FORT WALTON BEACH — Gaige Monfils, the last of seven people initially facing murder charges in connection to the May 17 death of 19-year-old Cordell Smart, has pleaded to a lesser charge. Glenn Swiatek, who represented Monfils, disputes a Sheriff’s Office statement that Monfils had confessed to climbing onto the roof of the home toRead More
State v. Young
Court: Circuit Court for Fort Walton Beach, Florida Charge: Trafficking in Heroin, Possession of Cocaine and Possession of Marijuana Case Category: Post-Conviction Relief Position: Our client was charged with Trafficking in Heroin, Possession of a Controlled Substance – Cocaine and Possession of Marijuana Under Twenty Grams. His trial counsel failed to file a Motion to Suppress based uponRead More
CLIENT FACES FIVE YEARS IN PRISON FOR DELIVERY OF MARIJUANA
PRETRIAL MOTION TO DISMISS GRANTED AND CLIENT GOES TO MEDICAL SCHOOL Court: Circuit Court for Walton County, DeFuniak Springs, Florida Charge: Sale or Delivery of Marijuana Details: Our client was charged with Sale or Delivery of Marijuana. Allegedly, the client had been receiving large quantities of marijuana via FedEx and would deliver the same toRead More
RACING ON THE HIGHWAY CLIENT FACES 18 MONTH LICENSE SUSPENSION
DISMISSED AFTER PRETRIAL MOTION Court: Walton County Court Charge: Racing on Highway Case Category: Motion to Dismiss Details: Motion to Dismiss was granted with argument that Florida’s Racing on the Highway Statute was unconstitutional for failure to give notice of exactly what conduct is prohibited. Outcome: Subsequently the State Attorney chose not to file RacingRead More
State v. Smith
Court: Circuit Court for Fort Walton Beach, Florida Charge: Felony Murder Case Number: 1996 CF 1797 Case Category: Circuit Court Reasoning Position: Out of all of our cases, Patrick Smith’s is the one I am most proud of. Patrick’s case had been in our office one way or another for twelve years. On November 6,Read More
State v. Parker
Charge: Sale of Cocaine Courts: Okaloosa Circuit Court Case Number: 2008 CF 409; 949 Case Category: Postconviction Relief Position: The Defendant was charged with sale of Cocaine in two cases and sentenced to 15 years in prison. We filed a Motion for Post-conviction Relief alleging Ineffective Assistance of Counsel. The Motion was based on counsel not objecting to theRead More
State v. Odom
Court: Circuit Court for Crestview, Florida and First District Court of Appeals. Charges: Vehicular Homicide and Driving on a Suspended License Resulting in Death Case Category: Post-Conviction and Appeal Position: Our client on the advice of his Public Defender Entered a plea to the Court with an agreed cap of 15 years in the Department of Corrections. He wasRead More
Florida Statute Revised to Allow for Modification of Probation or Early Termination of Probation
Recently the Florida Legislature revised the statute dealing with probation. You may now be eligible to convert your probation to administrative probation or terminate your probation in its entirety. To do so, a few conditions must exist. If you have not had any violations and your fines, court costs, restitution and all other obligations haveRead More
THIRD DEGREE FELONY MURDER
CASE REDUCED TO LOW LEVEL FELONY WITH COUNTY JAIL AND PROBATION REDUCED TO ACCESSORY AFTER THE FACT TO AGGRAVATED ASSAULT Date: October 2019 Court: Okaloosa County Circuit Court Details:Client was charged with Third Degree Felony Murder, which although confusing, is a Second Degree Felony carrying a mandatory-minimum sentence of 10.3 years, and punishable by up toRead More
State v. Fonville
Charge: Violation of Community Control on Original Charges of Lewd & Lascivious Conduct in Presence of Child Courts: Okaloosa County Circuit Court Case Number: Okaloosa Case Nos.:1999 CF 586; 587; 588; 589 Case Category: Postconviction Relief, Motion to Vacate Sentence Position: On advice of public defender trial counsel, Defendant entered a plea to the court for violation of communityRead More