South Florida Criminal Attorneys Blog

Florida Man Seeking Asylum Faced Deportation Due to Past Misdemeanors

April 27, 2017 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

APRIL 27, 2017
Marco Aurelio Coello was tortured in Venezuela before he left that country to seek asylum in the United States.

Coello is an activist who took part in a protest in 2014 in opposition to the regime of Nicolás Maduro when he was a high school student.

In due course the protest he attended became violent.
Coello was tear-gassed and arrested on charges of inciting violence before being tortured according to his lawyer. He was subsequently released due to what was labeled as psychological problems.

While awaiting trial in Venezuela the 19 year old student recognized the fact that he had no choice but to flee the country; the alternative could be facing a decade or more in prison because of his participation in the political demonstration.

In 2015 he told a local journalist that he knew he had no choice but to leave his homeland.
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Verdict Decided in South Florida Homicide of Former Cop by Ex-Wife

March 22, 2017 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

This article is about the case of a Clearwater High School teacher named Cara Ryan who admitted to the shooting death of her ex-husband, John Rush, a retired Sergeant for the St. Petersburg Police Department.

You can find the lead-in to this blog post on my Website by clicking here

Ms. Ryan was arrested and charged with second-degree murder in March, 2015. Investigators didn’t believe that Ryan lured Rush to the apartment with the intent to kill him.

Her bail was originally set at $500,000 but was cut in half by the same Circuit Court Judge a few days later.

The judge stated that although the evidence against Ms. Ryan was “pretty significant,” her family ties in the area made her a low flight risk. She was released on bail the following morning, about a week after her initial arrest.

Florida Case Interrupts the Statute of Limitations

February 21, 2017 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

A crime that was committed more than a specific quantified number of years ago may be subject to a statute of limitation which is basically a clock making sure prosecutions don’t move forward in an attempt to prosecute a crime based on physical evidence or eyewitness testimony that may have deteriorated in its reliability over the passage of time.

After the time period of the particular statute has run out, the accused, for all intents and purposes cannot be prosecuted for the alleged crime.

Certain crimes do not have a statute of limitation. A criminal homicide, for example, has none. Some states vary in which crimes are covered by this statute such as various violent crimes, sex offenses involving minors, kidnapping, arson, forgery and other offenses.

South Florida Woman Facing Federal Bank Robbery Charges

January 21, 2017 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

It was the height of the Holiday shopping season last month, when a middle aged woman wearing sweat pants and a dark colored hat walked into a bank and simply handed a teller a note which read “This is a robbery. Smile & act naturally”. She also told the teller that she was armed and wouldn’t hesitate to use her weapon, “so don’t act like a hero”, even though witnesses to the apparent robbery didn’t see a weapon in the woman’s possession, according to the federal criminal complaint.

After her arrest, which took place three days after the alleged robbery, and after being taken into custody, Sonya Clark, who is fifty two years old and works for a moving company also seemingly confessed to robbing a local branch of a TD bank in Boynton Beach late last year, near her residence. The bank that was hit in Fort Lauderdale was also a TD Bank
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South Florida Man Charged for Arson with Hate Crime Enhancement

December 12, 2016 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

Last week, in a Charleston, South Carolina District Courthouse a Federal jury heard the startling recorded confession of Dylan Roof who when questioned by FBI Agents simply said in a calm manner that “I went to that church in Charleston and I did it.”

Roof is accused of slaughtering nine African American churchgoers during a prayer service at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston.

Throughout questioning by FBI agents, Roof also admitted that he considered himself to be a white supremacist and was motivated after reading about the Trevon Martin case in Florida as well as ultimately deciding to take revenge because blacks were raping white women.

South Florida Man Arrested Under New Revenge Porn Law

November 16, 2016 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

After a rocky three year relationship Michael Hamel, Jr. and his girlfriend parted ways. The breakup was not affable and was ended by the woman, whose name is being withheld.

The relationship grew so troubled that last September, Hamel’s girlfriend and mother of his child had a restraining order filed against him.

After the order was in place, although his girlfriend ceased contact with him, Mr. Hamel took to texting one of her ex’s family members while passing on a threat to her that he would post compromising pictures on the Internet if his ex-girlfriend allowed any new man in his life to get near their child.

Elderly Florida Man Charged with Battery in Political Argument with Spouse

October 21, 2016 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

With less than two weeks until the American public will cast their votes for our next President, cases of tempers reaching a fever pitch are being reported by the press as well as the police.

This election has already demonstrated acts of extreme passion resulting in violence at Donald Trump rallies where individuals have been detained by security as well as local police and federal agencies.

Late last year a Black Lives Matter protester was tackled, punched and kicked at a Trump rally in Birmingham, Alabama. But no complaint was made and no charges were filed.

Miami-Dade Road Rage Homicide Suspect to Face no Trial

September 27, 2016 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

If you or someone close to you is accused of any type of the many serious types of charges associated with a homicide it is essential to consult with knowledgeable criminal defense attorney who specializes in these types of cases at the earliest possible time before or after charges are filed.

Although innocent until proven guilty, it is conclusive by his own statements to detectives that Andres Diaz shot and killed Ricky Iglesias during an incident of road rage which occurred on a street in Southwest Miami in the twilight hours late last month. The single gunshot wound to Iglesias’ chest ultimately led to his death.

A conviction for a second degree murder charge tried as a first degree felony can lead to a sentence of up to not less than 25 years in prison. The prosecution may also request a lengthier sentence depending on the circumstances, including life in prison.

Miami-Dade Woman Arrested for DUI Manslaughter and Related Charges

August 22, 2016 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

If you or someone close to you is charged with any alcohol-related driving violation it’s crucial to retain a knowledgeable criminal defense attorney who specializes in these types of occurrences at the earliest possible moment.

Accepting her fate at the Turner Gilford Knight Correctional Center late last month where she was being held on $80,000 bail, Jessica Araujo of Miami was formally arrested and charged with numerous alcohol related charges including DUI manslaughter.

Other charges that Araujo will now face are vehicular homicide, reckless driving, driving under the influence of alcohol; causing serious bodily injury, and possession of cocaine.

Second Convicted Inmate Scheduled for Release in Massive Health Care Fraud

July 26, 2016 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

Following up on an article posted here last September, the second of five defendants who was convicted of bribery charges that stemmed from a fraud that amounted to millions in duplicitous Medicaid and food stamps payments will be released from a Residential Reentry Management (RRM) field office, a halfway house operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Miami.

Alejandro Lomoso was the last to be sentenced earlier this year and was given the second lightest punishment of the five defendants involved in the fraud by a Federal Judge. He is scheduled to be released from the facility on Sept. 6. His release will be followed by six months of house arrest with electronic monitoring.

Lomoso a former Social Security Administration employee admitted at trial that he accepted roughly $10,000 in bribes from the masterminded of the racket; Irma Davidian.