One Year Sentence in Fatal Tampa DUI Crash

A Hillsborough Circuit Judge sentenced Kevin Smith of Oldsmar to a year and a day in state prison this week after Smith pleaded guilty to the drunk driving death of a Tampa woman in 2008. Smith was charged with DUI... [Read More]

Ten Arrested in Hernando County Marijuana Bust

Hernando County Sheriff’s deputies arrested ten people in Brooksville earlier this week on marijuana charges. More than 270 marijuana plants were discovered in two houses by the deputies on Wednesday. The defendants, all of Brooksville, were charged with a variety... [Read More]

Ft. Myers Real Estate Agent Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion

Fort Myers real estate agent Thomas Daugherty pleaded guilty earlier this month to federal tax evasion charges in U.S. District Court in Fort Myers. Prosecutors alleged that Daugherty, who handled commercial real estate transactions, reported a total of $3,366,733 in... [Read More]

New Charges in Tampa Bay Pain Clinic Investigation

Janusz Suzdorf of Dunedin was arrested this month on a federal complaint charging him with conspiring to traffic in Oxycodone. Suzdorf is the latest in a string of arrests related to the Neurology & Pain Center clinics located in Tampa... [Read More]

Guilty Verdict in Pasco Federal Drug Case

A federal judge this week found Rogelio Zarco Perez of Dade City guilty of gun charges relating to a large-scale raid last August. Perez previously pleaded guilty to drug charges. Law enforcement seized fifty-two kilograms of cocaine and $2.2 million... [Read More]

Tampa Pain Clinic Owner Indicted Again on Drug Charges

Troy Wubbena, physician assistant and co-owner of the Neurology & Pain Center clinics located in Tampa, Lakeland, Orlando, Jacksonville, and St. Petersburg, has been indicted again on a charge of conspiracy to traffic in oxycodone. Wubbena, of Tampa, was already... [Read More]

Hardin Found Guilty of St. Petersburg Murders, Sings to Jury and Avoids Death Penalty

On Thursday, a Pinellas County jury convicted Cordaro Hardin of first-degree murder in the 2007 shooting deaths of two St. Petersburg men. The penalty phase of the capital murder trial occurred on Friday. The jury declined to recommend that Hardin... [Read More]

Brunvand Featured in News Article on Juror Questioning

Last week, Tampa Bay area criminal defense attorney Bjorn Brunvand was featured in an article in the St. Petersburg Times on juror questioning. In January 2008. the Florida Supreme Court began allowing jurors to take notes during trials and to... [Read More]

Pinellas Murder Trial Ends With Plea Bargain After Victim Changes Story

In January 2008, Damian Eagan of Pinellas County was shot in the hand and arm by a man with dreadlocks who was attempting to steal $4,000 in cash. Eagan later identified Mariuntay Murray in a photo lineup as the person... [Read More]

St. Petersburg Man Pleads Guilty, Avoids Life in Prison

Christopher Taylor, a 26-year-old St. Petersburg man, pleaded guilty this week to second-degree murder for the 2007 shooting death of James Lasseter. Taylor was represented by Tampa Bay area criminal defense attorney Bjorn E. Brunvand. Taylor entered a guilty plea... [Read More]