Clearwater FL Criminal Defense Law Blog

Sex crimes charges are serious allegations that can carry serious consequences, including registration with sex offender registries which can impact an accused person's future.

A registered sex offender in the greater-Clearwater area has been arrested after allegedly attacking a 6-year old girl. The man has been charged with a sex crime, specifically lewd and lascivious molestation of a victim under 12 years old. The man allegedly invited the girl to watch a video with him as she rode her bike past his house; when she declined, he dragged her into his yard, removed her shorts and began rubbing his body on her. A neighbor spotted the alleged incident while passing by the home. Authorities allege that the man molested the same girl recently in a similar manner. The man is currently in jail without bond.

Serious charges, such a felony and other charges, must be addressed with care by anyone facing them.

Pinellas County authorities issued DUI and drug charges, among others, recently during a sobriety checkpoint set up near Clearwater High School. Serious charges, including 27 citations, were issued; 8 people were charged with DUI and 12 vehicles were impounded. Other felony charges were also issued. Clearwater police and Pinellas County deputies worked together to conduct the check point. Monthly check points are conducted throughout the area in an effort to catch impaired drivers.

Those facing drunk driving charges will have many concerns and considerations.

An assistant state attorney for Pinellas-Pasco was arrested recently for causing property damage while driving under the influence of alcohol. The man now facing a DUI charge handles felonies for the state attorney's office. The arrest report provided by the police states that while driving south on a roadway, the man failed to properly negotiate a curve and hit the guardrail. The man failed to take a field sobriety test and also provided officers with a breath test refusal. Officers reported, however, that the man had alcohol on his breath, bloodshot eyes and was unsteady on his feet. The Chief Assistant State Attorney was reviewing the incident and no disciplinary decisions have been made.

A driving while intoxicated conviction is serious and, as a result, anyone facing drunk driving charges should consider options available to challenge and defend against them.

A Clearwater woman was recently acquitted of causing a motorcyclist's death while driving drunk. She was, however, convicted of a drunk driving charge. She was found guilty of drunk driving but not the more serious charge of driving under the influence manslaughter after an expert witness testified that the Clearwater Police made critical mistakes with the investigation. The woman's blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit at which point a driver is presumed legally drunk in Florida. The expert witness testified that police had reported details of the collision between the motorcycle and the SUV driven by the woman incorrectly. Rather than being a head-on collision, the collision took place at an angle the expert argued. The expert was critical of the investigation, pointing out that certain photos were not taken and that the officer that performed the reconstruction had not been to reconstruction school. Because the expert's testimony pointed to the likelihood that the woman did not cause the crash, she escaped the more serious charge.