Fort Lauderdale Criminal Attorney Blog

May 31, 2016

Miami Woman Kills Teen Burglar, Charges Mulled

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

The state attorney is considering whether to charge a Miami woman with murder after she gunned down a burglar on her property.

Florida has one of the strongest “Castle Doctrine” laws on the books, which allow homeowners to use lethal force against those who unlawfully enter their homes. The law does require that in order to threaten or use deadly force, the resident/ homeowner has to believe such force is necessary to either prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to herself or someone else or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony.

In this case, the 54-year-old homeowner wasn’t at the time of the burglar’s initial entry, but rather was alerted to the break-in by a home security camera. She reportedly returned home and searched the property room-to-room, until she spotted the teen climbing out a window. She told investigators there was a confrontation and she shot him. Further, police were reportedly on their way. Continue reading

May 26, 2016

Florida Death Penalty May be Doomed

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

The death penalty in Florida may be on its last leg.

Recently, the Florida Supreme Court nixed the state’s practice of having a judge – rather than a jury – decide a person’s fate in a death penalty case. Then there was the judge in Miami who struck down Florida’s death penalty law as unconstitutional because the state allows a majority – rather than a unanimous – jury decision to determine whether someone should die for their crimes.

Now, there is yet another hurdle for the state: The only three federally-approved sources that provide the lethal mix of injectable drugs used in Florida executions have withdrawn their use for this purpose.

Pfizer, a huge pharmaceutical manufacturer, has stated it wants its medications to be associated with saving lives, rather than ending them. It argues there is no legitimate medical purpose to execute someone. Continue reading

May 23, 2016

Arrest in Florida Hit-and-Run That Killed MMA Fighter

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

The death of fearsome mixed martial arts fighter Jordan Parsons struck fans with sadness and garnered international headlines from Miami to Sydney.

The 25-year-old Parsons was reportedly crossing the street at the corner of Lindell Boulevard and Federal Highway in Delray Beach, just after midnight on May 1st. The driver of the vehicle that struck him reportedly never stopped as required by law, police said. Neither did that driver’s group of friends, who were reportedly following behind him in a Mercedes. One witness would later tell police she suspected the offending vehicle was traveling at speeds of between 100 and 120 mph.

Now, according to the Palm Beach Post, police have made an arrest. Authorities have jailed Dennis Wright, 28, a man from Boca Raton with a checkered history that involves arrests for driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license and possession of marijuana. Continue reading

May 17, 2016

Broward Human Trafficking Conviction for Rapper

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

Gerard Nelson was just 24-years-old, but he and his crew – the Str8Profit Boyz – were on the rise.

To those on the outside, it appeared they were living a luxurious lifestyle funded by their creativity and business savvy as rappers and music producers.

In reality, authorities say Nelson and his cohorts were actually making their money selling sex and drugs. Now, Nelson is the first of his co-defendants to be convicted. He is the first Broward County man to be deemed guilty under human trafficking laws passed two years ago, according to The Sun Sentinel. He now faces life in prison. Continue reading

May 13, 2016

Driver Faces Felony Charges in Florida Crash Injuring Pregnant Mother, Children

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

A Cape Coral woman has been arrested on felony charges following an alleged hit-and-run accident in Miramar recently in which a pregnant mother was critically injured and her two young children suffered minor injuries.

The suspect, 39-year-old Jessica Yevette Crane, was being held on $40,000 bond at the Broward County Sheriff’s Office on charges of failure to remain at the scene of an accident with serious injuries.

Witnesses reportedly swung into action in the moments after the crash, in which Crane allegedly jumped a curb and struck the woman and her two children as they waited at a bus stop. A 911 caller told the dispatcher the make, model and tag number of the vehicle. When Crane began driving away, The Sun-Sentinel reported, several witnesses began following her and forced her off the road. When she stopped a few blocks away, one witness approached her car, reached in the vehicle, turned off the ignition and took her keys. Continue reading

May 9, 2016

Broward Robbery Confession From Defendant’s Twin Stalls Case

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

Tramaine Beard was preparing to stand trial in Broward County for armed robbery when the case took a turn that even Beard’s own criminal defense attorney wasn’t expecting: His twin brother, an ex-felon, was prepared to confess.

But as the jury selection was getting underway, defendant excused himself for a restroom break – and disappeared. The judge issued a bench warrant for his arrest while his attorney called his cell phone and tried to convince him to come back to court.

That’s unlikely to be the end of this strange story, with numerous twists and turns as reported by The Sun-Sentinel. Continue reading

May 5, 2016

Report: Broward Marijuana Citations Not Used

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

It’s been six months since Broward County commissioners downgraded small-time marijuana possession from a criminal misdemeanor to a civil citation. But that law provided an important element: Officer discretion.

And in the time since the civil citation option has been available, not a single one has been issued. Instead, 80 people have been arrested and processed as criminals for low-level marijuana possession. That’s according to a recent report by The Sun-Sentinel.

In addition to concern from law enforcement that the language on the citation was faulty, the program was allegedly held up for a time by bureaucratic delays. The county reportedly needed time to amass a staff and house them in a new wing of a government building. Those workers were needed to handle the fines, appeals and other issues arising from the program. Continue reading

May 2, 2016

Trio Arrested for Illegal Racing in Pembroke Pines

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

Three men were arrested in separate instances of alleged street racing in Pembroke Pines over the course of a weekend. All three men are reportedly from Miami-Dade, but the charges stemmed from separate situations, police said.

According to The Sun-Sentinel, street racing has been a problem in the area, particularly on U.S. Highway 27 South, north of the Broward/ Palm Beach County line.

In this case, authorities say the first incident occurred on a Friday night, shortly before 10 p.m. A police officer was traveling on Northwest 172nd Street when a silver Honda and a black Honda went whizzing by. They were both speeding side-by-side, the officer observed. The officer turned around and pulled over the silver vehicle.

As it turned out, the 22-year-old driver, Adrian Alberto Santiago, of Miami, reportedly had a suspended license. He was also wanted on a misdemeanor warrant for possession of marijuana in Broward County. The officer placed him under arrest, at which point Santiago reportedly voluntarily turned over a gram of marijuana that he had hidden in his pocket. He was charged with unlawful race, marijuana possession, violating probation on a grand theft conviction and a third-time violation of driving with a suspended license – a felony. Continue reading

April 30, 2016

Prosecutors Drop Broward Felony Mental Health Court Cases After Report

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

Criminal cases against dozens of people that have been languishing in Broward County’s felony mental health court have been dropped by prosecutors following the publication of “Trapped,” an investigating by The Sun Sentinel.

Reporters learned that people facing minor felony charges in mental health court spent six times as long in the criminal justice system as those whose cases proceeded in regular court. For a system design specifically to avoid this, it was deeply troubling. In fact, it wasn’t just defense attorneys who were concerned. Mental health advocates and even prosecutors agreed something had to be done about mental health court.

The court started out in 2003 with good intentions. The idea was to give them access to treatment in preparation for trial. But in practice, what happened was many were too ill to face the criminal justice system. And while Broward prosecutors had the authority to drop the charges at any point, very few actually did. That meant people were spending years locked up for crimes they had not even been convicted of. Continue reading

April 26, 2016

Broward DUI Manslaughter Conviction: 4 Years Prison

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

A Weston man recently pleaded guilty to killing a pedestrian last year while driving drunk. Bryce Samartino, 23, pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter in the death of 66-year-old Elourdes Ostange, a mother of 10.

In exchange for entering a plea, as opposed to taking his case to trial, he was given the minimum mandatory sentence of four years in prison. An attorney representing the victim’s family said her survivors expressed their wishes for leniency to prosecutors because this was “a tragedy for everyone involved.”

Although four years is still a substantial amount of time, per F.S. 316.193, the charge of DUI manslaughter carries a maximum 15-year prison sentence – which means the outcome could have been much worse for the defendant. The case is an example of how the express wishes of the victims, as well as other mitigating factors, can play a role in sentencing. This is true whether you choose to enter a plea deal or take your Broward criminal case to trial. Continue reading