DUI on a Golf Cart (and Fleeing!)

Alex Acevedo via CCSO

This week a Collier County man from Immokalee was arrested for drunk driving in a golf cart when deputies tried to pull him over. According to reports, Alex Acevedo saw the cops, pulled over, tossed a can out the side of his cart, and then sped off. He got to a nearby residence, tossed his cell phone to someone before being detained. Deputies indicate he smelled strongly of alcohol, had trouble maintaining his balance, and refused to do exercises. He was arrested and charged with DUI and Resisting an Officer.

Notably, Mr. Acevedo actually got lucky. He could have been charged with Fleeing, which is a felony. The golf cart is technically a vehicle, and he left the stop– fleeing does not require high speeds– so he could have been charged with a felony in addition to the misdemeanor resisting charge. That’s probably some fair discretion to leave it at DUI, it’s not like he was on a high speed frolic! Again, the attempt to get away from the original charge was worse than the underlying offense.

Apparently, fleeing in a golf cart is not that unusual. A couple years ago in Martin County, several men fled a stop. One of them ran onto a golf course, stole a cart from some golfers as they played, and continued to flee. As golf carts are not very fast, he was “immediately” captured by deputies and taken into custody. Newsweek covered that case, and cited several other recent occurrences. So, fleeing on a golf cart is not that rare, but I suspect escaping on one doesn’t happen very often.

Another Florida Man Arrested for Striking a Dog

Dwayne Croker Jr.

This time in Naples, a man was arrested and charged with striking a police dog. As in the case we reported this morning, a man named Dwayne Croker Jr. was running from the cops for other alleged crimes and got the K-9 released on him. Like our friend from North Fort Myers, he was probably fending off the dog when he hit it. So, instead of getting a misdemeanor paraphernalia charge- he ended up getting three! One for resisting for running from the cops, another for striking the K-9, and he still got the paraphernalia charge. As is so often the case, the cover up is worse than the crime!

I also not the CCSO sent up a helicopter. That’s quite an expense for a couple of misdemeanors, and it was a dog that eventually located and led to his detention. No indications of any injuries on this one.

The Ninja Robber Trial is Underway in Naples

Surveillance Footage of Robbery

Andres Perez

A string of Florida robberies were dubbed the “Ninja Robberies” because the robbers dressed in black clothes and masks that were similar to ninja garb. A group of men, several from Immokalee, are accused of a series of nine armed robberies stretching from Collier County all the way to Orlando. Several men were convicted in Orlando and sentenced to several years each in prison for charges there. A couple of robbers have also pled to multiple charges in Collier and have been sentenced to 40 years for their involvement. Now on trial is Andres Perez, who is facing 37 different counts in Collier County, including Racketeering, Armed Home-Invasion Robbery, Carjacking and many more. Perez is accused of being the mastermind of the Ninja robberies. He faces life in prison in a trial that is expected to take several weeks. I would not be surprised if some of the co-defendants take the stand to testify against him as a condition of their plea deals.

Lisa Troemner Found Not Guilty in Marco Island Stabbing Case

Lisa Troemner

After nearly a month of trial, and a second day of deliberation (the jury went home after a couple hours of deliberations yesterday evening), Lisa Troemner has been found not guilty of second degree murder. There was a chance the jury could have given her a lesser charge, but the Defense’s justifiable use of force case persuaded them, or at least gave them a reasonable doubt. In addition to Ms. Troemner testifying to her relationship with Trevor Smith, she stated that she was scared of him, that he was abusive and controlling, even violent the evening leading up to the killing (he had a BAC over .30). The Defense also presented expert testimony that she was suffering from battered spouse syndrome and even forensic expert testimony that indicated there had been a struggle at the apartment. The State countered with a week’s worth of rebuttal testimony, including counter-experts regarding battered spouse syndrome, and testimony from friends and family of Trevor Smith that in fact Troemner was the jealous, controlling party.

Troemner was facing life in prison if convicted of second degree murder, but she will likely be out of jail this afternoon. This is a huge win for Donald Day and the defense team, and another big Collier County loss for the State already this year…  and expensive after a month of trial. Troemner had been in custody since the date of the arrest, in December, 2014. There was the possibility of a lesser charge, but the jury decided completely in her favor, complete acquittal. There is no appeal on a not guilty verdict.

First reported by Hot Story: https://twitter.com/hotstorycrime/status/962027561055219713

 

Two Interesting Murder Cases in Trial in SWFL Right Now

Court watchers have a couple of choices as 2018 gets underway. Two major murder trials have started in Lee and Collier Counties, and that’s after the former Naples Officer was acquitted at trial last week.

Placido Moreno-Torres

In Fort Myers, the trial of Placido Moreno-Torres started yesterday: he’s on trial for murder for a 2016 incident in Lehigh Acres where he shot his wife and the neighbor who tried to intervene in their domestic dispute. It will be an interesting case, as he is likely to claim self-defense, because the neighbor came onto his property trying to break up the altercation, and only then did he retrieve the firearm. He will claim self-defense (and previously filed a stand your ground motion that was denied), but he has an uphill battle if he brought a gun to a fistfight. He is also charged with attempted murder, because after he shot the neighbor and his own wife, he held the gun to his neighbor’s sister’s head and tried to shoot her, only to have the gun misfire. There’s no self-defense argument there. He faces life in prison with a 25-year minimum under 10-20-Life. NBC-2’s Jaclyn Bevis is in the courtroom with live coverage on Twitter.

Lisa Troemner

In Collier County, jury selection is underway for Lisa Troemner who is charged with killing her live-in boyfriend at their Marco Island apartment in 2014. They had apparently been arguing for a while, when it became physical, and she stabbed him. She tried to resuscitate him unsuccessfully, then went to a nearby convenience store to summon help. Again, self-defense is likely to be argued here. Also, a review of the court file indicates the Defense has sought the assistance of a false-confessions expert to challenge her statement, a blood spatter expert, presumably to challenge the findings at the crime scene. The case has been going on for more than three years, including an appeal of some matter while it was pending. She has been in custody the whole time, and is facing life in prison. There are some 150 witnesses listed, and the trial will take weeks, maybe five or more. Patrick Riley from the Naples Daily News is on this one, and has been tweeting from the courtroom as well.

Former Naples Officer Acquitted of Sex Abuse Allegations

Ricardo Vazquez Jr. speaks with his attorney, James Chandler, via WINK News

Ricardo Vazquez Jr. was acquitted by a jury today in Collier County of 4 counts of sexual molestation of two minors. Vazquez had worked at a Naples police officer several years ago. One of the counts could have earned him a life sentence, due to the accuser’s age. However, there was no physical evidence to back up the allegations, only the testimony of the accusers, and there were some inconsistencies in their statements. Vazquez was convicted of 2 lesser counts of misdemeanor battery, and sentenced to time served on those, since he had been in custody since his arrest in 2016. He will be released today, and is not a felon or a sex-offender. Vazquez had denied the charges all along, took the stand in his own defense, and it was demonstrated that the accusers did not like him. The trial started on Monday, closing arguments were yesterday, and they jury took the night off, and came back today to finish their deliberations.

Vazquez was represented by Naples attorneys James Chandler and Elizabeth Humann, who did an excellent job with a tough case. I spoke to Chandler, who said, “It was a great day for the Vazquez family and I am happy that their son and brother is returning home to them. It was a hard fought and emotional trial. Now it is time for Rick to try to return to life. I am extremely proud of our team.” It was a huge win on another big case for Chandler and his firm.

Burglar Drowns in Canal When He Flees

A Collier man caught a possible burglar trying to break into his car earlier this week. He confronted he man, who ran away, and tried to escape into a canal. Officers later found his body in the canal: presumably drowning is the cause of death, but the investigation continues.

Naples Woman Arrested for Sex with Dogs

Miranda Johns

21-year-old Naples resident Miranda Johns has been arrested for 3 counts of illegal sexual contact with animals. Apparently, she recorded herself having sex with two dogs, and sent the videos to her boyfriend. He reported he when the cops were called out to a domestic disturbance. CCSO reports they have recovered multiple videos. Johns bonded out, her arraignment is set for April 13.

No more details have been released at this time, and while I’m morbidly curious… I really don’t want to know!

UPDATE: follow up with more details here

Collier Deputy gets a DUI – in his Patrol Vehicle

Collier County Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Russell has been arrested for a DUI. He was involved in a crash while in his patrol vehicle, and taken to the hospital. Interestingly, while the arresting officer found signs of impairment, apparently there were no indicators of alcohol abuse. That would suggest, by process of elimination, that they may believe he was impaired by a controlled substance. (Note, many prescription drugs qualify as controlled substances.)

A Look at the real Cost of Prosecuting Marijuana Cases

 

Marijuana concerns

NBC-2 took a look at the actual cost to taxpayers of the prosecution of marijuana offenses. As a sample, they found that on one day there were 29 offenders in the Collier County jail for misdemeanor marijuana offenses. At a cost of more than $100 per day to house them, that totaled over $3,000.00 in incarceration fees- just for one day! Lee county, with a larger population, likely has even more marijuana offenders.

The costs calculated by NBC does not include the other costs: costs for the prosecutor’s office, court administration fees, and legal defense costs (because it’s a criminal offense, all defendants are entitled to have an attorney, and the state pays if they cannot afford it.) Some of these costs are offset by imposing financial assessments to the defendants… but the guys (and gals) in jail won’t be paying them.

Further, and one of the main complaints of those who are challenging are the collateral consequences: people are burdened with the stigma of arrest, they are followed around by their convictions and mug shots, and in Florida, a conviction also leads to a mandatory driver’s license suspension! That makes it even harder for people to put their mistakes behind them and to be productive members of society: if they can’t drive, a lot of people lose their jobs, for instance. That’s why it’s imperative to get an experienced criminal law attorney to represent you if you get arrested- even if it’s ‘just a little weed’.