Published Yet Again!
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Book: Goodman juror conducted drinking experiment night before guilty verdict
One of the jurors in John Goodman’s DUI-manslaughter trial who wrote a book about his experiences makes a startling revelation: He conducted an experiment the night before the Wellington polo mogul was convicted by drinking three vodkas to see how they would affect him.
Juror Dennis DeMartin of Delray Beach, who provided a copy of his book to the Sun Sentinel on Thursday, wrote that the experiment helped convince him that Goodman was guilty. The revelation comes as Goodman’s defense attorneys are seeking to have the conviction thrown out based on jury misconduct.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-john-goodman-alleged-jury-misconduct-20120503,0,3999824.story
Coconut Grove man, once accused in slaying of teacher, beats felonies again
A Coconut Grove man who beat five separate murder trials — four of them for the 1996 robbery-slaying of a Miami school teacher — prevailed again at trial on Wednesday.
Then he went on the lam.
Alphonso Gainer, accused of leading police on a dangerous high-speed car chase through Coconut Grove in December 2010, was acquitted of felonies charges. He was, however, convicted of one misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest without violence.
But Gainer never heard the verdict. As jurors deliberated, Gainer — who was free on bail —left the courthouse and vanished.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/02/2780093/coconut-grove-once-accused-in.html#storylink=cpy
New Jeresey Mom Arrested After Allegedly Taking 5 Year Old Daughter to Tanning Booth
A New Jersey woman was arrested after police said she brought her 5-year-old daughter into a tanning booth, causing the girl to suffer burns.
But 44-year-old Patricia Krentcil, who was charged with second-degree child endangerment, said her daughter was never exposed to the tanning booth’s UV rays and instead got slightly sunburned while playing outside on a warm day.
The girl’s father told NBC 4 New York his daughter told classmates at school that she “went tanning with Mommy.” He thinks a teacher overheard, inaccurately connected the girl’s sunburn to the tanning salon trip and contacted police.
Here is the link to the MSNBC article: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/02/11500434-new-jersey-mom-arrested-after-allegedly-taking-daughter-5-into-tanning-booth?lite
Feds bust three ex-NFL players on ID-theft and tax-related fraud charges
Three former National Football League players have been arrested by the FBI on federal charges in connection with an alleged scheme to steal people’s identities and file false tax returns in others’ names, according to authorities.
The three ex-NFL players charged with defrauding the federal government and ID theft are: William Joseph, a University of Miami defensive tackle drafted in the first round by the New York Giants in 2003; Michael Bennett, a University of Wisconsin running back also drafted in the first round by the Minnesota Vikings in 2001; and Louis Gachelin, a Syracuse University defensive tackle who was drafted by the New England Patriots in 2004.
Joseph and Gachelin are Miami natives; Bennett was born in Milwaukee. All three were questioned after their arrests Monday by FBI agents at the bureau’s North Miami Beach regional office. They were then transferred to the Federal Detention Center in downtown Miami for court appearances Tuesday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Dube, according to the clerk’s office. Details of the alleged scheme are expected to be disclosed in a criminal complaint to be released later Tuesday.
FBI spokesman Mike Leverock declined to comment.
As part of a related investigation, the FBI also arrested about a half-dozen other defendants Monday.
Authorities say the latest tax-related fraud case, while unique because of the ex-NFL defendants, is yet another indication of escalating identity-theft crimes in South Florida.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/30/2777317/feds-bust-three-ex-nfl-players.html#storylink=cpy
Drunken grandparents tow 7-year-old behind their SUV
A pair of grandparents are accused of drunkenly towing their 7-year-old granddaughter in a toy Hot Wheels car hitched to their SUV with two dog leashes.
Deputies charged on Sunday Paul J. Berloni, 49, with DUI and Belinda Jean Berloni, 47, with child endangerment, according to a report by heraldtribune.com.
Paul Berloni told Sarasota County deputies that his driver’s license was revoked and that he had been drinking.
Belinda Berloni, also reportedly intoxicated, said “that she understood that it was dangerous to drag a child behind the vehicle but stated they were just having fun and had been doing this all day.”
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/30/2775463/drunken-grandparents-tow-7-year.html#storylink=cpy
Zimmerman’s lawyer: Donations to website totaled $200,000
The defense lawyer for George Zimmerman said Thursday night that his client had received about $200,000 through donations to his website.
Zimmerman, a 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer in Sanford, near Orlando, fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin of Miami Gardens on Feb. 26, after confronting the teen, whom he believed to be suspicious. Trayvon was not armed.
Sanford police cited Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” self-defense law in not initially charging Zimmerman with killing Trayvon. Angela Corey, a special prosecutor appointed by Gov. Rick Scott, earlier this month charged Zimmerman with second-degree murder.
Thursday night, Zimmerman’s attorney, Mark O’Mara, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that at first he had been told that Zimmerman had two accounts: one with $700, another with about $2,000.
But while trying to shut down all of Zimmerman’s Internet presence, his client asked him what to do with his PayPal accounts.
Days before Corey filed her charges, a website called TheRealGeorgeZimmerman.com sprang up. The website, since removed, said visitors could use a PayPal link to donate money to Zimmerman.
O’Mara told Cooper that the account contained $200,000 and $204,000.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/26/2770539/zimmermans-lawyer-donations-to.html#storylink=cpy
Sanford’s city commission refuses police chief’s resignation
The Sanford City Commission refused to accept the resignation of its embattled police chief Monday, saying the law enforcement leader has a spotless record and deserves more time for the city to determine whether he bungled the Trayvon Martin probe.
A month after handing down a no-confidence vote against Chief Bill Lee, the same commission voted 3-2 to keep him on. Lee took a paid leave of absence last month after coming under fire for his handling of the investigation into Trayvon’s killing.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/23/2763913/sanfords-city-commission-will.html
Miami Beach police officer finds burglars in his South Miami home
A band of burglars messed with the wrong South Miami homeowner on Monday morning.
An off-duty Miami Beach police officer returned to his home from work to find a parked burgundy van, said South Miami police Major Rene Landa.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/23/2763735/school-on-lock-down-near-south.html#storylink=cpy