Legal Juice

It's 3:30 a.m. What's the rush? That would be a good question to ask Mr. Warren Melamed. As reported by www.newschannel5.com:

Mount Juliet Police say the two ambulance drivers were taking a patient out of a home on a stretcher at 3:30 Saturday morning, when they say, Melamed, attempted to drive the ambulance away.

"They immediately laid the patient down and asked the gentlemen to get himself out from behind the wheel," said Wilson Co. Emergency Management Director John Jewell.

Police say the Brentwood resident was angry because the ambulance was blocking him in, and he was trying to move it.

The Juice concurs with this neighbor.

"What's the urgency at 3, 3:30 in the morning? Why do you have to leave that quickly that you can't wait until they load this man up and get him where he needs to be," said neighbor Amanda Hamblen. "That person having that emergency right then is the only person that matters."

So, what happened to Mr. Melamed?

[He] was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor, unauthorized use of a class A vehicle.

Hmm. And who is this fellow anyway?

Online Melamed lists himself as CEO of Oral Health Management, a local chain of dentist offices. Calls Tuesday for comment weren't returned.

Oh my. That's not going to be good for business. Here's the source, including a photo of Mr. Melamed.

This man, just convicted of sexual battery and facing 20 years to life, just walks right out of the courtroom, and the courthouse? Yup. As reported by The Times-Picayune:

Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman said his office is reviewing just how a freshly convicted sex offender simply walked out of a criminal courtroom, down the steps of the courthouse and out of sight before anyone noticed.

Gusman's office also released a photo of Teddy Magee, who faces 20 years to life in prison after a jury convicted him of second-degree sexual battery Monday, despite the victim's support during the trial.

How did it happen?

Following the verdict, the woman grew hysterical, and as Criminal District Court Judge Benedict Willard and lawyers were discussing a possible appeal bond for Magee, the defendant apparently walked to the back of the courtroom and out the door.

So nobody was responsible for keeping tabs on a violent sex offender?

In a news release, Gusman said his office was looking into whether any policies or procedures were broken.

See, apparently there's a simple explanation.

"One deputy was escorting the jury out, and you had the other with the situation about the woman doing what she was doing [acting hysterical]. All that was part of the process of what was going on," Ehrhardt said.

Really? That's it? A minor distraction, and a felon walks right out of the courthouse? You can read more here.

The Juice is not aware of any stats on the quickest violation of a protective order. If any such compendium existed, this case would have to be near the top. As reported by sonomanews.com:

Deputies didn't have to go far to arrest an individual who had violated a court order – he was still in jail. The man had been arrested earlier that morning on a domestic violence charge and was served with an emergency protective order forbidding him or any third party from having any contact with his wife. The man called his wife three times from the county jail, leaving messages on her answering machine. The man's grandmother also called the wife and left a message saying she was going to bail her grandson out. The man, who was still in jail, had a probation violation and disobeying a court order added to the charges he's facing.

A two-fer! Violations by calling directly, and through granny. Brilliant!

Can you really get four years in prison for driving a riding mower through town? Yes, you can. As you might expect, there's more to it than that. As reported by qconline.com:

For the sixth time in his life, William "Pete" White is heading to the Illinois Department of Corrections.

 A Mercer County judge sentenced the former Viola man Tuesday to four years in prison for driving with a revoked license back on July 18, 2011.

Mr. White, 43, was arrested for driving a riding mower through town.

Mr. White's defense attorney, Dan Dalton, argued he never had seen someone sent to prison for driving a mower.

Maybe so. But how many folks who drive mowers through town on a suspended license have a record like this?

Judge Greg Chickris said he also considered other factors, such as Mr. White's 57 prior convictions for various criminal felony and misdemeanor offenses, the first when he was 15 years old.

"

Note: That's 57 convictions. Yikes.

He (Mr. White) was basically on a crime spree here," Judge Chickris said. "He has a horrendous history of prior delinquency and criminal activity."

This was Mr. White's 11th conviction for driving on a revoked license, according to Mercer County Probation and Court Services Director Vicky Hansen. He has been convicted six times for driving under the influence of alcohol, she said.

Wow. You can read a lot more here.

It should go without saying that every kid ought to hear "the talk" from his parents. But a 42-year-old British dad apparently wanted to go the extra mile for his 14-year-old son - by hooking him up (sorry) with a prostitute! Alas, the woman dad approached was ... a cop! And, of course, now dad is ashamed.

The father's barrister Matthew Smith said: "There is a thorough sense of shame the defendant feels.

Said the Judge, per the BBC News:

What you were doing that night was to expose your 14-year-old son to a prostitute because you didn't know she was a police officer.

You have a duty of care to your son and that is to look after his moral welfare not, as you might think, to break him into the ways of sex through a prostitute.

So dad pleaded guilty to attempting to solicit a woman to have sex with a minor. Jail time?

Judge Jonathan Teare said he was not sending the father to prison because of his previous excellent character and that he believed he did not mean any harm to his son.

Mr. Smith added that the boy would be allowed to continue to live with his father.

But ...

[dad] will be placed on the sex offenders register for five years.

Go figure. A man of "previous excellent character" who retains custody of his son is put on the sex offenders registry? Huh? Here's the source.

Even if you like sweet and sour sauce, ain't no way you like it as much as this Washington State man. As reported by The Highline Times:

A man entered a fast food restaurant at the 14800 block of 4th Ave. S.W. asking for some condiments. The clerk told him no. That angered him so he pulled out a knife and demanded they hand over some sweet and sour sauce. There were no reported injuries and it was unclear if they had the suspect in custody.

Clearly a head-scratcher.

The Juice thinks this breathalyzer must be busted. Why? Because this dude blew way too low considering the circumstances. As reported by The Tampa Bay Times:

The deputy saw sparks and smoke coming from Kevin Blazer's Lexus just after 1 a.m. Wednesday and pulled the car over on Little Road near Trouble Creek Road. The driver was so intoxicated, the Pasco sheriff's deputy later wrote in a report, he didn't realize he had been driving with his left front tire missing. Blazer, a 34-year-old college student, was arrested and charged with DUI. His blood alcohol level was between 0.129 and 0.131, according to the Sheriff's Office. The state presumes impairment at 0.08.

Blazer, of 4039 Vista Verde Drive in New Port Richey, was released from the Pasco Jail on Wednesday.

Kudos to Mr. Blazer for returning to college while in his 30s. A big black mark for Mr. Blazer for not maturing much in the intervening years.

Just what was the condition imposed by Judge Tom Broadmore for granting bail to Mr. Ben Hana (who was charged with cannabis possession and obscene exposure)?

That he wear underwear.

For real. Per The Dominion Post, it seems that Mr. Hana is "... well known around Wellington [New Zealand] as Blanket Man." Unfortunately, that's apparently all he wears - a blanket. As his lawyer described it ...

"He wears high-risk clothing. It's a way of life rather than a deliberate attempt at lewdness."

"High-risk." Nice touch. What did the Judge think?

Judge Tom Broadmore was sceptical of Ms Dixon's explanation: "I was walking down Courtenay Place and I'm sure he was exposing his genitals. It's just not something the public should have to tolerate."

Counselor?

Ms Dixon suggested making the wearing of underwear a bail condition as a "precautionary measure".

Done? Done.

The judge agreed to bail on condition that Hana not enter licensed premises, other than supermarkets, not drink alcohol and that he wear underpants or boxer shorts while in public.

Posted by John Mesirow | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Best Of , Say What? , Yikes

Washington DC Injury Lawyer John B. Mesirow represents injured accident victims in Washington DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia. His practice includes Car Accidents, Bike Accidents, Boating Accidents, Brain Injury cases, Construction Accidents, Dog Bite cases, Medical Malpractice, Motorcycle Accidents, Trucking Accidents and Wrongful Death cases. John Mesirow was named a "Top Lawyer" by Washingtonian magazine and aggressively represents his clients. You can contact him online or by phone at 866-463-0303 or 202-463-0303.

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Drunk driving is all too common. What about driving drunk to a drive-thru, and then drinking while you're at the window? It's happened at least once. As reported by wmbfnews.com:

A South Carolina woman is now out on bond after allegedly admitting to drinking while she was in the drive-thru of a Little River fast food restaurant Monday evening.

Yikes!

According to a police report obtained by WMBF News, officers with the Horry County Police Department were dispatched to the Burger King located at 1568 Highway 17 in reference to a person in the drive thru who was possibly intoxicated.

Once they got there, they found Debra Marie Lafferty, 51, of Mt. Pleasant and asked her to move to the back of the vehicle she was driving, the report said.

Officers said Lafferty became very loud and belligerent as they tried to talk with her, and they could sense she was under the influence of alcohol.

According to the report, Lafferty admitted she had been drinking. She was then placed under arrest for public disorderly conduct "for being grossly intoxicated in public."

Her vehicle was towed and she was taken to the J. Reuben Long Detention Center. She was released Tuesday morning at 8:45 a.m. on a $262 bond.

Shazam! Here's the source, including a mug shot of Ms. Lafferty.

What would you do for some nuggies? Definitely not what a California woman was willing to do, as reported by whptv.com.

Khadijah Baseer of Los Angeles was seen opening customers’ car doors in the McDonald’s drive through at 1700 block of Olive Avenue about 11 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Burbank Leader. Baseer was allegedly offering to swap sexual favors for the fast food item.

A witness reported her bizarre behavior to the authorities. Baseer was arrested on suspicion of prostitution.

Yikes. Here's the source.

Maybe you haven't heard about bath salts. Or maybe you have, and think the hype is overblown. Well, what would you say if The Juice told you that bath salts could cause you to yearn for Mike Huckabee? As reported by Northwest Florida Daily News:

According to the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office arrest report, Rhett Daniel Burleson broke into his father's home and was lying on the kitchen floor. Burlseon was "raving about Jesus, Mike Huckabee, and how people were 'full of [shit].' " (expletive reinserted)

The deputy asked Burlseon what was going on and he yelled that he needed to speak to Mike Huckabee and demanded that he be delivered to him.

Say what?

Burleson was talking very quickly and was speaking to someone not in the room that he claimed to be Jesus.

Burleson initially complied with the deputies allowing them to cuff him, but he suddenly began to resist and attempted to scratch one deputy's face.

[He] was arrested and charged with felony battery on an officer and felony resisting arrest with violence.

Later, deputies learned Burleson was under the influence of a synthetic drug such as spice or bath salts.

Yikes. Here's the source.

The answer is "yes," one man can stop a speeding locomotive. Is it a good idea? Nope. As reported by TCPalm.com:

A 26-year-old man accused Thursday of standing on railroad tracks in the area of Northeast Palmetto Drive and causing a train to make an emergency stop was arrested, according to an affidavit released Friday.

Joseph Robert Fabrey was arrested by a Martin County Sheriff's deputy on a felony unauthorized person interfering with railroad train charge and a misdemeanor trespass on property charge.

The train conductor pointed to Fabrey and said he stood in the middle of the railroad tracks as the train approached. The engineer repeatedly used the horn and had to stop the train.

A worker identified as an assistant road master said Fabrey was standing on the tracks and stepped off "at the last minute," according to the report.

Yikes. A felony. And the defense?

Fabrey ... denied standing on the tracks.

No doubt that defense will prevail against the engineer and the assistant road master ... Here's the source, including a mug shot.

What kind of person would rough up a swan? Well, this kind of person, as reported by myfoxorlando.com:

A man is behind bars after police say he roughed up a swan. John Wynne is accused of grabbing a swan by the neck from Lake Eola. Orlando Police arrested him for animal cruelty and grand theft. He is being held in the Orange County Jail on $1,000.00 bond.

Totally uncool. Here's the source, including a mug shot.

Just to be clear, we're talking about using chalk to write on the sidewalk. In Orlando, that can land you in jail. Really. Just ask Timothy Osmar. As reported by The Orlando Sentinel:

Just before Christmas, OPD [Orlando Police Department] arrested 25-year-old Timothy Osmar for "writing or painting advertising matter on streets or sidewalks"

The criminal "advertising" in question? Slogans like "Justice Equals Liberty."

Advertisting? Really? UFB, as is this ...

As of Friday, Osmar was still in jail ..

Through Christmas and New Year's! Mayor Dyer?

Dyer's office was unapologetic, saying city codes clearly outlaw chalk writing.

Please, tell me this guy isn't a lawyer. You can read more (a fair amount) here.

Hmmm. The Juice was working on this post and thought this name sounded familiar, so he checked the archives of 1,854 Legal Juice posts and found this one about Judge Willie F. Singletary. The story on philly.com was now not so surprising.

The state Supreme Court yesterday canned Philadelphia Traffic Court Judge Willie F. Singletary, suspending him without pay after he allegedly showed a woman cellphone pictures of his genitalia two weeks ago.

Yikes.

But this isn't the first time Singletary has made headlines. In 2007 his driver's license was suspended for unpaid tickets [a BOATLOAD of them - see Juice post above], and two years later he was reprimanded for promising favors in exchange for campaign donations.

That's quite a record in just the past 5 years.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court ordered that Singletary be "relieved of any and all judicial and administrative responsibilities as a judge of the Philadelphia Traffic Court."

Might consider another line of work.

We're not talking about texting here. We're talking about kissing. As reported by the Arab Times:

Police [in Kuwait City] have arrested an unidentified couple for committing immoral act inside a car.
It has been reported a police patrol was passing by and saw the couple in an embrace. They were kissing each other and were not even aware that a police patrol was driving in their direction.

Kissing! Oh the humanity!

So the cops caught these guys with a cell phone they had already thrown away? How's that possible? Well, as reported by the Volusia County [Florida] Sheriff's Office:

A 66-year-old woman had gone to the store Saturday afternoon and when she returned to her Saxon Boulevard home she discovered that someone had smashed a back window and gotten inside. When deputies responded, jewelry, a laptop computer and a cell phone were discovered missing. The victim used a cell phone locator service to get the general area the phone was in.

How did the police get from the "general area" of the phone to the perps?

After calling the phone several times, it was finally found ringing in a garbage can in front of a Baton Drive house at about 11:47 p.m. Deputies then looked around for any other evidence.

Voices coming from the yard on one side of the house led a deputy to two men hiding behind a tree: 20-year-old Gabriel Hidalgo and 21-year-old Heriberto Hidalgo. Both men initially made up stories about what they were doing in the area, but once stolen jewelry and a handgun were found on them they admitted to the home burglaries. The jewelry they had came from the Saxon Boulevard break-in and two handguns were traced back to a Friday burglary on Tivoli Drive.

Doh! Not only did they leave the phone on, they tossed it in a garbage can right where they were! [Their house?]

Both Deltona men were charged with carrying a concealed weapon, loitering/prowling, burglary, armed burglary, three counts of grand theft and criminal mischief. Heriberto Hidalgo was also charged with giving false identification to law enforcement and possession of narcotics paraphernalia. He also had a Seminole County arrest warrant for failure to appear.

Here's the source.

Of all the reasons to fire somebody, this has got to be among the most idiotic. As reported by China Daily:

Two women have been fired from their jobs for refusing to drink at a company party.

No doubt they would have been fired had they gotten shitfaced. Maybe each employee should get a breathalyzer, along with guidelines for the acceptable BAC range...

He, an executive manager of an auto parts company in Hanyang, and her assistant refused to drink alcohol when their boss made a toast at their company's New Year party.

They were fired the next day on grounds of incompetence.

"This is not fair at all," He, who joined the company just a month back, fumed after receiving her termination letter.

Does marinating a cat really enhance the flavor? Hey, don't shoot the messenger. (And please, PETA folks, no more emails. The Juice truly likes animals, especially cats.) Mr. Gary Korkuc was caught literally marinating his cat. Here's the story, as reported by www.buffalonews.com:

Buffalo police say officers heard the cat meowing when they stopped 51-year-old Gary Korkuc of Cheektowaga to ticket him for running a stop sign Sunday night.

They say they checked the trunk and found 4-year-old Navarro in a cage, his fur covered with oil, crushed red peppers and chili peppers.

Very uncool. But why?

Police say Korkuc told them he did it because Navarro was ill-tempered.

... he [also] told them he was going to cook Navarro. But they say Korkuc also complained that the neutered male cat got pregnant after he was spayed.

What what what? [Funnier for South Park fans.] A pregnant male cat? Anyway, it looks like Navarro will be fine, as he was cleaned up and is awaiting adoption. And Mr. Korkuc?

[He] was charged with cruelty and released; his phone number isn't listed.

Think he's glad he opted for an unlisted number?

After 6 years of litigation, everything else was settled in this divorce, which began just 4 months after the birth of the child at the heart of the controversy. Just what is the controversy? Whether the birth mother can prohibit her daughter's stepmother from calling the stepmother "Mum" or a variation thereof. Really. This was the only issue left for a Judge in Australia to decide. Per the Australian:

The woman, who cannot be named, argued that her ex-husband was deliberately undermining her role as their child's mother, by encouraging his new wife to answer to the terms "Mum" and "Mummy" and "Mummy-D" (D being the first letter of the stepmother's first name).

Biological mum's argument:

... the stepmother should not be permitted to refer to herself "as a motherly figure".

Biological dad?

By consent, her ex-husband agreed that his new wife should not be "Mum or "Mummy" but thought "Mummy-D" was fine.

Sounds like a reasonable compromise. Mum?

Ms Klement [mum] was "adamant that the child should only call her Mum" or any variation of "Mum".

Judge, please, put an end to this.

The court declined to make an order that the child not refer to her stepmother as "Mummy-D" in part because the judge was concerned that such an order would lead to further litigation "where it would be up to the court to determine whether the father had breached the order in relation to encouraging the child to use the term Mummy-D".

Well done, sir. Here's the source.