TILDEN LAW – Orlando Criminal Attorney

Orange circuit judge Frederick Lauten ruled Monday that nearly 50,000 tickets issued to motorists caught by automatic cameras running red lights in Orlando during the past two years should be dismissed.  The effect of Judge Lauten’s ruling may require the city of Orlando to refund more than $4 million paid in fines. But because the ruling is almost certain to be appealed, it may be years before there’s a final decision.

In his ruling, Judge Lauten ruled that “Although the court believes the city’s articulated goal is laudable — increasing public safety by reducing red light-running — the challenged city ordinance intrudes on an area of law reserved to the state is therefore invalid,” Lauten wrote.  The ruling doesn’t mean Orlando will be turning its cameras off, because the Legislature changed the law earlier this year to allow enforcement cameras. But it would seem to throw out nearly 50,000 tickets mailed to violators before the new law took effect July 1.  Orlando city attorney’s certainly will appeal the judge’s ruling. 

Regardless, Lauten’s opinion could have implications for drivers photographed blowing through red lights across Florida.  The judge’s  decision did not touch on ticket refunds or damages. The city issued 48,579 red-light tickets from Sept. 1, 2008, to July 1, when the law changed. It had levied more than $6.2 million in fines and collected $4.3 million.  Refund checks wouldn’t show up in mailboxes anytime soon. An appeal could take 18 months or more.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.