Clearwater Criminal Defense Law Blog

Richard Hoagland sits in a Pasco County jail cell today. Declared legally dead in 2003, state and federal authorities say that he has been living life as Terry Jude Symansky, who has been deceased for 25 years next Saturday.According to local media, research conducted three years ago by the real Symansky's nephew on a popular genealogy site turned up a marriage license from 1995. Although Symansky's family initially delayed contacting authorities, allegedly out of fear that he might harm them, they relented and came forward in April.After allegedly taking on Symansky's identity, Hoagland...

A St. Petersburg man paralyzed in a collision with an unmarked Pinellas County Sheriff's vehicle has agreed with the sheriff's office on a $16 million settlement on Wednesday.Local media quoted Sheriff Bob Gualtieri as saying that his office accepts complete responsibility for the accident and believes that this is the best way to rectify the situation. According to Gualtieri, this settlement is likely the largest in the history of the Sheriff's Office.There seems to be little argument about the fact pattern - on January 12, Cpl. Joe Miner, who was driving an unmarked Buick LaCrosse with two...

A Sarasota woman was arrested last week after allegedly being found unconscious in a vehicle with two young children and a variety of illegal drugs.Sarasota County sheriff's deputies say Veronica Posey was discovered at half past seven in the evening on July 1 on Ashton Road a few blocks east of Swift Rd. They say she was unconscious in the driver's seat. Officers also indicated that two young children were unattended in the back seat.Deputies allege that, upon searching the vehicle, they discovered Tramadol, Alprazolam, Hydromorphone, amphetamine, crack cocaine, and a small amount of...

A New Jersey cyclist met his fate Wednesday evening on the W. Howard Frankland Bridge, allegedly the victim of a drunken hit-and-run driver from Miami.Authorities pronounced John M. Brennan, 44, dead at the scene of the accident on Frankland Bridge Wednesday night. Florida Highway Patrol troopers apprehended William B. Matthews, 67, shortly after the incident and transported him to the Pinellas County Jail, where he was booked just past midnight Thursday morning on charges relating to DUI manslaughter.Troopers allege that Matthews struck Brennan while he (Matthews) was driving his Toyota...

Robert Cesaire struck and killed motorcyclist Charles "Sonny" Ferguson in a head-on collision while drunk and driving the wrong way on an I-95 exit ramp seventeen years ago. On Friday, June 17, Cesaire was finally sentenced to seventeen years in prison for the slaying.Cesare, today aged 68, accepted a plea deal at the time and was out on a $13,700 bond with ten days to get his affairs in order prior to reporting to prison. At the time, his deal with prosecutors would have him serving ten years in prison, followed by deportation back to his home country of Haiti. However, rather than living...

Valrico resident Michelle Guy was sentenced this week to 48 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud. Her husband and co-defendant Kevin Guy was sentenced last month to 37 months in prison for his involvement in the same fraud. Each pleaded guilty earlier this year to the charges. In addition to the prison sentence, the federal court also ordered Michelle Guy to forfeit over 400 high-end purses, shoes, sunglasses, electronics, and other clothing, which are traceable to proceeds of the offense. She is also required to forfeit $2.2 million in cash, which the...

Acting on a Crime Stoppers tip that someone was manufacturing methamphetamine at a local motel, Hillsborough County deputies found an active lab beneath the bathroom sink in a room at the Masters Inn Tampa East in Seffner this week, according to a report from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.The report indicates that Devin Ray Devoe of Seffner invited the deputies into the room, where they discovered eight children and three other adults. Deputies responded to the room on a tip, along with Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, HAZMAT and representatives from the Child Protection...

Jennifer Meier Hunt, a former employee at Tampa-based staffing agency Kforce, pleaded guilty this week to charges related to stealing workers' identity information for use in tax refund fraud. Hunt was charged in federal court in Tampa with theft of government property and aggravated identity theft.According to Hunt's plea agreement, an informant alerted the FBI in April 2011 that two Kforce human resources employees, including Hunt, were accessing a company database and stealing identifying information for use in tax refund fraud. Called stolen identity tax refund fraud, the fraud involves...

Former Tampa Bay area attorney Lawrence Hartman was deported by Nicaraguan authorities deported last week and sent back to Florida where he faces fraud charges in Tampa's federal court. He is accused of participating in a $137 million fraud and money laundering scheme largely based in the Tampa Bay area. The Nicaraguan government says Hartman tried to get a Nicaraguan passport using a fraudulent birth certificate.U.S. prosecutors say Hartman is one of seven people charged in federal court in Tampa with a scheme that bilked investors out of at least $137 million. Several companies they...