TILDEN LAW – Orlando Criminal Attorney

TILDEN LAW represents clients in all Central Florida courts accused of Driving on Suspended License charges and HTO charges.  If you are facing a Orlando HTO or Suspended Driver Licenseharge or a Seminole County Suspended License related charge, call our office for a free case evaluation, 407 599-1234.

HTO and other Driving on Suspended Driver License charges are becoming increasingly common in both Orange County and Seminole County Corts.  Many people charged with suspended license crimes do not realize that many times there are both defenses to these charges and circumstances that may lead to their driver license being reinstated.  HTO license suspensions can lead to felony charges and  5 year license suspensions.  Many times, these sanctions can be avoided entirely by hiring a skilled attorney to negotiate a different outcome.

If you have been charged with Driving on a Suspended License in Orlando and are seeking aggressive representation, contact TILDEN LAW at (407) 599-1234 for a free case evaluation to determine whether you case can qualify for a dismissal of VOP criminal charges.

From the Orlando Sentinel…In his first public crackdown as acting police chief, Orange sheriff’s Capt. Ralph Groover has suspended Windermere reserve police Officer Gregory Fields, and the State Attorney’s Office today charged Fields with misdemeanor battery, Groover said.  “I have relieved him of his duties today as Windermere Police Officer pending administrative review,” Groover said in a statement.

The charge arose over a March incident in which Fields was accused of shoving a manager at his civilian job at Stericycle, a medical-waste-disposal company, and trying to start a fistfight, records show. When informed the company planned to call police, Fields said, “I am the [expletive] police, come find me after work and I will smoke you…,” records state.

Fields joined the troubled Windermere police force in 2008 after the Orange County Sheriff’s Office fired him for falsifying records. Last week, Windermere police Chief Daniel Saylor, 44, was arrested and charged with derailing a child-sexual-battery investigation against his friend Scott Bush, 50.

The Windermere Town Council has called a special meeting for Wednesday at 7 p.m. to discuss the police-chief scandal.

TILDEN LAW represents clients in Central Florida accused of DUI and Driving Under the Influence charges.  If you are facing a Orlando, Orange County or Seminole County DUI or Driving Under the Influence charge, call our office for a free case evaluation, 407 599-1234.

Ron DiMenna was arrested last Thursday afternoon and charged with DUI in Brevard County.  DiMenna, 73, is known by most as the founder of Ron Jon’s Surf Shops.  According to the Brevard County sheriff’s office, DiMenna’s pick-up truck was weaving which prompted a motorist to call 911.  DiMenna’s truck had a open 20 ounce can of Four Loko, a alcohol based drink, in his car at the time of his DUI arrest. 

According to police reports, DiMenna showed multiple signs of impairment including, difficulty walking when he stepped from his Ford pickup, flushed face, slurred speech and his demeanor was slow and lethargic.  Also noted in the report written by the deputy “I then requested him to explain the odor of alcoholic beverage coming from his person. Mr. DiMenna stated, ‘I’ve had a couple.’”

This is not the first DUI charged DiMenna has faced.  His prior DUI arrests were in 2005, when he pleaded guilty to reckless driving, and in 2007, when he was convicted of DUI, according to the Brevard-Seminole State Attorney’s Office. He lost his license for six months and was sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 178 days suspended.  Other arrests include a 1987 case in New Jersey when he was charged with illegal possession of drugs and firearms after a former employee died outside DiMenna’s motor home. DiMenna previously served 18 months in prison on a 1975 drug conviction.

In addition to driving under the influence on Thursday, DiMenna was charged with refusal to submit to a breath test, the report stated. He was booked into the Brevard County Jail and was released after paying $5,500 bail, the report stated.

If you have been arrested or charged with a Orlando DUI or Seminole County DUI charges either Orange County, Seminole County, Florida, contact the attorneys at Tilden Law for an initial and confidential consultation, 407-599-1234.

TILDEN LAW represents clients in Central Florida accused of Probation Violation charges.  If you are facing a Orlando, Orange County or Seminole County VOP charge, call our office for a free case evaluation, 407 599-1234.

Being charged with violation of probation or violation of community control is a serious matter. Without an experienced attorney on your side, you could be faced with being arrested and held in jail without bond until your violation is resolved. The Orlando criminal defense firm of Tilden Law represents clients facing violation of probation (VOP) charges and violation of community control charges in Orlando, Orange County and Sanford, Seminole County.

Criminal Defense Attorney, N. Fleetwood Tilden, is a former Central Florida Prosecutor who has spent the last 15 years practicing criminal law and has successfully represented and been involved in excess of 250 violation of probation, violation of community control and petitions for early termination of probation cases in Orlando, Orange County courts and Sanford, Seminole County courts.

A 13 year veteran with the Florida Highway Patrol has been sentenced in a case involving official misconduct, a third degree felony.  Former Florida Highway Patrol trooper, Wilfredo, Jay Bennett has agreed to forfeit his law enforcement certification for life as part of a plea deal struck between state prosecutors and his criminal defense attorney.  Bennett, was placed on supervised probation for a 5 year term and required to pay a fine of $5,000.00. 

Among the allegations, Bennett was accused of regularly engaging in sex while on duty with at least two former girlfriends.  In addition, Bennett is accused by another woman of spending time with her in her apartment while also on duty and offering to get a ticket dismissed against a woman if she cooked dinner for him and.  It was also alleged that Bennett gave a former girlfriend a ride in his patrol car on 50 occasions while in duty.  Bennett quit his position at FHP in January, 2010 on the day following his arrest.  Under the plea deal, adjudication was withheld, so Bennett will not have a felony conviction on his record. But the deal also means he can never be a law-enforcement officer anywhere in the United States.

If you have been arrested or charged with a crime in Orlando or Seminole County, contact the attorneys at Tilden Law for an initial and confidential consultation, 407-599-1234.

TILDEN LAW represents clients in Central Florida accused of domestic violence charges.  If you are facing a Orlando domestic violence battery charge or a Seminole County Domestic related charge, call our office for a free case evaluation, 407 599-1234.

The Pinellas County State Attorney’s Office chose to drop the misdemeanor domestic battery charge against New Port Richey Mayor Scott McPherson’s wife, Kimberly McPherson who was arrested at Grille 54 in the early hours of July 26 on a simple domestic battery charge.  McPherson was accused of slapping her husband during an exchange between the two and a Pasco County deputy. Scott McPherson said during a City Council meeting Tuesday that the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office has opened a Professional Standards investigation of the arresting deputy.

Results from the sheriff’s office investigation are pending, and McPherson said he will reserve further comment until those deliberations have concluded.

If you or someone you know has een arrested or charged with a Battery or Domestic Violence charge in Orlando and are facing criminal prosecution for Domestic Violence in either Orange County, Seminole County, Florida,  contact the attorneys at TILDEN LAW for an initial and confidential free consultation, 407-599-1234.

A 17 year old girl has accused an Altamonte Springs Officer of having a inappropriate sexual relationship with her.  The accusations were reported this past Friday.  Officer Clay Toomes resigned from the Altamonte Springs police force following the accusations and a four month suspension while under investigation by Orlando police.

 Information shows that the 17year old girl gave Officer Toomes her e-mail address at Orlando Regional Medical Center, where the high school girl was volunteering when the officer showed up to interview a patient involved in a traffic crash.

 According to court documents, the 38-year-old officer had sex with the 17-year-old girl. Police said he knew the victim was underage and a student at a local high school. Reports show that in one e-mail, the girl wrote, “I’m 17. I have no problem with the age gap, but you might.”  Toomes then replied, “I have to start by asking you, when do you turn 18?”

Documents show over the course of 5 months, they exchanged 89 e-mails. They exposed themselves to each other over the internet on a video chat account Toomes created under a fake name. They met on several occasions and had sex at least three times.

In one e-mail she wrote: “Birth control doesn’t work 1 percent of the time. I carried your child until I had that spontaneous abortion.”  Investigators won’t confirm if she really carried his child.

If you have been accused or are being investigated of criminal conduct in Central Florida, contact the Criminal Defense firm of Tilden Law for a free initial conference to discuss your rights and possible defenses, 407-599-1234.

Mildred Fernandez, former Orange County Commissioner, was charged in a 14 count charging document earlier today.  Fernandez faces numerous felony charges including racketeering, bribery, and grand theft.   Fernandez had recently put her hat in the ring for Orange County Mayor.

These allegations come after her recent arrest on allegations of accepting campaign contributions in exchange for helping a developer move his project ahead.

Fernandez was in the throes of a mayoral campaign when she was arrested April 27, but she was removed from her county commission post b by Governor Charlie Christ and she later abandoned her campaign.

The State Attorney’s Office has alleged that Fernandez agreed to help a man named Tony Cabrero push forward a commercial building project that was having difficulty gaining traction.  Fernandez is accused of forcing Cabrero to contribute to her campaign before agreeing to discuss his project in her district, according to an arrest affidavit.

Winter Park Police Vice Squad unit arrested Rollins College and UCF students Monday night during an undercover drug bust.  Students at both colleges spent the night in the Orange County Jail after a sting operation netted both buyers and sellers of illegal drugs. 

Among those arrested was Keith Prusak, 25, who is accused of selling a pound of marijuana/cannabis to a undercover drug agent. 

Police set up shop at the house on Northwood Boulvevard, near Baldwain Park, after arresting four or five occupants, spokesman Officer Jim Whitman said. All together, police seized three pounds of marijuana, four ounces of hallucinogenic mushrooms, 14 grams of cocaine, two pistols and $12,840 in cash. Of those arrested,  five defendants identified themselves as students.

The defendants included two or three from Rollins College and one or two from UCF, Whitman said.  One student arrested, Cory Fritch, 22, listed his home address as the Rollins campus on Holt Avenue in Winter Park. After agents sold him a small amount of pot from agents, they discovered he possessed almost a half-ounce of cocaine, records show

If you have been arrested or charged with a Drug Crime or other criminal offense in the Orlando area and are facing criminal prosecution in either Orange County, Osceola County or Seminole County, Florida, contact the attorneys at Tilden Law for an initial and confidential consultation, 407-599-1234.

Apopka Police officer Tanya Culver was arrested Sunday, April 4, 2010, by the Sanford Police department on allegations of domestic violence.  The arrest was officer Culver’s second in as many months on the same charge. 

Tanya Culver, 36, was arrested late Sunday for violating the conditions of her bond in a March domestic-violence case. She is accused of firing a gun at her husband and threatened to kill herself on March 7, according to an arrest report.

Culver’s husband called police just before 11 p.m. Sunday to report that his wife, who has been ordered to stay away from him, showed up at the same bar he was at in Sanford and threatened to kill him and then herself.

Culver told her husband she “would end him, run him over and kill herself,” according to the report.

After her husband left the bar, Culver then went to their shared home and called him from a cell phone that had been left the house, the report states. During that conversation she again threatened to kill herself, the report said. Culver was also ordered to stay away from their home.  She is being held without bond at the Seminole County jail.  Culver has been on unpaid leave from the Apopka Police Department since March 7.