it?

Typically, the police keep the marijuana as evidence. Officers carefully package and label the seized plants, keeping track of them in an evidence warehouse with strict accounting procedures. Then, if and when a criminal defendant's case goes to trial, the State Attorney's Office requests that the police produce the marijuana or other controlled substance at trial. The police officer can testify to the "chain" of possession of the contraband, from its seizure to cataloguing as evidence to its transport to the courthouse for trial. The same procedure is used for other seized evidence important for prosecutor, such as drug paraphernalia and weapons.

Pinellas County law enforcement officials periodically burn drugs and other illicit items that are no longer necessary for prosecution. If a defendant pleads guilty or is convicted at a trial, and there are no appeals or the appeals have been exhausted, the officers are cleared to dispose of the items. The items burned include large quantities of marijuana, child pornography, and other illegal items. Officials are hoping to increase the frequency with which they are permitted to burn the items, due to the growth of a poisonous mold on marijuana plants left in the hot warehouses. The mold is toxic for humans and can cause respiratory illness. None of the warehouses used for evidence storage have air conditioning or fans, so the plants frequently mold, according to a sergeant from the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. "It doesn't matter what you put it in, it gets moldy. It really is horribly nasty," Sergeant Michael Dailey said.

If you have been arrested for possession of marijuana or cultivating marijuana plants, contact the Tampa drug defense attorneys at Musca Law as soon as possible.

In some areas, the growers who supply the underground, illegal marijuana industry with fresh drugs tend to their plants outdoors. In the Tampa bay area, however, police have observed a significant surge in so-called "grow houses" - indoor marijuana plant growing operations. These indoor marijuana farms may be set up in abandoned or rented warehouses (perhaps with a fake business name), rented apartments, or even the home of an entrepreneurial marijuana grower.

A grower who is familiar with the cultivation of the plant can comfortably yield about $90,000 every three months, upon harvesting the plants. Although this sounds like a comfortable lifestyle, one former grower described his "paranoia" regarding his operation: I had no friends. No girlfriend. I couldn't have family over. I couldn't order pizza," the grower-turned-informant told a local newspaper. For a period of five years, he kept the plants, but did not spend the money on lavish cars or other accoutrements of a wealthy lifestyle. Instead, he shunned other people, stayed indoors, and put on weight due to his fear of being discovered.

Tampa detectives say that the number of grow houses has been increasing. Since the economic recession hit, more regular people looking to make money have joined in. Last year, law enforcement officials located over 100 grow houses in Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties alone. Statewide, police seized nearly 80,000 marijuana plants, worth about $287 million in terms of their street value. About a tenth of the total plants seized were in the Tampa bay area. Officials also arrested more than 1,000 people in connection with marijuana grow house operations in Florida in 2008.

Marijuana grown inside a grow house fetches, on average, about $3,500 per pound. Depending on the variety, however, the value can easily increase to $5,000. Marijuana grown outdoors, by contrast, is worth only $775 on average. The controlled climate conditions allow growers to cultivate more potent - and more valuable - marijuana plant varieties.