Blog - Cory Strolla, PA

Greenacres duo arrested after baby and suspected pot found in home..

A professional golfer, a teacher and several college students were among 40 suspected of traveling to meet minors for sex in an undercover sting in Osceola County, the Sheriff's Office said Tuesday. The arrests were the result of a weeklong, undercover operation led by the Osceola County Sheriff's Office, dubbed "Operation Red Cheeks."

Undercover detectives posed as children, or as parents or guardians, to chat online with the suspects, who traveled to an arranged meeting location in Osceola County for sex with a child, deputies said. The Sheriff's Office said some of the suspects sent pornographic images to undercover detectives during the online sting, and some brought alcohol or drugs and other items to the meetings.

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. - As a West Palm Beach home­owner confronted two intruders in March, the encounter turned deadly. One intruder was shot and killed.  Weeks later, two men were fatally shot in a dispute aboard a boat near Phil Foster Park in Riviera Beach. Initially charged with murder, the boat's owner, 65-year-old Michael Monahan, was later set free after a judge cited the state's controversial "Stand Your Ground" statute.

IT IS WAY OVERDUE THAT LAW ABIDING CITIZENS DO NOT HAVE TO BE VICTIMS FIRST ANY LONGER!

THIS IS WHY I WILL NEVER DUE COURT APPOINTED CASES, AND FEEL FOR THE PUBLIC DEFENDERS!

Joshua Monson will be in a Washington state courtroom Monday, but he may not have a lawyer with him. Monson, who was recently convicted on a felony drug charge, stabbed three court-appointed attorneys during his trial, according to authorities.
The alleged serial stabbings of defense attorneys transformed what would usually be a run-of-the-mill local criminal trial into a national news story.
"I've heard of a defendant going after an attorney from time to time," said Craig Matheson, senior deputy at the Snohomish County prosecutor's office in Everett. "But I have never seen a serial case like this."
Matheson's office recently prosecuted the 27-year-old Monson on a methamphetamine charge.
The trouble started for Monson's defense attorneys -- none of whom were seriously injured in the stabbing spree -- even before opening statements.
On May 9, when Monson and his court-appointed attorney, Tom Cox, were still picking a jury, the defendant snatched a pencil and stabbed Cox in the neck, authorities said.
Attorney Gurjit Pandher was then appointed to defend Monson. Authorities alleged that on May 13, Monson hid a pencil in his pants before a meeting with the attorney. During that meeting, Monson stabbed Pandher in the neck, authorities said.
The trial was delayed as authorities tried to find another replacement attorney. The judge in the case also ordered that Monson be restrained in court once the trial resumes.
Local attorney Jesse Cantor was recruited to defend Monson. Cantor argued that his new client should not be restrained in court because he would not get a fair trial.
"There were extensive arguments as to the level of confinement for Mr. Monson; his lawyer argued to lessen the restraint," Matheson said.
In November during opening statements, the unrestrained Monson grabbed Cantor's pen and stabbed him in the head with it, authorities said.
The three attorneys suffered only superficial wounds, according to authorities.
A judge ruled that Monson had forfeited his right to an attorney, and the trial went on with Monson representing himself from a restraint chair.
He was convicted on the drug charge and is scheduled to be in court on Monday for a sentencing hearing. At least one new charge is pending in the wake of the stabbings.
Another replacement attorney has been appointed to advise Monson but legal experts say defense attorneys do not have many duties at a sentencing hearing.
Meanwhile, there are other future legal proceedings for Monson.
He has a pending unrelated murder trial scheduled for the near future, according to Snohomish County prosecutors.

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- A night of pizza and alcohol turned into a violent beating of a woman by former Miami Dolphins wide receiver David Boston, according to a Boca Raton police report.
The report said Boston, who played for the Dolphins in 2004-05, punched a woman twice in the head, leaving a gash big enough to require 10 stitches after the Tuesday night incident in the 21000 block of Cromwell Circle.


The woman who lived in the home where the alleged beating took place told police she got nervous after watching Boston, 33, down a bottle of vodka and a bottle of wine, adding that she also watched him take some sort of pills. At some point, that woman told her friend, who was the one who was later beaten that it would be OK for her to come over to hang out with her and Boston, the report said.
It's not known what precipitated the confrontation between Boston and the other woman, nor is it clear what his relationship with the alleged victim is. The woman who lived in the home told police that she and Boston have been "strictly friends" for several years, adding that he had been staying with her for six weeks but was planning to move out and live in a nearby hotel. When he was warned after the alleged beating that they were going to call the police, he ran off, the report said.

Officers eventually caught up with Boston, who now faces an aggravated battery charge.
Boston was a football star at Ohio State, but enjoyed less success when he got to the NFL in 1999. He did make one Pro Bowl, while playing for Arizona in 2001, and also played for San Diego before suiting up for the Dolphins in 2004-05. He was known for on-field celebrations, off-field issues and humongous arms.
Boston played for Tampa Bay in 2006 before a 2007 DUI arrest that later revealed he'd tested positive for a substance banned by the NFL. He played in the CFL in 2008 but fell off the football radar after that.

Read more: http://www.wpbf.com/sports/29897446/detail.html#ixzz1fOi6QGG3

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The doctor who was convicted in the overdose death of Michael Jackson was sentenced to the maximum four years in prison Tuesday in a finale to the tormented saga of the King of Pop.
Dr. Conrad Murray sat stoically with his hands crossed as Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor repeatedly chastised him for what he called a "horrific violation of trust" while caring for Jackson.
"Dr. Murray created a set of circumstances and became involved in a cycle of horrible medicine," the judge said. "The practice of propofol for medicine madness, which violated his sworn obligation, for money, fame prestige and whwatever else may have occurred."
Pastor said one of the most disturbing aspects of Murray's case was a slurred recording of Jackson recovered from the doctor's cell phone.
"That tape recording was Dr. Murray's insurance policy," Pastor said. "It was designed to record his patient surreptitiously at that patient's most vulnerable point."
Michael Jackson's family told Pastor they were not seeking revenge but want the doctor who killed the superstar to receive a stiff sentence that serves as a warning to opportunistic doctors.
"The Bible reminds us that men cannot do justice, they can only seek justice," the family said in a statement read by attorney Brian Panish. "That is all we can ask as a family, and that is all we ask for here."
The statement went on to say, "We are not here to seek revenge. There is nothing you can do today that will bring Michael back."

An Inverness woman is upset after her Jack Russell terrier was shot and killed by a Citrus County Sheriff's deputy who said he felt threatened.
Nancy Blackwell is trying to put the past behind her, but fun and games with her Jack Russell, Rascal, are not the same without the third member of their family.
"You can’t believe it really happened," Blackwell said. "It just, it just -- there’s nothing that makes sense about it. Nothing, nothing!"
Blackwell's other Jack Russell, Princess, was shot and killed by CCSO deputy Nick Hesse as the deputy served an arrest warrant on Blackwell's son, according to sheriff's officials.
"I wake up in the morning thinking about it like, why? It doesn’t make sense," she said. "Why did they have to do that?"
CCSO spokesperson Gail Tierney said Princess began barking at Hesse, got out of Blackwell's house and ran at the deputy while showing her teeth and growling.
Tierney said the deputy moved back, shot and killed the dog. Hesse said he felt threatened by Princess.
"Given the very short time period that he had to react -- I mean, it all happened within seconds that he made a decision to protect his well-being," Tierney said.
Blackwell doesn't agree with the explanation she was given and had harsh words for the deputy: "You’re an officer of the law and you’re scared of a Jack Russell? Do you want that kind of person protecting you?"
The dog is now buried in Blackwell's backyard, along with her favorite blanket, a toy and her bowl. Blackwell said she won't get another dog.
Tierney said the incident is under review, but the deputy had the right to defend himself. New procedures could be put in place to keep a similar incident from happening again

Today, a 51-year-old Coral Springs woman was sentenced to a year and a day in prison for helping her son, a police officer, avoid prison.
Janiber Vieira was so protective of David Britto, then a 28-year-old Boynton Beach cop, that she helped him jump bond and flee the country rather than face 10 years to life on drug charges.
"I just want to say I'm very, very sorry for everything," Vieira tearfully told U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas shortly before he sentenced her on one count of conspiracy, under a plea deal struck last month.
Vieira has already spent three months in jail. With time off for good behavior, she is likely to be released in seven months. She must also serve three years probation. It could have been far worse: she had faced a maximum of five years in prison. Prosecutors were satisfied with the year's time.
"Be hopeful and grateful," Vieira's attorney, David Oscar Markus, told about two dozen of Vieira's friends and family members after the sentencing. They had taken up two rows in the courtroom in a show of support.
Though the stay-at-home mom had never before been in trouble with the law, Markus told the group that she will be able to endure seven more months behind bars.
"Vieira bought a plane ticket for her son on Aug. 23. He cut off an ankle monitor the next day and fled to Brazil, which does not extradite foreign nationals. Britto was born in Brazil but became a naturalized U.S. citizen.
Vieira also lied to Drug Enforcement Administration agents several times, denying that she knew where her son was or that she aided in his getaway. She was arrested in September at JFK International Airport in New York as she was about to board a flight to Sao Paulo.
Defense attorneys argued that Vieira acted out of desperation because her son appeared suicidal while on bond awaiting trial.
"She was terrified that he would kill himself," psychologist Merry Sue Haber testified on behalf of the defense.
The eldest of Vieira's three sons, Britto was a former Marine and Boynton Beach's 2010 Officer of the Year. He was arrested in July on charges of conspiring with another man to possess and traffic 500 grams of methamphetamines.
He'd pleaded not guilty and was released on bond in early July. Boynton Beach fired Britto in September.
The government has not revealed any of the evidence against him.
In court today, however, Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Fels said the former officer did not take "a single payment" in the drug scheme, but sold guns to traffickers at fair market value.
He also said Britto refused money from a drug dealer for driving him around during a deal.
Fels did not disclose any other details of the case.
During the sentencing hearing, Vieira's defense team tried to convince the judge that Vieira should be released because she is an extremely good, even "angelic," church-going woman, who made a big mistake out of a desperate desire to save her son's life.
"I think she's ruled by her emotion," Haber, the psychologist testified.
She said Vieira has no idea where Britto is, hasn't heard from him and "doesn't know if he's dead or alive."
Defense attorney Margot Moss likened the escape to a crime of passion.
Before sentencing Vieira, Dimitrouleas noted that she was willing to do whatever was necessary to rescue her son, at her own risk, yet that same son wasn't walking through the courtroom doors to "face the music" and help his mother.
Later, in an interview, Markus doubted that the sentence would do any good.
"I don't think putting her in jail for a million years would deter any mother in her shoes," he said.