Clearwater Criminal Defense Law Blog

Scott Greenberg was originally charged with manslaughter relating to the death of his girlfriend earlier this week but the charges have now been upgraded. He told police he had accidentally choked Jennifer Zale to death while they were having sex in a room at the Kenwood Inn Hotel in St. Petersburg. The couple had been living at the motel for several weeks.Greenberg called 911 on Tuesday, eight hours after he allegedly strangled Zale. He told investigators that they had been having consensual sex that went too far.After an autopsy was performed on Zale's body, the charge against Greenberg...

Thirty-nine-year-old David Rhea, a commercial fisherman from Pinellas Park, was shot and killed in his home last May. Three men then demanded money from Rhea's mother and fled the residence.Cody Dials, Randy White and Zachary Perrine have now been charged with first-degree murder in relation to Rhea's death.Dials and White were close friends to the Rhea family when they were in high school, even living at the Rhea house at times, according to the media.Witnesses told police that they observed Dials, White and Perrine planning a robbery on the night of May 6th during a party in a motel room....

Luis Antonio Santiago was charged this weekend with the first-degree murder of his girlfriend, Belinda Joyce Thomas, in Pinellas Park. A friend reported that Santiago, smelling of alcohol and crying, pounded on his door and confessed to the killing.The friend told police that Santiago had been despondent for weeks because he suspected Thomas was cheating on him. Santiago reportedly told the friend that he couldn't take it any longer, so he killed her.Authorities allege Santiago and Thomas got into an argument that turned violent. Thomas and her three elementary school age children left the...

A Pinellas County Circuit Court judge sentenced Demetrius Jordan this week to over 40 years in prison for DUI manslaughter, related to the deaths of four men on Aug. 1, 2010. Shortly after midnight on that date, Jordan, who was drunk and high, drove south on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street in St. Petersburg. According to law enforcement, his Chevrolet Impala traveled at speeds of approximately 92 mph, despite a speed limit of 35 mph.Elroy McConnell and his three adult sons, ages 19 to 51, were traveling in a Ford Fusion that entered the intersection at the exact same moment as Jordan's...

A 23-year-old Clearwater man has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Adrianne Robert earlier this month. Thomas Frederick is also charged with stealing Robert's car after the murder.Robert was found dead by her roommate early July 14 in their Clearwater apartment. An investigation revealed that Robert and her roommate were celebrating their last night as roommates and had been drinking when they decided to walk to Diamond Dolls strip club about a mile and a half from their home. There, they reportedly struck up a conversation with Frederick, whom they did not know.After...

A Florida Highway Patrol trooper from Tampa was arrested this week and charged with three counts of withholding information from a practitioner. He is accused of "doctor shopping" to obtain prescription painkillers.According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, trooper Ryan Evan Brescia is accused withholding information from two doctors on three occasions to get hydrocodone-acetaminophen. Allegedly, neither doctor was aware that the other physician had prescribed drugs to Brescia.A department spokesperson said the incidents took place between February 2010 and March 2012.Brescia...

Investigators in Polk County arrested 30 people following a 10-month investigation into drug trafficking. The arrests were part of "Operation City Sweep," a multi-agency effort that involved four search warrants and undercover purchases of drugs and weapons. Investigators included members of the Polk sheriff's office, Bartow Police Department and Central Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force.According to the sheriff's office, the investigation began in August, related to the sale of crack cocaine. Investigators then followed a trail of information on drug trafficking...

The murder trial of Tivasha Logan of Lakeland began this week in Polk County Circuit Court. Logan is accused of starving her infant daughter to death in November 2009.Prosecutors allege that Logan did not give her baby, 5-month-old Chauntasia Gardner, sufficient food and nourishment to sustain life. She is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter of a child. If convicted, she could receive up to life in prison.The baby's father faces the same charges but his trial will be held separately at a later date.The State's attorney told jurors in his...

Over Memorial Day weekend, Winter Haven resident William Cornwell, a U.S. Navy veteran and security guard at Winter Haven Hospital, shot and killed 40-year-old Christopher Brian Deese. Polk County Sheriff's deputies report that Deese broke into Cornwell's home and challenged him to a fight after a night of heavy drinking.According to authorities, Deese yelled, "You wanna fight?", then pulled off his shirt and charged at Cornwell. Cornwell shot Deese once in the chest with a .380 caliber pistol.The men were strangers and there is apparently no explanation for the fact that Deese began banging...