Fort Lauderdale Criminal Law Blog

A Florida man is facing drug charges after allegedly locking his girlfriend in their bedroom and ripping apart a mattress. The incident took place in Fort Walton Beach.

According to police records, deputies from the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office were called to a residence on Willow Bend Boulevard at approximately 1:10 a.m. on April 26. The woman who made the call said her boyfriend was acting strangely and claimed she was cheating on him with a man who was hiding in their bedroom mattress. She also accused him of locking her in the bedroom with him and refusing to let her exit. He then allegedly attacked the mattress, stabbing it with a bedpost and ripping it up with his bare hands. While he was busy battling the mattress, she was able to leave the room and call for help.

A major undercover investigation into methamphetamine trafficking in Florida has led to charges being filed against 47 individuals according to an announcement from the Polk County Sheriff's Office. In addition to taking 44 suspects into custody and obtaining arrest warrants for three more, investigators from the PCSO, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the United States Border Patrol reportedly seized about 50 pounds of methamphetamine, several guns and an undisclosed amount of cash during the investigation.

According to media accounts, investigators discovered that large quantities of methamphetamine were being transported from Mexico to Polk County and locations in Georgia, South Carolina and Texas. The individuals taken into custody face a total of 85 felony and 50 misdemeanor counts. Nine of the suspects are alleged to be in the United States without authorization and are being detained at the Polk County Jail on holds from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

On April 10, a 47-year-old Florida woman was arrested for allegedly dealing crystal meth in Homosassa. According to media outlets, detectives from the Citrus County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant at the defendant's home, which is located on Woodward Place, early in the morning. The property reportedly had a large amount of litter and debris in the yard. Inside the home, officers say they found various safety hazards, including exposed wiring and sewer problems. The house was being powered by a generator.

A search of the home allegedly yielded 18 grams of methamphetamine, meth that had been pre-packed for sale and various pieces of drug distribution equipment. Some of the meth was reportedly found within the reach of children who were living in the home. The defendant has been charged with drug trafficking. If convicted, she could face up to three years in prison. The children were attended to by the Florida Department of Children and Families.

The use of facial recognition technology could mean that those who have shoplifted in Florida could be banned from stores across the country. This could result in a person not being allowed to shop anywhere, which may be an example of technological overreach. Furthermore, it could violate a person's fundamental right to privacy to not be tracked wherever he or she goes. Privacy advocates contend that technology is moving faster than the ability to create new regulations.

There is also an issue regarding the technology's precision. An individual could experience a variety of negative consequences if he or she is falsely accused of being a shoplifter or criminal of any type. Currently, there is no specific rule as to how precise the technology needs to be before it's put into use. Some facial recognition programs have been improving their accuracy by using photos posted to social media sites, which raises privacy concerns of its own.