Case Results in Aggravated Battery Case with a Deadly Weapon in Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL
Women can be the victims of false claims of domestic violence. These false claims are often motivated by a desire to control a situation improperly, or gain an advantage in a future child custody or child support hearing. These claims are particular difficult to defend because the alleged victim may go to extraordinary lengths to actively encourage the prosecution and may offer false testimony in an attempt to convict an innocent person of a crime they did not commit. Continue reading if you would like to see more information about a recent case result we obtained in a Tampa Aggravated Battery with a Deadly Weapon Case prosecuted in Hillsborough County, FL.
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In a recent case, a Tampa woman and mother of two was charged with the felony offense of Aggravated Battery with a Deadly Weapon in violation of Florida Statutes 784.045(1)(a)(2) in Hillsborough County, Florida. The arresting officers arrested her for this serious felony offense after her former boyfriend, the father of her two children, alleged that she attempted to run him over with her car after an argument. The Hillsborough County State Attorney's office filed charges against her for "intentionally causing bodily harm" with a deadly weapon, the motor vehicle.
The alleged victim (the man) alleged that he was walking to the woman's house to watch their two children while the woman went to work. The alleged victim (the man) alleged that as he was walking on the sidewalk towards the woman's house he saw the woman driving her car towards him. He reported that he saw the woman swerve the car toward him and actually caused the vehicle to strike him on the arm at a high rate of speed as he tried to jump out of the way. The alleged victim (the man) alleged that he had a bruise on his arm and was injured during the incident.
The officer then questioned the woman about the accusations. She denied striking the man with her vehicle, and said that she had pulled her vehicle over to speak with the alleged victim (the man) because he was late arriving at the house to watch the children, which was going to make her late to work. She said that as she pulled off, she heard a large thud, and though the man had kicked the back passenger side of her vehicle in a fit of rage. She told the officer that she and the alleged victim (the man) had been arguing earlier in the day about his demand that she reduce the amount of child support that he had been ordered to pay. After the incident, she told the officer that the man called and threatened to call the police and take the children away from her. Despite the inconsistencies in the evidence, the officer arrested the woman for Aggravated Battery with a Deadly Weapon.
The day after the incident the Tampa man filed a petition and then received an ex parte temporary domestic violence injunction against the woman and was awarded temporary custody of the two young children. The woman hired attorney Leslie Sammis and filed a cross-complaint for a domestic battery injunction against the man because she believed that she was the true victim of domestic violence by the man on several occasions leading up to the false accusation against her.
Attorney Leslie Sammis represented the mother at the domestic violence injunction hearing for a restraining order on August 5th, 2008 before the Honorable Cheryl Thomas. The judge granted each party an injunction (or restraining order) against each other but awarded temporary custody of the children to the mother and did not award any specific visitation to the father.
Although the incident with the vehicle occurred in July, the State Attorney's Office took nearly six months to make a filing decision before deciding to file the charges against the Tampa woman. After taking depositions of the state's witnesses, an attorney at the Sammis Law Firm filed a notice of expiration of speedy trial on February 2, 2009. The notice of expiration of speedy trial forced the prosecution for the State of Florida to conduct a hearing within 5 days, and then begin the trial within 10 days after the hearing. A hearing on the notice of expiration of speedy trial was held on February 6, 2009. At that time, the Honorable Denise A. Pomponio, Judge of the Circuit Court of Hillsborough County schedule a pre-trial conference on February 11th and the jury trial on February 16th (within 10 days of the speedy trial hearing).
On February 11, 2009, the Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office announced that because of discrepancies in the case and the fact that the Tampa woman had taken an eight (8) hour anger management class on-line, that the State of Florida would drop or "nol pross" the charge of Aggravated Battery with a Deadly Weapon. The Tampa woman walked out of the courtroom a free woman exonerated of the felony aggravated domestic battery charge.
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Ms. Sammis, a Tampa criminal defense attorney, represents both men and women charged with domestic violence, including aggravated battery in Hillsborough County, Pinellas County, Polk County and Pasco County. Women can be particularly vulnerable to false claims of domestic violence, which can have a huge impact in future child custody cases.
If you have been falsely accused of domestic violence, it is important to speak with an attorney immediately about protecting your rights and securing evidence that might otherwise be lost with the passage of time. If you have been arrested for domestic battery, aggravated battery or aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, contact an experienced Tampa Domestic Violence Attorney at the Sammis Law Firm to discuss your case today at 813-250-0500.
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