Fort Lauderdale Criminal Attorney Blog

December 26, 2016

Broward Jury Acquits Stepdad of Molestation Charges

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

After 3.5 hours of deliberations, a Broward County jury acquitted a Pembroke Pines man of molesting his two stepdaughters three years ago, as they had accused. The 52-year-old was facing a possible sentence of life in prison if convicted on the charges, which included four counts of capital sexual battery, eight counts of lewd and lascivious molestation and a single count of lewd and lascivious conduct.

In closing arguments, prosecutors asserted there was no possible way defendant could innocently explain the conduct the two girls described. The accusers, now ages 11 and 14, alleged defendant touched them inappropriately, bathed with them and one claimed he shaved her. Prosecutors claimed there was no justification for any of this.

As our Broward defense attorneys know, one would have a difficult time justifying such actions – if such actions were proven. However, the facts of this case persuaded jurors to find there was a lack of proof these incidents actually happened in the first place. Perhaps a significant part of that was the fact that the allegations didn’t surface until the divorce proceedings filed by their mother were nearing an end. The pair reportedly had a brief marriage which was also tumultuous. The girls say they didn’t come forward initially because they did not understand that the contact he was initiating was unusual. Defense attorneys, meanwhile, assert the story was dreamed up by the girls’ mother as a way to escape from the marriage without jeopardizing her immigration status. Continue reading

December 22, 2016

“Postal Grinch” Arrested for Twice for South Florida Theft Offenses

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

It wasn’t a good couple of days for Francis Keller. The 56-year-old was arrested for allegedly breaking into the U.S. Post Office where he worked for 30 years, and rifling through packages with plans to sell valuables he discovered in exchange for crack cocaine. A Boynton Beach police report indicated Keller had used an old security code to gain access to the building, on Seacrest Boulevard. He was reportedly intoxicated at the time.

He was booked into jail around 2:30 a.m. and was released about 12 hours later. By then, local news outlets had heard of the alleged offense and were working on stories detailing the work of the “Postal Grinch” for trying to steal packages containing gifts.

But Keller allegedly wasn’t finished. By the looks of a consecutive mug shot, he did have an opportunity to change clothes again. When he headed back out that night, he allegedly approached an employee at a drive-in to ask about a job. However, instead of continuing the conversation in that vein, he is accused of pulling a firearm from his waistband and demanding money. He then allegedly ran into the car parking lot, pointed a gun at the head of the driver and ordered him out of the vehicle. Continue reading

December 15, 2016

Rookie Deputy Accused of Extorting Sex From Guard

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

A 20-year-old sheriff’s deputy from Broward County has been arrested for allegedly attempting to extort sex from a security guard by threatening to charge him with possession of crack cocaine.

Deputies from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office arrested Trazell McLeod, alleging he groped the male guard during a purported search and then demanded sex on a regular basis in exchange for not falsifying charges of drug possession and prostitution. McLeod is accused of propositioning the guard and even showing up at his house while he was on patrol in Pompano Beach. At one point during the encounter, the guard, concerned for his safety, fled on foot and jumped a fence and hid behind a cluster of bushes until his wife arrived. The guard and his wife returned home to see a patrol car parked in their driveway, so they drove past and spent the evening in a hotel. The following day, the guard reported the incident to investigators with the sheriff’s department’s internal affairs office. He also assisted them in gathering evidence used to obtain McLeod’s arrest warrant.

McLeod is facing charges of extortion, official misconduct and tampering with/ fabricating evidence. F.S. 836.05, threats/ extortion, states that anytime someone – verbally or by a written or printed communication, maliciously threatens to accuse someone of a crime or to expose a secrete affecting the other or impute “some deformity or lack of chastity” in order to extort money or “any pecuniary advantage” or to compel someone to do something against their will, it’s a second-degree felony. That means it’s punishable by 15 years in prison. Tampering with evidence, meanwhile, is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, according to F.S. 918.13. Official misconduct, per F.S. 838.022, is also a third-degree felony. Continue reading

December 10, 2016

Dozens Arrested in Miami for Trafficking Drugs, Guns

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

Federal authorities recently made dozens of arrests in Broward County for alleged trafficking in drugs and guns. In all, officials filed federal charges against 29 defendants in 23 separate cases, which ranged from narcotics trafficking conspiracy, narcotics trafficking and firearms-related offenses. That’s according the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which released a statement alleging defendants sold nearly 300 firearms to undercover officers. Among those weapons: AKs, AR-15s, revolvers, pistols, sniper rifles and short barrel rifles. Defendants are also accused of sales of heroin, cocaine, flakka, marijuana and oxycodone to undercover agents.

The release indicates federal authorities worked closely with local officials in Pompano Beach to conduct undercover surveillance and gather intelligence. DEA Special Agent in Charge Adolphus P. Wright said this case is illustrative of the fact that crime is often inter-related, and where there are drugs, there are often illegally possession/ dealing of firearms and other offenses.

Our Fort Lauderdale criminal defense attorneys know that many defendants in these cases are facing numerous federal charges of varying seriousness. These kinds of cases, both because of their complexity and the potential for decades-long prison sentences, necessitate the assistance of an experienced defense lawyer. Continue reading

December 7, 2016

Marijuana Grow Arrests Will Continue Despite Medical Marijuana Legalization

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

Florida voters overwhelmingly agreed that medical marijuana should be legal in the Sunshine State – but don’t expect cultivation and possession arrests to drop off any time soon.

Amendment 2, in favor of access to medicinal cannabis for those with certain serious illnesses, received a groundswell of support from the electorate. But it’s also a very short piece of legislation, which means there is a significant amount of power in the hands of the Florida Department of Health to make rules for medical marijuana treatment centers. There is still the need to hammer out procedures for licensing, registration, records, testing, labeling, inspection, security and revocation of registration. Further, a number of cities in South Florida have temporarily banned marijuana dispensaries and treatment centers, arguing officials need time to weigh the effects on the community and set zoning regulations.

In the meantime, don’t expect any breaks when it comes to the prosecution of marijuana-related crimes. Just recently, according to The Sun-Sentinel, a 40-year-old in Deerfield Beach was arrested for growing some 200 marijuana plants inside two residences in the city. Authorities first searched a home on Southeast Eleventh Street and discovered 25 marijuana plants growing in two separate bedrooms. He was arrested at that location. Investigators then went to a residence on Southeast Tenth Street, also owned by defendant, and there discovered an additional 169 marijuana plants, plus 12,000 grams of packaged cannabis and a jar of cannabis oil. He was arrested on charges of manufacturing/ producing cannabis and suspicion of traffic marijuana greater than 25 pounds less than 2,000 pounds. Continue reading

December 3, 2016

Fort Lauderdale Burglary Suspect Catches One Break After Another

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

Last year, a Pompano Beach man was convicted of a slew of burglary and robbery charges. He faced up to 60 years in prison. The judge deferred his sentence in lieu of probation. But then, he was stopped for driving without a license. He was hauled back into court and sentenced to the full 60 years in prison. Following widespread backlash, the Broward Circuit judge had a change of heart. Community leaders at a hearing promised to work with the 24-year-old defendant, Herbert Smith. They were going to help him find a job and keep him out of trouble. The judge agreed once again to suspend the 60-year prison term. The caveat was that any violation of that probation – no matter how minor – could result in that 60-year sentence being reinstated.

Then just before Thanksgiving of this year, Smith was arrested, accused of a burglary that took place in September. He was identified as one of two men who broke into a home in Parkland and heisted $30,000 worth of jewelry. It didn’t look good for the defendant, especially because probation violations don’t have to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

However, Smith got another break when prosecutors recently decided not to pursue the burglary charge or the probation violation. They dismissed both, finding there was not enough evidence to move forward. Continue reading

November 30, 2016

Algorithms Replacing DNA Testing in Some Criminal Cases

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

Concerns about due process violation have been raised with the increasing use of a form of technology that conducts “probabilistic genotyping” as opposed to the regular DNA testing that has long been used as evidence in criminal cases.

One example of this offered by ProPublica, a non-profit, Pulitzer prize-winning online publication, was a case out of New York two years ago. Police officers attempted to pull over a vehicle that was operating without headlines. However, they driver and passenger fled on foot. Officers gave chase and then heard a gunshot. Police never actually caught up with the suspects, but they did find a loaded handgun nearby. The car, which had been abandoned, was connected to its owner. Police arrested him, but they couldn’t link him to that gun unless they could secure a DNA match. Unfortunately for them, the DNA that was left on the handgun did not provide a good sample for conventional methods. DNA from at least four or five people was on the weapon. So prosecutors requested an analysis from a company that offers the genotyping software program.

Traditional DNA analysis asks researchers to visually and manually interpret the markers on the sample to determine whether there is a match. This new type of testing runs the information through a computerized algorithm in order to determine the likelihood that a certain individual’s DNA is present in the mixture, when compared to the DNA of a random person. Those who developed the technology insist the results are the best way to remove human bias from the process. However, criticism has arisen about whether this process undermines defendants’ due process. Continue reading

November 23, 2016

Report: Years of Delays on Thousands of Possible Wrongful Convictions

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

Thousands of individuals convicted on potentially tainted scientific evidence have been waiting years for the chance to clear their name, ProPublica recently reported.

Four years ago, a long-time chemist working at a state drug laboratory in Massachusetts admitted to contaminating samples over the course of her nearly nine-year career, resulting in more than 20,000 drug crime convictions that could have potentially been flawed. Those cases involved people from all across the nation and from eight different countries. In many cases, defendants were jailed. In some cases, defendants were deported. At the time, prosecutors insisted to the governor that addressing any possible breaches of justice would be priority No. 1.

Unfortunately, that has not proven to be true. Four years later, and prosecutors have battled to hang onto pretty much every single conviction garnered with this flawed evidence. Meanwhile, defense attorneys arguing on behalf of potentially innocent defendants are asking courts to vacate all the convictions that relied to any substantial degree on that lab worker’s tainted results. Continue reading

November 20, 2016

Domestic Violence Arrest in Florida for Girlfriend of FIU Tight End in Alleged Boiling Water Attack

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

A senior at Florida International University who played on the football team’s tight end was reportedly the victim of a domestic violence attack that has ended his career.

The Miami Herald reports the Panthers’ 2017 NFL Draft prospect suffered severe burns on his head, neck, back, arm and shoulder after his girlfriend reportedly dumped boiling water on top of him. The woman, Mary Gaspar, 20, is reportedly five months pregnant with Jonnu Smith’s child, and has been charge with a single count of aggravated battery. Gaspar is also a student at the school, a junior who lives on campus.

The couple were reportedly arguing in Smith’s dorm when defendant is alleged to have boiled the water and walked over and poured it on top of Smith. She reported she was livid over Smith’s failure to attend to their relationship and was feeling extremely stressed out and emotional. When Smith reportedly did not act strongly enough to the boiled water on his skin, Gaspar allegedly started to strike him with her fists. Continue reading

November 15, 2016

Man Who Won $23K Lawsuit Against Florida Sheriff Arrested for Drugs

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

Dontrell Stephens was awarded $23 million earlier this year by a federal jury after he was paralyzed from the waist down when shot by a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy after being stopped for riding his bicycle into traffic.

Now, he is facing felony drug charges for reportedly selling heroin, cocaine and marijuana in close proximity to a preschool. Authorities announced the arrest of the 23-year-old Palm Beach County man in a Facebook post with his mugshot and the hashtag “BUSTED.” It was the first arrest the agency announced since it posted news of an arrest in a 40-year-old murder case. A spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office said the announcement on Facebook had “nothing to do with who he is, but was because he was arrested for selling drugs near a day care.”

Right…

She also insisted the agency wasn’t trying to publicize the arrest because they hadn’t issued a press release to the media. Formal press release or not, most reporters do follow the agency’s official Facebook page and would have seen it featured fairly prominently. Continue reading