A Sarasota woman was doing 70 MPH on Orange Avenue when she ran a red light at Fruitville Road and eventually crashed into a Sarasota police patrol car. Was the women written any ticket for her traffic violations? She wasn’t because she had a pretty good excuse for her driving. Rebecca Provencher was fleeing from her ex-boyfriend who was holding a gun as he rammed into her SUV from behind. (read more)
Eddie Smith is accused of triggering the incident that caused Provencher to drive erratically and hit officer Katrina Young’s car and sent her to the hospital for a broken wrist. Smith has been charged with three felonies including aggravated battery, aggravated assault and felony battery.
If you have been involved in a traffic-related misdemeanor or felony in Bradenton, Sarasota or Manatee, please do not hesitate to contact Sarasota Traffic Attorney David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT to discuss the matter. Also you can contact David via email or stop by our Sarasota offices at 200 N. Washington Blvd.
Monthly Archives: August 2009
ST. PETERSBURG DUI BLOG: Former Keiser College Vice President Killed In Alleged DUI Crash
The former vice president of Keiser College in St. Petersburg was killed Monday by a suspected DUI driver. Melvin Patton who now lives in Columbia, Illinois and is a college administrator was killed when a car driven by James Toon crossed into the path of oncoming traffic and collided with Patton’s car. (read more)
Toon has been charged with driving under the influence as authorities believe he was drunk at the time of the crash. Before his time in St. Petersburg the 67-year-old Patton was a standout athlete who obtained All-America honors at Southern Illinois University. He was also a vice president at Fontbonne University in St. Louis.
If you have been charged with a DUI in St. Petersburg, Clearwater or anywhere in Pinellas County, please do not hesitate to contact DUI Defense Attorney David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT or online at fightyourpinellasarrest.com to discuss the matter. Also you can contact David via email or by stopping in our Pinellas office located at 4500 140th Ave. North #203.
TAMPA DUI BLOG: Man Doesn’t Meet Level Of DUI Impairment, Refuses Car Search But Still Arrested For Meth Possession
Joshua Hope was on the side of the road with car trouble in Brooksville Monday morning. A traffic deputy was dispatched to assess the driver of the car. Hope showed some level of impairment according to the deputy following field sobriety tests but not enough to nave met DUI criteria. Hope called a friend to come pick him up and denied a deputy’s request to search his car but according to police a drug-sniffing dog indicated there were drugs in the car. (read more)
Police went ahead and searched Hope’s vehicle and discovered a safe on the floorboard. Deputies opened the safe and found three grams of methamphetamine and a .38 caliber revolver. Hope was arrested and charged with possession of meth, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance.
If you have been charged with a drug felony in Tampa or Hillsborough County, please do not hesitate to contact Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Stephen Higgins, Esq. at 1-800-FIGHT-IT or online at fightyourdrugcrime.com to discuss the matter. Also you can contact Stephen via email or visit him in our new Tampa office located at 3426 W. Kennedy Blvd.
TAMPA DUI BLOG: Tampa Doctor Arrested For DUI And Also Failed To Report Previous DUI Under State Law
Spencer Blanton, the co-director of anesthesiology at Tampa’s Shriners Hospital for Children, is in trouble with the law following a weekend arrest on a DUI charge. The 45-year old Hillsborough County doctor was arrested in Plant City with a reported blood alcohol level of 0.12. He was released on $500 bond following his arrest by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. (read more)
Blanton has been in trouble for a previous DUI from 1982 that also got him in hot water with the State Board of Medicine. The doctor failed to report the court’s decision on his earlier driving under the influence as required by Florida law. That resulted in a small fine for the doctor and required attendance in a medical ethics class.
If you have been charged with a DUI in Tampa or Hillsborough County, please do not hesitate to contact Tampa DUI Attorney Stephen Higgins, Esq. at 1-800-FIGHT-IT or online at fightyourtampadui.com to discuss the matter. Also you can contact Stephen via email or visit him in our new Tampa office located at 3426 W. Kennedy Blvd.
TAMPA DUI BLOG: Another Mother With Child In Her Car Suspected Of DUI
There has been a growing trend lately of women driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol and even more disturbing many of them committing this crime with their children in the car. The case that brought the rise of women and mothers driving under the influence into the spotlight took place in New York. Diane Schuler’s wrong-way crash killed her and seven other people. The woman had alcohol and drugs in here system at the time of the fatal accident. But we are not immune to the problem in Tampa Bay either. (read more)
Billie Jean Vercellona had her 5-month-old son in her car when she was seen running red lights and driving into oncoming traffic before crashing into two parked cars. She was charged with child abuse and DUI and since she ran into three health care workers she also was charged with three counts of battery on a health care provider. Her baby was unsecured in a car carrier but thankfully was not injured.
If you have been charged with a DUI in Tampa or Hillsborough County, please do not hesitate to contact Tampa DUI Attorney David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT or online at fightyourtampadui.com to discuss the matter. Also you can contact David via email or visit him in our new Tampa office located at 3426 W. Kennedy Blvd.
ST. PETERSBURG DUI BLOG: Was Alcohol The Cause Of A Safety Harbor Crash Early Friday Morning?
Austin Bottie had a rough morning. The 20-year-old Safety Harbor resident crashed his 2006 Honda into a home located at 102 Forest Circle at 5:00 a.m. Friday morning. Now Pinellas County Sheriffs are looking into whether alcohol was a factor and if so Bottie could end up with a possible DUI charge. (read more)
Bottie smashed into the house damaging the concrete block of the Safety Harbor home that is just 3/10 of a mile away from his own house. Bottie was treated for non-life threatening injuries while deputies try to determine what caused the crash.
If you have been charged with a DUI in St. Petersburg, Clearwater or anywhere in Pinellas County, please do not hesitate to contact St. Petersburg Defense Attorney David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT or online at fightyourpinellasdui.com to discuss the matter. Also you can contact David via email or by stopping in our Pinellas office located at 4500 140th Ave. North #203.
TAMPA TRAFFIC BLOG: FHP And Local Police Continue To Write More And More Tickets For Seat Belt Violations
We have seen it in Tampa and Sarasota and now the numbers are in from the northern part of Florida as well. The number of tickets issued for seat belt violations is WAY up. In Jacksonville the Sheriff’s Office wrote 529 more tickets for seat belt violations in July than they did in June, a 31% increase. The Florida Highway Patrol wrote 1,186 more tickets in the northern part of Florida for seat belt violations than the previous month, an increase of 60%. (read more)
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said writing seat belt violation citations is a focus for their deputies. While the police are trying to educate the public on wearing seat belts they said there is a zero tolerance policy in Jacksonville. They will not give warnings to seat belt violators.
If you have a traffic ticket in Tampa, Orlando or anywhere in Florida, we can help. Please do not hesitate to contact Traffic Attorney Stephen Higgins, Esq. at 1-800-FIGHT-IT to discuss the matter or visit our website fightyourticket.com. Also you can contact Stephen via email.
TAMPA DUI BLOG: Tampa Man Who Violated Parole On A DUI Charge Unleashes Pit Bulls On Sheriff’s Deputy
Juan Delvalle, a 26-year-old Tampa man, unleashed two pit bulls on a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Deputy who came to his home on 86th Street to investigate a noise complaint. Deputy Richard Burton was forced to Taser the first dog that was sent to attack him and then had to use his gun on the second dog since he had already deployed his Taser to subdue the first dog that attacked him. (read more)
The dogs were not owned by Delvalle who got into a struggle with the deputy following the dog attacks. Delvalle punched the deputy in the arms and chest but was eventually stunned with a Taser. He was arrested for violating his parole on a DUI charge and four counts related to resisting arrest and assaulting the officer.
If you have been charged with a crime in Tampa or Hillsborough County, please do not hesitate to contact Tampa Attorney David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT or online at fightyourcase.com to discuss the matter. Also you can contact David via email.
FLORIDA TRAFFIC TICKET BLOG: Van In Florida Town Has Generated $260,000 In Traffic Citations
Four months ago a white van rolled onto the streets of Juno Beach and since then there have been more tickets issued by the mobile unit than there are permanent residents in the town. Over 4000 citations totaling $261,000 have been issued by the unmanned van that uses cameras to catch speeders, the first of its kind in Florida. (read more)
An average of 35 motorists are being ticketed each day if they drive nine miles or more over the posted speed limit. Offenders receive a $125 ticket in the mail. The citation is a civil penalty and does not go on a driver’s permanent record. The van is moved to a different location every day and uses an infrared light beam system to record a passing car’s speed.
If you have a traffic ticket in Florida, we can help. Please do not hesitate to contact Traffic Attorney Stephen Higgins, Esq. at 1-800-FIGHT-IT to discuss the matter or visit our website fightyourticket.com. Also you can contact Stephen via email.
TAMPA DUI BLOG: 54 DUI Cases Dropped In Polk County Due To Concerns Over A Deputies Actions
Deputy Tex Thomas has made over 120 arrests for DUI since he began working for the Polk County Sheriff’s office but charges against 54 of those people have been dropped by prosecutors citing concerns over the deputy’s conducting blood alcohol tests and taking shortcuts in writing reports. (read more)
Thomas reportedly admitted to cutting-and-pasting words from previous DUI reports during a deposition. That caused prosecutors to not file charges on 50 suspects and drop charges on four others. Defense attorney’s credited the state prosecutor for looking into their complaints in these cases and coming to the conclusion that they could not proceed with the cases.
If you have been charged with a DUI in Tampa, Hillsborough or Polk County, please do not hesitate to contact Tampa DUI Attorney David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT or online at fightyourpolkdui.com to discuss the matter. Also you can contact David via email or by stopping in our new Tampa office located at 3426 W. Kennedy Blvd.