Reynoldsburg Jewelry Store Armed Robbery

Darnell J. Harris, 25 and his sister Mariah Harris, 19, both of Canal Winchester, Ohio have been arrested based on charges in a federal indictment alleging that they robbed a Reynoldsburg jewelry store in May 2012.

The indictment charges each defendant with one count of obstructing interstate commerce (Hobbs Act) by robbing Heins Jewelers in Reynoldsburg on May 21, 2012. The crime is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Reynoldsburg and Pickerington police officers arrested Darnell Harris following a traffic stop in Pickerington. Mariah Harris surrendered to the Reynoldsburg Police and was arrested there. Both have initial appearances before a U.S. Magistrate today.

Detective Mike Binder did an outstanding job on this case,” Reynoldsburg Chief O’Neill said. “I appreciate the partnership with Pickerington Police in making the arrest.”

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation conducted by the ATF and Reynoldsburg Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Bosley is representing the United States in the case.An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

For more information's log onto : http://www.atf.gov/press/releases/2013/03/032213-col-siblings-arrested-for-reynoldsburg-jewelry-store-armed-robbery.html

Indiana man charged for child pornography

An Indiana man was charged with producing sexually explicit photos and videos of a minor over a two-year period, announced U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Hogsett, Southern District of Indiana, on Wednesday.

These charges resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Carmel Police Department, the Fishers Police Department, and the Hamilton County Metro Child Exploitation Task Force.

Daniel Alan Jines, 36, of Whitestown, Ind., was indicted March 20 on federal child pornography charges. These charges include 15 counts of producing child pornography, one count of receiving child pornography, and one count of possessing child pornography. Hogsett said the indictment comes as his office has launched Operation Community Watch, a new effort which aims to reduce the abuse of Hoosier children through new investigative techniques and aggressive prosecution.

According to court documents unsealed March 20, Jines is alleged to have abused a 10- to 13-year-old child between May 2008 and May 2010. The indictment alleges that Jines persuaded, induced and coerced victim Jane Doe to engage in sexually explicit activity, which Jines then recorded. The indictment lists more than a dozen depictions of the victim that were allegedly located by investigators, including both still images and video files.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Brant Cook, Southern District of Indiana, who is prosecuting this case for the government, Jines faces life imprisonment if he is found guilty of producing child pornography.

The receipt and possession counts both carry with them the possibility of up to 20 years in federal prison. In addition, Jines also could be sentenced to years of supervised release, and lifetime registration as a sexual predator.

Informations, indictments, and criminal complaints are only a charge and are not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

HSI is a founding member and the U.S. representative of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.

For more informations log onto : http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1303/130320indianapolis.htm

Steps in booking process after the person has been arrested

After the individual has been arrested they are usually taken to the cop office where they may be interviewed, and the necessary reports and forms are prepared. The person who is charged with a criminal offence should hire a Houston criminal lawyer with experience in criminal defense to represent them because they are the only person who can help the people to get rid of the false accusations. Hence check out the below steps in the booking process.

Recording the information’s

The first step in the booking process will be the recording of all your personal information’s the personal information may includes your name, date of birth, contact number, address, emergency and security number. After the details has been collected it will saved on the computer for the further use.

Mug shot

The photo will be taken within a minute and it will be worst than the drivers license photo, but the purpose of the mug shots are used to distinguish individuals with the same name and to provide an accurate portrayal of the suspect at the time of arrest.

Collection of personal belongings

Prisoners are not allowed to carry jewels, wallets, money, cell phones into the jail hence they are collected and sealed in the plastic bags to secure belongings. Prisoners are requested to sign off on the list of items detailed after the belongings have been sealed.

Fingerprints

The fingerprints are taken for two reasons

• To compare the fingerprints left at the crime scene
• It must be entered in to the FBI database where it can be accessible to local, state and federal police agencies.

Body Search

A full body check up will be done on the arrestees to prevent the weapons and drugs entering in to the jail. The “strip search” can be an embarrassing experience to undergo

Warrants checking

The booking officer checks to see if an arrestee has any other charges pending, ranging from unpaid parking tickets to murder charges in other states. Suspects with warrants pending are normally not released on bail.

Health checkup

To prevent the other arrestees from infections and diseases the particular person will undergo x-ray and blood test

The booking process can take anywhere from an hour to several hours depending on the cooperation of the individual being booked into jail. If you want to get rid of the cases after the booking process has been done then do not wait to hire a lawyer with topnotch experience and proven results. Contact Houston criminal attorney to solve your problems and queries

Patrick Cody Morgan has been sentenced to 27 years in prison

United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced that Patrick Cody Morgan, 46, of Alvin, has been sentenced to 27 years in federal prison for his convictions on multiple counts of bank fraud. A federal jury sitting in Houston found Morgan guilty on October 30, 2012, of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and nine counts of bank fraud following two days of trial and less than three hours of deliberation. ‪

Today, U.S. District Judge Lynn N. Hughes, who presided over the trial, handed Morgan a total sentence of 324 months, to be followed by five years of supervised release. Morgan was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $25,277,802.

Within the overall scheme, there were more than 100 properties with a loan amount of more than $39 million. The loss amount was determined to be more than $25 million.

‪‪‪Co-defendants John Elias, 44; Reginald Anderson, 41; Viktor Ly, 43; and Christopher Pearson, 34, all of Houston, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and will be sentenced on various dates in March and April 2013. Minh Vu, 41, also of Houston, was sentenced to 60 months prison on February 19, 2013.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Lowery and Carolyn Ferko.

Refer : http://www.fbi.gov/houston/press-releases/2013/alvin-man-gets-27-years-for-multiple-bank-fraud-convictions

White Collar Crime

It is a nonviolent crime committed for financial gain. White collar crime was defined in 1939 by Edwin Sutherland as one “committed by the person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation”. Because of the complexity and the seductively of white collar accusations, prosecutors often make mistakes. But it takes an experienced Houston criminal defense attorney, with expertise in white collar cases, to uncover these problems.

Examples of white collar crime

• Fraud
• Bribery
• Identity Theft
• Black Mail
• Embezzlement
• Counterfeiting
• Money Laundring
• Computer Crimes
• Perjury
• Forgery

One of the common crimes committed by the white collar workers is embezzlement. This type of offense happens when the particular person dishonestly handles the company money for his or her use. For example: A particular employee takes the money from the bank for his or her personal use.

Causes of white collar crime

Greed and bad economy is one of the main causes of white collar crime because many criminals make good money and that does not stop them from making more. These peoples do not use weapons to pull off their crime. They use their wit. Some get away with it for years without getting caught and some may never get caught. People become much afraid of the future because of the poor economy people decide to take measures to financially protect themselves in illegal ways.

Effects

Financial cost: According to the Cornell Legal Information Institute, it was estimated in 2010 that white collar crime cost the U.S. $300 billion.

Jobs: When the dishonest person gains huge profits from the sales of shares the company will be pushed in to the job loses, where many of these employees will lose the savings from the company

If you found that you are under the investigation of a white collar crime, then it is necessary to hire a Houston criminal lawyer. Keep in mind that you should not talk about the offenses before consulting with the white collar attorney in Houston TX. 

Allen Stanford defrauded investors out of $ 7billion

Former board of directors chairman of Stanford International Bank (SIB), Allen Stanford has been sentenced to a total of 110 years in prison for orchestrating a 20-year investment fraud scheme in which he misappropriated $7 billion from SIB to finance his personal businesses.

The sentencing was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas; FBI Assistant Director Kevin Perkins of the Criminal Investigative Division; Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration Phyllis C. Borzi; Chief Postal Inspector Guy J. Cottrell; and Chief Richard Weber, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI).

Stanford, 62, was convicted on 13 of 14 counts by a federal jury following a six-week trial before U.S. District Judge David Hittner and approximately three days of deliberation. The jury also found that 29 financial accounts located abroad and worth approximately $330 million were proceeds of Stanford’s fraud and should be forfeited.

Speaking on behalf of the victims in the case during the sentencing hearing today were Angie Shaw, the director and founder of the Stanford Victims Coalition, and Jaime Escalona, who represents Stanford victims from Latin America.

In handing down the sentence, Judge Hittner remarked that “this is one of the most egregious frauds ever presented to a trial jury in federal court.”

After considering all the evidence, including more than 350 victim impact letters that were sent to the court, Judge Hittner sentenced Stanford to 20 years for conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud; 20 years on each of the four counts of wire fraud, as well as five years for conspiring to obstruct a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation; and five years for obstruction of an SEC investigation. Those sentences will all run consecutively. He also received 20 years for each of the five counts of mail fraud and 20 years for conspiracy to commit money laundering, which will run concurrent to the other sentences imposed today, for a total sentence of 110 years.

For more details regarding this case you may log onto: http://www.fbi.gov/houston/press-releases/2012/allen-stanford-gets-110-years-for-orchestrating-7-billion-investment-fraud-scheme

Types of Arrest Warrant

It is a warrant issued by the judge in the court granting that the law enforcement officials has the right to arrest the person regarding the crime committed. Arrest warrants are most commonly required when a crime is committed out of view of a police officer. If a felony is committed in view of a police officer then an arrest can be made without a warrant.

The different types of arrest warrant are

• Bench warrant
• Felony warrant
• Civil warrant
• Alias warrant

Bench Warrant

It is a type of arrest warrant issued by the court when someone fails to comply with the requirement. In order to file a bench warrant, a judge must generally demonstrate a personal knowledge of the contempt which instigated the warrant. Generally the bench warrant is used in very least matters to encourage the party to appear in the court. A bench warrant may also be ordered when a defendant fails to pay fines, or comply with bail conditions, educational programs, or when the defendant commits a crime while on release pending the original trial.

Felony Warrant

The felony warrant is issued by the court where this arrest will be done when the individual is suspected of committing a felony crime. This warrant is issued in the most of the cases by the judge after the consideration of the evidence provided by the law enforcement. Felony warrant is a legal document so an necessary signed affidavit of a crime committed and the name of the accused must be present in that legal document. This warrant does not have any target date rather than it will remain in effect until the arrest is made. This warrant is legally and freely viewed by the public. It is a serious warrant and it should not be ignored in any situation.

Civil Warrant

The civil warrant is issued in the civil court where the civil warrant is commonly issued in the small claims court when filling suit. It is issued on the behalf of individuals who submit a civil summons. This is not an arrest warrant and is brought by one party against another in matters of monetary judgment. The warrant in debt is summoned filled by one individual against another person, usually for the purpose of establishing a court date to plead a case involving monetary issues. This is the first procedure in the wage garnishment cases. Addressing the issues of claims for money is done for the warrant in debt.Address claims for the property is done for the warrant in detinue.

Alias warrant

This type of warrant is issued in the court when the particular person failed to appear in the court or on the initial appearance on the citation or on the scheduled court date. Remember that if you receive or sign a citation you are assuring that you will appear in the court without fail and if you fail to appear in the court this warrant has been changed to the arrest warrant and you can bond out of jail by cash bond, bail bond, attorney bond, or PR bond.

Just because you have received the arrest warrant issued against the judge you don’t mean that you done have any rights as the accused, hence contact Houston criminal attorney for your problems and a free initial consultation.