Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

According to a recent story on BayNews9.com, "bath salts" sold in specialty and tobacco shops are being pulled off the shelves after an emergency order was issued on Wednesday making the product illegal.

"Our kids can overdose on this," Attorney General Pam Bondi said.

Bondi compared the product to other illegal drugs.

"We want to have it made a Schedule I drug," she said. "So to put it in perspective, that's right up there with Cocaine and Heroin."

However, Rockin Cards and Gifts owner Randy Heine said the government is being "hypocritical" and "overreacting."

"Based on nothing, on hearsay," he said. "When you read the Order it's kids could, may, can...there's no documented evidence of anybody dying from these products. She needs to prove it. She needs to lay her cards on the table and show us people who got sick and died off this."

Health experts say a synthetic chemical chemical in the "bath salts" known as MDVP can cause reactions from rapid heart beats to psychotic behavior.

Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen wrote a letter to the Attorney General's office expressing his concern about the substance and problems it could cause during spring break.

The emergency order making substances containing MDVP illegal will last until the legislature is in session. Bondi hopes lawmakers will make the ban permanent.

Heine has cleared all of the "bath salts" off of his shelves.

"If you like the product or not, it doesn't matter," he said. "They're taking away your personal freedoms."

For more information on this topic, please check out this online story entitled: "More People Snorting 'Bath Salts' to Get Cocaine-Like High."

Continue reading "PINELLAS PARK: Did Pam Bondi Throw out the Baby with the Bath Salts?" »

The Daytona Beach News-Journal published a good story this week about the rise in DUI arrests involving both "legal" prescription drugs as well as over-the-counter drugs.

Whether it's cold medicine, cough syrup, a legal prescription drug or alcohol, if you ingest too much and drive a vehicle, you can be charged with Driving Under the Influence.

"Even if someone is taking prescription drugs legally, they can be charged with DUI," said Sgt. Kim Montes, spokeswoman for the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) district that includes Volusia County. "If a trooper evaluates someone, either on a traffic stop or at a crash scene, and determines they are impaired from alcohol, illegal or legal drugs, or another substance, they can be arrested."

The FHP recently charged a man with DUI Manslaughter in an Orlando case because they believe he had inhaled computer cleaner, Montes said.

Toxicology reports, which reveal the presence of substances in the blood that can lead to impairment, can take several months to complete, said FHP Lt. Bill Leeper. He noted authorities are awaiting toxicology results in at least one Flagler County crash involving serious injuries.

The Friends Drive Sober organization devotes a section of its website to prescription and over-the-counter drugs and their effect on drivers.

"Drugs impair our bodies in a variety of ways," the site reads. "They may blur our vision; make us tired or too excited; alter depth perception; make us see or hear things that may not be there; raise or lower blood pressure; react too quickly, too slowly, or not at all. They cause problems with concentrating on the task at hand."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention specifically lists cough and cold medications containing dextromethorphan as one of the most commonly misused over-the-counter drugs, "to get high."

"The pivotal issue when it comes to controlled substances is impairment," said Chris Kelly, spokesman for the State Attorney's Office (emphasis added).

The short answer, he said, as to whether a person is guilty of Driving Under the Influence depends on two things: the impaired individual is "in [actual physical] control of the vehicle" and, per state statute, that "the person's normal faculties are impaired."

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) runs a panel for all controlled substances when blood is drawn, said spokeswoman Susie Murphy.

"We don't typically test for huffing (inhaled) agents," Murphy said. "We don't test for over-the-counter drugs at all."

But that doesn't mean a person can't be charged with DUI for taking over-the-counter medication.

"If someone were to ingest enough over-the-counter medicine, they could also be arrested for DUI if it is determined that they are impaired," Montes said.

Continue reading "DAYTONA BEACH: Legal Drugs Can Still Lead to a DUI" »

According to a story on BayNews9.com, the St. Petersburg Police Deaprtment (SPPD) arrested a woman who they said slapped a police horse on the nose early Saturday morning.

According to reports, the police officer was trying to control crowds in the 100 block of First Avenue North in downtown St. Petersburg, at about 3:00 a.m., when Stephanie Six, 29, slapped the horse.

Police said Six also "pushed off against the horse with her other hand."

After she was released from the Pinellas Couny Jail Sunday, Six called in to Bay News 9 to tell her side of the story.

Six said her and a group of friends were leaving Durty Nelly's in downtown St. Petersburg when a police officer told them to leave.

According to Six, she didn't understand why and continued to wait for one of her friends (who was in an altercation and later tased) which is when the two officers came in on their horses.

"A horse was literally right in my face all of a sudden, so I put my hand up into his face as a reaction," she said. "They're saying I slapped this horse when that's not the case. I was basically getting it out of my face. I just moved his face out of my face, I did not hit him."

Six was arrested and charged with Battery on a Police Horse, a First Degree Misdemeanor in the State of Florida.

Continue reading "ST. PETE: Woman Arrested for Battery on a Police Horse" »

Authorities in California say actress Jaime Pressly has been arrested in Santa Monica for investigation of Driving Under the Influence of alcohol.

Lt. Darrell Lowe says the co-star of TV's My Name is Earl was stopped for a Traffic Violation around 11:00 p.m. Wednesday and booked on suspicion of DUI but he's not releasing any details.

The Los Angeles County sheriff's website says the 33-year-old actress-model spent the night in jail and was released Thursday morning after posting $15,000 bail.

According to an online story several days later on The Huffington Post, Jaime Pressly's DUI arrest on January 5th was no close call -- the My Name Is Earl star registered a .22 blood alcohol level, nearly three (3) times the legal limit.

As many of our regular readers already know, attorney Nicholas J. Dorsten, of the Clearwater-based Blake & Dorsten, P.A., searches the web for interesting (and sometimes humorous) legal stories for his Tampa Bay Criminal Lawyer Attorney Blog. Well, every once in awhile, we hit the proverbial jackpot (this week, courtesy of the JournalStar.com).

This week, in Lancaster County, Nebraska, a Jury found a 19-year-old arrested for Driving Under the Influence (while wearing a Breathalyzer costume) guilty of DUI.

Matthew Nieveen, of Lincoln, gained notoriety in the days after Halloween when Lincoln Police Chief Tom Casady posted his booking photo on his blog. Nieveen had been at a Halloween party before being stopped by law enforcement.

An officer stopped Nieveen's pickup early November 1st near 37th Street and Huntington Avenue and said Nieveen had "watery eyes" and "slurred speech" and smelled like alcohol. Police also found a bottle of vodka, a half-full bottle of Mountain Dew and vodka, and several cans and bottles of beer in his truck.

The officer cited Nieveen and took him to Cornhusker Place, where, a police report says, his blood-alcohol content tested more than twice the legal limit of .08 percent. The legal limit for minors is zero.

Nieveen is set for Sentencing in February.

Continue reading "NEBRASKA: Jury Finds Man Dressed as a Breathalyzer, for Halloween, Guilty of DUI" »

You may remember the three (3) St. Pete men that were charged in a high-publicity St. Petersburg shooting that killed an adorable young girl -- who was caught in the crossfire of a gang/neighborhood dispute back in 2009.

On Wednesday, Mario Lewis Walls pleaded Gulity to the Second Degree Murder of Paris Whitehead-Hamilton. As part of his plea deal, he has agreed to testify against his two (2) co-Defendants: Dondre Davis and Stephen Harper.

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Back in 2009, Whitehead-Hamilton, who was then 8 years old, was killed when bullets fired by rival gang members flew into her St. Petersburg bedroom. The shooting caused an outrage in the city of St. Pete because of its high-level of violence (as well as the fact that no one would step forward as a witness or provide the St. Pete Police Department (SPPD) or the State Attorney's Office (SAO) with any information on the suspects.

The investigation into this shooting revealed an often-complained-about informal policy of "no snitching" in the city of St. Pete. It also raised issues of trust between the residents of St. Pete and their own police department.

In total, more than fifty (50) rounds of assault-rifle ammo were fired into Paris' home at 771 Preston Avenue South. That street now bears her name after the city changed it to Paris Avenue.

Investigators say Walls was the getaway driver. He faces life in prison. However, because the State allowed him to plead Guilty to Second Degree Murder instead of First Degree Murder, in exchange for his cooperation and testimony, there is a good possibility that he will receive a lighter sentence.

Davis is next up for Trial in April. If he his found Guilty of First Degree Murder, there are only two (2) possible sentences: LIFE in prison (without the possibility of parole) or the death penalty.

Continue reading "ST. PETE: Guilty Plea from Driver in Paris Whitehead-Hamilton Shooting" »