Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Law Enforcement Mistakes in West Palm Beach Drug Cases
Police are tasked with enforcing criminal laws and protecting public safety, and they undergo significant training to ensure they have the skills to do so. However, officers are human and capable of making law enforcement mistakes in West Palm Beach drug cases. Even though Florida Department of Law Enforcement statistics show that Palm Beach… Read More »
Have You Been Arrested For Domestic Violence?
Domestic violence is a heinous crime that is widely seen as a betrayal of trust, especially if the two people involved are married. However, Florida’s definition of domestic violence covers several types of behavior between people with several types of relationships. If you have been arrested and charged with domestic violence, it is crucial… Read More »
Florida Prescription Drug Abuse Charges
Florida has an unfortunate negative history as a “pill mill,” with large swaths of south Florida playing host to “pain clinics” that would simply write prescriptions for pain pills without any kind of oversight. While reforms in 2011 effectively curtailed much of this type of trade, many who had become used to abusing these… Read More »
Palm Beach County Cracks Down On Drug-Recovery Industry Fraud
In the 1980s and 1990s, Florida had a notorious reputation as a ‘pill mill’ capital, leading to a major spike in drug addiction, especially opiates. As time has moved on, Florida has reinvented itself again, becoming a capital of the drug recovery industry, with countless treatment facilities opening up and down the coasts in… Read More »
Woman Burned In Apparent Random Attack
A woman unloading boxes on the street in West Palm Beach during work was injured when another woman threw hot water at her, perpetrating an allegedly random attack. The injured woman suffered first and second-degree burns on her back, and the perpetrator, Andrea Clarke, a Jamaican national, was taken into custody and charged with… Read More »
Before Grand Jury Testimony
Florida prosecutors have wide autonomy to charge a suspect with a crime – unless they are suspected of first degree murder or another capital crime. Then, the charge must be presented to a grand jury, which then will either vote to indict the person, or they will vote “no true bill,” meaning that there… Read More »
Have You Violated Your Florida Probation?
When you are convicted of a crime in Florida, you may be eligible for probation, especially if you have not previously been in trouble with the law. However, probation is not a free pass; there are rules that must be obeyed, and if you violate them, you will face serious consequences. If you have… Read More »
Stranded Driver On I-95 Shoots & Kills Trooper
On the afternoon of February 5, Trooper Joseph Bullock stopped on I-95 to help a driver whose car had stalled, leaving him stranded. The driver, Franklin Reed III, “became irate” at having to pay for a tow and pulled a gun. Reports are confused as to how the trooper became involved, but after six… Read More »
Teen’s Snapchat ‘Threat’ Creates Legal Challenge
In early February, 19-year old David Puy was on his way to dinner with friends, and he posted on Snapchat, “On my way! School shooter” – which Puy readily admits was poor judgment. However, after the tragic mass shooting at Margery Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland in 2018, Florida made changes to its… Read More »
“Cry For Help” Bank Robber Reaches Plea Deal
In November 2019, 74-year old Sandy Hawkins robbed a Wells Fargo bank branch near Boca Raton, taking just $1,100 after declining more from the teller, saying she’d “given him too much.” He was charged with a second-degree felony, characterizing his crime as a “cry for help,” but on Friday, February 14, the court in… Read More »