This week, the State Attorney in Miami announced that prosecutors would not file criminal charges for sexual battery (rape) against NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. What is to be learned from this case? This case teaches a valuable lesson that anyone arrested for a criminal charge or thinks they maybe facing a criminal charge MUST CONTACT AN...
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Female teacher arrested for allegedly having sex with her student. Teacher was booked into the Polk County Jail on counts of
Yesterday, a female Polk County teacher was arrested for allegedly having sex with her 17 year old student. The teacher, Jennifer Fichter, is an English teacher at Central Florida Aerospace Academy. The arrest allegedly stemmed from text messages the teen's mother found on her son's phone. The mother then allegedly asked the teacher to come to...
Read MoreAlleged Polk County "road rage" incident captured on cell phone video at Winter Haven McDonald's Drive-thru
Last week a video went viral of a woman videotaping an alleged "road rage" in Florida that went viral. Today, Polk County had it's own alleged road rage incident. This too was captured on a cell phone video and is sure to make the rounds on news stations all throughout the country. The alleged incident...
Read MoreAggravated felony Domestic Violence arrest warrant issued for NFL Buccaneer Mike Williams' brother for allegedly stabbing the wide receiver.
Another day, another criminal story about an NFL football player. This time the Buc's Mike Williams is allegedly the victim of a domestic violence dispute at his home. There are multiple witnesses to the incident, but it allegedly involved horseplay between the two brothers. Because of their relationship as brothers, the incident is categorized as...
Read MoreFlorida legislature's attempt to repeal "Stand Your Ground" Law fails.
This week, the legislature's latest attempt to repeal Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law failed. This means that a person does not have a duty to retreat if attacked. The proposed bill was soundly defeated by a vote of 11-2. This law has been the subject of protests and media coverage ever since the George Zimmerman/Trayvon...
Read MoreLakeland Police Officer arrested for serious armed sexual battery charges, faces life in prison.
Lakeland Police Officer Julio Pagan was arrested Thursday and charged with armed sexual battery by a law enforcement officer and armed aggravated stalking. Officer Pagan was formerly with the Bartow Police Department. Officer Pagan was booked into the Polk County Jail today. These charges carry a sentence of up to life in prison. Pagan was...
Read MorePolk Criminal Lawyer Thomas C. Grajek attends NACDL Forensics Evidence seminar on DNA evidence
In April, I attended the NACDL legal seminar "Making sense of Science." This continuing legal education seminar focused on how science plays a role in criminal cases. A main topic was DNA evidence in criminal cases. This evidence is found in rape or capital sexual battery and there is DNA evidence on the body. Or,...
Read MoreUndercover police officers fired for drinking and hanging out in strip club while on duty
Two undercover Tampa Police Department officers were fired today for hanging out and drinking in a strip club while on duty. Officer Ortega and Officer Madsen were in a strip club drinking. When it was time to go to work, the officers logged into work remotely from a computer. The were on the Rapid Offender Control...
Read MoreOff duty Lakeland Police officer charged with battery after alleged road rage incident
An off duty police officer was charged with battery after an alleged road rage incident today. Part of the incident was captured on a surveillance camera. Allegedly, there was an incident on the road where the off-duty Lakeland Police Officer felt that the other driver cut him off. As with most road rage type incidents,...
Read MoreLakeland criminal lawyer files Stand your ground motion in battery case
My client was charged with the crime of battery. This is a first degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 1 year in the Polk County Jail. The allegations against my client were that he had hit a female at a fight outside a bar. Allegedly, there were numerous patrons outside the bar and, during the...
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