After being on the lamb for drug trafficking charges for a year, a Hillsborough County man was arrested in New York on Dec. 6. The man, aged 40, and his two brothers were originally arrested in 2010 in Florida for selling oxycodone.
Police caught up to the man at his place of employment, a Staten Island auto body shop. A task force of New Jersey and New York police department investigators and U.S. marshals found the man locked inside an office at the body shop. He was recaptured and charged as a fugitive. He is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 13 in Manhattan.
While living in New York, the man was issued a ticket to appear in court for purchasing methadone pills on the street. He received a conditional discharge after pleading guilty to the misdemeanor charge. Apparently, police did not realize that he was wanted in another state.
The charged man, along with one brother, was scheduled to appear at trial in Florida in 2015. Instead, he disappeared before the trial date. At one point, the man used a stolen identity and changed his appearance. He said that he ran because he did not want to be tried with his brother and referred to it as a legal strategy. The brother received a prison sentence of to up to 25 years. The third brother was not charged.
An individual charged with selling drugs could face many penalties, including extensive jail time and fines. A criminal defense attorney may assist such a defendant by examining police reports, the chain of evidence and other important information on the case. The attorney may use this information to build a strong case to have the charges reduced or dismissed.
