Florida Criminal Attorney Blog

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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Martin Durand, 30; Kevin Tiena, 29; Christopher Leyva 30; and Lazare Antoine, 27 were recently arrested in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for armed robbery. All were denied bail bond and remain in Broward County jail. While Durand has representation, it is not known whether the other three defendants have criminal defense attorneys.

The incident in question occurred at Club 303, located at 303 Southwest 6th St in Pompano Beach. According to the affidavit, the victim of the crime, Ala Ghazi Alrashed, told investigators he had purchased the club from Durand over a month before for about $40,000.

On the night of the incident, Alrashed was not initially at the club. He received word that several customers and employees had complained that Durand and his friends were harassing them. He came to the club to intervene, only to find that the locks were being changed on the doors of the club.

Alrashed attempted to stop this, at which point he says that Durand, Tiena, Antione and Leyva allegedly attacked him, putting him in a headlock and hitting him on the head with a gun magazine. Durand is said to have pointed a gun at Alrashed's stomach and cursed at him, threatening to kill him, before throwing him to the ground and stealing $2,000 cash from his pocket.

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Koosh Jewelers in Hollywood, Florida were the victims of a very shocking armed robbery earlier today. According to news reports, 4 men were involved in the heist. If caught, these men will be in dire need of a very experienced criminal defense attorney.

Of the four men involved, three are said to have entered the store while the fourth waited outside in a black, late model SUV. Witnesses described the three men who entered Koosh Jewlers between 5'10" and 6'2" in height. They were also described as being in their 20's.

One robber wore a tan Dickies style uniform, while another wore a similar uniform in grey. A third suspect allegedly wore tan pants and a black, long sleeve undershirt.

These descriptions are important because they will help police identify the robbers. If any arrests are made, identification will become a focal issue in the ensuing prosecutions.

Another major issue in this case will be the principal theory, which is used to charged co-conspirators in a crime. In a nutshell, if you participated in a crime you can be charged as a principal, even if you had a very minor role in the overall offense. For example, the guy who waited in the getaway car can be charged with armed robbery as a principal, even though he did not even enter the jewelry store, not to mention hold a gun to someone's head or demand money.

Continue reading "Gunmen Steal $1 Million in Jewelry Heist in Hollywood, Florida" »

Surveillance cameras at a Mobil gas station in Dania Beach, Florida captured images of two men committing armed robbery with a firearm against three victims. So far no arrests have been made.

The surveillance video begins with the two men exiting a white, newer model dodge charger. The men are seen wearing hoodie style sweatshirts with the hoods over their heads. The men are also seen wearing handkerchiefs over their faces to further conceal their identities.

The surveillance video clearly shows the men ordering the victims around as the hold guns to their bodies. The men are fast moving, aggressive, and go right for the register.

As a Fort Lauderdale criminal defense lawyer, I have no doubt in my mind that these men will get at least 30 years each in prison if every convicted.

Crimes like these are prosecuted very aggressively and are subject to Florida's 10-20-LIFE law, since they involved the use of guns in the commission of a felony.

Frankly, I have no respect for criminals like these. Armed robberies with firearms involve absolutely zero use of the human brain and are usually perpetrated by scum bags who are too lazy to get real jobs.

Instead, the rob the rest of us at gun point for our hard earned things. In the process, people sometimes get killed.

I'm sorry, I may be a very aggressive criminal defense lawyer, but I have no pity for animals like these.

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