Tampa man Eric Bentley was arrested for the 13th time in Hillsborough County Tuesday night following a high speed chase. The 36-year-old was reportedly driving 75 M.P.H. in a residential area with his 12-year-old son in the car according to a story on tampabay.com. Police ran the man’s plates and found he was driving with a suspended license for failure to pay child support. At that point two officers attempted to stop Bentley but he fled and was eventually boxed in by a combination of marked and unmarked police cars. Following the stop Bentley tried to flee on foot but he was apprehended and arrested.
Bentley was taken to the Hillsborough County Jail where he was being held on $15,500 bail. He has been charged with numerous counts including child neglect, reckless driving, fleeing to allude arrest at a high speed and driving without a license. According to the report Bentley has previously been charged with offenses involving cocaine, marijuana and alcohol, trespassing, leaving the scene of a crash, aggravated battery and false imprisonment among others.
If you have been involved in a traffic incident in Tampa that has led to your arrest in Hillsborough County and need qualified legal representation, please do not hesitate to contact Criminal Defense Attorney Stephen Higgins at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourCase.com. Also you can contact Stephen via email or by stopping in our new Tampa office located at 3426 W. Kennedy Blvd.
Monthly Archives: September 2009
TAMPA TRAFFIC BLOG: Hillsborough County Deputies Investigating Car That Crashed Into A House Monday Night
A Tampa couple thought a bomb exploded in their neighborhood Monday night while they were watching television. What they heard was the sound of Felecia Ward crashing her 1994 Acura Legend into their Town ‘N Country home. According to a story on tbo.com Ward lost control of her car and crashed through a wall and penetrating two of the house’s bedrooms.
Ward, who police do not believe was intoxicated, claimed she was driving 35 M.P.H. in a 30 zone but investigators believe she may have been traveling as fast as 60 when she lost control of her vehicle. A witness told police that the 40-year-old woman drove past a stop sign and was traveling fast on Cresthill Drive. Ward has been cited for running a stop sign, failing to use due care and careless driving.
If you have been involved in a traffic accident in Tampa and need qualified legal representation, please do not hesitate to contact Traffic Defense Attorney Stephen Higgins at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourTickets.com. Also you can contact Stephen via email or by stopping in our new Tampa office located at 3426 W. Kennedy Blvd.
FLORIDA TRAFFIC BLOG: Looking At The Year 2008 In Traffic Tickets
According to a column in the Tallahassee Democrat, there were 5.21 million traffic citations in Florida in 2008. That is a small 1% decrease from the year before and bucked a trend that saw the number of citations increase every year starting in 2004. The reason for the decrease according to the author is that Floridians are driving less.
There is one area that did show a large increase and that concerned Driving Under the Influence. From 2007 to 2008 there was a 9% increase in DUI convictions in the state of Florida. Half of all citations written in 2008 were issued by city cops, a quarter by county sheriffs and a fifth by the FHP. Overall tickets may have been down but the number of cops is up as there were more full-time officers on the job statewide in 2007 than in 2008.
If you have a traffic ticket or fine anywhere in Florida and need qualified legal representation please do not hesitate to contact Traffic Defense Attorney David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourTicket.com. Also you can contact David via email.
PINELLAS DUI BLOG: St. Petersburg Driver Faces Felony DUI Charges After Running Over A Teenage Pedestrian
Joshua West is facing three felony counts after investigators and the state attorney decided to charge the 24-year-old who struck a Safety Harbor teenager last April. According to a report on 10connects.com, West is being charged with Driving Under the Influence causing serious bodily injury, driving without a license causing serious bodily injuries and leaving the scene of a crash with injury.
West is currently serving time in the Putnam County Correctional Institute for a violation of probation on an unrelated charge in Hillsborough County. Sheriff’s allege West struck 19-year-old Andrew Hall who was standing on a sidewalk. Hall lost his leg and is still in a hospital. He was nearly killed.
If you have been charged with a DUI crime 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 (1-800-344-4848) 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.
ORLANDO DUI BLOG: Lawyer Who Cursed At Deputies For Arresting His Client Charged With DUI
The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that Labor and Employment Lawyer James Gorman was arrested this week on DUI charges. The Orlando lawyer was arrested according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office following an incident where four burglary suspects were being apprehended near Apopka. Apparently one of the four arrestees was a client of Brown’s and he was reportedly cursing at officers.
The University of North Carolina law school graduate is 64-years-old and he lives in Apopka. According to police reports Brown drove up to officers who were holding the four suspects and claimed to be the lawyer for one of the teens. The officer’s said Brown was close enough that they could smell alcohol on his breath. He was given field sobriety tests, which officers claim he failed.
If you have been cited for a DUI in Orlando, Seminole or Orange County please do not hesitate to contact DUI Defense Attorney Darren Finebloom at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) or online at FightYourOrlandoDUI.com to discuss the matter. Also feel free to stop by our Orlando office located at 189 S. Orange Avenue.
SARASOTA TRAFFIC BLOG: Red Light Camera Fines The Wrong Sarasota Woman As System Breaks Down
The West Palm Beach attorney who has taken up the fight against Red Light Cameras in the State of Florida has made the point that the devices are causing people to be fined even though the red light cameras do not identify drivers only cars and the owner of the car is presumed guilty, which is the opposite of the standard which is presumed innocent until proven guilty. If he needs a case to illustrate that point, he only needs to talk with Sarasota’s Silvia Cuervo. Her frustrating story is detailed in today’s Sarasota Herald Tribune.
Cuervo has received two tickets from red light cameras. The problem is she drives a 2003 Nissan and it’s a Mercury sedan pictured slowly rolling through red lights. Oh and the tag number on the car that was in violation of the red light cameras isn’t even close to the one on her car. On top of that one of the tickets came from Lakeland, a city she has never been to.
The first time Cuervo got ticketed she just paid the fine. The second time she decided she would try and find out what was going on. She got no help from the people in Lakeland and was told she could drive the 80 miles to defend herself against a ticket she should never have received. Tom Lyons of the Sarasota Herald Tribune contacted Lakeland officials and they stood by the ticket saying the car on camera had a plate registered to Cuervo.
Thanks to Lyons who then contacted the DMV, it was discovered that the people in charge of verifying the photos in Lakeland misread the tag on the car in the photo. That wasn’t the only mistake. The police officer who is supposed to provide the checks and balances in the system didn’t verify the tag they believed was on the car matched the vehicle description. Lyons makes the point that nobody cared to check Cuervo’s story despite strong evidence. The company that runs the cameras and the city seemed to be banking on the fact she would just pay the ticket like she did before and the money would keep rolling in for the city.
If you have a traffic ticket in Tampa, Sarasota, Bradenton, Lakeland or anywhere in Florida, we can help. Please do not hesitate to contact Traffic Attorney David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourTicket.com. Also you can contact David via email.
FLORIDA TRAFFIC BLOG: Is A Cell Phone Ban On The Way For Truck And Bus Drivers?
The Federal Government has begun to take a long look at the dangers of distracted driving which stems from drivers texting, talking on their phones or even reading newspapers and magazines while driving! The Obama Administration has begun to take the first steps to curtail this behavior but it seems the first law may come from a recommendation made by the National Transportation Safety Board during the Bush administration. The NTSB has put banning commercial drivers from talking on cell phones on their list of the most important safety measures that need to be adopted and it doesn’t seem anyone is objecting according to an Associated Press article on BradentonHerald.com.
The Obama administration seems poised to act on this issue and an announcement could be made as early as next week at a two-day summit on distracted driving. Right now 17 states prohibit bus drivers from using cell phones while driving and 18 states have passed laws making it illegal to text and drive. Both of those practices have been banned in the District of Columbia as well.
If you are a commercial driver and have a traffic ticket or fine anywhere in the state of Florida we know how important your driving privleges are. Please do not hesitate to contact Traffic Defense Attorney David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website FightYourTicket.com. Also you can contact David via email.
FLORIDA TRAFFIC BLOG: Traffic Stop For Running A Red Light Turns Deadly Following Shooting
For police officers, even the most mundane of duties carries the risk that it can escalate into violence. That is what happened to Florida Highway Patrol trooper John Paikai on Tuesday. Paikai attempted to execute a routine traffic stop after Robert Swank ran a red light in Avon Park. The officer was most likely just planning on writing a traffic ticket to the Florida driver but that’s when things took a deadly turn according to an Associated Press story on the Bradenton Herald Tribune website.
After Paikai pulled Swank over he exited his cruiser and began to approach Swank’s car. At that point the 37-year-old struck the officer with his car. In order to stop the assault Paikai fired his weapon and shot and killed the car’s passenger, 33-year-old Amber Gregory. Paikai was taken to the hospital and an investigation is under way.
If you have a traffic ticket anywhere in Florida, please don’t do something you will regret or get anyone hurt. Just contact Florida Traffic Attorney David Haenel at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) to discuss the matter or visit our website fightyourticket.com. Also you can contact David via email.
TAMPA DUI BLOG: Former Detroit Lion Charles Rogers Charged With Misdemeanor DUI
Charles Rogers, a former Detroit Lion and Michigan state star, has had his share of problems and despite telling ESPN that he was changing his life for the better, that doesn’t seem to be the case. The winner of the 2002 Biletnikoff Award, which is presented annually in Tallahassee, Florida, was charged with misdemeanor DUI and driving without a valid license. He was held on $50,000 bond at his arraignment and did not have an attorney present according to an ESPN report.
Rogers, now 28, was arrested following his refusal to take a breath test. According to reports Rogers was found behind the wheel of a 2003 Mercedes and was non-responsive. The car was running and in gear in a left turn lane. He has already served jail time for a domestic violence case.
If you have been charged with a DUI in Tampa or Hillsborough County, please do not hesitate to contact Tampa DUI Attorney Darren Finebloom at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) or online at fightyourtampadui.com to discuss the matter. Also you can contact Darren via email or visit him in our new Tampa office located at 3426 W. Kennedy Blvd.
TAMPA DUI BLOG: Tampa Day Care Center Operator Back In Jail This Time Due To A DUI Case
Back in June a Tampa Day Care Center operator made the news when she was charged with child abuse in a case involving four children. The story became major news due to the fact that Dorothy Ann Sampson-Monroe had a spotty criminal history in the first place but was still licensed to run the Just For Kids day care center. According to an article on tbo.com the woman is back in trouble stemming from a DUI arrest in June.
Sampson-Monroe is accused of failing to appear in court on her DUI charge. She was arrested and then sent to jail on that charge and on her four counts of child abuse. She is being held on $10,000 bail. The state attorney has yet to file any charges on the child abuse allegations levied against the 48-year-old.
If you have been charged with a DUI in Tampa or Hillsborough County, please do not hesitate to contact Tampa DUI Attorney Darren Finebloom at 1-800-FIGHT-IT (1-800-344-4848) or online at fightyourtampadui.com to discuss the matter. Also you can contact Darren via email or visit him in our new Tampa office located at 3426 W. Kennedy Blvd.