TILDEN LAW – Orlando Criminal Attorney

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.

Lake County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit seized 329 marijuana plants valued at an estimated $329,000 on Friday.  The marijuana plants were found inside a grow house near Eustis in Lake County.  Sheriff’s detectives estimate the operation has been ongoing for over 6 months.

 Along with the marijuana plants, deputies also found lights, irrigation and other drug paraphernalia used in the operation.  So far, three individuals have been arrested and booked into the Lake County Jail in connection with the marijuana growing operation.

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.

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.

Merdeith Witt, a former Oviedo High School special education teacher, entered a plea before Seminole County Judge Jerri Collins earlier today. Witt had been formally charged with 4 counts of serving alcohol to a person under 21 and one count open house party. Two of the individuals alleged to receive alcohol from Witt were her students.

According to law enforcement, Witt, 32, gave one of the students the keys to her vehicle which was later involved in an accident leading to the arrest of one of the teens who was driving. Witt resigned from her teaching position shortly after her arrest.

Witt was sentenced to 30 days Seminole County jail by the court and placed on years probation. During her sentencing, Judge Collins stated “We have to trust and have confidence in our teachers, and you violated that trust and that confidence. … We cannot accept this from teachers.”

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.