Criminal Procedure

Published on: January 26, 2012

Baseball Player Threatened to Kill People Before DWI Arrest

by Stephen Bilkis

Just when you think you have heard the entire story, new information has been revealed that prior to a well known baseball player’s DWI arrest in February; he apparently had some choice words to say to some folks at a local restaurant.

The apparently intoxicated gentleman had stopped into a local restaurant at about 10:30pm when the manager told him that the restaurant was closing. He proceeded on into the restaurant when was informed by the manager again that the restaurant was closing. Was reported to have made repeated comments to the manager that he did not know who he was. A New York Criminal Lawyer was also told that he leaned into the manager’s face and said, “I know all of you, and I will kill all of you and blow this place up,” as he patted the side of his shoulder bag.

It was at this point that the manager instructed a bartender to call 911, and the off-duty wildlife officer who had been inside the restaurant speaking with his friend, the manager, stepped out to his vehicle to collect his badge and firearm. It was at this point that the baseball player exited the restaurant and sped away in his vehicle while continuing to shout obscenities at everyone within hearing distance. It was not long afterwards that the police arrived.

Published on: January 26, 2012

FBI Makes Arrest in MLK Bomb Case

by Stephen Bilkis

An FBI SWAT team executed a search warrant on Wednesday, and made one arrest connected with the case, reports the New York Criminal Lawyer. The arrest is a result of the so-called isolated event that occurred on Martin Luther King Day that involved a backpack that was reportedly filled with enough explosives to cause lethal damage to bystanders.

Arrested is a 36-year old, ex-soldier that allegedly has ties to a white-supremacist group. This is reportedly the same group that was founded by the author of “The Turner Diaries,” that was the focus of setting the guidelines for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. It is thus far unclear as to whether he is the only person of interest in this case.

The suspect has already been arraigned in U.S Federal Court, which he has waived his hearing for bail. The suspect could face life in prison if convicted of several felony offenses including of the attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. A separate charge of possession of an unregistered explosive device could net the suspect another maximum sentence of 10-years in prison if convicted. His next scheduled court appearance is set for March 23.

Published on: January 25, 2012

Bank Robbers Arrested

by Stephen Bilkis

Two alleged bank robbers have been arrested, claimed a New York Criminal Lawyer. While police and FBI spokespeople have had few public comments yet, the two robbers are believed to be behind other recent bank robberies in a different district this month.

The arrests are part of a joint law enforcement investigation that included officers and agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF), and officers from various state and local police departments. Both bank robberies had similar methods of operation (MO), that included what appeared to be a pipe bomb left at each location, that later proved to be fake.

The suspects are being called the ‘copycat robbers’ as they were copying a robber from another series of bank robberies that had occurred in the area that also used fake bombs while pulling off heists, a Queens Criminal Lawyer was told. The particular bandit the crime duo was mimicking was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison just last month for his crimes.

Published on: January 25, 2012

Brinks Truck Robbery Suspect Arrested

by Stephen Bilkis

Biloxi, MS, police have arrested an armed robbery suspect that is suspected of holding up a Brinks security guard on Wednesday, a New York Criminal Lawyer has learned. The suspect had confronted a Brinks’ guard who had just completed making a pickup at a local store, and at gunpoint demanded the guard to lie on the floor. The suspect took the Brinks bag and ran away.

Witnesses at the scene described the suspect’s vehicle to police and the suspect was soon spotted by a patrol officer who attempted to stop the vehicle. Following a brief pursuit along a local highway and city streets, the chase soon led into a local neighborhood, police discovered the suspect’s disabled vehicle abandoned with a flat tire. Officers and K-9’s took to the pursuit by foot through the neighborhood yards and the local wooded area. The suspect was taken into custody shortly thereafter without further incident.

As reported by the Stated Island Criminal Lawyer, this incident could have ended badly. When the suspect entered the local neighborhood, there were families and children who were watching as the events unfolded and many were reportedly frightened as they observed the suspect running through yards, and jumping over shrubbery and through fences. The officers on the scene did an excellent job in not only capturing an armed robbery suspect, but also in community relations as when the officers entered the neighborhood, they informed many of its residents to lock their doors and to stay away from the windows for safety’s sake. The residents have stated that they are very appreciative of not only the officers capturing the suspect, but to their rapid response to the scene.

Published on: January 24, 2012

Former CEO of a Texas-based investment firm indicted on multiple counts of fraud

by Stephen Bilkis

A former CEO of a major financial firm was recently charged with several counts of white collar crimes that included wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering.

As of February 28, the former Chief Executive Officer of a notable firm situated in Austin, TX was scheduled to be arraigned in a federal district court to hear his multiple charges. A New York Criminal Layer notes that the man is alleged to have fraudulently raised $50 million from investors in a malicious and manipulative scheme that involved money laundering, wire fraud and securities fraud. The allegations go into greater detail by describing the fact that the defendant manipulated contacts from church as well as former NFL football stars to cultivate this scheme, which had the personal enrichment of the defendant as its primary motivating factor.

The Austin-based firm, which specializes in investments, was placed in receivership in 2009 by the judge presiding over the case in its initial development. This event was a result of the sobering fact that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took action against the firm by way of a securities lawsuit. Though the defendant and former CEO of the firm is facing a major indictment of 39 counts, A Brooklyn Criminal Lawyer explained that is has not yet been revealed what the outcome of the indictment was. What is known is that, according to authorities, the man did not act merely on his own behalf. It appears that his investment manipulation also benefitted the Chief Financial Officer of the Austin-based firm, who is not named.

Published on: January 24, 2012

A divisive case of child abuse and parental rights launches to the Supreme Court

by Stephen Bilkis

A question of individual rights regarding a child who was rumored to have been allegedly sexually abused by her father has caused great controversy in the courts and between different interest groups

In 2003 in the state of Oregon, a nine-year-old girl was suddenly removed from her public school classroom by a child protection investigator who was accompanied by a deputy sheriff. Operating under presumed intelligence that the young girl had been sexually abused by her father, the two men interrogated her for a period of approximately two hours and sought confirmation that she had in fact been sexually abused. A New York Criminal Lawyer reports that allegedly, the young girl finally confirmed their suspicions; however, at a later date she confessed that she had only given the two men an affirmation because she was afraid and wanted to escape the interrogation.

The father of the girl was arrested, but later released when charges were dropped in regards to this specific case. However, it seems that the father agreed to a plea deal that involved a different charge of sexually assaulting a minor. In response to the interrogation by the deputy and child protection investigator, the family of the young lady filed a lawsuit, which was heard in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, located in San Francisco. A Bronx Criminal Lawyer notes that the case eventually made it to the Supreme Court, following an appeal by the state of Oregon.

Published on: January 23, 2012

Local “Street Czar” charged with sexual misconduct toward a minor

by Stephen Bilkis

A city official referred to as the “Street Czar” and entrusted with serving the community of San Diego was recently charged with a serious sex crime: he allegedly subjected an underage female to molestation, as documented by a New York Criminal Lawyer.

According to court documents, the young woman, now 21, was younger than 14 at the time of the alleged sexual misconduct charges, which happened around seven years ago. The accused city official is relatively new to his line of work, being commonly referred to as the “Street Czar” for the city of San Diego. A Bronx Criminal Lawyer notes that on February 28, the 47-year-old man pleaded not guilty in court. The exact statement from the prosecutor in the case says that the defendant allegedly enticed the then-underage victim to touch his private area, a claim that is also said to be corroborated by an external evidence source.

Though the city-employed defendant will not have to undergo jail time during the time of subsequent hearings, a New York Criminal Lawyer stated that according to an official for the city of San Diego, the defendant had been placed on “administrative leave” that does not include compensation. Upon inquiry, the legal counsel of the defendant declined to comment; at the same time, the president of a local union admitted that the arrest was “surprising”, thought went on to affirm the truth that according to American courts, a defendant is innocent until proven guilty. The union president oversees the employment and economical interests of all but 2,000 city employees in San Diego.

Published on: January 23, 2012

College Student Arrested for 22 Fake ID’s

by Stephen Bilkis

A 20-year old college student has been arrested in Boulder, CO, for allegedly picking up a box that contained fake identifications, sources have told a New York Criminal Lawyer. The University of Colorado sophomore had allegedly gone to the local grocery store to pick up a box that had been delivered to the store bearing a friend’s name.

Although the young man initially told police that he simply got “caught in the middle” of his friend’s scheme to distribute fake ID’s, police soon discovered there was more to the story that what they were just told by the suspect. During a routine check for weapons, officers discovered the suspect’s wallet. Within the wallet was a fake id. This was all the arresting officers required in order to charge the youth with “suspicion of forgery, criminal possession of a forged instrument and unlawful acts,” police told the NY Criminal Lawyer.

Authorities were tipped off as to the contents of the package when the package was delivered to the a grocery store by UPS, and an employee opened the package by mistake. She discovered a total of 22 fake ID’s that were grouped in pairs for 11 people. Sources went on to inform a Staten Island Criminal Lawyer that although each of the ID’s did match a real person as well as their address, each of the ID’s listed the person as being at least 21 years of age.

Published on: January 22, 2012

DWI Suspect Arrested on Top of Police Cruiser

by Stephen Bilkis

Just when you think you have heard it all, another story comes along that leaves one asking what were they thinking. A New York Criminal Lawyer has learned that a Maryland man was arrested for DWI early Sunday morning. While sadly that is nothing unusual, what makes this a little different is that the suspect backed his truck onto the hood of a police car.

The 26-year old man had reportedly been in an argument with someone at a local bar, when he decided to give chase to the person, he had been arguing with. That chase ended with the man’s truck having pushed the other person’s car into a utility pole. The story gets better. With the man’s judgment heavily impaired due to too much alcohol consumption, and having just been in an adrenaline inducing car chase, and then being involved in an accident, the man took it upon himself to place his vehicle into reverse and back up. The problem with this is that in so doing he backed onto the hood of an unmarked police car that had come upon the accident scene and had attempted to block the driver of the pickup by using his police cruiser as a barricade. The officer’s tactic worked overall, as the police vehicle did stop the truck from leaving the scene. It just was not exactly the way the officer had originally intended.

Luckily, the officer received only minor injuries and was treated and released from the local hospital soon after. The driver of the pickup, however, was not so luck. Although the man was not aware at the time of the presence of the police car beneath his truck, police were able to convince the man to exit his truck where he was then placed under arrest and charged with DWI, reckless driving, negligent driving, and two counts of second-degree assault.

Published on: January 22, 2012

High School Shooting Puts Police on a Manhunt

by Stephen Bilkis

Police in Nova Scotia have issued an arrest warrant for a 16-year old male they believe to be responsible for at least some of the shots that were fired at a high school this past Monday. The youth is facing multiple charges that include at least eight offenses involving possession of a weapon, and two counts of attempted murder. While Halifax police believe that only two persons, who have not been named thus far, were targeted by the youth, multiple gunshots were fired outside of the high school that the youth does not attend as a student.

Investigators have also learned that the shooting is believed to be a payback for another recent shooting of which a 16-year old was shot on Saturday, a New York Criminal Lawyer was informed. Police have confirmed they are exploring the possibility the two incidents are related.

While it is unusual for police to announce publicly information on a juvenile, a judge has given them five-days to announce his name and photograph publicly due to the nature of the incidents. The fact that the incident involved seemingly indiscriminate violence with a firearm at a school weighed heavily in the judge’s decision, sources. However, if police have not arrested the 16-year old within that five-day time period, the permission to use his name and photograph publicly will expire.