Posted on February 02, 2020 in Uncategorized

There is nothing new or novel about the crime of money laundering. For years, federal authorities have aggressively pursued attempts to conceal the illegal origin of money by those who obtain it. What is new, however, is the use of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to facilitate these illegal transactions.

In recent years, Bitcoin has become a popular avenue for money laundering. State and federal authorities appear to be taking steps to pursue those exploiting the anonymous nature of cryptocurrencies for this purpose. In 2019, New York made its first arrests for funneling millions of dollars in illegal steroid sales through Bitcoin before exchanging it for dollars.

What is Bitcoin?

To understand how Bitcoin could be used for money laundering, it is first helpful to understand how Bitcoin operates. Created in 2008 by an unknown person or group of people, Bitcoin rose to prominence as a decentralized digital currency. Transferring Bitcoin can be done using peer-to-peer networks, making the use of intermediaries like banks unnecessary.

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 Posted on January 01, 2020 in Uncategorized

After more than five months of litigation, WWE Superstar Jimmy Uso (real name: Joshua Fatu) was acquitted of driving while intoxicated charges in Escambia County, Florida. The trial followed an arrest outside of Pensacola, Florida on July 25, 2019.

Prior History

This marks a string of close calls for Uso, as this arrest was his third for DWI. To date, he has yet to be convicted of any of those charges. His previous arrests occurred in 2011 and 2013, all in the state of Florida.

These do not account for all of Uso's arrests. In February of 2019, he was also arrested in the Detroit area following an altercation with police during a traffic stop. Video of the stop shows Uso getting out of the vehicle driven by his wife after police asked to speak with her outside of the vehicle. Uso approached them aggressively and refused to heed their orders. Eventually, he complied after officers pulled their tasers.

In that incident, Uso was charged with disorderly conduct among other charges. He eventually pled no contest to a lesser charge and paid a fine. Jimmy's twin brother, Jey Uso, is also no stranger to these types of chargers. He was arrested for DWI in Texas in January of 2018.

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 Posted on January 01, 2020 in Uncategorized

Breathalyzers, a/k/a breath test machines, are known for inaccurate reporting. The equipment must be calibrated on a regular basis and the test must be administered appropriately but mistakes are often made. Even then, when no errors are present, the devices can still return a false positive.

Compounding this problem is now accusations of fraud, but not by persons you would think, like persons who have been charged with DWI due to faulty breathalyzers. Making the claims of fraud is the Michigan State Police Department.

This particular story doesn't take place in Houston or even Texas for that matter, but it still serves as a reminder that just because a breathalyzer renders a result indicating you are illegally intoxicated does not mean that it is true but does mean you should fight the DWI charge.

Police in Michigan Blame Fraud for Hundreds of Defective Breathalyzers

Lansing, Michigan and the surrounding area has the highest rate of DWI arrests and convictions in the state. By far, the majority of those cases have been built on breathalyzer test results that indicate a driver was intoxicated. Now, the state has accused the company contracted to test and calibrate these machines with fraud – and taken more than 200 of the breathalyzers out of service. Questions remain about how many of the thousands of arrests resulting from these breath tests were built on false readings.

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 Posted on January 01, 2020 in Uncategorized

In the early morning hours of New Years' Day 2020, a Bryan, Texas woman was placed under arrest for driving while intoxicated. The arrest occurred after her vehicle was discovered to have crashed through the side of a house. When the police arrived on the scene, the woman was still behind the wheel.

According to media reports, 61-year-old Deborah Lockledge was both the owner of the vehicle and behind the wheel at the time of the crash. She was alone in the car when the police arrived.

The police report states Lockledge claimed to have fallen ill while driving. She attempted to pull over to the side of the road but lost control of the vehicle, slamming into the side of a home on Carter Creek Parkway in Bryan. The car smashed through the wall and into the home, but no one inside suffered injuries.

Suspicion of DWI

According to the police report, law enforcement suspected intoxication immediately. Ms. Lockledge admitted to having a glass of wine shortly before midnight before heading home. The responding officers reported she seemed disoriented, could not remember what happened, and struggled to provide identification. (But remember, after a crash like this, you are bound to be disoriented and confused.)

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 Posted on January 01, 2020 in Uncategorized

Drivers accused of a DWI in Houston typically learn two important things during their initial consultation with a DWI defense attorney. The first is that a DWI charge carries steep maximum penalties. The second is that in many cases, it is possible to avoid serving anything close to the maximum penalties if convicted. A Brazos County man recently learned that leniency is never guaranteed.

On January 8, 2020, the Brazos County District Attorney's Office announced a guilty plea for DWI was entered by 58-year-old Charles Dutcher. Under the terms of the plea bargain, the court sentenced Dutcher to 25 years in state prison. This DWI conviction marks Dutcher's 6^th DWI arrest over the course of his life. His arrests stretch back to 1995, with his most recent DWI conviction coming in 2011.

The arrest that led to this guilty plea stemmed from a brief police chase in April 2017. According to the police report, Brazos County sheriff's deputies noticed Dutcher driving with a defective tail light. The report reflects that Dutcher fled after the deputies attempted to pull him over. Dutcher reportedly accelerated to more than 100 miles per hour, even driving on the wrong side of the road to avoid capture. Dutcher ran several stop signs before law enforcement cornered him on a dead-end road. The police report went on to say that the deputies subdued him by force after he refused to cooperate.

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 Posted on January 01, 2020 in Uncategorized

A typical arrest for driving while intoxicated involves a law enforcement officer pulling a driver over and concluding the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. That is not always the case, however. On the afternoon of January 21, 2020, a New York man was arrested and charged with DWI while sleeping in a parked car.

Police in Lake Luzerne, New York, responded to complaints of a reckless driver in the late afternoon hours of January 21. The callers reported a driver weaving in traffic and traveling in the opposite lane. The caller was able to describe the car and driver, which led police to track down 53-year-old John V. Mattison parked in front of a nearby private residence.

According to the police report, when officers approached the vehicle, Mattison was asleep behind the wheel. When the police roused Mattison, they immediately suspected that he was under the influence of alcohol. Ultimately, law enforcement placed Mattison under arrest for DWI and transported him to jail. In custody, a breath sample reflected that Mattison's blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was 0.22 percent. This is close to three times the legal limit in the State of New York.

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 Posted on January 01, 2020 in Uncategorized

Most drivers are familiar with the standardized field sobriety tests. Individually, these tests include the walk-and-turn, the one-legged stand, and horizontal gaze nystagmus tests. These tests are problematic under the best circumstances even when just used to detect alcohol intoxication, but they have no scientific basis or validity for testing for drugs.

As states steadily move toward legalizing marijuana, law enforcement faces additional issues with field sobriety testing. The standardized field sobriety tests were created with alcohol in mind and are of limited use when marijuana is suspected. Another, non-standardized, field sobriety test that some law enforcement agencies are turning to with marijuana DWI cases is known as the Romberg Balance Test.

Understanding the Modified Romberg Balance Test

The first thing to note about the Romberg Balance Test is that its purpose is not to measure a person's balance. The Romberg Test requires a person suspected of DWI to:

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 Posted on January 01, 2020 in Uncategorized

If you have been arrested under suspicion of driving while intoxicated in Houston, you probably have plenty of concerns running through your head. How will this affect your job? Is it possible to defeat a DWI charge? Are the penalties steeper in Harris County? One question that you might struggle to find an answer for is whether possessing a handgun at the time of your arrest will impact your case.

Texas gun laws allow you to carry in a variety of ways. However, the violation of these laws could result in their own criminal charges. While it is true that having a gun in your possession at the time of your DWI arrest could have far-reaching consequences, it will not directly impact your DWI case.

It is important that you understand your rights in these situations. To ensure you are well-informed, it could benefit you to discuss your options with a skilled defense attorney. Attorney Doug Murphy has an extensive background in defending the rights of those accused of DWI. What's more, he could advise you on how a DWI case could impact your right to own guns in the future.

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 Posted on January 01, 2020 in Uncategorized

It is no secret that the vast majority of arrests for driving while intoxicated (DWI) in Houston occur during traffic stops. Typically, police officers will pull over a suspect for some sort of moving violation or infraction. This could include anything from speeding to driving with expired tags. If the officer at the traffic stop suspects the driver is intoxicated, they normally investigate the case and make an arrest immediately.

However, a driver that makes it home after drinking and driving may not necessarily be in the clear. While rare, it is possible for the police to arrest you for DWI in Houston after the fact. This is most likely following an accident where the suspected driver left the scene.

While these charges are possible, they are difficult for the state to prove. An arrest after the fact will not have a breath, blood, or urine test to rely on. In many cases, the prosecutor could have a difficult time even proving a person was driving, let alone intoxicated while doing so. If you have been charged after the fact with DWI in Houston, let attorney Doug Murphy evaluate the strength of the charges against you.

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 Posted on January 01, 2020 in Uncategorized

The typical Houston DWI arrest follows a similar pattern. First, you are pulled over by the police while driving down a public roadway. This can be for any moving violation or suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Next, the police investigate you. If they decide you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, they will place you under arrest.

What happens if you were never driving on a public roadway in the first place? Unfortunately, in many cases, the police may still arrest you under suspicion of DWI.

DWI Standard in Texas

The charge of DWI is governed by Texas Penal Code § 49.04. According to the statute, a person commits DWI when they operate a motor vehicle in a public place while intoxicated.

The statute does not define what makes a public place. However, years of court decisions have helped narrow down whether or not a person is in public, or whether the general public has access. This is a sticking point for some DWI cases, so discussing it in detail with a Board Certified DWI attorney could be in your best interest.

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