TILDEN LAW – Orlando Criminal Attorney

Suspected burglar, James E. Washington, was arrested today on charges of burglary and resisting a law enforcement officer without violence.  Washington, 49, was as arrested as he lodged himself in a rooftop air vent unable to free himself. 

Witnesses told police that Washington was seen remving copper wire from the side of a building on North Orange Blossom Trial in Orlando at 2:15 a.m. Washington was ultimately arrested for resisting an officer for refusing to obey a lawful order given by law enforcement.    

In an effort to gain Washington’s cooperation, police indicate they fired a Taser at Washington stunning him.  Washington was being held at the Orange County Jail on $3,600 bond.

Orlando waitress and alleged Tiger Woods mistress, Mindy Lawton, is scheduled to stand trial on April 21, 2010 on allegations of Driving Under the Influence (DUI). Lawton, 33, is charged with Felony DUI causing injury based on allegations that she crashed into a vehicle stopped at a red light last August.

Orange Circuit Judge Alan Apte is scheduled to preside over the trial at the Orange County Courthouse in Orlando. Lawton is best known as one of the more than dozen women who stepped forward claiming a inappropriate affair with golfer Tiger Woods last year. Lawton who faces up to 5 years prison if convicted, is scheduled for jury selection and trial on April 12 at 8:30.

Atlanta Braves pitcher, Deunte Heath, 24, was arrested in Kissimmee, Florida during a Craigslist prostitution sting operation.  Heath, of Decatur, Georgia, was released after posting $2,000 bond from the Osceola County jail.  According to Kissimmee police investigators, Heath is accused of agreeing to pay $75 for a undisclosed sex act with a prostitute. 

According to Atlanta Braves officials, Heath, a minor league pitcher with the organization, was suspended and sent back to his Decatur, Georgia home after the incident.   Heath was in Central Florida with the rest of his team for Braves spring training headquartered at Walt Disney World’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

Heath faces charges of soliciting a prostitute and entering a dwelling for prostitution, jail records show. Prior to signing with the Braves, Heath played college baseball at the University of Tennessee and was the Braves’ 19th-round pick in the 2006 amateur draft. He played in 32 minor-league games last year, seven with the Class AAA Gwinnett Braves and 25 with the Class AA the Mississippi Braves.

Police said detectives set up the sting by posting classified ads on the Craigslist and Backpage websites. The men and women arrived Wednesday and Thursday to a townhouse in Kissimmee and agents quickly arrested them.

Orange County Circuit Court Judge Stan Strickland ruled Friday that Case Anthony is indigent and therefore the State of Florida is responsible for paying some of the costs associated with her defense.  Casey Anthony stands accused of first-degree murder in connection with the 2008 death of her 2 year old daughter.  The State Attorney’s Office is seeking the death penalty if convicted. 

It had recently been disclosed that Casey Anthony received as much as $200,000 in licensing fees from ABC News for exclusive rights to Casey Anthony’s photos and videos.  According to Anthony’s lawyer, that money has already been spent leaving her with nothing to pay for the balance of her defense.  

Among the costs born on the State of Florida include, expert witness fees, investigators fees, travel expenses for out of state attorneys and deposition fees.  Specifically excluded are the legal fees paid to her attorney. 

In determining Casey Anthony’s financial status, Judge Sriickland reviewed her financial paperwork and affidavit declaring her inability to pay defense costs along with any declared assets.

According to in court testimony, José Baez testified that he had received $89,500 while putting in about 2,500 hours of work. Andrea Lyon, a professor in Chicago, testified that she is representing Anthony for free but had been reimbursed $22,500 for expenses.

There were Two more arrests of Volusia County Beach Patrol officers during an ongoing investigation of alleged illegal sexual activity.  Robert Paul Tameris, 44, was arrested Wednesday for a second time, while Capt. Jecoa Simmons, 37, was arrested Thursday morning.

Tameris, who was first arrested in October, is charged with unlawful sexual activity with a minor in both cases. Simmons, who was notified by Volusia County last week that he was being fired, faces charges of solicitation to commit perjury in an official proceeding and witness tampering.

In the latest charges, Tameris is accused of having sex with a teenager three times at his home — the first time on her 17th birthday. The State Attorney’s Office did not file charges in the case last year, citing insufficient evidence.

The girl, a former part-time lifeguard for the Beach Patrol, first came forward last year, records show. She said she had sex with Tameris, Simmons and lifeguard Christin Duarte. Duarte was notified last week that he was being fired.

The teenager gave Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigators details of sexual encounters with the three men that she said occurred between August and December 2008, according to a report released at the time.

The girl “said she was never forced to have sex with anyone, it was consensual,” according to the report. She also told investigators that no one took any photos or video of her.  Cell-phone records showed the teenager spent a lot of time exchanging text hundreds of messages and talking with the three men, according to the report.

According to an arrest affidavit, the girl was 16 when Tameris met her while she was sunbathing on the beach. They had sex 20 to 25 times at the officer’s home, State Attorney’s Investigator Michael K. Taylor said in the report. On at least one occasion, Tameris video-recorded sex with the girl without her knowledge, Taylor said.  Tameris also sent a lewd photo to the girl during that period, the report said.

Simmons is accused of contacting a witness in the case that was discovered in December, according to an arrest affidavit. She told investigators she had engaged in sex with both Tameris and Simmons, the report said.

Simmons is accused of telephoning her to ensure that she did not discuss their relationship with investigators. Investigators monitored phone calls on Dec. 15 and 16 during which Simmons told the girl he was calling from a pay phone because he was not sure if his work and cell phone were being monitored and gave the woman instructions to lie and say they did not have a sexual relationship, the report said.

According to the report, he also told the woman to lie and tell investigators he never came to her apartment, but then changed and told her to tell investigators he was at her apartment to visit her infant son.

An unnamed veteran Altamonte Springs police officer has been suspended while under criminal investigation according to Altamonte Springs Police Chief Robert Merchant.  What is unknown at this time is both the identity of the officer and the nature of the criminal investigation.  At this time an outside agency is conducting the investigation, but Merchant declined to name the agency.

According to Merchant, the officer under investigation has more than 10 years experience with the agency and the conduct is related to “off-duty” activity.  The officer is suspended with pay until the outcome of the investigation. 

This investigation comes on the heels of other officers being investigated for wrongdoing.  Deputy Chief George Small is suspended with pay while he is under investigation in a case that reportedly involves ticket-fixing and Lt. Dale Picou is under investigation for losing a portable computer drive that contained information about the agency’s confidential informants. He was not suspended.  Also,Officer Ashley Rowe, 24, resigned earlier this year after the Florida Highway Patrol determined she was intoxicated when she was involved in a Dec. 15 crash that seriously injured a passenger in her car. She was off-duty at the time.

Officer Mark Maupin resigned in June as he faced termination for a November 30, 2008 crash in which investigators determined he was driving 104 mph in his patrol car when he crashed into the back of stopped car.

With the exception of Rowe, all of the officers who have gotten into trouble in recent months have been with the agency eight to 30 years, said Merchant.

Daytona Beach authorities have received reports of 6 sexual assaults during the first week of Spring Break 2010. Detectives were called by a 37 year old woman to reported that she was grabbed by her hair by a unidentified male while walking to the restroom at the newly renovated Ocean Center and pulled into a men’s bathroom stall where she was sexually assaulted. The attack occurred sometime after 4:00 p.m. in broad daylight.

It is common for sexual assaults to increase during the Spring Break month of March. “All of last year we had a total of 41 sexual assaults,” Police Chief Mike Chitwood said Tuesday. “Here we have six in one week.”

In an unrelated incident, Daytona Beach police arrested a rape suspect in another incident that involved heavy drinking. The suspect is accused of raping a Spring Breaker at the Plaza Resort & Spa, on North Atlantic Ave. According to an arrest report, the suspect engaged in sex with a woman who was unconscious because she was drunk. The suspect admitted to investigators the woman was already drunk when he met her earlier in the day on March 14. He said he decided to buy her more booze and then had sex with her at least twice in two different hallways of the hotel, an arrest report states.

The other four rapes occurred at another hotel, behind a popular beachfront restaurant and one on the mainland after a woman met a man at a nightclub and invited him over, the chief said.

Two Orlando men were arrested earlier today after being stopped by an Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy for a traffic infraction.  Deputy Richard Febo pulled over driver Derrick Newton, 30, who was driving with his door open while trying to flirt with a woman in the parking lot near Hiawassee and Silver Star roads. When asked by the Deputy why he was driving with his door open, Newton reportedly stated, “Man, I was hollering at that girl.”

 As Deputy Febo spoke with Newton, he could smell marijuana coming from Newton’s vehicle and called for a back-up deputy to assist him.  After stepping outside his vehicle, Newton agreed to be patted down, but would not let the deputy search his car and told the deputy he didn’t have an illegal guns or drugs, according to an arrest report.

The Deputy’s search of Newton’s vehicle netted 40.7 grams of crack cocaine, 249.7 grams of marijuana and a loaded .357 revolver, according to the report. Deputies also found a large pink purse in the trunk, which held a digital scale and most of the marijuana, the report stated.

Newton’s passenger, Andrew Johnson, was also arrested. Deputies found more than $4,960 in Johnson’s pockets when he was patted down. Johnson told deputies he recently sold a gold necklace for $3,800, but couldn’t tell deputies where he sold it and didn’t have a receipt.  He later changed his story about why he had so much cash in his pockets, according to his arrest affidavit.

Johnson was charged with seven counts, including drug and gun charges. Newton is facing six charges, including trafficking in cocaine and possession of a firearm in commission of a felony. He faced an additional charge of introducing contraband into the jail, after he told officials he had marijuana in his wallet, reports show.

Both men are being held at the Orange County Jail on more than $100,000 bond each.

Three Volusia County Beach Patrol officers were fired based on allegations of sexual misconduct with under age girls.   Capt. Jecoa Simmons, lifeguard Christian Duarte and Beach Patrol officer Robert Paul Tameris were accused last year by the former lifeguard of having sex with her. Citing insufficient evidence, no charges were brought against the three by the State Attorney’s office for allegedly having sex with the 17-year-old, the State Attorney’s Office said.

After the initial accusations, a second teenager came forward, alleging multiple sexual encounters with Tameris who was charged with unlawful sexual activity with a minor.  The victim who was 16-years old told authorities she met Tameris while she was sunbathing on the beach. The two engaged in sex 20 to 25 times at the officer’s home, according to State Attorney’s Investigator Michael K. Taylor.  On at least one occasion, Tameris video-recorded sex with the girl without her knowledge, and sent a lewd photograph of the girl, Taylor said.

Investigators monitored phone calls and text messages between Tameris and the girl, including two calls they set up in which Tameris acknowledged having sex with the girl “frequently” when they first met, as well as videotaping one of the encounters, according to an arrest report.

The county is firing Simmons and Duarte on grounds of unprofessional conduct and inappropriate relationship with a minor. Simmons also was accused of tampering with or harassing a witness victim or informant and improperly using state driver’s license and criminal justice data bases.  Miranda, who is accused of lying for Duarte, is being fired on grounds of unprofessional conduct.

An Orlando News Channel 13 anchor was arrested on allegations that he impersonated a law enforcement officer.  Spanish language broadcaster, Victor Juan Martinez, 33, faces 3^rd degree felony charges.  The allegation stemmed from a February 15, 2010 report that Martinez flashed a fake police badge at a man while driving in an attempt to scare him after following him home in February.

While Martinez denies any wrongdoing and claims he was working as a news anchor on the day in question. After interviewing the alleged victim, investigators with the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office believe otherwise.  Investigators used information gathered from Martinez’ E-Pass and determined he was in the area alleged by the victim and spoke with Martinez’ supervisor who dispute his story. 

According to investigators, the victim had seen Martinez swerving in and out of traffic on State Road 417 in Orange County. At some point, Martinez tried merging into the victim’s lane, but couldn’t make it and was forced to merge after the victim had passed him.  When the victim arrived home with his toddler and pulled into his driveway, he spotted Martinez’s car suddenly drive behind him and partially block him.

“[Martinez] got out of his car and told the victim he was a police officer,” Lizasuain said. Martinez then flashed a badge that resembled a star-shaped badge and said he knew where the victim lived and had his auto tag number.
Martinez then jumped into his car and sped away.   The victim later identified Martinez in a photo lineup. He was arrested Friday at his home on an arrest warrant and booked him into the Osceola County Jail on a $1,000 bond.