Florida Criminal Attorney Blog

Brian Dale Pratt of Pasco County, Florida was arrested on Tuesday after he allegedly sent nude photographs of an unconscious woman to the woman's ex-husband, according to news reports. Pratt, 51, was arrested and charged with of lewd and lascivious video voyeurism, sources indicate. He has since been released on $150 bail bond. It is not clear whether Pratt has retained a private criminal defense lawyer to help him with the impending criminal case.

A sheriff's spokesperson reportedly told the press that Pratt has no prior disciplinary record at the Pasco sheriff's office, where he has served since June 2009. Pratt has apparently been placed on administrative leave as the case progresses. It is not known whether he is on paid or unpaid leave. The State Attorney's Office was reportedly involved in the investigation leading up to Pratt's arrest. It is not clear whether Pratt will be allowed to return to his job.

According to news reports, Pratt allegedly snapped shots of an unconscious woman lying naked on a bed on an undisclosed date. It is not clear how Pratt and the woman know each other, and her name has not been released due to the nature of the case. Media reports denote that she is in her mid 30s. Because Pratt was not charged with trespassing, it appears as though he had permission to be in the woman's home at the time of the alleged incident, although it is not known whether he had permission to take pictures.

The photos were apparently taken in her room and depict the woman lying on her bed, naked. She apparently had been out partying and had had too much to drink. Pratt allegedly used his cell phone to capture the images. It is not clear whether Pratt, like the woman, was inebriated at the time.

On February 13, 2012, the woman's ex-husband allegedly received the nude photos in the mail. The writing on the envelopes, which was likely used to indicate the ex-husband's address, allegedly matched Pratt's handwriting. It is not clear whether the envelopes contained notes or other contents other than the photos.

Pratt also allegedly told a fellow deputy, who is not publicly named, that he had taken the photos and that he planned to send them to the woman's ex-husband, daughter, and current boyfriend as 'revenge.' Pratt allegedly showed the deputy the images on his cell phone. It is not immediately known what Pratt was allegedly seeking revenge for.

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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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Manuel Velasco died in a crash with James Choaffner in Palm Beach, Florida, early this morning. James Choaffner was airlifted to a hospital and is listed in critical condition. The car accident happened around 5:00 a.m. this morning and it still under investigation.

According to news reports, Manuel Velasco was driving his Chevrolet van northbound on Haverhill Road when a collision occurred with James Choaffner's Lincoln. It is being reported that James Choaffner's car was traveling eastbound on Forest Hill Blvd.

For those who are not familiar with this area, this is a major intersection. Both streets have two lanes of traffic that travel in each direction for a total of four lanes each. Forest Hill Blvd is an East/West road and Haverhill Road is a North/South road. Each has its own designated turning lanes that add an additional element of chaos.

Manuel Velasco, 62, has been employed as a parking service aid at the Palm Beach International Airport since 2004. The occupation of James Choaffner, 26, is unknown at this time.

Clearly, this case is extremely tragic for both sides. Sometimes accidents like these occur when one driver does something careless, albeit unintentional. In other cases, DUI is a cause. Since this case is still under investigation, no conclusions can be made just yet about who is responsible.

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Manuel Velasco was killed in an early morning traffic crash with James Choaffner in Palm Beach, Florida. Choaffner was airlifted to the hospital and is listed in critical condition. This car accident is still under investigation and few facts are presently known about what happened or which party caused the accident.

According to news reports, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office claims that James Choaffner, 26, was traveling eastbound on Forest Hill Blvd and the Manuel Velscao, 62, was traveling northbound on Haverhill Road. While it seems like the media reports are claiming that Velasco's Chevrolet van collided with Choaffner's Lincoln, it is still unclear which driver was responsible for the accident.

As a criminal lawyer who routinely deals with car accident cases, I wonder if this accident was caused by an impaired driver, since it occurred around 5:00 a.m. Sunday morning. Before I entered private practice, I served as a supervisor in the Broward County State Attorney's Office DUI unit. My job included prosecuting high profile DUI cases as well as training/supervising new DUI prosecutors.

After litigating hundreds and hundreds of DUI cases, it became clear that early Sunday morning is a ripe time for impaired drivers to be on the road. After spending Saturday night drinking and/or using drugs, many party-goers wind their way home between 1:00am and 6:00am Sunday morning.

This is a recipe for disaster because the level of their impairment can be peaking at the precise time when their alertness is most diminished due to the early morning hour. The combination of peak impairment with maximum sleepiness is the worst of all combinations.

Continue reading "One Person Dead in Forest Hill Blvd Crash in West Palm Beach, Florida" »

A man's arm was severed at a bus stop located at 1100 North Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale, Florida around lunch time today. According to Matt Little, the spokesman for the Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, the man's arm was severed after a vehicle collided with the bus bench he was sitting on. This story is just beginning to unfold and the details are not yet publicly known.

The man's name has not been published nor has the name of the driver of the vehicle who hit him. So far, there is no indication as to whether or not this case may involve a DUI or some other criminal offense. No arrests have been made thus far.

Regardless, the victim in this case should immediately hire an attorney to represent his interests. He may be entitled to extensive monetary compensation and building a strong case starts now.

First, this man must focus his energy on getting medical attention for his injury. Since his arm was severed, he may need to have multiple surgeries to repair his wound and minimize any pain or damage to his bones or nerves.

Once he is able to think clearly, this man or his family should hire the most intelligent lawyer they can find. To get the best results possible, I think the ideal lawyer for this case would have ample courtroom experience, be extremely familiar with police investigations of car accidents, as well as have a solid professional understanding of how injuries and liability translate into a winnable case for court.

As this man recovers from losing his arm, his lawyer must begin work on the case immediately. There is absolutely no time to waste.

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