Kansas Drug case keeps on growing...

I'll just say it right now.  College kids smoke pot.  This is not the news of the century.  Four out of every five people that come into my office with misdemeanor pot possession charges looking for a criminal defense lawyer are either in college or are college age.  It is a great privilege to be a basketball player at the University of Kansas, however, it is not completely unheard of for a college kid to act like a college kid.  Regardless of if they play basketball or not.

This is why I don't understand why the idea that some college kid may have bought pot from a drug dealer is a big deal.  I think the real story is the size of this bust.  We are talking about quite a lot of drugs and quite a lot of money.  The charges just seem to keep on coming and this case keeps growing as if to no end.  Here is the article in the Kansas City Star about the new charges and the size of the bust.


Kansas Drug Case expands to 101 counts, 35 indicted
 
The Associated Press

WICHITA -- Nearly three dozen people were indicted Thursday for what federal prosecutors say was a ring that supplied about $17 million worth of “high-grade” drugs to customers, including marijuana to members of last year's University of Kansas basketball team.

The U.S. Attorney's office for Kansas said the 101-count indictment involves 35 defendants, most of them from Kansas. The defendants supplied drugs to residents in Johnson and Douglas counties, prosecutors said.
At a hearing last month, assistant U.S. attorney Terra Moorhead said one of the defendants, a 32-year-old Overland Park man, supplied marijuana to multiple members of the Jayhawks' 2010-11 basketball squad. The university would not comment on the case then and officials with the school did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment Thursday.

The university said then that its internal drug-testing policy requires all freshman or new transfer student athletes to take a drug test “within a reasonable amount of time” after arriving on campus. All teams that qualify for postseason play also may be subject to testing.  The indictment stemmed from an original federal complaint filed in June that accused 25 people and included only one count. The new charges including conspiracy to possess and distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine and 1,000 kilos of marijuana, conspiracy to commit money laundering and unlawful possession of firearms.

In announcing the indictment Thursday, the U.S. Attorney's office said in a release that two Lawrence residents, Los Rovell Dahda, 30, and Chad Eugene Bauman, 33, “made millions” leading the drug ring. Lawyers listed in online court records as representing Dahda and Bauman did not immediately return phone messages left Thursday evening.  Prosecutors are seeking additional penalties for several of the defendants for distributing drugs within 1,000 feet of high schools, a middle school and Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence from about 2005 to 2012. They're also asking a judge to order the forfeiture of $16.9 million in cash and real estate they allege was gained from the scheme.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/07/12/3702997/kansas-drug-case-expands-to-101.html#storylink=cpy

Dallas Cowboys WR makes plea to prosecutors, not to pursue charges.

Des Bryant former Oklahoma State WR and all around freak athlete finds himself in a courtroom again. We have all heard about the Lil Wayne fight and the pants sagging incident but now it appears that he may have gotten into a fight with his own mother. As in many of these types of cases the alleged victim is not asking the prosecutors not to pursue the case.

It seems like cooler heads have prevailed now and she doesn't want to see her son in trouble. Hopefully the prosecutors can give Mr Bryant a chance and just drop the case. It would be difficult to pursue the case if the victim/witness is not cooperating with the prosecution also. If you find yourself facing a criminal charge like Dez contact a criminal defense lawyer right way.  Here is the article in the KC Star.

Bryant's attorney: Cowboys WR not guilty of crime
By: Normaan Merchant


DALLAS -- The attorney for Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant asked prosecutors Tuesday not to pursue charges against his client, who was arrested after allegedly attacking his mother during an argument.  "Did a family disagreement occur? Yes," attorney Royce West said. "Did Dez Bryant commit family violence against his mother? No."

Police arrested Bryant on July 16, two days after his mother, Angela Bryant, called 911 to complain her son was assaulting her. Authorities said they found her with a swollen wrist and thumb and bruising on her upper arms. Angela Bryant allegedly told authorities Dez Bryant hit her in the face with his ball cap and tore her shirt.  On a 911 tape released by authorities, Angela Bryant is heard saying that she wanted to "put an end to it."  "I can't keep letting him do this," she said on the tape.

Angela Bryant has since submitted an affidavit asking prosecutors not to pursue the case. Family violence is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.  Bryant sat next to his mother at a press conference that lasted about two minutes. Neither spoke or took questions.  "I would love to make a statement, but I can't," Dez Bryant said as he left. "I can't."  Instead, West read a statement calling any dispute "a family matter that can be worked out through counseling."  "They ask that there not be a rush to judgment concerning their family," West said.

Prosecutors have not announced whether they will pursue charges against Bryant and declined comment Tuesday. The NFL and the Cowboys declined to comment.  The talented Bryant has run into trouble since before he entered the NFL. Drafted by the Cowboys in the first round, Bryant had nearly his entire last year of college at Oklahoma State wiped out by an NCAA suspension for lying about having dinner with Deion Sanders. He ran up hundreds of thousands of dollars in bills on game tickets and jewelry - and was sued by people who said they were creditors.

Last year, he was kicked out of an upscale Dallas mall for wearing sagging pants. In January, he was reportedly involved in a fight with the rapper Lil Wayne at a Miami nightclub.  West has dismissed what he called Bryant's "youthful indiscretions" and said he was trying to move forward.  Bryant's Cowboys teammates have expressed support after his arrest. His coach at Oklahoma State, Mike Gundy, said Tuesday at Big 12 Media Days that Bryant was an "unbelievable talent" and trying to do the right thing.
"But it saddens me to hear negative things come out about Dez, and hopefully he can get it together," Gundy said. "When he was at Oklahoma State, we were with him all the time every step of the way. We never really had many issues with him."

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/07/24/3721383/bryants-attorney-cowboys-wr-not.html#storylink=cpy

Kansas Police Search for Officer Impersonator

Driving through Kansas?  That cop that just pulled you over may not be a cop at all.  Turns out some person is playing cop in various different locations in Kansas.  Stopping people in a fake police cruiser, pulling them over, and out of their cars.  It looks like in some cases this yahoo is even searching the car and fondling the women he pulls over.  What kills me about this is first that its just plan ole' creepy, second is that you would think that at some time this guy would run across a real cop and get busted.

What I take from this is that you need to be really careful and use your head during a traffic stop.  Look at the police cruiser and the officer's uniform, if you think the officer is a fake you need to call 911 or *47 and make sure the stop is legitimate.  Another thing, never let an officer search your car.  The police have no right to pull you over and just search your car without probable cause to believe you have committed a crime so don't let them.


Here is the article about this crazy fake cop.



OLATHE, Kan. – Kansas law enforcement agencies are on alert after a second apparent incident of an officer impostor is reported this month. This latest incident happened in Southern Kansas. But it has agencies all across the state on the look-out.

“They’re criminals. They’re out there doing things making people feel unsafe about their police,” said Lt. Kenneth Woods, with the Kansas State Highway Patrol.  Woods says a man claims he was pulled over in Kingman County in southern Kansas. The victim claims a white man driving a white Crown Victoria, with a light bar and the words “Highway State Trooper” on the driver’s side had what looked like a gun.  He handcuffed the victim and searched his car for up to 15 minutes before releasing him.  “Definitely being pulled out of your car and searched for no reason and being let go without any type of warning or ticket or, any reasoning, is not reasonable,” Woods said.

The highway patrol is investigating this latest incident but they’re also assisting the Osawatomie Police Department in another incident where a woman says she was pulled over by a man with a similar description, driving a similar car earlier this month.  That woman says she was sexually assaulted during that stop.  Woods said to keep yourself out of these situations, become familiar with what your local and state agencies look like. He said look for legitimate uniforms with official patches. Also look for a full light bar, a set of dash lights or headlights that alternate and official markings on the car.  “Most of these people that are impersonating police men, they don’t have the full markings that normal patrol cars do,” he said.  Finally, Woods said you can also dial *47, if you’re on the highway, or *KTA, for the turnpike.   The dispatcher can verify if it is a real stop.  You can also dial 911.

It”s unclear if these two incidents are related, but the highway patrol says it, and the other agencies are taking these cases very seriously and warns officers are always looking for impersonators.

Zimmerman amasses small fortune for legal defense.

After many many recorded telephone calls were released it looks like George Zimmerman's criminal defense lawyer may have a little explaining to do. The media is now saying that Zimmerman's attorney knew about a small fortune that Zimmerman had compiled for his legal defense via online money transfer giant, Paypal. It doesn't appear that the tapes are conclusive but many are saying that Zimmerman's criminal defense attorney allowed the court to hear testimony he knew not to be true. This being the testimony of Zimmerman's wife referring to the couples finances and Zimmerman's ability to make bond. I don't know if he knew or didn't know but I don't think the tapes prove either way what the lawyer knew. You be the judge. Here is the article that says what the tapes contained.
  
Jail Call Suggests attorney knew about Zimmerman Money
By Frances Robles

MIAMI -- Prosecutors released nearly 150 of George Zimmerman's recorded jailhouse phone calls Monday, including one that suggests his defense attorney knew from the start that tens of thousands of dollars in donations had begun pouring in.  In a phone call recorded April 14 between Zimmerman and a friend named Scott, the two discuss the new defense lawyer and the attorney's vision for an upcoming bond hearing. Zimmerman tells his friend that he told his new attorney, Mark O'Mara, that he tried to transfer $37,000 from his online legal defense fund site, but could not complete the transaction because of PayPal rules that prevent transfers larger than $10,000.  He twice mentions telling O'Mara about the money.
"He said he's going to have me declared indigent," Zimmerman told his friend. "I told him I didn't think that would be possible, because there was one sizable transfer I tried to make. It got stopped. You know, $37. He said: 'Well that doesn't matter. Right now you're not working. You're not providing an income for your family. You're probably not going to be employable for the rest of your life.'"

At one point the friend asks whether O'Mara knew "the volume" of the donations that came into the PayPal account Zimmerman had set up to solicit donations from the public. Zimmerman said O'Mara knew about the attempted transfer of $37,000, but not any more than that.  They agreed to keep it that way.  At an April 20 bond hearing, Zimmerman's wife testified the couple was broke, and the judge granted her husband a $150,000 bond. Days later, O'Mara declared to the court that Zimmerman had actually amassed a small fortune in donations.  At the time, O'Mara said he had failed to press his client about how much money he had raised.

Prosecutors then reviewed Zimmerman's jailhouse calls and bank records, and found that he, his wife, sister and the friend had collaborated to transfer all the donations out Zimmerman's name into cash. Zimmerman and his wife were recorded talking in a simple code to refer to large amounts of money. "Eight dollars" meant $80,000.  Furious, Seminole County Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester sent Zimmerman back to jail. A new bail hearing was held in June, and Zimmerman was released on a $1 million bond.  Zimmerman's wife was charged with perjury for lying at the first bond hearing.

Critics have questioned O'Mara's role in the plot, wondering whether he was really duped by his client or if he played a role in misleading the court. Zimmerman's wife, Shellie, testified that it was her brother-in-law who managed the online donations and she did not know how much was in it. O'Mara did not call Zimmerman's brother to testify.  Reached late Monday, O'Mara insisted he did not know about the money.
"I recall now some conversation of a transfer, but I don't recall a specific amount," O'Mara told The Miami Herald. "If it was $10,000 or $100,000 or $30,000, I would have remembered. It's not the type of thing you would risk your license to practice law over."  He stressed that the recording shows that Zimmerman was keeping him "at an arm's length" regarding the funding he had raised. He does not think the recording is clear-cut about whether Zimmerman told him about the money.  "I would have remembered $37,000," he said. "I can't imagine not remembering. It puts my credibility on the line."


The bulk of the calls reveal that Zimmerman was bored out of his skull, in a cell with no mirror and no clock. He seemed to have nearly unlimited access to a phone. In jail for just 11 days, he averaged more than 10 15-minute calls a day. He's heard whispering sweet nothings to his wife, and growing exasperated as she fails to understand his code language.  Fluent in Spanish, in one call he lamented to his sister that their parents did not give him a proper Hispanic name like "Jorge." If America had understood he was Latino, the entire ugly affair over the shooting death of Trayvon Martin could have been avoided, he said.  Zimmerman is charged with second degree murder for the Feb. 26 killing of the Miami Gardens teenager. The charges came only after weeks of protests by civil rights activists, people who Zimmerman said wrongly believed him to be "white."

At least one protest was almost held to support Zimmerman, but he stepped in and had organizers call off the rally. On April 19, Zimmerman reached out to the Rev. Terry Jones of Gainesville, Fla., to stop him from holding a rally in Sanford that weekend.  Jones had made headlines around the world when his threat to hold "International Burn a Koran Day" on the anniversary of 9/11 set off deadly protests in Afghanistan. On the phone, Zimmerman prayed with Jones and asked him to give America time to heal.

"I was calling as one God-fearing sinner to another for time for healing, not just for the city of Sanford, for America," Zimmerman said. "I know your intentions are good."  He was inspired by the biblical story of Jesus calming the storms, he said. Jesus, he said, wanted everyone to calm the storms.  Zimmerman asked Jones to come visit him in the jail instead

Top Ten Sports "Moving Violations"

Hey everyone, thought I would post up something a little more light hearted today.  Ran across this video on Youtube and it made me laugh.





Remember, If you find yourself with a moving violation in Overland Park, Olathe, Mission, Merriam, Lenexa, Shawnee, Leawood, Kansas City, or anywhere else in Kansas give me a call.

Jury recommends fine after man kills mother-in-law?

Saw this come up across the Kansas City Star and the headline nearly made me fall out of my chair.  Turns out shooting your mother-in-law doesn't carry with it as stiff a penalties as you might think.  In all fairness it look like it was an accident and she was threatening him.  Sounds like a pretty hostile home to live in if everyone has a gun and a knife at their ready disposal when a fight breaks out.

Here is the article.

Jury Recommends fine after convicting KC man of Killing his Mother-in-law
By:  Mark Morris

A Jackson County jury convicted a Kansas City man late Wednesday of involuntary manslaughter in the Aug. 22, 2011, killing of his mother-in-law.  But jurors found Michael S. Tittone, 28, not guilty of armed criminal action and decided that he should be punished with a fine, rather than imprisonment, a prosecutor’s spokesman said.  A judge will determine the fine at sentencing.

Tittone originally was charged with second-degree murder in the death of Pamela J. Groves, 52, in a home they shared in the 3500 block of St. John Avenue.  In testimony Tuesday, Tittone said Groves often became abusive and violent when she had been drinking. On that evening, he was afraid that she might again threaten him with a large knife that his defense lawyer showed the jury.  Tittone said he pointed a handgun at Groves and ordered her to her room. She then punched him in the throat and he lost his balance, he said.
“I can’t tell you if I pulled the trigger or if it happened while I stumbled backward,” Tittone said.
Tittone became emotional during his testimony, weeping as he described his long and conflicted relationship with Groves.

“She was like a father to me in a weird way,” Tittone said. “I loved that woman. I didn’t want this to happen.”

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/06/21/3669315/jury-recommends-fine-after-convicting.html#storylink=cpy

New Law in Kansas allows for Free Booze at retail stores.

Well this caught me off guard.  The other day I was in Kansas City, MO at the Grandslam Gas Station and I walked in to see a sample stand like you would see at any Sam's Club or Costco.  I thought this was kind of strange being that it was in a gas station/ liquor store.  What peaked my interest even more was that they were giving out liquor.  Not cheese or candy or something like that but liquor.  It wasn't even beer or wine it was flavored vodka.  They were giving out half shots of vodka!  At a gas station?!  Turns out in Missouri this is 100% legal.  So I got to looking and it looks like the law changed in
Kansas to make it legal here also.

This just doesn't make any sense that Kansas would loosen up laws that allow you to get free booze at a retail outlet but then tighten the reins on driving under the influence laws.  Not only is it strange but it’s just counterintuitive,  you can go into a store, take a free shot of hard alcohol and try some wine then get back in your car and drive away.  Now if you get pulled over and you refuse to take a breath test the law allow for criminal punishment.  These laws seem to advocate drinking and driving then harshly punish those who do the natural consequence of what the law is now making legal.  I'm not saying you should drink and drive but this just doesn't make sense to give people free alcohol at a place they obviously drove a car to, then turn around and hammer them when they exercise their constitutional right to not incriminate themselves.

Here is the article that brought my attention to the Kansas law change.


New Kansas law allows wine, beer, and sprits tastings in retail stores
Br: Dennis Schaefer

New Kansas legislation, effective July 1, 2012, will allow wine, beer and spirits tastings in retail liquor stores. This has long been the case in Missouri but now Kansas has come into the 21st century and will be able to compete, on an equal footing, with Missouri liquor stores.  Time to get out and see what Kansas wine, beer and spirits stores are up to.

Lukas Liquor Superstore is wasting no time in announcing that their Kansas location will begin a tasting schedule for their customers starting this Sunday, July 1st. To celebrate the new law, on Sunday afternoon they will be tasting Pearl vodka and a delicious variety of Naked Grape wines from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. Then on Tuesday, July 3rd, the fresh new flavors of New Amsterdam vodka will be on the tasting card, as well as premium wines from Edna Valley Winery, Red Rock and Martin Codax, from 3:00 - 6:00 p.m.

At the original Rimman Liquors in Lenexa, they will be pouring Radler, which is a shandy brew consisting of 50% premium beer and 50% grapefruit or lemon soda and is the perfect summer thirst-quencher. It's also low in calories and low in alcohol (2.83%). That's on Tuesday, July 3, from 1:00 - 8:00 p.m. Also on the same tasting menu: a wonderful wine blend called Eccelstone, primarily focused on Pinot Gris and Grenache Blanc but with another half dozen grapes in the blend. It's aromatic and flowery, a touch sweet, and wonderfully refreshing.


At Rimman Liquors in Prairie Village, on July 3, from 2:00 - 7:00 p.m., their preferred pour is from Lagunitas Brewing and it's their special seasonal, Undercover Shut-Down Ale, which, by the way, is very limited. Also on the tasting card: a genuine Dunkel Weizen from Summit Brewery of St. Paul, Mn. It's similar to wheat beer, but darker with flavors of toffee and chocolate and hints of banana and clove.

Buckley’s Wine Market will be offering a sparkling wine tasting from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. on July 1, though the specific bubblies weren't specified. Their new wine tastings will be regularly scheduled from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. on Thursdays and from 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays.

Gomer's of Lenexa announced that it will be getting into the swing of things too, with a store tasting on Sunday, July 1, from 12:00 - 4:30 p.m. featuring Edna Valley Chardonnay, Solicello Moscato, A to Z Rose', Bridgeport Summer Squeeze and the new and wildly popular Bud Light's Lime-a-Rita.

Free wine tastings on the Kansas side of the Kansas City metro area this week at: Lukas Liquor Superstore, 7541 W. 119th St., Overland Park, Ks. 66213, 913-451-8030. Rimman Liquors of Lenexa, 15117 W. 87th St., Lenexa, Ks. 66219, 913-942-1604. Rimann Liquors of Prairie Village, 3917 Prairie Lane, Prairie Village Shopping Center, Prairie Village, Ks. 66208, 913-236-5311. Buckley's Wine Market, 8661 W. 135th St., Overland Park, Ks. 66223, 913-814-9463. Gomer's Lenexa, 12740 W. 87th St., Lenexa, Ks. 66215, 913-894-0600.