Tag Archives: california vehicle code

Puppies are not a Weapon

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A domestic dispute between a woman and her boyfriend was occurring on Thursday this week in Anoka County Minnesota. The boyfriend, 25 year old David Peter Remme, allegedly broke the woman’s nose. The woman, 20 year old Gabrielle Tywon Allen, reacted by throwing a puppy at Mr. Remme. The Spring Lake Park woman was jailed Thursday after throwing three 1 week old pit bulls at her boyfriend. This information was relayed by local police to the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

The man was also arrested on suspicion of third degree assault charges. Ms. Allen was held on possible charges of animal cruelty. Both the man and woman were in the Anoka County Jail on Thursday for court.

The police stated that the two were arguing in a parking lot outside of an apartment building early on Thursday. Allen is reported to allegedly have thrown three of the newborn puppies, which were huddled on the front seat of a pickup truck, at Mr. Remme after he punched her in the face. The puppies landed on the concrete and appeared to be in good health.

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What Would You do to Skip Jury Duty?

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I am a trial attorney and have had the wonder of interacting with a jury many times now. During jury selection (voir dire), the goal is to get rid of any jurors that are not going to help my client. During that process, many other prospective jurors attempt to get kicked off the jury as well. People do all kinds of strange things to get kicked off a jury panel.

In Denver, a woman was kicked off a jury. However, she is now facing perjury charges because she was kicked off the jury. This woman, Susan Cole, was dismissed from jury service when she showed up for jury selection with hair curlers on, wearing mismatched shoes, reindeer socks, and looked completely disheveled. She wore offbeat clothes and pretended to be mentally ill in order to get kicked off jury duty.

This is where she went wrong: Ms. Cole called a local talk show and admitted that she did this intentionally. Ms. Cole called into KOA’s Dave Logan show stating that she was emotionally upset that morning and had “too much on my platter” to serve on a jury. The judge during jury selection was listening to this local talk show and remembered Ms. Cole.

The judge looked up a transcript of jury selection and determined that Ms. Cole was dismissed after telling the court that she suffered from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and that she “get very confused in the morning when I try to get ready.” The court reporter described Ms. Cole as “her makeup looked like something you would wear during a theater performance,” Kelli Wessels, the court reporter during jury selection said in a statement to investigators concerning this matter. “When the judge asked the entire panel if anyone had a mental illness, (Cole) stated she had difficulties getting ready in the morning, which was apparent to me by the way she was dressed.”

Unfortunately for Ms. Cole, she did not get away with pretending to be mentally ill to get out of jury selection. The judge who presided over jury selection remembered the entire incident and turned Ms. Cole in.

In a recorded interview with news station KUSA-TV, Ms. Cole admits she “deliberately dressed in a disheveled and uncoordinated fashion” to get out of jury duty. “I am embarrassed I did it,” she admits. “I didn’t mean to harm the judge. I really felt bad she interpreted this.” Now Ms. Cole is going to be facing the judge as a defendant, not as a law abiding prospective juror.

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Facebook is not a Crime

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Facebook is everywhere. Even in domestic disputes, Facebook can become an issue. In Florida, a wife did not want to go to bed and let her husband use Facebook without her around. She refused to go to bed to let him lurk the inter-webs of Facebook. The 57 year old man, Doyle Hardwick, then called emergency services at 911 because his wife wouldn’t let him look at Facebook alone. However, his wife was not breaking any laws whereas he was. Mr. Hardwick was arrested on a charge of “misuse of 911.” Mr. Hardwick is now facing 60 days of county jail time for his phone call.

When his wife refused to go to bed and let him browse Facebook alone, a Florida man called 911. Unfortunately it turns out neither Facebook snooping nor spousal annoyances qualify as actual crimes, so the man was arrested on a charge of “misuse of 911.” He now faces 60 days of jail time.

A local area newspaper, The Tampa Bay Times, reported that Doyle Hardwick initially asked his wife not to sit next to him while he looked at Facebook but she “told him she didn’t feel like sitting anywhere else.” Mr. Hardwick was not convinced and instead he “plied his wife with beer, hoping she would go to bed.” After right beers, she still didn’t feel like going to sleep.

According to the local paper, a police report was written which explains that Hardwick told his wife “if she didn’t quit sitting next to him and go to bed, he was going to call 911 and the police were going to make her.” She responded by telling him that he shouldn’t do that, but he did anyway.

This incident is sadly not the first time Hardwick has been arrested for misuse of 911. In 2010, he repeatedly called 911 and asked to speak to someone “regarding neighbors defecating into old vehicle fuel tanks for the past three weeks.” Strange.

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Bobby Brown Busted Boozing

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Singer and extraordinary reality tv show personality Bobby Brown got caught for driving under the influence. Today, the California Highway Patrol stopped Bobby Brown for his failure to use hands free device when talking on his cell phone. Officer Mike Harris made an enforcement stop of Bobby Brown’s vehicle at 12:20 this afternoon (Monday March 26, 2012) near the corner of Victory Blvd. at Wilbur Ave. in the San Fernando Valley.

Officer Harris approached Bobby Brown to issue a ticket but ended up asking him to complete a series of field sobriety tests. Officials allege that Bobby Brown failed every single field sobriety test and even blew above a .08 on the preliminary alcohol screening device. In fact, officials have stated that the blood alcohol level was at or near .12. This level is not incredibly high but is nowhere near the legal limit and is tough to combat a DUI charge.

The arrest of Bobby Brown comes a mere four days after the Los Angeles County Coroner released the results for the autopsy of Bobby Brown’s ex-wife, Whitney Houston. In the report, the coroner states that she appears to have cocaine in her system in the time period just immediately prior to her collapse in the bathtub at the hotel. This was stated by Los Angeles County Chief Coroner Craig Harvey. It appears that Whitney Houston, at age 48, was determined to have accidentally drowned due to a heart episode triggered by cocaine. The report went on to state that the findings “suggested chronic usage” of the drug cocaine.

Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston were married 14 years and they had their share of issues due to drug abuse as well as Bobby Brown running in with the law. Further, their relationship had allegations of domestic violence and was all on display on the reality television show “Being Bobby Brown.” It appears that Bobby Brown could have been drinking heavily following the public announcement from the coroner’s office concerning his ex wife. However, this is not the first time that Bobby Brown has been in trouble with the law and it could be just a coincidence that he was arrested today for a DUI.

Are you like Bobby Brown? Do you need a DUI Lawyer? Expungement? Misdemeanor? Traffic ticket?

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Bouncers are not Ashtrays

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I am amazed by some of the news reported. One of those stories is how Mr. Matthew Salvatore Emerson learned that a bouncer’s face is not an ashtray. This lesson was learned the hard way for Mr. Emerson. Bouncers’ faces are not ashtrays, you guys.

I make it sound absurd but Mr. Emerson, a 22 year old, is facing felony assault charges for attempting to put his cigarette butt out on the face of a bouncer. This incident is alleged to have taken place on March 20, 2012. Emerson was at a local pub called The Saloon in downtown Minneapolis. Mr. Emerson putt a cigarette butt out on the bouncer’s face and also bit the bouncer three times on his hands as well as his forearm.

Police were called to this incident to place Mr. Emerson under arrest for assault and probably drunk in public/ public intoxication charges. Police stated that the bouncer lost “a substantial amount of blood.” Mr. Emerson was placed in custody at the main jail. If he is convicted on these charges, Mr. Emerson could be facing as many as 5 years in prison as well as a $10,000 fine.

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Let’s Go Jogging… With a Cat?

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This story was just too crazy to not share. As many of you know, I am a fan of animals and have had my fair share of pet cats, dogs, guinea pigs, and even a duck. I have never attempted to take one of my cats on a walk. Cats are stubborn animals and do not do well on a leash unless they are trained very young. Not only is it tough to train a cat to walk on a leash, I think it looks ridiculous. If your cat needs some extra exercise, put him in the back yard or have him chase a laser.

A man in Lafayette Colorado was on a mission to jog with his pet cat. The 19 year old, Seth Franco, brought his cat with him on a leash to a jogging path near Waneka Lake Park in Lafayette. The cat started to jog with Mr. Franco for a tiny bit but ran out of energy and decided to lay down instead. According to a local newspaper in the area, The Boulder Daily Camera, witnesses told local law enforcement that Mr. Franco tied the cat’s leash to a rock as he finished his jog. One of the witnesses called the police to report this unusual activity.

 

The police arrived and determined that the cat did belong to Mr. Franco.  Mr Franco was greeted with a ticket for domestic animal cruel treatment which is a municipal code violation and typically charged as an infraction (similar to a traffic ticket or speeding ticket). The cat was not injured and police were able to release him back to his owner.

 

As a cat owner, I have always wondered who would go jogging with their cat. Who in the right mind would even attempt to put their cat on a leash and pull it. I understand that some breeds of cat are more receptive to this type of activity. However, it never made sense to me. Do you have a cat? Do you walk your cat? Do you think Mr. Franco deserved a ticket? Should he have received a worse punishment?

 

 
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It’s Only A Misdemeanor…

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Monroe Criminal Defense Lawyer wrote a bit more about the SF manslaughter bicycle case. Check it out and share your thoughts.

Cyclist Guilty of Homicide in San Francisco

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In San Francisco Superior Court at the hall of justice, a 23 year old bicyclist entered a plea of guilty on Monday to a misdemeanor violation of vehicular manslaughter. The cyclist was accused of running a red light and striking and killing a pedestrian along the Embarcadero at San Francisco’s waterfront.


The defendant, Randolph Ang, was sentenced by a San Francisco Superior Court Judge to three years’ probation and 500 hours of community service as part of a plea bargain made with the SF district attorney’s office. This plea bargain was agreed to by the family of the woman he struck and killed. In addition, Ang was also ordered to pay the family $15,375 in restitution costs.

The facts of the incident were that Ang was riding north on the Embarcadero on the San Francisco waterfront at around 8:30 in the morning on July 15 when he hit Cherney, a 68 year old woman, who was crossing Mission Street with her husband. Cherney was visiting from Washington, D.C. and was pronounced dead at the hospital due to head injuries at a San Francisco hospital Aug. 11.

Mrs. Cherney’s husband, Colburn Cherney, gave a statement in criminal court through district attorney Sarah Hawkins, describing his wife as a fearless mother and grandmother with an incredible zest for life. The District Attorney read a statement from Mr. Cherney stating: “We had 20 wonderful years of marriage, but we expected and deserved 20 more years,” as Mr. Cherney wept quietly next to her. “My life is ruined. I will never be the same. To this day, not a half hour goes by that I don’t think of her.”

The Defendant, Ang, had uncontrollable shaking hands before the hearing began. The defendant apologized to the family as the statement was read. “I will forever be in debt to Mr. Cherney and his family,” he said. “This is something I will never forget and will weigh on my conscience forever.” He added, “I cannot ask for their forgiveness, but I hope they can hear and feel how sorry I am.”

This plea agreement was reached after the DA spoke to the victim’s family. The family agreed that they did not want the defendant to spend a year in county jail. The further explained that the jail time will not bring their family member back.

How do you feel about this plea agreement? I think it is great that the court is ordering her to do so many community service hours. I hope that she can use these hours to help educate cyclists in San Francisco that they have the same laws as vehicles. I have seen far too many cyclists breaking law after law and getting away with it. I get so frustrated when I drive and the bicycles swerve in front of you and run lights. I also hate critical mass but I am not a cyclist and I am sure my belief would be different if I were.

The story is over, share your thoughts. Click on the stuff below if you are looking for a lawyer. Don’t click if you don’t care.

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Ross Mirkarimi- Step Down Hypocrite.

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The San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkirimi has been in the media over the past few months after a New Years incident where he allegedly abused his wife. The Sheriff has been drawing out the trial on his misdemeanor charges in San Francisco for a few weeks now. This is the same man that stated that he wanted a fast trial. Today, the San Francisco Sheriff reached a plea bargain deal with the San Francisco District Attorney. Ross Mirkarimi pleaded guilty today to a misdemeanor charge of false imprisonment.


In exchange, San Francisco District Attorney dropped a domestic violence charge and two other misdemeanor counts filed in a complaint against the 50 year old Mirkarimi. Under the plea agreement, Mirkarimi will be sentenced next week to three years’ of informal court probation, one year (52 weeks) of anger management counseling, parenting classes, 100 hours of community service, and mandatory fines totaling around $600. The problem: he will be allowed to remain sheriff- at least for now.

I disagree with this plea agreement. As a criminal attorney in the bay area, I have represented many domestic violence defendants. Most of my clients face a strong prosecution by the DA. In fact, in San Francisco, they have a policy that they will get tough on domestic violence cases. The fact that the District Attorney allowed Mirkarimi to plead just before trial to a charge that will not make him lose his job is shocking. I believe that it is ridiculous to have the head Sheriff in a county that is tough on Domestic Violence with a criminal record for Domestic Violence.

This same story is all over the news in the bay area. I won’t waste any more time highlighting the absurdity of this case. Feel free to google his name and I am sure you will find all of the facts related to this story. I simply wanted to express my feelings- Ross Mirkarimi should step down from being Sheriff as he is no longer a role model. In fact, to serve the county, he is a hypocrite. His apology was also pretty pathetic- take responsibility for your actions!

Any thoughts? Am I being too harsh on the Sheriff?

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51 Slashed Tires: A Target or an Idiot?

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A record 51 cars found themselves with flat tires after someone decided to slash their tires overnight in Palo Alto, CA. The Palo Alto Police Department is searching for anyone with any information that could lead to this vandal (or the vandals) arrest. Lt. Zach Perron stated that the vandals struck between the hours of 2 AM and 7 AM on Sunday. Residents woke up to find their car disabled hours later.

The vehicles that were damaged were parked on the street or in driveways in a residential area of Palo Alto. The addresses that were hit were the 3900 block of Ventura Court, the 200 block of East Meadow Drive, the 200 block of Mclane street, the 300 block of Ventura Avenue, and the 4000 block of park Boulevard.

 

In my opinion, these sounds like it could have been one of two things. Either this was done by someone that had a specific target but they did not want to get caught so they decided to slash every tire in the area to avoid making it look like a targeted crime. The other thing that may have occurred is this is an extremely stupid a-hole that was drunk or strung out and thought it was fun to damage other people’s property. Either way, I would be extremely upset if I woke up to find my vehicles with hundreds of dollars in damage each.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Palo Alto police department at (650) 329-2143.

 

 

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