The Florida Supreme Court recently overturned the double death sentences imposed on a Tampa man in the murders of his wife and stepdaughter. The court unanimously vacated the two murder convictions of Khalid Ali Pasha and returned the case to Hillsborough County for retrial.

In their opinion, the justices indicated that the trial judge in Hillsborough County should have allowed Pasha fire his court-appointed attorney and represent himself. Jurors convicted Pasha of the August 23, 2002, stabbing deaths of his wife Robin Canady and her daughter Ranesha Singleton.

“Pasha clearly expressed a desire to proceed pro se (represent himself) in order to avoid the proceedings with counsel he found to be unacceptable,” the court wrote in its eight-page ruling. “This error of the trial court requires reversal.” (more…)

A Plant City couple pleaded guilty last week in Tampa’s federal court to charges that they conspired to manufacture methamphetamine in the presence of their young children. Beth Nickerson Cantin and Matthew Brian Cantin face up to 20 years in federal prison but will likely receive substantially lower sentences under the terms of the plea agreements negotiated by their criminal defense attorney.

Sentencing will occur after a sufficient pre-sentencing investigation report is completed and submitted to the sentencing judge for review and consideration.

According to their plea agreements, the Cantins told deputies they made the meth in the garage of their home while two of their three chidlren were present. The Cantins have three children, ages six months to nine years. (more…)

Earlier this month, a Tampa federal jury found St. Petersburg man, Aaron Cainion, guilty of possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute it, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possessing a firearm and ammunition after having been convicted of a felony.

Cainion faces a minimum of fifteen years in federal prison and maximum of life imprisonment. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for September 28, 2010 in order to give investigators enough time to prepare an adequate pre-sentence report on Cainion.

According to evidence presented at trial, on the evening of January 2, 2010, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies and Tampa Police Department (TPD) officers attempted to pull Cainion over for reckless driving on I-275 in Tampa. Cainion did not stop, instead leading the officers on a high-speed car chase across the Howard Franklin Bridge and into St. Petersburg. (more…)

Three people have been arrested and charged in relation to a weekend stabbing and carjacking in Hernando County, Florida. A day after the attack, deputies arrested Sherrie Dicus, Steven Wesolek and Sabrina Dicus. They are currently in custody.

Enrique Daniel Acevedo and his girlfriend, Skyler Nicholle Collins, both 18, drove to Emerson Road south of Brooksville Sunday to pick up Wesolek, who was Collins’ ex-boyfriend, and some of his friends, according to law enforcement. After the suspects got into Collins’ car, Wesolek allegedly stabbed Acevedo twice in the back of the neck and Sherrie Dicus (mother of Sabrina Dicus) strangled Collins with some sort of ligature until she lost consciousness. (more…)

Actor Joseph Gannascoli, most recently known for playing gay mobster Vito Spatafore on the HBO series “The Sopranos,” was arrested this weekend in Tampa and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.

Gannascoli made a special appearance Thursday evening at SoHo Cigar in Tampa. He was promoting his cigar, the Cugine. He was arrested not far from the cigar shop.

According to police reports, an officer in Hyde Park spotted a 2010 Dodge make a wide right turn from Howard Avenue onto Kennedy Boulevard at about 2:40 am on Friday morning. The officer saw the Dodge drift in its lane and drive on the lane marker.

After stopping the car, which was driven by Gannascoli, the officer could reportedly smell alcohol on the actor’s breath and noted that Gannascoli had slurred speech and bloodshot, watery eyes. He allegedly failed several field sobriety tests. (more…)

The State of Utah executed Ronnie Lee Gardner, a convicted killer, last night shortly after midnight local time.  Gardner’s execution received substantial national attention because it was carried out by a firing squad. It was the first time in at least 14 years that an American inmate was executed by a firing squad.

After the U.S. Supreme Court, 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and Utah’s governor all denied last-minute request for reprieve, Gardner was strapped into a chair, had a target pinned over his heart and was fired on by five anonymous marksmen armed with .30-caliber rifles and firing from behind a ported wall.

Gardner was only the third man killed by firing squad in the U.S. since a U.S. Supreme Court ruling reinstated capital punishment in 1976.  (Utah was actually the site of the first execution after the 1976 reinstatement when Gary Gilmore died by firing squad in 1977.) Utah amended its death penalty law in 2004 making lethal injection the default method of execution. However, nine inmates remained on death row in Utah, convicted prior to the 2004 amendment. Those nine inmates, a number which included Gardner, could still legally choose execution by firing squad instead of lethal injection. (more…)

St. Petersburg police are planning to run a DUI checkpoint on Friday, June 18, 2010. The checkpoint will cover all southbound traffic at 1700 34th St. N at the Publix supermarket.

According to a media release, the checkpoint will be set up from 10pm Friday night through 4am Saturday morning. All southbound traffic will be required to pass through the checkpoint. Drivers will then be re-directed into the Publix parking lot and will potentially undergo several checks by the St. Pete officers.

Drivers will be expected to show a valid driver’s license, vehicle registration and proof of insurance. Police will also be trying to determine if anyone is driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Anyone reasonably suspected of DUI will be asked to perform field sobriety exercises. (more…)

Amanda Logue of Leesburg, Georgia was extradited from that state to Florida this week. She now faces a first-degree murder charge in Pasco County for allegedly killing a Hudson tattoo shop owner.

Logue is being held at the Land O’ Lakes Jail without bail. She was arrested in Georgia on May 28.

According to Pasco County sheriff’s detectives, Logue bludgeoned and stabbed Dennis “Scooter” Abrahamsen to death last month. They say that Logue is a prostitute who participated in a sex party at Abrahamsen’s home in New Port Richey on May 15.

Abrahamsen’s body was found face down on a massage table at his home the next day. His skull was caved in and he had been been stabbed in the back. About $6, 000, a laptop computer, a video camera, a digital camera and a Home Depot credit card were missing from his home. (more…)