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Here’s a portion of the dispatch audio that covers what was said before Scot Peterson arrived on scene until after killer Nikolas Cruz left the 1200 building and fled the school. This does not include what was said on the school radio as that was not recorded. When listening to the audio, note that Nikolas Cruz was inside the 1200 building for 6 minutes and 38 seconds, from 2:21:16 – 2:27:54. Cruz was on the first floor for 2 minutes and 9 seconds.It’s critical to note that Peterson was NOT on the scene while Cruz was shooting on the first floor. Cruz was on the second floor for 41 seconds.
Cruz was on the third floor for 3 minutes and 3 seconds. Cruz was a barricaded sniper inside the 3rd floor teachers’ lounge for the last 2 minutes on the 3rd floor. The investigation concluded that Cruz fired his last round at 2:27:10, 5 minutes and 26 seconds after his first shot.At 2:23:17 Peterson arrives on scene with Greenleaf and Medina arrive on scene. At 2:23:25 Cruz shot and killed security monitor Aaron Feis outside the west stairwell door of the 1200 building. At 2:23:26, 1 second later, Peterson reported to BSO dispatch (channel 8A) of “shots fired.” Peterson then advised CODE RED over the school radio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgcLJFz2WKQ

traffic-light-514932_1920-2-200x300A federal appeals court is seeking the Supreme Court of Florida to help settle an objection to fees that red-light camera providers may charge motorists.

The proposed class-action case results from a $7.90 fee charged to a Florida motorist after a camera owned by a third-party firm filmed him in North Miami Beach running a red light. The company, a big well-known in the red-light camera industry, included the charge after the man paid his $158 penalty using a credit card.

The man filed the case arguing, in part, that based on Florida law, the charge contained “unjust enrichment.” A federal circuit judge ruled with the company and dismissed the lawsuit, but in a 31-page ruling, the appeal panel recommended that the Florida Supreme Court answer questions regarding state law interpretations. This procedure is known as certifying questions to the state court.

give-5242150_1920-1-300x233A convicted felon is in the news for his recent lawsuits filed against South Florida landlords that decline to rent to convicted felons. The man suing spent over ten years in prison for nonviolent felonies such as grand theft, drug possession, and burglary.

Over 100 landlords have been sued since the man began asking landlords the question. The letter received by the landlords states that their rejection is a violation of the Federal Equal Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, and sex, while the legislation does not expressly preclude blanket bans on renting to felons.

Targeted property owners’ attorneys say the man, member, and president of an organization dubbed the Florida Fair Housing Alliance (FFHA), has been operating a revenue-generating for-profit litigation mill. However, according to the man and the organization’s attorney, the purpose of the organization is to compel unlawfully caught landlords to change its policies.

https://www.floridacriminaldefenselawyerblog.com/files/2020/07/Screen-Shot-2020-07-23-at-4.13.45-PM-300x200.png
A longtime federal agent accused of supplying insider information to a suspected member of a Miami-Dade County painkiller-distribution racket has been indicted on several charges arising from an investigation into FBI corruption.

The agent with the Inspector General’s Office of the Department of Health and Human Services made his initial federal court appearance in Miami earlier this week, facing allegations of conspiring to commit a crime against the United States, tampering with witnesses, obstructing justice and selling oxycodone. The prosecutor has arranged for a pre-trial detention hearing. He is charged with the painkiller scam along with an alleged participant who also appeared with him in federal court.

In a corruption inquiry that began in March 2019, both men were caught on wiretaps discussing protecting each other as well as allegedly making Santeria religious curses and threatening to murder snitches during the Oxycodone investigation. They were both charged and taken into federal custody.

WHAT HAPPENED

Disney World is a magical place, however, it was hell on Earth for great-grandmother Hester Burkhalter. The 69-year-old with painful arthritis had planned the trip for two years. Because of the debilitating pain in her legs, shoulder and arms, she uses CBD oil. Fortunately, it helps her immensely.

At the Disney checkpoint outside of the Magic Kingdom, an Orange County Deputy discovered the CBD oil in her purse. She was stripped of her liberty and then hauled off to jail. Charged with felony possession, she then spent 12 hours in the pokey before finally being released on a $2,000 bond.

INTRODUCTION

This sounds like the beginning of a bad joke: “A guy with a Trump hat walks into a bar and…” It’s not a joke. It actually happened in New York City in January 2017 and the guy, Greg Piatek, was wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat. An employee at “The Happiest Hour” bar allegedly provided Piatek with poor service. After complaining to bar staff, one employee allegedly told him, “Anyone who supports Trump-or believes in what you believe-is not welcome here! And you need to leave right now because we won’t serve you!” Piatek then sued the bar, alleging discrimination. Was the bar’s conduct illegal?

ANALYSIS

FACTS

A woman from Fort Bend County, Texas has been threatened with arrest for a particular bumper sticker she chose to put on her truck. The sticker reads, “F-ck Trump and f-ck you for voting for him.” The woman, Karen Fonseca, was arrested as a result of an outstanding warrant for fraud. After her arrest, Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls posted a photo of Fonseca’s truck on Facebook. Along with the photo, he wrote, “I have received numerous calls regarding the offensive display on this truck as it is often seen along FM 359. If you know who owns this truck or it is yours, I would like to discuss it with you,” the post read. “Our Prosecutor has informed us she would accept Disorderly Conduct charges regarding it, but I feel we could come to an agreement regarding a modification to it.” After the sheriff posted the photo and accompanying comments, the story went viral. Countless folks passionately defended the bumper sticker as free speech. The sheriff claims that the objective of his post was simply to locate the owner/driver of the truck and to initiate a dialogue with her/him. He further claims that he wanted to prevent a “potential altercation” between the truck’s driver and those who may be offended by the message. The sheriff claims he removed the post solely because the owner of the truck had been identified. Fonseca said that she and her husband have had that bumper sticker for approximately a year and has no regrets for displaying it. She can’t believe that a simple sticker could cause so much “arousal.” (her words)

ANALYSIS

We had the case in the bag. As a young prosecutor, I was helping another colleague in the trial of a career criminal/violent offender accused of armed robbery. The evidence we had presented was considerable and compelling and we had just called our last witness, a cop. I didn’t think we should have called him to testify. After all, his entire role was to show up at the scene after the fact and then haul the guy off to jail. He didn’t have any role in the investigation. But who was I to make a decision like that? This was my partner’s case and I was just helping out, happy to get the trial experience.

The officer took the stand and my colleague asked him a few questions about his role transporting the accused to jail. As I expected, the cop’s answers added nothing exceptional to our case. When my partner finished his line of questioning he asked the judge if he could have a moment to confer with me. “Absolutely,” the judge said.

When he came over to the prosecution table I whispered vehemently “That’s all. You covered it. Let the defense have him and then let’s rest.”

My client was facing a life sentence for burglary with an assault and armed robbery. She had been a prostitute most of her life, and had been labeled a “Habitual Violent Offender” by the prosecutors, based on her extensive criminal record. The charges stemmed from an incident in which she and a friend allegedly entered the house of one of her clients and held a machete to his throat while the friend took his wallet. She could get life.

I was both excited and a little nervous about taking this one to trial because we would be before the infamous Judge Ellen “Maximum” Morphonios, known for her penchant for dishing out thousand-year sentences. She had been profiled by both “60 Minutes” and People magazine and had sometimes exhibited bizarre behavior. After sentencing a rapist to a life sentence, she reportedly stood up and lifted up her robe, revealing her rather shapely legs, and remarked, “That’s the last time in your life that you’re going to see a pair of legs like this.” Another story involved a defendant’s mother, who cried so hard that she passed out on the floor. Morphonios continued the court’s business, announcing “Next defendant. Step forward. Step over the body.”

It was evident at the outset of our trial that the judge had taken a liking to the victim, who was in his late 90s. Testifying through a Spanish interpreter, the victim revealed that he had been paying for the sexual services of my client three times a week for several years. They had engaged, he said, in both oral and regular sex.

Remember the show “Happy Days?” The Fonz could never say one particular word. Even when he knew he made a mistake he couldn’t admit that he was “wrong.” He’d attempt to say it: “I was wroooo…” He never could quite enunciate the word clearly. For some reason, Fonzie had some internal blockage with saying the word “wrong.”

Ryan Lochte, apparently, doesn’t have a problem saying that word but, like Fonzie, he does have a problem saying another word.

During his recent interview with Matt Lauer, Lochte admitted that he was wrong and that the incident at the Rio gas station was his fault. However, neither in his press release that he posted on Twitter nor in his Matt Lauer interview did he ever admit that he “lied.” Rather, in his release, he wrote that he needed to be “more careful and candid” in how he described the events. To Matt Lauer, he stated “I over-exaggerated that story.” Well, yeah, that he did too. However, he just couldn’t come out and say he lied, even though that’s what he did. He told several lies. For example, he never had a gun pressed to his forehead and cocked like he initially stated. He never faced armed assailants flashing police badges, like he alleged. Those were LIES!

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