Florida Criminal Attorney Blog

Federal agents raided a cruise ship docked at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida this past week, leaving many ungrateful passengers. The MSC Poesia was scheduled to sail around the western Caribbean this week as part of its Jam Fest cruise. In a classic lame-o Federal drug bust, agents from the DEA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Marshall's Service, and the Broward Sheriffs Office took down the ship as it sat docked at Port Everglades.

Oh yes, and the bounty was great!

These maestros of law enforcement netted a whopping 15 seizures of of marijuana, LSD, mushrooms, hash oil, Ecstasy, prescription drugs and drug paraphernalia. Mostly all of which were in small quantities.

Good job G-men! Hoover would be proud. In a time where our country is teetering on financial ruin under the constant threat of terror, you guys are wasting our money to bust a bunch of Dead-heads on their way to Jam Fest?

Really? What are you, morons?

Take the time and money that you wasted and go find Osama bin-Laden, or better yet, go logon to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and start looking. Or, you could each get assigned to sit outside the home of a registered sexual predator and make sure no kids are going in for candy.

Why are you wasting OUR money on small quantities of pot and other party drugs while complaining about how much your salaries have been minimized due to budget cuts?

Don't act like you don't know what I am talking about...

Continue reading "Feds Raid Cruise Ship Headed for Jam Fest in Fort Lauderdale, Florida" »

A marijuana grow house was discovered early this morning in West Palm Beach, Florida. Fire fighters arrived at the scene of a burning mobile home at 5:27 a.m. When the firefighters entered the mobile home looking for residents, the discovered the presence of twelve marijuana plants. Fire fighters entered the residence because neighbors believed that three people resided in the mobile home.

So far no arrests have been made, although I am sure that police investigators are doing their best to determine the identities of those who lived there, or at least frequented the mobile home.

Since growing marijuana requires electricity, the mobile was either connected to an FPL account, a fuel generator, or was stealing electricity from another source. Given my experience as a criminal defense lawyer and former prosecutor, my guess is that the fire was likely started by messed up electrical wires used to steal power from another source or from gasoline or some other flammable liquid that was used to fuel a generator.

The reason why marijuana grow house operators either steal electricity or make their own using generators, is because law enforcement investigators will look at a property's electrical bill to see if an exponentially large sum of electricity is consumed at that location.

Continue reading "Marijuana Grow House Discovered by Palm Beach Fire Fighters" »

Robert Barbosa was arrested for marijuana related offenses in Greenacres, Florida on Monday. Specifically, Barbosa's marijuana arrest was for cultivation of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. It is presently unknown whether or not he has been released on bond.

Based on what is reported in the news, I suspect that Barbosa may be able to get his entire case dropped.

According to news reports, police were called to Barbosa's home when "someone reported the garage door suspiciously open." Upon approaching the residence, police claim to have smelled marijuana. At some point thereafter, police obtained a search warrant and discovered the presence of 66 marijuana plants in various stages of growth. Barbosa's marijuana arrest followed thereafter.

This case presents some interesting issues regarding police search and seizure and I think someone in Robert Barbosa's position would be best served by hiring a criminal defense attorney as soon as possible.

Of course, before any concrete conclusions may be drawn, all the facts of Mr. Barbosa's case must be known and analyzed. At the present time, only limited information is available. Whether or not Barbosa's marijuana arrest was justified or not, will be determined based on the specific facts of the case.

However, based on what has been reported in the news, it seems like Robert Barbosa's entire case will come down to the validity of the search warrant and whether or not he was the sole occupant of the home.

To properly defend Barbosa, his defense lawyer will need to learn more about the "suspiciously open garage door."

First of all, did the caller identify him or herself to police or was the call made anonyously?

Second, what exactly did the caller actually report? Did he/she frantically call to 9-1-1 or was the police department's non-emergency number used? Did the caller report how long the door was open? Overnight? All day? A few hours?

Continue reading "Robert Barbosa Arrested for Growing Marijuana in Greenacres, Florida" »

Timothy Dawson, age 44 of Port Saint Lucie, Florida, was arrested on September 16 for allegedly trying to smuggle more than 30 pounds of cocaine and marijuana.

It is unknown whether or not Dawson has retained a criminal defense attorney to represent him in this matter.

According to a press release by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Customs and Border Patrol surveillance aircraft spotted Dawson's 1984 Wellcraft as it entered Saint Lucie Inlet. After traveling for approximately five miles, the vessel's engines were shut down for a few minutes. For reasons that are unknown at this time, CBP found this behavior suspicious and alerted the Martin County Sheriff's Office.

Thereafter a the MCSO dispatched its marine unit to make contact with Dawson's vessel. When deputies attempted to board the vessel, Dawson was seen throwing two weighted dive bags overboard.

Dawson was subsequently arrested for tampering with evidence and resisting arrest without violence. Dawson was released after posting bond.

However, dive team members returned to the incident location and recovered the two dive bags. Once opened, deputies saw that the bags contained more than 30 pounds of cocaine and more than 39 pounds of marijuana.

Continue reading "Timothy Dawson Arrested in Port Saint Lucie, Florida for Smuggling Cocaine and Marijuana" »

Wayne McDarman Hill, 42, of Miami, Florida, was arrested for allegedly trafficking in ecstasy. According to news reports, law enforcement seized approximately 40,000 ecstasy pills.

Police claim that Hill operated a "pill pipeline" between Miami and Canada. The fact that the pills were allegedly found inside of Hill's vehicle presents a number of very important questions.

Hill's defense lawyers will need to first determine why police searched Hill's car? Was he caught selling to or buying from an undercover agent? Was he stopped for a traffic infraction? Or, did an overly zealous investigator conduct a "pre-textual" stop?

If law enforcement conducted an illegal stop or illegal search of Hill's vehicle, then any evidence obtained as a result must be thrown out by the trial judge. This would have the effect of completely destroying the Government's case.

Continue reading "Cops Bust Wayne Hill in Ecstasy Case Tied to Miami, Florida " »

Palm Beach County schools made the decision in Boca Raton, Florida to pull pain clinic advertising from their campuses. Unbelievably, they had accepted $3,600 in exchange for advertising that described the pain clinic in question as a "Partner in Excellence."

The decision to yank the ads came after a complaint was filed by an advocacy group called Parents against Prescription Drug Abuse.

As a criminal defense lawyer in the tri-county area, I can tell you that prescription drug abuse is worse today than cocaine was in 80's. The fact that our public schools have allowed them to advertise is very scary.

Parents Against Prescription Drug Abuse said it was no different than allowing tobacco to advertise. I can tell you thats an understatement... allowing pain clinics to advertise is more like cocaine or heroin. Actually, prescription pain pills are more addictive and easier to obtain. That is why thousands of young people are arrested in Florida every year for pain pill related offenses.

More importantly, who is in charge at the School Board? Really? Pain clinics are "Partners in Excellence?" What's next... Sex offenders to coach girl's cheer-leading?

Continue reading "Pain Clinic Ads Yanked from Palm Beach Schools" »

In its second move against Florida pain clinics this month, the DEA suspended the license of Sunrise Wholesale Inc., located in Sunrise, Florida. The company is accused of selling excessive amounts of Oxycodone to pain clinics in South Florida. According to a DEA official, Sunrise Wholesale agreed to surrender its license rather than contest the suspension.

As was reported earlier on this blog, the DEA previously suspended the license of Harvard Drug Group, which is a supplier of Oxycodone which is a Michigan company with an offices located in Tamrac, Florida. Just like Sunrise Wholesale, Harvard was accused of distributing excessive amounts of Oxycodone to South Florida pill mills.

To be clear, no arrests have been made and no criminal charges have been filed.

However, if you are a user of oxycodone or other pain pill medications, you should be on alert. The DEA is cracking down and local law enforcement is not far behind. Unfortunately, many pain medication users do not have prescriptions. If you are caught in possession of any pain pills without a prescription, police will definitely arrests you and charge you with a crime.

Even though it is much easier to legally obtain these pills in Florida than in other states, the penalties for illegal possession are extremely stiff.

Florida Minimum Prison Sentence for Possession of Oxycodone

4g - 14g = 3 years

14g - 28g = 15 years

28g - 30kg = 25 years

Continue reading "DEA Cracks Down on Oxycodone Supplier in Sunrise, Florida" »

The DEA recently suspended the license of Harvard Drug Group, LLC due to questionable oxycodone sales to South Florida pain clinics. According to the DEA, 39 of HDG's 50 largest purchasers are located in South Florida.

To be clear, even though this suspension involves the DEA, no arrests have been made.

Federal officials claim that HDG distributed more than 13 million doses of oxycodone over the past two years. While the DEA claims that this amount "doesn't indicate anything nefarious," a review of HDG's records showed that large amounts of pills were going to offices with a small amount of doctors. This grabbed DEA's attention.

At the end of the day, this is just a drop in the bucket of a greater tsunami. The pill craze is much bigger and more widespread than cocaine ever was.

Want to know the difference? Pain pills are not illegal! You don't have to cook them up in secret drug labs or smuggle them into the country in duct taped bricks. They are manufactured here in the United States by legitimate pharmaceutical companies.

This means the production, distribution, and sales of these pills results in fewer arrests and less drama on the news.

Continue reading "Oxycodone Wholesaler's License Suspended Over South Florida Sales" »

In Satellite Beach, Florida the city council is preparing to pass ordinances that will control the business operations of newly established pain clinics. While not criminal in nature, these ordinances will call for implementation of accounting procedures that will provide police with daily reports regarding prescriptions, dosages, and the states of residency for patients treated. Clinics who fail to comply will likely face fines and the possibility of losing their operating license.

While these ordinances are well intentioned, they may not be lawful if they include patient names, addresses, social security numbers, or other such personal data. Specifically, these ordinances may violate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1996, HIPAA protects patient health information from disclosure to third parties.

If the new law does not require clinics to disclose the names and biographical information of patients, what value does the ordinance have to law enforcement? If police do not know who has received the pills in question, what good is knowing that pills were dispensed? For this information to have any value to law enforcement, names will need to be submitted.

On the other side of the token, if police did know the names of patients treated, what good would that do anyway? Receiving pain medication pursuant to a valid prescription from a pain clinic is not illegal.

Continue reading "City Counsel Plans to Restrict Pain Clinics in Satellite Beach, Florida" »

Teresa Acosta has been arrested in Palm Beach, Florida for allegedly writing fake prescriptions for a group of people who used them to illegally obtain oxycodone. Also arrested were: Rachel Soobitsky, Louis Espinosa III, Derek Lee Hewitt, Brian Barnes, Christopher Griffths, Casey Echerri, Maria Teresa Bianchi, and Shaun Garceau.

It is presently unknown what bond has been set on each of these people.

When someone is arrested for trafficking in oxycodone, they are immediately subjected to the possibility of a very stiff prison sentence. Depending on the quantity of drugs involved, the minimum mandatory prison sentence may be very high.

Regardless, this case presents a lot of opportunity for criminal defense lawyers. First and foremost, it will be necessary to figure out who did what and who was the boss. Given the very large size of this group, there is no doubt that prosecutors will try to "flip" at least one or two minor participants against the others.

In exchange for their cooperation and testimony, prosecutors may offer reduced sentences. However, there are times where such deals are not on the table. Given the number of people involved, this ring was likely busted by someone already cooperating with the police.

Continue reading "Nine Arrested in Palm Beach for Trafficking in Oxycodone" »

Officer Justin Krashefski, 27, of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, was relieved of duty Wednesday after detectives searched his patrol car and found three oxycodone pills, a razor blade, and a straw. He is now facing criminal prosecution for Possession of Oxycodone, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Solicitation to Commit a Felony.

This search was conducted after a confidential informant allegedly told investigators that Ofc. Krashefski had contacting him about buying pills.

Acting on the tip, investigators then set up a sting operation. The informant was given five pills and was sent to meet Ofc. Krashefski. While investigators surveilled the meeting, Krashefski was allegedly seen buying the pills for $20.

Ofc. Krashefski has since been arrested and was being held with a bond of $4,500.00. Even though, he is facing a maximum of 11 years in prison, he will likely get nothing worse than probation because he is a first time offender.

It is unknown whether or not Krashefski has retained a criminal defense lawyer to represent him in this case.

Krashefski may also be a good candidate for drug court. If so, he will have to subject himself to a drug evaluation, any recommended treatment, including detox and aftercare, as well as regular drug testing. If he is able to successfully complete the program, Krasehfski's case will be dismissed by the court.

Continue reading "Fort Lauderdale Cop Arrested for Drug Possession" »

Fort Lauderdale pain clinics are in the news, yet again. According to Sgt. Frank Sousa of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, there is an on-going investigation of three high volume pain clinics owned by a businessman named William D. Benton. The Florida Department of Health is allegedly involved as well. At this point in time, it is unknown whether there are any criminal charges pending or if any arrests will be made.

According to the online edition of the Sun-Sentinel, State officials suspended the medical license of Dr. Alfred E. Boyce, who worked at two of Benton's clinics. Dr. Boyce, age 80, had his license suspended as recently as 2004 for his role in a case where four people were left comatose by overdoses of botulinum toxin shots at a cosmetic medicine clinic.

In the present case, Dr. Boyce is accused of "over prescribing" pain pills to six patients. Over a six month period, Dr. Boyce is alleged to have prescribed 10,800 pills, that included Xanax and Oxycodone, to these six people. Dr. Boyce's lawyer claims that these patients suffered from chronic pain and required treatment with high doses of pain medications that were prescribed within legal limits.

As with Mr. Benton, it is unknown, at this time, whether or not any criminal charges will be filed. If so, there is no doubt that those arrested will need to hire a criminal defense lawyer who is very experienced in dealing with narcotic offenses.

Regardless, as has been discussed many times on this blog, cases like these epitomize the nature of the problem with the pain pill epidemic in Broward County. On the one hand, we have these doctors who are licensed, educated, and writing prescriptions based on MRI scans and medical records that establish the patient had a car accident, a slip and fall, or some other injury that would, at least superficially, justify treatment with pain medications.

On the other hand, you have these young, able bodied junkies, driving to these clinics from all over the country to purchase monthly supplies of pills that could be used to medicate a heard of elephants! Do you know why they come here from all over the country? Because in places like Tennessee and South Carolina, you can't get pain medications like Xanax and Oxycontin as easily as you can here.

The truth of the matter is that if this problem is going to be fixed, the State of Florida is going to have to step it up and make some real practical changes. First, new legislation must be passed to prevent doctor shopping and fraudulent prescription writing. If we created a state run database that used electronic prescriptions, written by doctors, and marked as filled by pharmacists, we would eliminate a big part of the problem right away.

Not only would this benefit our communities by diminishing crime, but it would save us money because we would have less people in the jails and less criminal prosecutions in the courthouse. People don't realize it, but criminal prosecutions get expensive. If we can minimize the crime, we can minimize the financial cost to the State.

Second, we need to hold the prescribing doctors responsible. Medical standards regarding true, legitimate palliative care should be established and then enforced. Doctors should be forced to stand behind their decisions or face consequences. If there were consequences to blatant disregards for medical standards, then doctors would be less inclined to prescribe medications to people who don't seem to need them. And for the record, I am not talking about malpractice remedies. We need standards that have civil and criminal penalties imposed by the Government. As someone who generally disfavors government regulation or government involvement in our lives, I think things have gotten so bad, that we have little choice but to start cracking down harshly.

Third, we need to hold the pharmacists accountable. How can one say, with a straight face that is, that the pharmacists don't know whats really going on. How many young, able bodied customers does a pharmacist have to see before he realizes he is dispensing to junkies? When a patient comes before a pharmacist, every month, with prescriptions for pain pills that are ever increasing in dose and quantity, at what point does the pharmacist become complicit? Again, even as someone who disfavors government intrusion, I think things have gotten so bad that we need to establish reasonable standards and then strictly enforce them.

Ultimately, the status quo is simply not working. We need to adjust to the circumstances we now find ourselves in and make changes that will solve problems. Otherwise, we will end up in a backwards spiral that is going to cost us more and more with every day that passes.

Dr. John Habib, an asthesiologist at Holy Cross Hospital, was arrested Thursday night in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. According to police, Dr. Habib was busted when he tried to purchase 35 grams of Crystal Methamphetamine from a person he believed to be a drug dealer. It is not clear if this person was an undercover cop or someone working for the police by posing as a drug dealer.

After arresting Habib, police executed a search warrant at his home which allegedly uncovered additional crystal meth as well as GHB. According to CBS4.com, Habib has been as charged with Trafficking in Methamphetamine, Possession of Methamphetamine, and Possession of GHB.

The worst part of Dr. Habib's case is the trafficking charge. Because he is accused of trafficking more than 28 grams, but less than 200 grams, Dr. Habib is presently subject to a minimum prison sentence of 7 years. Of course, this assumes Dr. Habib does not have any prior criminal history. If he does, he may be subjected to an even greater minimum prison sentence.

On the maximum end, Dr. Habib is facing a maximum of 30 years on the trafficking charge and 5 years each on the possession charges.

While this case is undoubtedly very serious, Dr. Habib should not feel hopeless. Many cases of these types are cracked wide open when a capable defense lawyer does a thorough investigation. Many cases are broken when a lawyer discovers that police acted inappropriately or violated the law. Moreover, in cases where the defendant has no criminal history, one has to wonder if there is a defense of entrapment.

Additionally, a capable defense lawyer absolutely MUST investigate the basis for the search warrant. This type of research would begin with a careful review of the affidavits and other documents presented when applying for the search warrant. Next, a investigation into whether the warrant was properly executed is also necessary. For example, if the warrant directed the police to search the living areas of Dr. Habib's house, but the additional drugs were found in the attic, then the police may have acted outside the limitations of the warrant - thus rendering any evidence collected from the attic inadmissible.

Regardless, the two parts of this case that interest me the most are the following: First, how did the police come to learn that Dr. Habib wanted to buy drugs? Was it from a snitch trying to set up anyone he can think of to save himself from his own case? Or was it from some other unknown source? I bet it was a snitch.

Second, what exactly went down during that sting? The devil does live in the details! How did the deal go down? Was the snitch the seller or was it a cop? If it was a snitch, did the police observe the entire deal from beginning to end? Did they search the snitch before sending him to make the sale? If not, how do we know the true amount Dr. Habib tried to buy? Maybe he only wanted to buy a small amount, but the snitch added to the mix, without the doctor knowing, to make the caper even sweeter for police.

I could sit here and write for hours about all the little details that make a difference in these cases. However, at the end of the day, Dr. Habib should not give up hope and he should not assume that prison is the only option in his future.

Now is the time for a quality defense lawyer to investigate this case, look at its details and determine if there are any defenses, any lack of evidence, any conflict in the evidence, or any violations of law by the police.

Now is the time to be aggressive. Hopefully Dr. Habib will make the right choice and take an aggressive stance on his case.

Law enforcement is finally taking a stand against the outrageous pain pill epidemic in South Florida. Just yesterday, agents from the DEA, accompanied by deputies from the Broward Sheriff's Office and the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office, raided American Pain located in Lake Worth, Florida, Executive Pain located in West Palm Beach, Florida, and the East Coast Pain Clinic also located in West Palm Beach, Florida. These clinics are owned or operated by two twenty-nine year old twin brothers: Christopher George and Jeffrey George.

According to the Miami Herald, the agents and deputies seized boxes of records after serving search warrants on the clinics.

This case presents an interesting issue regarding the pain pill epidemic and prosecution of the pain centers. On the one hand, law enforcement should clearly be going after the source of the pills. At the present time, law enforcement has only pursued the end users. In many cases this has resulted in stiff prison sentences and probation for people who amount to nothing more than addicts.

On the other hand, pain clinics are entirely legal in Florida. Why should a doctor or a pain clinic owner be prosecuted criminally for doing something that is entirely legal?

The answer lies in the legitimacy of the medical treatment being provided by the pain centers. If law enforcement can prove that doctors have prescribed pain pills to people who have no legitimate medical need for them, then a criminal prosecution for fraudulent prescription writing may be viable. Pain doctors should also be investigated for prescribing narcotics in an escalating fashion. If there is no legitimate need to increase dosage or frequency, then these doctors are doing nothing more than making patients into addicts... which makes perfect sense since many of the same pain clinics that write the prescriptions also sell the pills!

Doesn't that sounds like a conflict of interest to you?

One must also wonder about the pharmacists who fill these prescriptions. How many months have to go by before a pharmacist refuses to fill a prescription for a young, able bodied patient who presents ever increasing prescriptions month after month with no end in sight? Some patients take over 300 Oxycontin pills a month... that is over 10 pills a day or a pill every other hour! At what point does a pharmacist have a duty to step in and call an addict out for what he really is?

Ultimately, new legislation will be required to fix this epidemic. If I could make a recommendation to the Florida Legislature it would be to do two things. First, they should ban pain clinics from both writing prescriptions and dispensing pills at the same time. The conflict of interest is clear.

Second, the Legislature should create a statewide prescription database. Creating the database is easy and cheaper than arresting, jailing, and prosecuting offenders. It could be maintained using cloud computing and would be accessible only by licensed doctors, pharmacists, and law enforcement. This system would mirror the "D.A.V.I.D." system used by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to keep track of driver licenses and vehicle registrations.

Simply put, doctors would logon to the system and upload prescriptions to the database by filling out a simple online form. The prescription would then be given a unique identification number by the system. This number would be printed on the actual paper prescription that the patient would present to the pharmacist.

Before a pharmacist fills the prescription, he or she would access the online database and confirm that the prescription being presented by the customer is legitimate, that it perfectly matches the online record, and has not yet been filled by another pharmacy/pharmacist. Prior to dispensing the medication, the pharmacist will mark the online prescription as "filled" so that the same prescription cannot be filled again.

By creating this simple system, we will be able to put an immediate stop to all doctor shopping and fraudulent prescription writing overnight. Aside from the obvious law enforcement benefit, this would also save the State from wasting money on arresting, jailing, and prosecuting people who doctor shop or write fraudulent prescriptions. I bet the savings would be in the millions of dollars!

If the cost savings were not enough to fund the system, the State could levy a flat tax of $1.00 per transaction. If you are using pain pills, there is no doubt that you can sport a $1.00 fee per prescription filled. These prescriptions are usually filled on a monthly basis - unless of course you are doctor shopping!

Regardless, at the end of the day the Government needs to wake up and enact realistic and practical solutions to this problem. At a time when our State budget is in crisis, any plan that will save money AND cure a major social problem at the same time is a great idea!

According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, "VIP Barbershop," located in Oakland Park, Florida, sold more than just haircuts to its patrons. Barbers David Fonseca, 25, and Norman Irizarry, 25, were both arrested on January 22 after a sting operation conducted by the Broward Sheriff's Office.

BSO deputies claim they saw Fonseca sell marijuana to an undercover buyer that they sent in. In the police report, deputies claim that Fonseca reached into a drawer and pulled out a bag of marijuana which he then handed to the undercover buyer.

After raiding the barber shop, deputies allegedly seized 17 bags of marijuana, a joint, and three glass smoking pipes.

Because Fonseca allegedly sold the marijuana, he was arrested for possession with intent to distribute. This is a more serious offense than simple possession because the law differentiates between those who use marijuana and those who sell it.

To make matters worse, the barber shop is allegedly located within 1000 feet of a school. This means that Fonseca may be facing a minimum mandatory sentence for selling drugs near a school.

Defending someone in these situations can be complicated. For starters, the defense team will need to verify all claims made by the police. For example, were the officers really in a position to see all the things they claim they saw? In a similar case, my law office defended an individual accused of selling crack cocaine from the front door of his apartment in Hollywood. While the police claimed to have seen the hand to hand transaction from the street, this was proven to be false when I went to the scene of the alleged sale and took a photograph of a concrete wall that obstructs all view of the client's front door. In that case, I was able to prove that it was physically impossible to see the things that the officers claim they saw.

If the defense team can prove that the officers in Fonseca's case were not in a position to make their observations, or if they can highlight any inconsistencies in their stories, the case may come down to the sole testimony of the undercover buyer.

This is a very good thing.

Unless they are plain-clothes cops, most "undercover buyers" are really criminal defendants who entered into a deal with the prosecutor's office to avoid doing prison time on their own cases by acting as a snitch. The credibility of such snitches is notoriously poor because they are doing whatever it takes to avoid prison in their own cases.

Moreover, it is likely that the deputies failed to video record their observations. With the advent of cameras that can read license plates from outer space, it is mind-boggling why the police do not invest the time and effort to create question-proof evidence. Instead, the police expect us to rely strictly on their honesty simply because they wear a badge. Frankly, given the widespread police corruption that is endemic to Broward County, such expectations are unrealistic.

Ultimately, if the police lack credibility or their claims don't add up, the entire case may rest on the testimony of the snitch. Depending on what other evidence exists in the case, if any, the defense team may be able to use this weakness to negotiate probation or a waiver of the minimum mandatory sentence. If not, challenging the snitch's credibility may not be much of a challenge should the case go to trial.