Florida Criminal Attorney Blog

Steve Sipek was arrested in Loxahatchee, Florida when a search warrant revealed he had three unlicensed, big cats at his home: a leopard and two tigers. Steve Sipek is known as "Spanish Tarzan" in his acting career. Specificallt, Sipek was arrested for possession of a Class 1 animal as a pet and possession of a Class 1 animal without a USDA permit. If he hasn't done so already, Sipek will likely post a bail bond and be released from custody. It is not known whether he has retained a private criminal defense attorney to represent him in this case.

The search and arrest came after a joint investigation involving the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
(FWC). Sipek has had several run-ins with the FWC in the past. He and his partner, Melanie Boynes, actually applied for USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) permits for the three large cats, buts the permits were revoked.

The three animals have been removed from Sipek and Byones' facility in the 3300 block of C road in Loxahatchee. It is not immediately clear whether Boynes has also been apprehended, or what will happen to the animals. Information regarding the animals' heath and living conditions has not been forthcoming.

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James Wilder Jr. of Tallahassee, Florida was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly obstructing a law enforcement officer with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer. Both of the charges are felonies. His girlfriend, Bianca Camarda, was also arrested for failing to appear in court. The couple was booked and released from Leon County Jail; Wilder paid $2000 bail bond, $1000 per charge.

Although some reports have indicated that Wilder, 19, was charged with obstructing a law enforcement officer without violence, Leon County Jail records, including the booking report and police report, indicate that he was in fact charged with obstructing a law enforcement officer with violence. Both of Wilder's charges are felonies. This is the first time he has ever been arrested.

According to the arrest report, the incident took place at around 11 a.m. on Wednesday. the officers came to Camarda's residence in search of Camarda, 20, who had failed to appear at a Tuesday hearing regarding a misdemeanor criminal mischief charge. More details on the charge are not currently available. Upon arrival, Wilder answered the door and allowed the officers to enter his residence in order to look for Camarda, who they found hiding in a bathroom.

Continue reading "James Wilder, Jr. Arrested in Tallahassee, Florida for Battery on Police" »

Elizabeth Marrero was arrested last week in Clermont, FL on charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The mother reportedly did not send her middle-school aged daughter to school for two full years. She turned herself in to the Clermont Sherriff's Office after the State Attorney's office issued a warrant for her arrest. She is currently out on bail bond, awaiting her impending trial. It is not yet known whether she has retained a private criminal defense attorney.

Contributing to the delinquency of a minor is a second-degree misdemeanor and may land Marrero in jail for a while. The State Attorney's Office issued the warrant for her arrest after the school district approached them in desperation. School officials report that they tried to work with Marrero to get her daughter back in school, setting up meetings and calling, but she was unresponsive.

Marrero's daughter, whose name has not been released because of her age, was supposed to attend Windy Mill Middle School in Clermont for the past three years. However, officials report that the girl has been missing for the past two years. They told the press that the girl had only been to school 5 days out of the 180-day school year. The girl is reportedly now old enough to be attending high school but has not yet completed 7th or 8th grade.

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Mary Holly was arrested in Coconut Creek, Florida last week after she allegedly left her elderly ward in a casino parking lot for several hours while she went gambling. Holly, 53, has been charged with one count of neglect of an elderly person. She is currently being held on $6,000 bail bond after an initial hearing. It is not yet known whether Holly has retained a private criminal defense attorney.

Records indicate that there were two active warrants out for Holly's arrest in Palm Beach County when she was detained on the neglect charge. The warrants were for charges of grant theft and exploitation of an elderly person. Those charges are unrelated to the Sapstein charges. Details on the other two charges are not currently available, although they likely are related to Holly's work as a nurse and caretaker.

Holly is reportedly a registered nurse who lives with Sapstein as a caretaker. The elderly woman owns a residence in Boca Raton. Since Sapstein has dementia, she needs assistance with everyday tasks such as paying bills, buying groceries, and personal care.

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Orville H. Bullitt was arrested in Osceola County, Florida last week on 144 counts of child pornography. Bullitt was arrested at his mother's home, where he was living. He is currently being held at the Osceola County jail on a $1.44 million bail bond. He will reportedly be transported to Broward County Jail soon. No word on whether Bullitt has retained a private criminal defense attorney.

Bullitt, who has lived in Davie, Pembroke Pines, Miami Shores, and North Miami,
was arrested as a result of an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Cyber High Tech Crime Squad. Investigators first suspected Bullitt when they traced file sharing of child pornography back to his computer's IP address.

After obtaining a search warrant, investigators searched Bullitt's Pembroke Pines home, located on the 7000 block of Northwest 12th Street, and found hundreds of images of children. So far 144 of those images have been determined to be pornographic.

"The images found showed child victims in various sexual depictions," said Addy Villanueva, an FDLE representative. "The crimes committed by Bullit are unspeakable and unforgivable."

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George Elia is reportedly under investigation in Broward County, Florida by the FBI for a an alleged Ponzi scheme. Elia has invoked his right to remain silent and is not believed to be in custody at this time, although he is currently facing lawsuits stemming from the alleged scheme. His criminal defense attorney has not issued any comments.

Elia is being accused by several former investors of running a Ponzi scheme that lost investors millions, often constituting their entire life savings. Elia still owns International Consultants, the company he supposedly used to run the scheme. A Broward Circuit Judge froze all accounts connected with International Consultants and Elia Realty, a company operated by Elia's wife after Michael Imbesi, a former client, filed an injunction.

"This has been emotionally devastating," Imbesi told the press. He and his family have filed a $4 million lawsuit against Elia, alleging that Elia lost them all their life savings. Authorities expect that more alleged victims will come forward as the investigation continues.

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Eric Welch was arrested in Fort Lauderdale, Florida last Thursday on a total of 13 charges, including multiple counts or grand theft and burglary. Welch, 50, is believed to be in custody at the Broward County Jail. He was denied http://www.defense-florida.com/lawyer-attorney-1560650.html at his initial hearing on Tuesday. It is not yet known if Welch has a private criminal defense attorney in Fort Lauderdale.

The charges come in connection to a string of robberies dating as far back at 2009. According to official, Welch is suspected of planting secret access codes in safes that he worked on at his job as a locksmith. He would allegedly later come back and rob the safes using the secret code, leaving no signs of breaking into the safes and confounding victims. Welch worked as a locksmith for LockAmerica, located in Pompano Beach, for nearly two decades.

The affidavit states that Welch is suspected of robbing three Fort Lauderdale Wendy's restaurants in 2009. He is also accused of robbing Jesse's Xtreme Sports Bar in Margate twice, once in November 12, 2011 and again a month later, according to the report. The report states that he got into the establishment on November using a crowbar, then walked over to the safe and punched in his secret code. The second time, on December 26, he smashed a glass door before using the secret code again. Police have reportedly received a confession regarding Welch's use of the secret code in those instances.

Continue reading "Eric Welch, Locksmith, Arrested in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for Grand Theft and Burglary" »

A Broward Sheriff's Office deputy shot an armed man in Pompano Beach, Florida after the man fired a shot and refused to comply with police orders to drop his weapon. No arrests have been made and no one was hurt other than the armed man. It is not known whether the deputy, whose name has not yet been released, has a retained a lawyer.

Neighbors report that the slain man, who remains unnamed, had visited the Southeast 22nd Avenue apartment complex near the 800 block of the street in order to visit an ex-girlfriend. Why he made the visit armed is unclear. In any case, the Broward Sheriff's office received a call from someone stating that a man was at the complex threatening another person with a gun. It is not clear if the man was threatening his ex-girlfriend in an act of domestic violence, or threatening someone else.

Police arrived at the scene at approximately 6:30 p.m. They reported seeing a man who was holding a handgun standing outside of the second floor of the apartment, accompanied by another person. "The deputies arrived to find the man pointing the gun at someone," said Broward Sheriff's Office spokesman Jim Leljedal. The man then fired a shot at no one in particular. "I don't know if he was firing at someone or if he just fired a round to let people know that the gun was real," commented Leljedal.

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A 19-year-old man was arrested in Coral Springs, Florida last night sexual assault and attempted burglary. He is believed to have been booked at the Broward County Jail, where he will await an initial hearing. Neither his nor the victim's name has yet been released, perhaps because the crime just occurred last night. It is not yet known whether the defendant has a criminal defense attorney.

The allegations come in connection to an incident last night where the suspect entered a home in the 2300 block of Northwest 95th Avenue at around 8 p.m. in hopes of committing a robbery, according to authorities. Since the weather was cooler last night, said police, many people had their windows or doors open, which presented an opportunity to would-be burglars. There were no signs of forced entry in the case.

"This is a very quiet neighborhood, where most everybody knows each other," said Sgt. Dave Kirkland, a Coral Springs Police spokesman. "At this time, we don't know why this person chose this house." The house is currently believed to have been targeted at random.

Authorities believe that the defendant entered the home thinking that it was unoccupied at the time, with the sole intentions of committing a robbery. It is not known if he was armed at the time of the break-in. However, the home was not unoccupied: a 25-year-old woman was in the home with her newborn baby at the time of the break-in.

Continue reading "19 Year Old Arrested in Coral Springs, Florida for Sexual Assault and Attempted Burglary" »

Irma Mustamu and Kenneth Chavelier were arrested in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for neglect of a child causing great harm. Both remain in custody in lieu of paying $50,000 bail bond. According to jailhouse records, neither Mustamu nor Chavelier has a criminal defense attorney.

The allegations emerged after an anonymous tipper called authorities to report that a child was being tortured. On Tuesday, police and a child protection agent were dispatched to the Crossland Economy Studios Hotel on Commercial Boulevard, where the family was staying. Authorities found the couple with their two-year-old daughter, whose hand was wrapped in cloth. When they removed the cloth, they found that the girl's hand was disfigured, missing one finger and parts of two others.

"I just can't begin to imagine the pain this child felt," police spokesman Detective Travis Mandell said of the injury. "This is too grotesque of a crime for someone to not know where it happened."

Continue reading "Irma Mustamu & Kenneth Chavelier Arrested in Ft. Lauderdale, FL for Child Neglect Causing Great Bodily Harm" »

Jeffrey London, who was first arrested in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on sexual battery and other sex offenses last January, now faces a total of 15 counts after two other victims came forward. London is being held without bail bond at Broward County Jail for his crimes. It remains unknown whether he has retained a private criminal defense attorney in Fort Lauderdale.

Both of the subsequent testimonies are, like the first, from London's former wards. London was a well-known philanthropist in his community and had taken in 15 underprivileged boys over the years. One anonymous donor had even purchased him a house in Coral Springs in which to live with his wards.

"You've got to put out. You've got to be there for them. Love them. Discipline them. Stand by them," he told local media when he was interviewed for his philanthropic work. "You can be the link in a child's life that holds that life together... If you can influence one child, turn one child, from the negative to positive, then you can influence a whole generation."

Continue reading "Jeffrey London Faces More Sex Abuse Charges in Ft. Lauderdale, FL" »

Federal agents from the FBI, ICE, and Homeland Security served search warrants on a number of private residences on Tuesday as part of a massive bust into an alleged marijuana smuggling ring. It is not yet clear whether those who were arrested have retained any criminal defense lawyers to help them deal with this case. The busts resulted in the seizure of valuable property as well as the arrests of the following people:

1) Adolfo Tamez, aka "Wally"
2) Jaime Rodriguez Sandoval, aka "Pancho"
3) Ivan Alvarado, aka "TN"
4) Josue Rivera Rosario
5) Jesus Gonzalez-Salcedo, aka "Chuy"
6) Antonio Gonzalez
7) Fnu Lnu, aka "Chepe"
8) Cesar Ramos
9) Omar Martinez, aka "Chilango"

A copy of the criminal complaint can be found here: Criminal Complaint (Adolfo Tamez, Et. Al.).pdf

According to this complaint, a person named Daniel Nunez lead a group of Mexican nationals who allegedly smuggled large quantities of marijuana into the United States from Mexico through McAllen, Texas.

From McAllen, Texas, the Marijuana was allegedly shipped to Panama City, Florida, where it was broken down and then shipped to regional store houses throughout Florida.

Once Marijuana was sold, the cash proceeds would return to Mexico taking the reverse route.

In total, the group is alleged to have trafficked in more than $1,000,000 USD worth of marijuana a month. In terms of street value, Federal agents claim that the group moved approximately 3,000 pounds of marijuana per shipment.

Based on my past experience dealing with drug trafficking cases in Federal court, I can tell you that these arrests are the result of many, many months of investigating by the FBI and other agencies.

There is also little doubt in my mind that this case also concerns the use of confidential informants. For those who are not familiar with confidential informants, they are people who go undercover for law enforcement to provide them with information and set up deals.

Continue reading "FBI Agents Bust Drug Ring Operating in Florida, Texas, Mexico" »

Cedrick Shivers, 47, wasn arrested in Wilton Manors, Florida for bank robbery, which is a Federal offense. Shivers made his initial appearance in Federal court yesterday. He has a pre-trial detention hearing scheduled with U.S. Magistrate Judge Robin S. Rosenbaum on February 10. If convicted, Shivers faces up to 20 years in Federal prison. It is not currently known whether Shivers has a private criminal defense attorney.

The allegations stem from an incident earlier on February 3rd where Shivers allegedly robbed the Iberia Bank in Wilton Manors, located at 2465 Wilton Drive. Shivers reportedly entered the bank at approximately 9 a.m., approached a teller, and handed her a note. The note instructed the teller not to activate any silent alarms and to hand over certain denominations of bills. Shivers also allegedly instructed the teller not to include a dye pack in the cash, saying that if she did not comply he may bomb the building.

However, the clever teller managed to include a dye pack in with the stolen bills. A dye pack is a small explosive that can be snuck in with stolen money. The pack explodes after the robbery, marking the cash with permanent red ink. According to media reports, the pack exploded as Shivers ran across the street to his getaway vehicle.

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Dr. Joshua Perper and Linda Krivjanik, both former employees of the Broward Medical Examiner, are currently being blamed in large part for the catastrophic mishandling of controlled substances at the facility.

Unbelievably, this has not resulted in an immediate shut down and floor to ceiling audit of the entire office's practices.

According to County Inspector General John Scott, who is heading up Broward Office of the Inspector General's investigation, the Broward Medical Examiner is guilty of "gross mismanagement" of pills including oxycodone and hydrocodone, which can easily be abused. According to the report, at least 3,600 pills are missing, likely having been filtered into the illegal drug market. 2,250 such pills are pain medications with a high probability of abuse.

"The risk to public safety will never accurately be determined,'' said Scott of the missing pills.

The storage of such pills was a huge factor in the report. Prescription pills are supposed to be kept in a secure evidence room for two years, after which they are supposed be incinerated. However, the Broward Medical Center reportedly had little protocol for storing such materials. The facility allegedly stored pills in trash bags that high school volunteers had access to, in bathrooms, and even in a room that was also used by an employee to store toys that the employee was selling on eBay. One employee called the situation a "free-for-all."

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Marvin Broadway, 23, Taylor Miller, 19, and Carlton Lowe, 22, were all arrested in Fort Lauderdale, Forida on robbery charges last Wednesday after a failed armed robbery attempt against a gold store clerk. Broadway also faced charges of wearing a mask while committing a felony, and is being held on $175,000 bond. Miller is being held on $40,000 bond, and Lowe on $60,000 bond. All three are being held at the Broward Main Jail. It is unclear whether any of the trio has a private criminal defense lawyer.

At a preliminary hearing, a magistrate judge ordered the three to stay away from each other and from their alleged victim, Oleg Flyaster, 64. According to the affidavit, the incident occurred Tuesday while Flyastar was in an alley behind the Gold Buyers business where he worked. The business is located at 5130 North Federal Highway. At about 6:20 p.m., Flyastar says he was closing the business for the evening when he was approached by Broadway and Lowe, both of whom had concealed their faces with ski masks.

"Broadway produced a handgun and stated 'give up the money'," said the affidavit. "The victim was in fear for his life and retrieved his handgun and started shooting."

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Burnie Reed of Fort Lauderdale, Florida was arrested for murder after more than a week of searching. The 19-year-old has been charged with one count each of murder, attempted murder, resisting arrest with violence and resisting arrest without violence. He was denied bail bond in an initial hearing with Judge Jay Hurley at the Broward County Jail, where he is currently awaiting trial. It is unknown whether Reed has a private criminal defense attorney or will be relying on the public defender.

Police had conducted an extensive searched for the alleged killer that involved the FBI Violent Crime Fugitive Task Force, the Secret Service, Lauderhill police and Fort Lauderdale police. The investigation also appealed to the public for clues. Reed was apprehended when the search led authorities to a Lauderhill home in the 3400 block of Northwest 4th Ct. It is not known who owns the home.

Reed was reportedly trying to hide under a pile of furniture and clothing in one of the bedrooms of the home. He refused to cooperate with authorities and ended up causing a scuffle. Police were able to arrest him, although he sustained a nasty black eye that he sports in his mug shot.

The arrest and charges come in connection to an incident in which Reed allegedly tried to kill his pregnant ex-girlfriend by shooting her in the head, and succeeded in killing her sister in the same fashion. Reed was reportedly arguing with Chutney McNair, 19, with whom he had a rocky romantic relationship for about a year and a half, on the January 21. The fight occurred outside of both parties homes in the 1100 block of NW 11th St. Chutney was three months pregnant with his child and had asked her mother, Karen McNair, 47, to come out of the home with her to try to control the situation.

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