Tampa DUI Manslaughter Convict Seeking Reduced Sentence

Tampa, Florida — Seven years after a Tampa jury convicted him for the DUI crash that killed three men and injured another, he was back in court trying to get a new, lesser sentence.

After about four hours of testimony, a judge decided to revisit the re-sentencing in 60 days.

In 2003, a judge sentenced the man to life in prison, tacking on another five years because he took off from the law for 15 months before turning himself in.

“The accident was just that, it was an accident and I’m sorry for my part of it and their part of it,” He told the judge.

He won a request for a re-sentencing based on his claims he and his friends never got the chance to make pre-sentencing statements showing how remorseful he is for the crash, wondering if that would have made a difference.

His  friends and family took the stand in his defense, paiting the picture of a man who went from “happy go lucky” to a somber and withdrawn person.

“He would become very dark, very withdrawn, overcome with grief,” described his friend, Diane Riley.

His mother told the judge, “This was a very different Joe, a very different person. This is a Joe who died and he’d never come back.”

Hillsborough County Sheriff’s detectives say he was drunk, twice the legal limit, and speeding when he hit the side of a car that was turning into an apartment complex on Sheldon Road.
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Police Say DUI Not a Factor in Motorcyclist’s Death

A motorcyclist died after he collided with a car about 1 a.m. Sunday at a Town ‘N Country intersection. The motorcyclist, 25, of Tampa was pronounced dead at the scene, the Florida Highway Patrol reported. This is what the patrol says happened: At 1:10 a.m., a Pontiac driven by another man, 23, of Tampa was stopped on Tampa Shores Boulevard at Hillsborough Avenue. Meanwhile, two motorcycles — one driven by the deceased and another by another Tampa man, 27 — were going east on Hillsborough Avenue, approaching the intersection. The Pontiac pulled forward, and the two motorcycles hit it. Neither cyclist was wearing a helmet, the patrol said. Gamso and Turner suffered minor injuries and were taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital.

Cases like this show us it’s not right to assume alcohol was a factor when tragedy strikes on roadways like this. However, police tend to do just that. It’s for this reason alone that when charged with a DUI in Florida you contact a Tampa DUI attorney at our firm for a free consultation.

Tampa Police Targeting DUI in 3 Areas

Tampa Police Targeting Drunk Drivers in New Tampa, Hyde Park and The Dale Mabry Corridor

TAMPA – Tampa police say 60% of the cities DUI crashes happen in three popular areas; Hyde Park, New Tampa and what’s known as the Dale Mabry Corridor.

It’s not long before Tampa Police Officer Tony Portman comes across a crash with a suspected drunk driver. The man admits he’s been drinking and mixing it with prescription drugs.

“Basically when you mix prescription medication with alcohol it heightens the affect of the drugs,” said Portman.

Have you been accused of DUI in Hyde Park or elsewhere in Tampa? If so, contact a Tampa DUI attorney at our firm for a free and confidential consultation.

After failing a field sobriety test, the man is arrested and taken to jail.

“Surprised he was drinking out here that early but he told me it’s been a hard day, so he’s been out roaming around. It just got worse for him,” said Officer Portman.

This is the first DUI arrest of the night. It kicks off a new DUI enforcement program called DUI Challenge.

“The challenge is to make a number of DUI arrests and hopefully reduce dui related crashes,” explained Corporal Amanda Wilson.

The agency with the most DUI arrests is recognized by the state.

Usually on Fridays happy hour kicks off early in Tampa and police are looking for those who are toasting the weekend and then sadly get behind the wheel.

Linda Unfried lost her sister to a drunk driver over 20 years ago, but the pain is just as fresh.

“It’s like a ripple affect. It’s like throwing a rock in the water and it ripples that how it is with families cause it continues to go on it affects so many people in the family,” said Unfried.

The Florida Department of Transportation is encouraging law enforcement agencies from all over to participate.

Recently the Hillsborough Sheriff’s DUI squad was recognized for their vigorous DIU enforcement. Tampa police want to make sure that reputation continues.

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Fox: DUI Arrest for Summer Moll’s Father

TAMPA – The estranged father of a girl injured in an infamous drunk driving accident has been arrested for a second time on drunk driving charges.

Josh Moll, father of Summer Moll, was arrested in Texas.

Summer narrowly escaped a horrific, head-on car crash with her life nearly two years ago. Her mother was killed.

Investigators say Josh Moll’s first DUI charge was here in Tampa. They say he jumped bail and fled to Texas.

Moll is due in court in Travis County, Texas, on Wednesday. But there are indications he may not show up.

“I’ve heard that he is planning to flee yet again,” said a family member who asked FOX 13 to conceal their identity. “Something has to be done about this guy…he is a danger to any community he enters.”

FOX 13 reached Josh Moll by phone, but he refused comment on his legal troubles.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving representative Becky Gage says she plans to let Texas prosecutors know about Moll jumping bail here in Tampa.

“We’re obviously not going to extradite, I don’t think, on a misdemeanor charge,” Gage said. “But I would think they’d be interested in knowing that.”

Moll’s daughter Summer has no idea what’s happened to her father. Family members say Moll was never in her life, though he raced to Tampa to claim custody after hearing of the drunk driving crash that killed Summer’s mother, his estranged girlfriend.

Summer is being raised by her grandmother, Tammy Rosian. Summer still faces a number of surgeries, and hasn’t heard from Josh Moll in two years.

“Look at your daughter,” Rosian says she would say to Moll. “Look at your daughter — how can you be out there drinking and driving not once, but twice now? And it’s been a year and a half since the last one? It makes no sense to me whatsoever.”

Have you been arrested for DUI in Tampa? If so, contact a Tampa DUI attorney at our firm for a free and confidential consultation to discuss your options and future.

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Bachelor Season 6 Winner Booked for Tampa DUI

Bachelor season 6 winner Maribel “Mary” Delgado has been busted again.

She was arrested for DUI around 12:45 a.m. Thursday morning in Tampa.

According to Florida papers, Delgado, 42, refused a blood alcohol test on the misdemeanor charge and was released on a $500 bond.

Delgado, a former cheerleader for the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was arrested for public drunkenness at a Texas bar in 2008.

A year prior, she was busted for punching Byron Velvick, the season 6 Bachelor who gave her the final rose – and popped the question.

Shortly after Delgado’s arrest, Velvick maintained that they were still happily together.

“Just because you met on a reality show, got engaged on this beautiful incredible setting doesn’t mean that we’re Prince Charming or Beautiful Princess,” he said. “It’s nothing like that. It’s just a real couple going through real things.”

Because she refused a BA test she is technically already guilty of a criminal offense under implied consent. However, there are many defenses that can be used in her defense and a not guilty verdict in this case wouldn’t be a surprise. If you have recently been charged with DUI or a related criminal offense in Tampa the same stands true for your charge. To learn how exactly we can help you avoid being convicted or at the very least avoid higher penalties then necessary, contact a Tampa DUI attorney at our firm for a free consultation.

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Marine Charged With DUI Manslaughter in Tampa

TAMPA — A Marine Corps captain decorated with three Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star was charged with DUI manslaughter Tuesday, more than three months after a fatal head-on crash on Interstate 275.

Free Consultation: 813-362-5623

Authorities say the marine, 37, was intoxicated the morning of April 25, when he drove a 2010 Chevy Impala the wrong way on the interstate near Bearss Avenue and collided with a southbound Malibu.

Court records put his blood alcohol level at 0.255, about three times the limit at which the state presumes impairment.

The crash occurred just before 4 a.m. The other driver,a 48-year-old man , was pronounced dead several hours later at St. Joseph’s Hospital, said Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Larry Kraus.

“This is a horribly tragic case for everyone involved,” said the Marine’s attorney, John Fitzgibbons.

The marine had served four tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan and was back in the United States recuperating from injuries before returning for a fifth tour, Fitzgibbons said Tuesday. He would not elaborate on the Marine’s war injuries.
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Penalties for DUI With Florida Commercial Drivers License (CDL)

Ruskin Women Pleads Guilty to DUI Manslaughter/Serious Bodily Injury

TAMPA — A 27-year-old Ruskin woman pleaded guilty Wednesday to DUI manslaughter in a 2008 wrong-way crash on the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway that killed a woman and seriously injured her 4-year-old daughter.

Authorities said on Sept. 10, 2008, the women drove drunk, ran over traffic cones and traveled in the wrong direction on the expressway. The defendant’s Honda Pilot crashed head-on into another woman’s blue-green Pontiac coupe, killing the women and critically injuring her daughter who is now 6.

The defendant also pleaded guilty to DUI resulting in serious bodily injury.

She will be sentenced Oct. 27.

Prosecutor Barbara Coleman asked Judge Daniel Sleet if Moll’s grandmother, Tammy Rosian, could bring Summer to the sentencing. The judge agreed.

“I want it to haunt her,” Rosian told reporters later. “She has taken so much away from me.”

Summer endured a long and difficult recovery, hovering for weeks at Tampa General Hospital in critical condition, her skull fractured, both forearms broken, along with a thigh, a knee and ankle. Doctors inserted a plate in her skull to manage the swelling.

Because I have not seen the evidence against the women, I cannot tell you whether here decision to plead guilty was the right one. However, I can tell you there was a possibility of her avoiding a conviction.

If you have been charged with a DUI in Ruskin, Tampa or elsewhere in Hillsborough County you need to know what the proper steps to take are. The best way of doing this is always promptly contacting a DUI lawyer to discuss the facts of your arrest.

If you are serious about beating your charge contact the Ruskin DUI lawyers at Musca Law for a free consultation. Call 813-362-5623 today.

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TampaBay.Com: Leaving the scene brings unequal consequences

Consider two criminal cases, alike and not so much, at least when it comes to doling out the law in equal measure.

In 2004 it was a women, a Hillsborough teacher who hit four children crossing a dark street and drove away. Two were killed, and two were seriously hurt. For the crime of leaving the scene of an accident involving death, the teacher faced up to 15 years in prison.

Today, a 21-year-old Tampa another women faces the charge of leaving the scene of a crash involving death. Investigators say one night in March, she hit a man who had a blood alcohol level of 0.35 and drove away. Like the teacher before her, she would likely not have been charged had she only stayed.
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33,000 Active Warrants in Hillsborough County

According to TBO there are currently over 33,000 active misdemeanor warrants in Hillsborough County.

Police in Tampa and throughout the county are making a point of trying to cut this number down. Misdemeanor warrants  number in the thousands and sometimes the offenses are so minor they sit idle in databases for years because law enforcement has limited resources to pursue them. Police are going after those accused of violent offenses first and foremost. Although the county’s 14 warrants detectives will try to find people wanted for petty theft, DUI, failure to pay child support and other minor offenses, the priority is on suspects of violent crimes, TBO reported.

Have you been accused of DUI in Tampa or elsewhere in Hillsborough County? If so, the best thing you can do for yourself is show up to court prepared. To learn how you can do so call our Hillsborough County DUI attorneys anytime, free of charge.