The Umansky Law Firm

A "knock-and-talk" lets law enforcement officers search a residence without a search warrant if the person living there, or occupant, gives permission. This is a common practice in Central Florida. The police need to be there for a reason, though. It isn't a random house they'll come to.

For example, a tip about drug sales going on brought two Osceola police to the door of a room at the Four Winds Motel. The officers told the man living there they were looking for evidence of drugs. The man then allegedly claimed he was a student and allowed the officers to search the room.

Upon searching, police allegedly found a small rock of cocaine on top of a safe in the bathroom. A key to the safe was found hidden behind the bathroom mirror. When police opened the safe, they allegedly found plastic baggies holding "several dozen pieces" of crack cocaine, a crack pipe, a straw, and over $80 in cash.

The man was arrested and then admitted that the drugs were his, and that he uses and sells crack, snorts cocaine, and smokes marijuana. He was charged with possession with intent to sell crack cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

If you are facing drug charges in Orange County or Orlando, Florida, or anywhere else in the state of Florida, please contact the experienced criminal defense attorneys at the Umanksy Law Firm today for a free and confidential case consultation.

Singer and frontman for Motley Crue, Vince Neil, has pleaded guilty to DUI in Las Vegas. It has been reported that he will spend two weeks in jail and two weeks under house arrest. This is a plea agreement Neil agreed to with the Clark County District Attorney's office.

Neil was arrested and charged with DUI last June. Nevada
law enforcement said at the time that Neil's blood alcohol content was three times the legal limit.

In 1984, Neil was driving drunk when he crashed. That accident killed his passenger and friend, Hanoi Rocks drummer Nicholas Dingley. One can't say Neil wasn't given a chance to redeem himself.

A charge of driving under the influence can hurt all aspects of your life. Financially a DUI charge can cost you hundreds of dollars. If you lose your job as a result of this charge, it will cost you more. Spending time in jail and the social stigma of a DUI charge can follow you around for years or even decades.

Minimizing the damage by hiring an experienced criminal defense attorney is one of the first things you should do if you have been charged with a DUI.

If you have been charged with a DUI in Orange County or Orlando, Florida, or anywhere else in the state of Florida, please contact the experienced criminal defense attorneys at the Umansky Law Firm for an initial confidential and free case consultation.

According to Florida law enforcement, five teens were arrested after an alleged burglary attempt last week. They were connected to another burglary that took place December 15 in the town of Silver Springs Shores.

The burglars allegedly took the ashes of the homeowner's husband and two Great Danes, as well as electronic equipment and jewelry. According to reports, the burglars thought the ashes, which were in urns, were cocaine or heroin. Apparently, some of the burglars snorted the ashes.

Rather than return the ashes, as they allegedly talked about, the teens threw the ashes into a nearby lake because they were afraid their fingerprints were on the containers. While police divers attempted to recover the ashes of the woman's loved ones, the five teens were jailed and charged with numerous counts of burglary and other crimes.

As any parent of teens or those who are around teens a lot will tell you, kids make mistakes. Everyone who made it through their teen years can look back and find more than one event where they wish they had made a different decision.

The thing is that most of us learn from our mistakes and do not repeat them. Most of us have been given a second (even a third or fourth) chance to amend our ways. The same thing should be given to these five teens. Juvenile crime may never go away; it's how we respond to it that makes the difference. Sometimes another chance is all it takes for people to get back on the right track.

If you have been charged with a crime in the Orange County or Orlando, Florida area, or anywhere else in the state of Florida, please contact the experienced criminal defense attorneys at the Umansky Law Firm for an initial case evaluation.

Polk County law enforcement pulled over a suspected drunk driver last weekend in Winter Haven, Florida, discovering the driver was a fellow officer. The off-duty deputy was driving his personal vehicle when he was pulled over around 2:00 am.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office said the driver identified himself as an off-duty officer and that he had been drinking. He was administered a field sobriety test, which he failed. The officer was taken to the Polk County Jail where he was given a breathalyzer. Police allege his blood alcohol content was .144, almost twice the legal limit.

The officer was charged with one count of driving under the influence and has been suspended pending disciplinary action.

Everyone makes mistakes, even off-duty police. The general public may hold police up to a different standard, and it isn't too much to expect that standard to extend to their private lives, but police officers have normal lives, too. When one is arrested for DUI, it may reflect on the rest of the force, but when it comes down to it, this is a man who simply had too much to drink and then allegedly got behind the wheel.

If you have been charged with DUI in the Orange County or Orlando, Florida area, or anywhere else in the state of Florida, please contact the experienced criminal defense attorneys at the Umansky Law Firm for a free and confidential case consultation.

The 34-year-old sister of Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre was arrested and charged with manufacturing methamphetamine and manufacturing hazardous waste in Mississippi on Wednesday.

According to Mississippi police, Favre was among five people arrested in Diamondhead during a raid on a condo. The other four suspects, ranging in age from 25 to 53, face a variety of drug charges related to the drug bust. Two of the suspects face the same charges as Favre; two other were charged with sale of a controlled substance, and one faces an additional charge of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

The Hancock County Sheriff's Department allegedly found nine grams of meth with an estimated street value of $1000. Hazardous materials teams then had to go into the condo and clear it.

Police state that Favre "happened to be there" at the time of the raid. There is no evidence that she was an active participant in the manufacture or distribution of methamphetamine. While her presence does raise questions, it is important to remember that she, just like the other four suspects, are innocent until proven guilty. Just as people make quick judgment calls about celebrities who are arrested, they do the same with the families of celebrities.

If you have been charged with drugs in the Orange County or Orlando, Florida area, or anywhere else in the state of Florida, please contact the experienced criminal defense attorneys at the Umansky Law Firm today.

The 19-year-old woman at the center of a Florida missing girl case was sentenced to 25 years in prison in Putnam County. Misty Croslin, who is the step-mother of missing child Haleigh Cummings, pleaded no contest to seven counts of trafficking hydrocodone and oxycodone. The sentence is to run congruently with another 25-year term she is serving at Lowell Correctional Institution in Ocala in a separate drug case.

Croslin, along with the father of Haleigh, Ronald Cummings, her brother, and two others were all charged with drug trafficking in 2009. The group allegedly sold the drugs to an undercover police officer. The transactions were allegedly caught on camera. Cummings, Croslin's brother, and the two others are all serving 15 year sentences in various Florida prisons.

In addition to the prison time, Croslin was fined $1.85 million in the two cases, and is required to pay $2,800 in restitution to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. She has also been placed on five years' probation and her drivers license has been suspended for two years when she is released.

Although the drug case has nothing to do with Haleigh Cummings' disappearance, the girl, who was five when she disappeared two years ago, is still very much on the minds of people involved in this case. Her mother and her friends were front and center at Croslin's sentencing.

If you or a loved one has been charged with drug trafficking in the Orange County or Orlando, Florida area, or anywhere else in the state of Florida, please contact the experienced criminal defense attorneys at the Umansky Law Firm today for a free and confidential case consultation.

The father-in-law of the son of MSNBC Hardball host Chris Matthews was arrested and charged with possession of $8.1 million in marijuana. Although the arrest happened several weeks ago, it has only been in the media for less than a week.

The suspect was arrested along with the crew of his steel-hulled sailing vessel, the Sarah Moira, on Nov. 21. The ship was first intercepted by Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents off the coast of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi as it was returning from Jamaica. The ship and crew were taken to Gulfport, Mississippi where there is a US Coast Guard station. Drug sniffing dogs allegedly found two wooden crates that contained individually wrapped packages of marijuana.

The three suspects were all charged with:

• Conspiracy to possess controlled substance with intent to distribute
  
• Conspiracy to import controlled substance with intent to distribute
  
• Possession of controlled substance with intent to distribute
  
• Importation of controlled substance with intent to distribute
  

The two crew members were released on $25,000 bonds, but Matthew's son's in-law is still being detained in Mississippi. The two crew members allegedly told federal agents they were hired for the sole purpose of going to Jamaica to pick up the marijuana and return to the US.

If you have been charged with drug possession in the Orange County or Orlando, Florida area, or anywhere else in the state of Florida, please contact the experienced criminal defense attorneys at the Umanksy Law Firm today.

Former talk show host and medical marijuana proponent Montel Williams was cited for possession of drug paraphernalia at General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Tuesday, January 4.

According to the Milwaukee County sheriff's office, Williams was allegedly carrying a marijuana pipe when he passed through security. Transportation Security Administration employees reportedly found the pipe.

However, instead of arresting him as may have happened in another state, Williams was allowed to pay the $484 fine and continue on his trip. Keep in mind, though, that he was not found with any marijuana on him. While the thought of charging anyone for simply having a pipe that may, or may not, be used to smoke pot is suspect to many people, those in government continue to pass laws that make this illegal.

Williams has been for the use of medical marijuana as a way to counter pain caused by his multiple sclerosis that he was diagnosed with in 1999. He became vocal about his views after he was stopped at a Detroit airport for carrying drug paraphernalia.

It's not necessarily illegal to have these kinds of pipes; it's what they are used for. They can be purchased across the US legally, but the implication is, either rightly or wrongly, that they will be used to smoke marijuana. Many states have legalized the personal use of small amounts of marijuana, or at least alleviated the trouble with a ticket or misdemeanor charge if caught. However, you should not gamble that this will be your fate.

If you have been charged with drug possession in Orange County or Orlando, Florida, or anywhere else in the state of Florida, please contact the experienced criminal defense attorneys at the Umansky Law Firm for a free and confidential case consultation.