When to report an Accident in Florida?

Florida, located in Orange County, is a “no-fault” state, which means that an accident report is not required for accidents that do not involve an injury. However, this does not mean that you can simply walk away without taking necessary information from the other driver or drivers involved in the accident such as their names, drivers license details and their vehicle make and model etc. This information will be required for insurance purposes if your vehicle was scratched or damaged in the accident.

Failure to report a DUI Accident

You may be involved in an auto accident after you leave a party where you have had a drink or two. Although drinking and driving is not the wisest thing to do, you may still have had just a little to drink knowing that it will not increase your BAC levels over the allowed legal limit. Despite your BAC levels being under control, you may end up in an auto accident due to the mistake of another driver, pedestrian or passerby, but since you have had something to drink before you started driving, you might be worried that you may end up getting caught for DUI.

In such a situation, you may be terrified and think of simply leaving the scene of the accident or not report it to the authorities. If you were at fault and caused the accident, but decided to leave the scene of the accident, chances are the other driver will report you as a hit and run. In such a case, the cops will find you and charge you for failure to stopping at the scene of the accident and reporting it to the authorities. Even if you were not at fault, but tried to run away, it will make you seem guilty.

Consequences of Failing to Report an Orlando DUI Accident

Consequences of failing to report an accident in Orlando, Florida can vary, depending on the severity of the accident.

• In case of a serious accident, your drivers license will be revoked and you can face heavy fines
• A driver who leaves the scene of a crash involving death or personal injury will be subject to criminal penalties
• In case you are facing DUI charges, you will have to pay fines, serve imprisonment and attend DUI school

What to do if you were involved in an auto accident?

Here are some steps you should do if you are involved in an auto accident:

• First of all, you must stop your vehicle and park it at the side of the road. If you cannot do it on your own, get help from any passengers riding with you or any pedestrian or another driver.
• Check to see if someone is hurt in the accident and get medical help for them immediately. You can call 911 in case of an emergency.
• If there is no law enforcement officer present on scene, give your name, address and registration number to any other driver involved in the accident who requests the information. Get information of other drivers and witnesses involved in the accident too.
• If no law enforcement officer shows up, you will have to file a crash report. According to Florida laws, accidents involving an injury or death of another person, cases of hit-and-run or intoxicated drivers, and property damage of over $500 need to be reported to the law enforcement agency immediately, which is the Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles.
• You will also have to inform your insurance provider about the accident.

Remember, you need to file a crash report within 10 days of the accident. If you are hurt and cannot file a report to the agencies, then it is the responsibility of any passenger in your vehicle to call the police and inform them about the accident.

In the case if you are not the owner of the vehicle but were driving it, then the owner of the vehicle may file the report.

No matter the severity of an accident, you should never flee the scene without making sure things are alright. The state of Florida is serious about your behavior following an accident, so you should make sure you follow the correct procedures to avoid license revocation, criminal charges and other penalties.

According to Florida Statutes FS 316.193, DUI is one offense, proved by impairment of normal faculties or unlawful blood alcohol or breath alcohol level of 0.08 or above. The penalties upon conviction are the same, regardless of the manner in which the offense is proven.

Penalties for DUI in Orlando, Florida

In the case of a first offense, state law defines it as misdemeanor DUI with fines ranging between $250 to $500, driver license revocation of 6 to 12 months, 10 day vehicle impoundment and jail sentence up to 6 months.

Any repeat offense is considered Felony DUI which have higher fines, ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 and a mandatory permanent suspension of the drivers license in case of a fourth conviction.

Felony DUI with injury or death

In case the drunk driving accident involved serious injury or death of another person or pedestrian, or involves serious damage to property, the conviction rises from a level 6 (third degree felony) to a level 7. In such a case, the sentence includes up to 15 years of jail time along with monetary fines.

Florida Statutes 316.193 (2), (3) define DUI Felony Conviction as:

• Any person convicted of a third DUI within 10 years or a fourth or subsequent DUI commits a Third Degree Felony (not more than $5,000 fine and/or 5 years imprisonment).
• Any person who causes serious bodily injury while driving under the influence is guilty of a Third Degree Felony (not more than $5,000 fine and/or 5 years imprisonment) or if habitual/violent felony offender as provided in s. 775.084, F.S.

Manslaughter and Vehicular Homicide as defined in the Florida Statutes

DUI Manslaughter – DUI Manslaughter is considered a Second Degree Felony with fines no more than $10,000 and /or 15 years imprisonment.

DUI Manslaughter / Leaving the Scene – A driver who failed to give information about the accident knowing that it had occurred is guilty of First Degree Felony with fines no more than $10,000 and /or 30 years imprisonment.

Vehicular Homicide – This is considered a Second Degree Felony with fines no more than $10,000 $10,000 and /or 15 years imprisonment.

Vehicular Homicide / Leaving the Scene – A driver who left the scene of an accident and was convicted of vehicular homicide is guilty of a First Degree Felony, with fines no more than $10,000 and /or 30 years imprisonment.

Fighting a DUI Death Case

Fighting a DUI death case is tricky and difficult. The prosecution will do its best to prove that your conduct was reckless or that you were negligent of the safety of others which lead you to take drastic actions, causing the death of an innocent person. The prosecution may even accuse you of having criminal intent of committing murder.

Even though proving all this will be difficult for the prosecution, you will still need to get in touch with a professional DUI defense lawyer who understands DUI death cases. Your DUI attorney will try and find loop holes in the case as it proceeds to prove your innocence. He or she will work to have the charges against you reduced, if not fully dropped.

In DUI death cases, it is important that the DUI charge and the penalty for death case are handled separately. This way, your attorney can find loop holes in the DUI case to prove that you were not intoxicated above the allowed legal limit. He or she can do this by finding errors made by the police at the time of your arrest, gathering physical evidence related to malfunctioning equipment used to test your blood alcohol level, collecting differences in the statements given by the arresting officer or by finding mistakes in the way the field sobriety tests were administered.

If your lawyer is able to prove that you were not intoxicated, the charges against you can be significantly reduced. Your lawyer will also make every effort to protect your legal rights and also prove in court that you do not disregard human life which you might be getting accused of.

DUI death cases are severely inherent in nature, as they involve death of an innocent person, but if your lawyer is able to have the charges against you reduced from a DUI death case to reckless driving or a straight DUI, the penalties you may have to face will reduce.

So get in touch with an experienced Orlando criminal DUI attorney to receive the best chance of getting a positive outcome from your case.

They then give a quote for the repair of the damages and after accepting cash payment proceed to make either no real repairs, or in many situations end up causing more damage to the property.  The group of suspects captured by the police comes from multiple locations around the nation.  The suspects are their origins are listed below:

• Bartholomew Rafferty – Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Patrick Rafferty – Hagerstown, Maryland
• Alexander Parker – Bear, Delaware
• Charles Evans – Fairwinds, Delaware
• Name of fifth suspect not released – 17 year old minor – East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania

The police had set up a sting operation to capture the travelers having a senior citizen, whose roof had been previously inspected and certified in perfect condition, accept bids and inspections from two teams of the Travelers.  In both cases the suspects requested $600 or $975 after presenting the “victim” with fraudulent insurance documents.   In one case they inspection reported the perfect roof had dry rot, loose nails and other problems.

Victim Comes to His Senses and Contacts Police

The 17 year old suspect was captured in a separate incident as he attempted to defraud an area senior.  He had already supposedly repaired the roof by pouring on a bucket of roofing tar and some rocks.  He foolishly tried to get additional money from his victim for additional problems he had discovered.  This request leads to the senior contacting the police and the arrest of the suspect.

These recent arrests make it clear seniors in the area, and all other residents, need to verify contractor are licensed and check references before paying for work.  If you suspect anyone is avoiding providing you with proper information notify your local police department.  They can quickly check the facts and take action if necessary.

Multiple Charges Facing the Suspects

The groups of 5 men are facing a series of charges for their actions.  Charges currently filed include:

• Exploitation of the Elderly
• Burglary
• Grand Theft
• Worker’s Compensation Fraud

It is important to note the charges of exploitation of the elderly requires the senior to be diminished mentally or physically, not just the fact they are elderly.  The charges can be accompanied with very multi-year sentences.  In another Florida case a woman was sentenced to 9 years on a single charge of exploitation of the elderly.

The cases against the four men should be very strong since they were part of an orchestrated sting operation.  The criminal defense attorneys working on these cases may have a challenging time in court.  The suspects will need to listen closely to their Orlando attorneys to have the best chance of getting reduced sentences or any form of leniency from the courts or the District Attorney’s office.

The story starts several months ago when Jeffery Edwards, the suspect, allegedly stole a prescription pad and began using his company credit card to purchase massive amounts of oxycodone.  According to Orland law enforcement officials Edwards began is purchases in August and continued through October.  During those months he was in possession of up to 30 kilos of oxycodone pills.

Suspicious Pharmacist Gives Tip to Law Enforcement

He was taking his fraudulent prescriptions to several Volusia County pharmacies.  During his purchasing spree he bought approximately 2,500 pills.  His activities were brought to the attention of law enforcement by a suspicious pharmacist who reported the unusual activity of Edwards.  At the time Edwards was a manager at a local Doctor’s office, which is he acquired the prescription forms.  Edwards was fired from his job back in November, but the reason has not been released to the press.

Edwards could face additional charges from his crimes.  When you examine the case closely you can see these additional possible charges:

• Theft
• Forgery
• Tax Fraud

The charges of theft would likely be only a misdemeanor charge since the only known item which was stolen is the prescription forms.  Forgery charges could easily be filed for filling out and signing the prescription forms as a Doctor.  Tax fraud is one area the start of Florida or the Federal government could charge Edwards with for not reporting income from his illegal sales of the drugs.

The damage to Edwards will not be isolated to just the legal proceedings.  It is almost certain his nursing license will immediately be withdrawn.  The most serious of Edward’s charges are the drug trafficking.  The sentencing guidelines in Florida allow for a minimum of three years and up to life imprisonment.  With three separate counts being filed Edwards will need to employ a top quality Orlando area criminal defense attorney to keep him informed of his rights and aid him in negotiating with the District Attorney.

Illegal Actions with Legal Drugs Equals Severe Penalties

The case has some interested twists which could affect his final sentencing.  In most cases of drug trafficking the substance being purchased or sold is an illegal drug like marijuana, cocaine, or heroin.  In this case the drug itself is legal for use for patients with a valid prescription.  This does not lessen the danger of what Edwards is alleged to have done.  Oxycodone is a dangerous and habit forming drug.

If additional charges are filed Edwards, who is 52 years old, may be spending the rest of his life in prison.  When faced with serious charges like these it is important for the suspect and his family to work with a qualified defense attorney who specializes in drug cases.  Proper representation can make a dramatic difference in the final sentencing and your understanding of how to proceed.  A single mistake could lead to added years in prison when what is really needed is drug rehabilitation or counseling.

Florida A & M University is known for its marching band and many are familiar with the hazing that occurs on it. The University has made official statements in the past against hazing, and even has an anti hazing policy, but the practice still continued. Historically, students who wanted to advance in the prestigious marching band would be subjected to painful hazing rituals by upperclassmen, but a death has never occurred.

Since Champion’s death, questions have been looming about how it could have become fatal. Champion was not the only student hazed that night, and he was in good health prior to the incident. Some are beginning to wonder whether Champion received a more severe attack then other band members.

Champion’s parents believe that was the case and were doubtful that he would voluntarily be hazed. According to those who knew him, Robert Champion was very outspoken against the hazing practices at FAMU. As a leader on the marching band, his willingness to not participate historically made him a target. Champion’s lawyer, a Florida wrongful death lawyer, maintains that the hazing was retaliatory.

Band director Julian White suggested otherwise however. While he also believed that Champion may not have voluntarily participate in the hazing, he felt it was not due to his stance against hazing. White believes Champion was targeted because of his sexual orientation, and that the death was due to a hate crime and not the institution of hazing.

Had Champion been the target of a hate crime, those arrested will be sentenced more severely than normal. Florida has a hate crime law that charges those guilty of it one degree higher. This means those found guilty of manslaughter would serve a life sentence rather than 15 years. It also means the school could call the incident an independent act of violence.

Hazing, however, is also illegal in Florida. When it results in death it is a third degree felony for those who participated. Third degree felonies have a $5000 or up to 5 years in jail. Hazing convictions also include statutes that sanction and prevent the organizations that allowed hazing from operating. The band that played at President Obama’s inauguration has a lot to lose.

Since Champion’s death, four band members, as well as the band director, were expelled and later reinstated. Champion’s death has been ruled a homicide as his death was the result of internal bleeding caused by blunt force trauma. Sadly however, nearly two months after his death, no one has been charged. The Champion’s family Florida wrongful death lawyer is not waiting to see what happens though. These parents are searching for their answers now.

Brady was pulled over at around 12:45 in the morning after hitting another car while driving the wrong way down the state road. The car she hit flipped over after hitting a guardrail. Brady was driving from a friend’s house after presumably having some drinks at a local restaurant. The driver of the other car only suffered minor injuries, but their car was seriously damaged.

Rosado stated that she could smell alcohol from outside of Brady’s car, and that her eyes were bloodshot. She also had slurred speech. When stopped, Brady initially refused to exit her vehicle, but eventually took and failed a sobriety test. Standing on one leg was apparently not her best skill. Although she did eventually agree to take the test, she wasn’t very complacent about it. Officer Rosado reported that 22 year old Brady argued heavily during the incident.

Since she failed the sobriety test and appeared intoxicated, Brady was taken to a DUI testing center. Brady did have the option to refuse the field sobriety test, but by doing so she would have been immediately arrested and taken to a DUI testing center anyways.  As the officer suspected, Brady was intoxicated. Test results averaged .212 blood alcohol level.

In Florida, this would be considered a very high level of intoxication. Whereas the legal limit is .08%, those over 1.5% face even stiffer charges. Brady can expect to have her license suspended, pay up to $2000 in fines, spend up to 9 months in jail, and do possible community service. Since she initially refused a sobriety test, the amount of time that her license is suspended could be extended. Also if this is not her first offense, fines and jail time could be even higher. Hopefully she has an Orlando DUI attorney on speed dial.

Brady was eventually charged with drunk driving with property damage and personal damage. She was taken to Orange county jail and bonded out.  Based on Florida policy to impound vehicles involved in DUI, she most likely did not drive away in her vehicle that day.

Besides having to deal with the embarrassment of being so drunk you would drive the wrong way, Brady also has a lot of legal headache in front of her. An Orlando DUI attorney could help her navigate through the administrative, criminal and possibly even civil court cases that she will now have to deal with. Lucky for everyone involved, there were no major injuries or fatalities, or she could face even more legal troubles. For now, everyone is probably happy she is not driving.

Eni was attempting to board a transatlantic flight to London when a narcotics dog smelled the drugs. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security agents proceeded to search him for drugs. Eni cooperated with the investigators and answered all of their questions. After a pat down and search of his bags they found nothing, but they trusted their dog’s nose, so they asked Eni to do an X-Ray.

The X-Ray revealed that Eni had foreign objects inside of his body. When questioned what those objects were, Eni admitted to swallowing 50 pellets of narcotics before he flew into Orlando. Emergency surgery revealed these pellets were filled with cocaine. He had a total of 54 of them in his digestive track.

Orlando area narcotics canines are not new to sniffing out big cases. Narcotics dog Tebow, named after the Denver Bronco quarterback Tim Tebow, was recently credited with sniffing out a cocaine stuffed toy. Tebow is not credited with sniffing out this case however.

Eni stated that he was traveling to Nigeria to attend his brother’s funeral. Eni, 54, is from Nigeria but is a naturalized citizen living in Little Rock, Arkansas. He was carrying the drugs overseas to hep pay for the funeral. Now, instead of giving his brother his final farewell, he will spend his time explaining himself to an Orlando federal drug lawyer.

Because of the amount of cocaine in his possession, it is believed that Eni was working as what is known as a drug mule. Drug mules carry illegal substances across borders in exchange for money. Besides the risk of imprisonment, those who carry the drugs in their body also risk their lives. Because they swallow such large amounts of drugs at one time, actually absorbing the drugs would be fatal.

In order to transport the drugs, pellets are made out of impermeable materials, such as condoms, to prevent the body from absorbing them. However, stomach acids can break down the materials and cause the pellets to dissolve. When this happens, the drugs are immediately absorbed into the body and often causes death.

Eni was not injured by the pellets, but he was sentenced six months after his arrest to serve 24 months in federal prison. He was charged and convicted of cocaine possession with the intent to distribute. Because Eni is a naturalized citizen, he was not deported, but he did also receive three years of supervised release following his two year sentence. During that time he will have to be monitored by US Probation officials.

Eni’s case was handled by customs and Florida Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation but Federal officials eventually prosecuted it. An Orlando Federal Drug lawyer would have assisted in this case.

Thirty year old Jones is accused of child neglect after abandoning her 1 year old child to have sex. The woman left her child with a security guard at Intown Suites on Lee Road. Jones told the guard she would only be gone for a few minutes, but instead was gone for over six hours. Sheriff reports state that the woman was exchanging sex to pay off a drug debt.

Jones is being held on charges of neglect. In Florida, child neglect is defined as the failure to provide a child with the supervision, care or services needed for good physical or mental health. Some examples of this include food, clothing, shelter and medical services. Obviously there can be many different interpretations of good physical or mental health and that is why an Orlando child abuse lawyer might be helpful in situations like this.

In the case of Jennifer Jones, in the hours that Jones left her baby with a stranger she did not provide either food, diapers, or a way to contact her. The cell phone number she left was never answered after the security guard began calling 6 hours after she left the baby. It was also 12:30am and very cold when she left the toddler. The security guard mentioned in reports that he reluctantly agreed to watch the child because he was concerned about his well-being in the cold midnight weather.

Sadly enough, the security guard was not Jones’ first choice. Guest at the hotel state that she had asked them to watch her child also. When every one of them said no Jones was forced to ask the security guard.

When she finally returned, officials were waiting for her. Jones was arrested and eventually lost custody of the child. Because Jones and the child’s father both have history of drug abuse, the toddler was not allowed to remain with the parents, but he was allowed to live with her family. The father, Philip Shines, asked the court for unsupervised visitations, but was denied due to a possible history of violence and drug abuse. He was, however, granted supervised visitation. Jones will remain in prison, but she will be allowed supervised visitation if she is able to post bond. Both parents are required to have drug testing.

Even though Jones could still be able to see her son, her difficulties have only just begun. She will most likely need an Orlando child abuse lawyer to assist her with getting her child back and prevent prison time. In addition to possibly immediately losing your child, the crime of child neglect is a 3^rd degree felony. If convicted, Jones could spend up to five years in prison plus fines.

Although both may have been murdered by the same person or people, the two victims were not murdered together. Olizia’s body was located first outside of the Murchison Terrace apartments near John Young Parkway. Neighbors heard gunshots that alerted authorities of the murder. Dorceus’s body was located after his family had reported him missing. He was found in Olizia’s car further south on John Young Parkway.

Orlando police have named at least four suspects in the double murder. Three of the suspects have already been arrested. Mordis Boudet and Artavia Lee Williams are both being charged with murder in connection with this case. Belvin Williams was arrested for providing a false alibi and lying to the police. Police are also searching for Arthur Williams, the older brother of Artavia Lee Williams, for his connection with the case.

Eighteen year old Artavia Lee Williams is being charged with two counts of first degree murder with a firearm. Twenty three year old Mordis Boudet is being charged with two counts of first degree murder, armed robbery, and armed car jacking. The name of the Orlando robbery lawyer defending him has not been mentioned in reports. Twenty one year old Belvin Williams is being charged with accessory to first degree murder after the fact.

The amount of time these men could face in jail is widely varied. Because Florida uses some form of standardized minimums, a general idea of the amount of prison time the men can face is possible. Artavia Williams could face at least 25 years in prison for first degree murder while Mordis Boudet could spend at least 20 years in prison for car jacking while possessing a firearm.

The amount of time they could spend in prison is only further impacted by the fact that there are multiple charges, double homicides and that the two murder suspects are not new to crime. Boudet had been released from prison for carrying a concealed weapon just two weeks prior to the killings. Artavia Williams was on probation for a 2008 carjacking at the time of the murders. Florida also participates in a three strike law, meaning third offenses could result in life sentences.

There isn’t a lot of information being released about the case, but police have suggested that the murders were the result of a robbery. The Orlando police or any Orlando robbery lawyer however have not released what was stolen. There also is a connection between the victims and suspects: Olizia and the murder suspect Artavia Williams were neighbors while Dorceus was the neighbor of suspect Mordis Boudet. In addition, victims Olizia and Dorceus were also known friends. This holiday tragedy unfortunately may have hit very close to home.

Most electronic crime cases happen when a computer system or network fails to use security measures to protect them from becoming a victim to computer crimes. Countries like the US have severe laws against cybercrime, but you will be disappointed to know that electronic fraud cases do take up quite a while to solve. Today, the FBI is handling more electronic crimes investigations than ever before. Sadly, there is not much to do in many cases except for cleaning up the mess and making sure nothing like that happens again.

According to the National Research Council, “The modern thief can steal more with a computer than with a gun. Tomorrow’s terrorist may be able to do more damage with a keyboard than with a bomb.” This makes cybercrime a very serious act and the crime can be committed against persons, property or government.

The dictionary definition of cybercrime is “a criminal activity committed on the internet.” The type of activity can range from hacking into a personal computer and electronic cracking to denial of service attacks, also known as DDOS attacks that cause electronic commerce sites to lose money. An example of cybercrime is mentioned below:

The Melissa virus, which first appeared on the internet in March 1999, spread rapidly throughout computer systems in the US and Europe. The damage done by the virus was not to any individual, but it was directed to the masses and caused 80 million dollars in damage to computers worldwide.

Cyberterrorism is another category of cyber-crimes which is on the rise. These crimes are distinct in nature and are targeted against the Government. With the growth of internet, Cyberspace is being used by individuals and terrorist groups to threaten the international governments. Cyber-terrorist attempts are also meant to terrorize the citizens of a country. If a terrorist group or individual is able to crack into a government or military maintained website that can also be dangerous.

Gaining unauthorized access to a computer or network with various programs with malicious intent is considered a serious crime in most countries. These countries also have laws to deal with cyber crime as computer crime is considered a real threat in these countries. Today, companies and individuals use various methods to protect themselves from becoming a victim to computer crimes.

If you have reason to believe that your computer may have been used for illegal activities or if you believe that you are under investigation for computer crimes, than you must contact an Orlando City cyber crime attorney. Cyber crimes are often difficult to trace, and with the help of an aggressive defense at your side, you can protect your rights and have your case dismissed.