TILDEN LAW – Orlando Criminal Attorney

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.

An Orlando police officer accused of grabbing a woman’s lactating breast while working off duty resigned today.

Loverde, 31, is accused of grabbing the new mother’s breast after he walked her to her car at Firestone Live, a concert venue on North Orange Avenue downtown.   He is charged with battery, a first degree Misdemeanor  and false imprisonment, a second degree Felony. He was suspended without pay from the department on Dec. 17.

Loverde is currently out on bond in the amount of $5,500 with the additional condition of having no contact with the alleged victim.  Trial is currently scheduled for June 21, 2010.

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.

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.

Anthony Ducasse, 25, of Clermont was arrested by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and accused of attempting to smuggle approximately 7 ounces of Marijuana into a state prison facility in Clermont.   Ducasse had been employed as a contracted food service worker. 

According to Lake County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Jim Vachon, the drugs were discovered during a daily pat down of workers entering the Lake Correctional Institution off U.S. Highway 27 in Clermont. Deputies responded to the scene at the request of prison officials and apprehended Ducasse today, Vachon said.  The drugs were in a plastic bag and concealed in Ducasse’s pants.

Antony Ducasse, 25, was found in possession of the narcotics during a staff inspection at a prison gate, according to a statement from LCSO Sgt. Jim Vachon. The street value of the drugs was estimated at $500.  No additional illegal drugs were found after authorities conducted a search of Ducasse’s vehicle.

Ducasse is facing charges of possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana, introduction of contraband into a state facility and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, all felony charges.  He is now held at the Lake County Jail on $12,000 bond.

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, Volusia County or Seminole County, Florida, contact the attorneys at Tilden Law for an initial and confidential consultation, 407-599-1234.

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.