Florida Criminal Lawyer Blog

An unusual Valentine’s Day story caught the attention of our Miami assault and battery criminal defense attorneys. A Feb. 16 article in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel says a man was arrested Sunday for attacking a couple celebrating Valentine’s Day. The unidentified man and woman said Larry Bert Sexton, 37, broke into their house and attacked both of them with his fists. Sexton and an unnamed acquaintance said they saw the man beating up the woman and tried to help. Law enforcement in St. Lucie County apparently sided with the couple, charging Sexton with two counts of battery, impersonating an officer and burglary of an occupied dwelling.

The incident happened around 4 a.m. early on Feb. 14. According to the newspaper, the man said he arrived at the home with flowers and carried the woman inside. About ten minutes later, he said, Sexton kicked down the door and announced that he was a sheriff’s deputy. Sexton then threw a punch that missed, followed the man into a bedroom and began punching him. The woman tried to pull Sexton away from the fight, but Sexton turned and began strangling her. After the fight, Sexton went into a house across the street. Sexton told police he and a resident had been watching the couple from that house. He said he saw them in an argument that turned violent; his companion said they saw a man beating up a woman. Police found no evidence to support that, the article said.

As West Palm Beach battery criminal defense lawyers, we are not so sure. The article doesn’t have enough detail to show who was telling the truth, but it’s easy to see another side to the story. For one thing, it’s a sad truth, and well-known to law enforcement, that victims of domestic violence often side with their abusers. If the man truly was beating the woman, it’s not unlikely that she would try to help cover it up after the fact, and even try to defend him from Sexton. The police said they found no evidence of a fight, but the fight with Sexton may have covered up evidence of a previous fight. While it was illegal for Sexton to lie about being a sheriff’s deputy, he may have been trying to scare the man. And if there was no intent to batter the couple or commit any other crime, the burglary charge is legally bogus and must be dropped.

Continue reading "Treasure Coast Man Arrested for Assault in Alleged ‘Good Samaritan’ Incident" »

The recent arrest of Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Tony McDaniel highlights issues we believe are important in any case of alleged domestic abuse. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Feb. 7 that McDaniel, 25, was arrested the day before and charged with misdemeanor battery of his girlfriend. The arrest report said McDaniel and Alaina Smith had an argument outside their Davie home Saturday morning that turned into a shoving match. The two have different accounts of the reasons for the fight as well as the physical part of the confrontation. This he-said, she-said problem is one of the most common situations affecting our practice as Fort Lauderdale domestic violence criminal defense attorneys.

According to the article, Smith was returning to the house with food around 8:30 a.m., around the same time McDaniel was coming home from a night out. Smith said McDaniel confronted her about not answering the phone the night before, then grabbed her purse. During their struggle for the purse, she said she fell and hit her head. She ran into the house, she said, asked her guests to call 911 and ran out to find McDaniel smashing her phone on the ground. McDaniel told police Smith was upset at him for staying out all night and started scratching and slapping him. Police found scratches on both parties, but no head injury on Smith, who declined medical treatment. The houseguests said they saw the argument, Smith’s fall and McDaniel smashing the phone. He was arrested and released on $3,500 bail the next day.

As Miami-Dade spousal abuse criminal defense lawyers, we see stories like this time and time again. Each person claims the other started the fight; the physical evidence doesn’t say much; and there are few, if any, witnesses. This means the police are forced to choose the story they think fits the situation better. More often than not, police choose to believe the woman and arrest the man, following outdated gender stereotypes. The truth is that people of both genders can be guilty of domestic violence, and Florida law recognizes that either spouse can be a victim. Arresting the husband or boyfriend at the first sign of trouble may stop the fight, but it can also unfairly and unnecessarily get him into major, life-changing legal trouble.

Continue reading "Miami Dolphins Player Arrested for Domestic Violence After Fight With Girlfriend" »