Clearwater Criminal Defense Law Blog

A Brandon man is languishing in the Sarasota County Jail after authorities there accused him of murdering his girlfriend and attempting to burn her remains.Sarasota County deputies were dispatched to a vehicle fire on I-75 near Osprey in mid-October whereupon they discovered a Chrysler minivan aflame. Within the vehicle they subsequently discovered the charred body of Kristen Kelly, a 34-year-old mother of three.The county's investigation immediately focused upon Michael Connor Clark, Kelly's boyfriend and the father of her three children. The 34-year-old Brandon man allegedly told...

Hillsborough Sheriff's deputies say an argument ended in a fatal shooting last Thursday, and county authorities have charged the surviving party of murder as a result.According to deputies, 17-year-old Tamichael Broadnax and 20-year-old Reynaldo Charles Hernandez became engaged in a verbal altercation at around eleven o'clock that evening in the parking lot of a Town 'N Country apartment complex.Although authorities released few other details, they say that Hernandez eventually produced a firearm and shot Broadnax. Paramedics were dispatched and transported Broadnax to St. Joseph's Hospital,...

Brooksville police say a local property manager stole tens of thousands of dollars in rent and fees while working as a property manager earlier this year.According to Hernando county authorities, Maria Danielle Marriage absconded with around $45,000 in the months between May and September. Investigators say the fees she allegedly wrongfully pocketed included rent and security deposits, among others.Her former employer, an apartment complex in south Brooksville, says they conducted an internal audit and eventually involved law enforcement in a four-week investigation that ultimately led to...

A Tampa man is facing charges after police say he fled the scene of an accident that left a bicyclist dead.According to police, Aristeo Antonio Pascual was navigating his bicycle on the exit ramp from eastbound Interstate 4 to U.S. 301 in the pre-dawn hours of the day last Wednesday when a 2016 Mercedes 300C piloted by Christopher Jerimiah Cole allegedly struck Pascual.Highway patrol investigators say the collision threw the 44-year-old man from his bicycle. He was mortally injured in the collision, succumbing to his injuries at the site of the crash. Investigators say they found fragments...

Two brothers who Pinellas County authorities say shot and critically wounded their cousin turned themselves over to police early last week to face charges of second-degree murder.Christopher J. Henson, 30, and Divante Montreal Henderson, 25, are accused by county authorities of becoming embroiled in an argument with their cousin Taoufik Borji, 38, one evening in late September last year. According to deputies, Divante and Borji had a verbal altercation regarding the latter's relationship with the former's girlfriend earlier that morning at Borji's home in Badger Handcock Acres.Investigators...

A Spring Hill teen is accused by Hernando County authorities of shooting a woman in the face, critically injuring her.According to Hernando County sheriff's deputies, Christian Fitzgerald accosted Brianna Goble at an apartment complex clubhouse last Thursday evening around half past nine. There are no reports regarding what went on between the two, but authorities say Fitzgerald fired at Goble, striking her with at least one round in the skull.Goble was subsequently taken by helicopter to a nearby hospital where her condition was stabilized. According to Sheriff Al Nienhuis, doctors expect...

A man from St. Petersburg was sentenced to two decades in prison last week after pleading guilty to vehicular homicide.According to Pinellas County investigators, Taurus Randall Frederick became involved with an angry exchange with Jeron Anthony Davis last summer. The two allegedly became embroiled in an argument in a parking lot, but the dispute spilled over into the street, as the 30-year-old Davis ran across the street with the now-39-year-old Frederick in pursuit in his Chrysler 300.Per the arrest warrant, Davis stumbled on the curb after crossing the street and lost his footing....

Witnesses say a Tampa man beckoned a neighbor to his car, produced a firearm from within it, and fatally shot him.Authorities say Matthew and Susan Downey were standing outside of their home in Sun Bay South last weekend when Brian Joseph Baker signaled the couple to join him alongside his vehicle.Investigators did not say what, if any, was said among the trio, but they allege that Baker retrieved a .40-caliber handgun from his car, leveled it at Matthew, and fired several rounds at him. The investigative report continues by saying that Susan held the mortally-wounded Matthew as they awaited...

A Tampa man was arrested in Orlando last week on suspicion of committing a double murder at a Clair-Mel filling station earlier in the week.Hillsborough County deputies say Raynald Joseph Lamothe is responsible for the killing on Tuesday of Dremaine Vashaun Johnson and James J. Nicholas at a Palm River gas station. Police were summoned to the gas station early that morning to investigate a report of a shooting in the area. Upon their arrival they say they discovered the bodies of the 24-year-old Johnson and the 23-year-old Nicholas near a gas pump.According to a store employee Johnson and...

Pinellas County deputies say a St. Petersburg man and woman murdered the man for whom they both worked, then attempted to evade justice in South Florida.According to investigators, Jaritza Maribel Diaz and Christopher Lee Robertson II were hiding in a Homestead hotel when law enforcement caught up with them last week. The duo are suspected of killing their boss and owner of a local machine shop Christopher Dykes.Police say they were called to the machine shop in late August when an employee could not gain access to the building and was unable to find the 54-year-old Dykes. Upon forcing open...