The Umansky Law Firm

A 27-year-old Bradenton man was charged with allegedly stealing library books from a Sarasota library last weekend. According to police, they caught him breaking into the Fruitville Public Library after it had closed. They watched him climb over a wall from the reading garden and arrested him.

The alleged thief had one book in his hand, but a dozen more were in his possession. Also found was a homemade tool used to smash a glass door pane to get into the library.

The man was charged with burglary, possession of burglary tools and criminal mischief for damage done to the library books.

Though there is no word on which library books were taken, it is highly unlikely the Fruitville Public Library contains any rare copies of books worth risking the chance of getting caught if stolen. Not to mention that these books are free, if you have a library card (also free).

The number of library books that make their way into the hands of people who then turn around and sell them on eBay or through Amazon.com is certainly a possibility. It may even be tempting to do this if you need the money. However, getting caught and charged for stealing library books carries the same weight in the eyes of the law as if you shoplifted something from a store. The consequences can affect your life for years to come.

If you have been charged with theft in Orange County or Orlando, Florida, or anywhere else in the state of Florida, please contact the experienced criminal defense attorneys at the Umansky Law Firm for an initial and free case consultation.

Last Friday, December 18, a 54-year-old man was exonerated and released from prison after 35 years. He was sentenced in 1974 for a rape he did not commit.

It all started in 1974 when a nine-year-old boy was taken from his room and raped in a nearby baseball diamond. The boy's description lead to his uncle pointing the police to 19-year-old Jim Bain, a young man with no prior criminal record, as the suspect. Bain was arrested and charged with the crime.

Beyond the obvious disgust of holding an innocent man behind bars for decades is that Bain had repeatedly asked for a DNA test on the victim's underwear over the years. Each request was denied. Finally, last July a judge granted the request. Bain's DNA did not match the suspect's, leading to last Friday's good news for Bain and his family.

Bain is the 246^th person in the country to be exonerated by DNA evidence. However, he has served longer than the others. Last year Florida passed a law that grants former inmates who are later found to be innocent $50,000 for each year they spent in prison. Bain will receive $1.75 million. While this seems like a lot of money many people will envy, look at the cost to Jim Bain's life.

If you have been charged with a crime in the state of Florida, including Orange County and Orlando, please contact the experienced criminal defense attorneys at the Umansky Law Firm. We will aggressively fight for your rights.

A 15-year-old faces a list of alleged crimes for his involvement in an incident on December 1^st. A woman claims she stopped for gas and noticed a red pickup truck with three males in it. After she left, she heard a noise, thinking there was a problem with the vehicle. She pulled over and was jumped by the three males in the pickup who took her purse. The woman then went to the hospital and called the police.

Police spotted the pickup a short time later with its headlights off. They determined the pickup was stolen. The driver then sped off after being spotted, where he ran a red light and hit a vehicle. That vehicle then collided with two others. Three people were injured in that accident.

Police caught the 15-year-old driver and arrested him. He has been charged with grand theft auto, aggravated fleeing and eluding, leaving the scene of an accident, and robbery.

These are pretty serious charges for a 15-year-old to face. Fortunately for him, he's a juvenile. If he has not been in trouble before, he may get probation or put into a first time offender program. Regardless of his alleged criminal history, he will need an experienced criminal defense attorney to help him, as well as his family understand everything that is going on.

Most people have probably grown accustomed to assuming that when teenagers do rash things and break the law that they are doomed forever to a life of crime. However, that is not the case at all. Teenagers screw up all the time; chalk it as learning life experience. Granted, most will not be charged for several serious crimes, but all teens deserve more than one chance if they've done something wrong to make amends. Many of them will go on to do great things if given the chance.

If your teenager has been charged with a crime, please contact the experienced criminal defense attorneys at the Umansky Law Firm for an initial consultation. We serve clients in Orange County and Orlando, Florida, but take cases from all over the state of Florida.

Two Sanford women called police to report a home invasion, but then changed their story when the police found drug paraphernalia. The two women, both from Georgia, changed their story when police questioned them.

According to the original complaint, the women said three men in ski masks got into their apartment through a sliding glass door, put pillows over the heads of the women and held guns to them. A computer and cell phone were stolen. When drug paraphernalia was found, the women then said two men had been cooking up narcotics and then picking up what was produced. The alleged robbers showed up later demanding drugs and then took a shoebox with cocaine in it.

Police have said the women refused to sign statements and that there is no active search on for the gunmen.

Homes and apartments are often used to manufacture and sell drugs from. However, the drug trade is notorious for double- and triple-dealing as the customer becomes the robber, or the dealer becomes the thief. It is up to the courts to decide what, if any, punishment the alleged drug dealers, drug users, and thieves get. It is the job of criminal defense lawyers to make sure these people are fairly represented and understand the charges against them.

If you have been charged with a drug offense in Orange County or Orlando, Florida, or anywhere else in the state of Florida, please contact the experienced criminal defense attorneys at the Umansky Law Firm for an initial case consultation.

As Christmas approaches, Florida Department of Law Enforcement has started a new campaign aimed at catching escaped convicts called "12 Days of Fugitives." According to the FDLE spokesman, the goal of this program is to target "the oldest and most violent fugitives that have escaped from prison." Among this group are those charged and sentenced for crimes such as drug dealing, armed robbery, and murder. According to FDLE, some of these people have been on the run for decades. And the reason they have launched this campaign, aside from brining awareness to several old cases, is that it is their belief that fugitives are more likely to try and contact their family around the holidays.

Try to imagine a life on the run and looking over your shoulder, oftentimes literally, for the rest of your days. No contact with your family and friends, trying to get by on little, and, if you're clever, changing your name and appearance enough so that law enforcement will never recognize you. Granted, many of these fugitives were facing life sentences, and escaping might have given them something other than a tiny prison cell. However, there are those who have been charged with less who actively try to get out of their situation by escaping from prison or halfway houses. When caught, the added punishment makes these alleged criminals belatedly realize it was a mistake to begin with.

If you have been charged with a crime, rather than automatically defaulting to how are you going to break out of prison, contact an experienced criminal defense attorney like those at the Umansky Law Firm. An experienced criminal defense attorney can get your sentence reduced to probation or even have the case thrown out completely. You'll be walking the streets free without having to worry about going back to prison for a long time.

If you have been charged with a crime in Orange County or Orlando, Florida, or anywhere in the state of Florida, please contact the experienced criminal defense attorneys at the Umansky Law Firm for an initial and confidential case consultation.

Brian Bonsall, who played Andy Keaton, younger brother to Michael J. Fox's Ales Keaton, on Family Ties in the '80s and then appeared in a handful of episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation in the '90s, was arrested in Boulder, Colorado for allegedly hitting his friend in the face with a broken stool. He now faces a third-degree assault charge for this incident. Bonsall was also charged with failure-to-appear stemming from a 2007 assault on his girlfriend. It was reported that Bonsall is being held on two bonds totaling $7500 and will be in court to address the warrant on Wednesday, December 9.

According to the arrest report, Bonsall and his friend were arguing before Bonsall allegedly assaulted the friend. That friend still claims Bonsall as his best friend and didn't want to discuss the incident with the media. However, media reports claim the friend was recovering from a concussion Monday, December, 7.

Bonsall allegedly told investigators he does not remember much of the night because he and his friend were drinking heavily. He also claimed he and the friend he attacked are bipolar and that they both like to do drugs. Bonsall allegedly claimed when he does drugs that he forgets things.

Bonsall has been arrested in the past for underage drinking and driving under the influence.

If you have been charged with assault, you need to have someone in your corner who understands the law. If you live in Orange County or Orlando, Florida, or anywhere else in the state of Florida, please contact the experienced criminal defense attorneys at the Umansky Law Firm for an initial consultation.

Ronnie Wood, guitarist for the Rolling Stones, was arrested for allegedly assaulting his 20-year-old girlfriend, and Russian model, in Esher, England yesterday. His spokesman has confirmed there was "an incident" Wednesday night. Police aren't saying much since the incident is still under investigation, nor would they say who called the police to make the complaint. However, they did say a 62-year-old man was taken into custody under suspicion of assault in connection with a domestic dispute on a popular commercial street called Claygate High Street.

Wood divorced his wife of 24 years last year when his adultery came to light. He was also treated for alcoholism in 2008.

Granted most of us will never know the pressures an aging guitarist in one of the world's most popular bands feels on a daily basis, but this doesn't mean some don't understand how problems in a relationship can boil over into events best left in a country, or perhaps an English classic rock, song. Human nature is human nature, and we make mistakes.

Domestic assault can do more than ruin your relationship. Being arrested and charged can affect your standing among your family, friends, and community, and negatively impact you financially. You may also face prison time. One thing you can do is to consider the consequences of your actions, even in the heat of the moment. Another thing you can do is contact an experienced domestic violence defense attorney to help guide you through the legal part of your case.

If you are in the Orange County or Orlando, Florida area, or anywhere else in the state of Florida, and have been charged with domestic violence, please contact the experienced domestic violence defense attorneys at the Umansky Law Firm for an initial case consultation.

Omaha, Nebraska investigators are currently looking for two couples who allegedly stole over 100 bras from a Victoria's Secret inside a shopping mall last week. Employees didn't realize the items were missing until last Friday, but investigators believe the crime happened last Wednesday. Police are looking at mall surveillance cameras for more clues, but have determined the alleged thieves came into the store empty handed and left with bags full of bras. Management says that the stolen merchandise is valued at over $5000.

Questions to consider here are how did these people get bags full of bras out of the store under the noses of employees, out of the mall, and to their vehicle without being spotted? Why wasn't the alleged crime discovered Wednesday night rather than Friday (remember, last Thursday was Thanksgiving)? Finally, what will be seen on those surveillance tapes?

Video cameras are everywhere these days. Lots of people who have committed crimes are caught when they show up on surveillance footage. While burglaries and shoplifting continue to occur, it is getting more difficult to get away with it due to cameras. However, the surveillance footage ensnares the innocent as well as those who allegedly break the law. Grainy video is obviously no substitute for seeing someone do something in the flesh. If you have been charged with shoplifting, an experienced defense attorney may raise enough doubt in the mind of the jury that the person seen on the video could be someone else.

If you have been charged with theft in the Orange County or Orlando, Florida area, or anywhere in the state of Florida, please contact the experienced criminal defense attorneys at the Umansky Law Firm for a free initial consultation today.