TILDEN LAW – Orlando Criminal Attorney

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.

Orange County detectives arrested a Marion County Methodist pastor on allegations of soliciting a minor for sex and transmitting harmful materials to a minor.  According to Orlando detectives, pastor Kenneth Kleckner, a pastor at the Ocala West United Methodist church, a high school teacher from Texas was the latest to be arrested in a sex sting operation earlier today. 

According to authorities, Kleckner, a 44-year-old pastor, who is married and has four children, exposed himself via a web camera and talked about meeting the girl, Graves said.  They communicated through Yahoo and other chat services, and those communications took place at the church and Kleckner’s home, the detective said.

Detective’s said that Kleckner was “immediately remorseful,” when he was arrested at the church Friday andadmitted to engaging in the chats,” Graves said.  Kleckner was booked into the Marion County Jail on $55,000 bond.

Kleckner’s arrest follows that of Selami Duman, a 28-year-old high school teacher from Ft. Worth, Texas, who was also nabbed in a sheriff’s sex sting.  Duman was arrested in June after he traveled to Orlando to meet with who he thought was a girl he met online for sex, investigators said.  Graves said Duman also exposed himself on a web camera.  Duman was arrested June 15 on charges of transmitting harmful material to a minor and soliciting a minor for sex. He was released from the Orange County Jail on June 18 on GPS monitoring.

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

The Orange County State Attorney’s office dropped a DUI charge against D’Anne Leigh Mica, daughter of U.S. Rep. John Mica, after an Orange County judge granted a defense motion to suppress the woman’s initial stop by the police, according to court records and sources familiar with the case.

D’Anne Leigh Mica was arrested in early 2010 on a charge of driving under the influence after police said she was stopped with a blood-alcohol content more than twice the legal limit.  Mica’s Orlando defense attorney filed motions to suppress the stop of Mica’s vehicle based on the Maitland Police officer being outside his jurisdiction when he stopped her.  The basis for the stop was to “check on her well being.”  The defense successfully argued that there was in sufficient probable cause to follow the woman and make the stop. 

Specifically, the defense argued that police cannot leave their jurisdiction to “check” on people for a “well-being” check and therefore had no authority to stop Mica’s vehicle outside their jurisdiction.  

Prosecutors initially planned to appeal the ruling but last week decided to drop the case. A police report indicated that Mica, a 34-year-old public-relations executive, was driving east on Horatio Avenue early on Jan. 8 when her black SUV drifted back and forth.  An officer stopped her and asked if she was OK. He noticed the smell of alcohol on her breath and that her eyes were glassy and bloodshot, he wrote in the report.

Mica also reportedly failed two officer-administered breath tests, blowing a 0.192 percent and a 0.198 percent. The legal limit is 0.08 percent.

If you have been arrested or charged with a DUI in Orlando and are facing criminal prosecution in either Orange County, Seminole County, Florida, or if you have had your driver license suspended for a DUI, contact the attorneys at Tilden Law for an initial and confidential consultation, 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.

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.

Orange County courts are currently offering a deferred prosecution program for some DUI cases.  This deferred prosecution program is called Orange County DUI Pre Trial Diversion.  There are also two tiers of Orange County DUI diversion based on the breath/blood test results or if there was a breath test refusal.  Tier one DUI Pre-Trial Diversion is for those DUI cases where the breath/blood averages to less than .15 and tier two DUI Pre Trial Diversion is for those cases where the individual either refuses the breath test or his/her average breath/blood results are .15 or greater. The primary benefit to such a program is, upon successful completion of its terms and conditions, the office of the State Attorney will file a dismissal of the DUI charge.  Unfortunately, the State Attorney’s office is very selective in their admission policy and only admit individuals whose case fits into its narrow parameters.    Some of the qualification criteria include:

1. Information received by the State Attorney indicates client is a good candidate to successfully complete and benefit from the program.
2. No prior alcohol related criminal offenses.
3. No accident alleged in the present case including single car accidents.
4. No more than one prior diversion program or two prior misdemeanor charges.  

At TILDEN LAW, we evaluate every client’s case to determine whether they are qualified for the DUI pre trial diversion program and whether there is a greater likelihood of dismissal through other means.  We work with both the Court/State Attorney and the PTD program coordinator to make our client’s entry and completion as smooth as possible.

If you have been arrested or charged with a DUI in Orlando and are facing criminal prosecution in either Orange County, Seminole County, Florida, or if you have had your driver license suspended for a DUI, contact the attorneys at TILDEN LAW  for an initial and confidential consultation, 407-599-1234.

According to Florida arrest records, 1,092 people were arrested or cited for underage drinking in Panama City, Daytona Beach, Orlando and other vacation destinations in the Sunshine State during Spring Break this year

These statistics were made available from The Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco.  The 2010 spring break lasted from March 2, 2010 through Sunday, March 28, 2010.

Of those arrested, 39 arrests were for selling or giving alcoholic beverages to the underage, 50 for providing false identification to a law enforcement officer, and four for narcotics,’ the agency said in a statement.  Most of the underage drinkers nabbed were caught in Panama City. Orlando had only four, said Alexis Lambert, a spokeswoman for the agency.

Earlier this month, agents targeted bars near the University of Central Florida UCF, on Patrick’s Day. Authorities arrested 23 minors for drinking alcohol at Knight Library and TD’s sports bars on March 17.  If f convicted, those charged could face 60 days in jail or pay a $500 fine.

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver and former Super Bowl MVP, Santonio Holmes, is facing a civil law suit from a University of Central Florida student suit based on allegations of the star wide receiver throwing a glass at the student’s face at a Orlando area nightclub in March of this year.  Anshonae Mills, 21, is seeking more than $15,000 in damages for battery, assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress from the March 7 incident at Rain Nightclub.

Mills filed her civil law suit in Orange County Circuit civil court alleging that Holmes was intoxicated and quarrelsome offered at the J. J. Whispers nightclub and further offered to pay her to keep quiet about the incident and not press charges. 

According to the civil suit, Mills was sitting on the arm of a couch in the VIP section while speaking with her friend, when Holmes approached her and told her to “get up.” When she refused to move, Holmes started “yelling and waving his arms” in front of Mills. She grabbed his hand to prevent him from hitting her. Holmes yanked his hand away and the two began arguing. Other patrons at the club who saw the spat intervened to keep Holmes from grabbing Mills, the suit states. While the two were separated, Holmes threw his drink, glass cup included, at Mills’ face. She was hit on the right side of her face and cut near her eye.

Mills said she felt pressure from Holmes and Orlando police officers and gave a short, incoherent witness statement and said she did not intent to press charges.  An incident report by Orlando police was not completed or available for public inspection Monday, more than 21 days after the attack.

This is the second time in a month that a Steelers player is accused of attacking a woman. Earlier this month, Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was accused of assaulting a college student in Georgia. Roethlisberger has not been charged.

Public records show Mills has two prior arrests including an arrested in June on a domestic violence charge, which accused her of pushing her boyfriend into a wall at Pegasus Landing apartments. She was jailed, but the charges were later dropped, records show.

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.

An Orlando International Airport tollbooth operator has been arrested Friday for allegedly stealing money from airport customers who parked at the airport.  Susanna Harutyunyan, 43, of Orlando, faces three fraud charges, including swindling people to obtain property, possessing the identification of another person without consent and fraudulent use of a pay card scanning device.

Harutyunyan worked at the airport as an employee of Ampco, a parking-management company as a tollbooth operator.  An investigation started when a CitiBank investigator notified Orlando police that he believed there to be 17 separate acts of fraud on customer’s charge cards that all used the Orlando International Airport parking.   

According to the investigation, it is alleged that the employee was using a credit-card scanning device to skim money from unsuspecting customers.  When police initially spoke to Harutyunyan, she told them her boyfriend, Artavazd Grigoryan, had sent the device to her and told her to use it to charge her cell phone earpiece, according to the arrest affidavit.  Ultimately, Harutyunyan admitted that she was swiping the credit cards and writing information about them for her boyfriend, according to the affidavit. She told police that she knew her actions were wrong, but did them for her boyfriend because she was in love.

The CitiBank investigator told deputies that the bank has reimbursed the credit-card holders’ account $2,926.73. The investigator also said he expects to press charges.