The most recent example of this is the recent drug bust made in the Waterboro area of the town of Alfred.   Participants of the raid included officers from both the county and federal level.  According to the York County Sheriff’s Office, it turned into one of the largest pot busts in the county’s history.  Considering the fact that it was all an indoor grow, the resulting stash that they encountered was enormous.

According to Sheriff Mo Oulette, it was the biggest drug bust of his career.  During his 39 years of police service he had been involved in numerous drug busts, but never any of this magnitude.

The series of events leading up to the monumental bust began a week prior to the final raid.   A combination of officers from the DEA task force, sheriff’s department and drug enforcement agents raided a Waterboro residence after they had received information pertaining to the cultivation and distribution of pot.  What they found inside was a complete marijuana growing operation.  One suspect, John Pond, was taken into custody.  Two pounds of processed pot and 184 marijuana plants were confiscated..

But that was only the beginning.  The raid led to information concerning a much bigger growing operation.  The following night, a raid was made on both a warehouse in Waterboro and a residence in Lyman.  Both properties belonged to the same man, Robert Ryder.  Ryder, 51, a well-known local businessman, is the owner of Ryder Construction.  This raid yielded more than 800 plants and another 5 pounds of processed pot.

When the contents of both raids were tallied together, there were nearly 1,000 marijuana plants, with an estimated value of $400,000 dollars.  Police were happy to remove such a massive amount of illegal product off of the city’s streets.

Pond was later released on bail.  Ryder, however, was held on $25,000 bail.

Although these individuals were caught red-handed, there are times when guilt isn’t so obvious.  If you happen to be the victim of an erroneous accusation, you need an attorney who will fight to prove your innocence.

Having the right attorney in your corner can not only work to help you to clear your name, but they can make sure that your life isn’t impacted by a false charge.  With information so freely available from so many outlets, it only takes one mistake in character to severely damage your life, your finances and your reputation.

Let an experienced attorney work to clear your name and to give you back your positive status in the community.  People may forgive, but they rarely forget.  That’s why you can’t take the chance that your reputation will bounce back on it’s own.

One unnerving example of just how easily things can escalate out of control is the recent incident involving a teen who brought a handgun to his Kittery school, Traip Academy.

According to police reports, the boy, a 14-year-old freshman, was discovered showing the gun to other students.  Reports state that the gun was unloaded and was never used in a threatening manner to anyone.  Still, considering the history of school shootings across the country in recent years, as well as the severe nature of the act, the threat was taken very seriously.

Although police received the call at around 7 AM on Tuesday, the school was not officially notified until a concerned parent contacted them about the incident on Wednesday night after school had been released for the day.

Investigators from the Kittery Police Department were then assigned to work alongside school officials in order to verify whether or not the incident actually occurred.  It was later verified that the student did, in fact, bring the weapon to school.

The student was charged with a criminal offense, possessing a firearm on school property, which will be handled in the Juvenile Court System.  Since the boy is a minor, police are not at liberty to release his name.

A 90-minute disciplinary hearing was later held.  On the following Monday, the Kittery School Committee voted unanimously to expel the boy for the incident.  Members of the School Committee have hinted that conducting a public forum on gun ownership would be a good idea.

According to school records, the boy is no longer a student at Traip Academy.  The school district has also admitted that they are no longer responsible for his education.

Even though this incident fortunately turned out to simply be a case of bad judgment, that might not always be the case.  Anytime your child attends school, they are still subjected to the actions of other students.  When those actions threaten the safety of your child, you have to be in a position to protect them at whatever the cost.

If your child has been threatened or injured at the hands of another student while at school, you have the right to seek protection from the law.  Compensation for physical injuries, as well as emotional ones, is acceptable and just.  Making sure that you are given access to these entitlements is something that an attorney can help you obtain.

An attorney will keep your family’s best interest at heart and get you what you deserve so that your child does not have to suffer needlessly.  Having an experienced attorney on your side will help you to get over the incident and allow you become better equipped to put the past behind you.

A historic building in Standish is proof of that.  Recently, an intoxicated driver lost control of his car and drove it through the wall of the home.

According to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, Abraham Gammon, 39, was intoxicated when he stole a 2003 Subaru Legacy from the Cape Elizabeth area.  While driving around Standish later that day, he lost control of the vehicle, left the road and crossed two lanes of oncoming traffic before running into the historic Marrett House at approximately 6:30 PM.

Gammon was out of jail on probation at the time of the incident.

Once police arrived on the scene, Gammon was arrested and received multiple charges including driving while under the influence, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and aggravated criminal mischief.

He was taken by ambulance to Maine Medical Center and treated for injuries before being taken to jail.  Since this criminal act violated his probation status, no bail was set.

According to the Portland and Biddeford court systems, Gammon is also wanted there for a total of five different warrants.  The warrants include refusing to submit to arrest, unpaid court costs and having his probation revoked due to a laundry list of additional charges including theft, forgery and burglary.

Gammon also faces additional charges from Cape Elizabeth that will also be forthcoming.

Police say the car was a total loss while the home sustained significant damage.  Officials have established a temporary cover to prevent the structure from suffering any additional abuse from the elements until adequate repairs can be made.

According to the Historic New England website, the Marrett House dates all the way back to 1796 when it was purchased by Daniel Marrett, a recent graduate of Harvard.  Marrett had moved to Standish to become the town minister.  For the next one hundred and fifty years, the residence became the home for three generations of the Marrett family.

Protecting the things that we treasure most  is almost as important as protecting our family.  Unfortunately, it is often difficult to place a sentimental and a dollar figure on belongings.  This is when you need the services of an attorney.

An experienced attorney can help you recover losses due to the negligent actions of others.  Without their help, you risk losing out on recovering what you deserve, and need, to make your property whole again.  When historic homes are at stake, you can’t afford to risk taking unnecessary chances.  Nor can you risk being stuck with a large repair bill.  The costs of rebuilding, both monetarily and emotionally, can be too great to bear.  Your attorney can help protect you and your property from financial heartache by recovering what is owed to you so that your family’s legacy can be carried on.

One such case involving arson has taken over the news in Naugatuck, Connecticut.  But this case differs from most because of the suspect involved.  Police say that this particular case is due to the actions of an unlikely suspect- a 75-year-old woman.

Raenn Goss was a tenant in the home of Manuel Nobre.  According to police reports, Goss was being evicted for failing to pay rent for several months.  Court documents show that she had a gambling problem.

When the time came to move, Goss enlisted the help of friends from her church to help her remove her belongings from the home.  After most of her belongings had been removed from the residence, she then set fire to a mattress in the bedroom.  Goss’ son was standing with her in the kitchen when he noticed smoke coming from her bedroom.  When he entered the room, the entire bedroom was engulfed in flames.

Nobre, who lives on the second floor of the residence was at home with his wife when the fire broke out.  Fortunately, both Nobre and his wife escaped unharmed.

Nobre was not only shocked at Goss’ retaliation over the eviction, but also by her claims.  As Goss passed by Nobre while she was being led away by police, she said that he (Nobre) was to blame for the entire incident and that he deserved what happened.

Goss originally denied accusations that she deliberately set the fire saying that she might have inadvertently dropped a lit cigarette.  But eventually, police say that Goss admitted to intentionally setting fire to the curtains.

Meanwhile, an investigation by fire officials may uncover more of the story.  They believe that an accelerant was used on the mattress to start the fire.

Goss was transported to jail and booked on charges including first-degree arson, first-degree reckless endangerment and first-degree criminal mischief.  After appearing before a judge, her bond was set at $100,000.  She currently remains behind bars awaiting trial.

If your property has been damaged or destroyed by arson, you need to speak to an attorney to see what your options are.  The costs related to replacing your belongings and rebuilding can be astronomical.  Even if insurance does manage to cover the losses, you could potentially lose your coverage as a result of the claim.  At the very least, you risk having your premiums go up dramatically.  At that point, you could be considered a high-risk to other carriers, as well.

You should not have to pay because of the destructive act of an arsonist.  Having an experienced attorney in your corner means that the guilty party can be brought to justice.  This will help not only protect you, but it will also protect others who might fall victim to this despicable act.

Anyone indicted for a criminal charge in the United States is supposedly presumed innocent until proven guilty.  This is to protect citizens (and non-citizens but that’s a different topic for another day) from being falsely imprisoned as people were for eons past.  Furthermore, jurors are asked to err on the side of caution with their verdict decisions, setting a defendant free if there is any reasonable doubt of their innocence.  Tyler Clementi already sacrificed his own life; tragically incapable of coping with his family, roommate, and society’s disapproving view of his sexual orientation. Dharun Ravi was slaughtered at the altar like a sacrificial lamb by prosecuting attorneys who were eager to scapegoat him as the embodiment of all that is trendily evil.

The 19 year old Rutgers freshman was convicted of six charges: bias intimidation, witness tampering, invasion of privacy, tampering with physical evidence, and hindering prosecution.  Despite living in the United States his entire life, Ravi faces deportation and a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Dharun Ravi is not a saint by any means.  He violated his roommate’s privacy, and is clearly guilty of invasion of privacy by his own admission.  However, Ravi claims henever felt ill will toward gays, and that he has many friends who are gay.  The bias intimidation (bullying) verdict came as a shock to Ravi, who claims he never tried to intimidate or harm Clementi.  He didn’t take a plea deal, expecting to be found innocent of all but the invasion of privacy charge.  He refused to plead guilty to bias intimidation as part of the agreement in the plea deal and now faces hard time in the big house. His criminal defense lawyers looked appalled as the verdicts were read to the court, and Ravi stood as though paralyzed from shock.
The guilty verdicts in the Dharun Ravi case shocked many people, while others felt it was a just ending to the case.  Still others believe Ravi should face more severe charges because they believe he was the direct cause of his roommate’s suicide.

Dharun Ravi made many mistakes and is guilty of being a bad roommate, exploiting Clementi’s sexual orientation, and failing to communicate with a peer that was troubled and shy.  His arrogance during the proceedings of the hearings probably helped jurors justify the guilty verdicts, as many longed for closure and martyrdom in this highly publicized case.

Dharun Ravi’s criminal defense attorneys could not save him from the ten years in prison he now faces.  A jury of his peers already decided his fate, and down the drain goes another young man’s future.

Our hearts go out to Tyler Clementi’s friends and family, who are suffering unimaginable pain from his untimely death.  Bullying someone because of their sexual orientation, race, religion, or culture is inexcusable and legislation continues to develop for victims of bias intimidation.
If you are in need of a Family Lawyer in Houston, call Frank E. Mann or visit http://www.mannfamilylaw.com for help with your case.

Such is the case with the Linda Dolloff trial which took place in Portland. What starter out as a reported home invasion that resulted in the beating of a man and the shooting of his wife has taken a change in direction. Now, Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that the crime were the actions of one of the alleged victims.

On April 12, 2009, police received a report of a home invasion involving a husband who was beaten while he slept and his wife being shot. But during the investigation, police uncovered clues which led them to believe that the crime might have been due to the actions of the wife, yoga instructor Linda Dolloff. Although Dolloff stuck to her story, police didn’t buy it.

Subsequently, Dolloff was charged with attempted murder, elevated aggravated assault and filing of a false police report. Police allege that Dolloff beat her husband in the head with a baseball bat while he was sleeping, almost killing him and leaving him severely injured for life. They say that she then shot herself in the hip, after which she called 911 to report the crime, alleging that the attack was the result of a home invasion.

The couple were in the midst of a divorce at the time of the crime.

Dolloff was convicted on the charges and is currently serving a 16-year sentence. Her attorneys have since appealed, alleging that she was denied a fair trial. They list a number of violations of her rights, including personal attacks against one of Dolloff’s attorneys, Daniel Lilley. Dolloff’s appeal also states that personal opinion, and not actual evidence, were the basis of the case brought by Cumberland Court District Attorney Stephanie Anderson.

Even the credibility of the family dog was included as a potential “witness”. On the tape of the 9-1-1 call, the Dolloff’s dog can be heard whimpering in the background. Prosecutors’ speculate that the sound was being made by an animal distraught over what one owner had done to the other. The defense claims that it was the sound of sympathy over the home invasion and attacks.

If you, or someone you love, has been a victim of the savage, violent acts of another person, it is up to you to seek the compensation that you deserve. When your life has been altered or the quality diminished at the hands of someone else, you should not have to suffer needlessly or face mounting medical costs. Just as the law is designed to protect the innocent, attorneys are there to enforce it.

When an individual is responsible for changing the outlook of your life, they should be held responsible for their actions An attorney can help you get what you deserve so that you can adequately put your life back together.

If the technology already exists and laws requiring its use would save lives, what reasonable person would disagree with the law’s passage? Car makers seldom rejoice over new legislation requiring more action or accountability. However, none have publicly exercised resistance to the new proposition. Although laws requiring rearview cameras may cost car makers more, the mass production, installation, and slight adjustments made to their overall price tag help minimize any unsavory feelings toward the NHTSA’s proposition. Car makers are in fact human just like everyone else, and do not often disagree with adjustments that make cars safer.

Unfortunately a large percentage of back rollover injuries and deaths are suffered by small children. Young children are simply too short to be spotted through a vehicle’s back window, and blind spots in rearview mirrors can hide their tiny frames. All too many times distracted family members have driven over their own children or siblings. The new law would reduce the frequency of these devastating back rollover accidents by simply requiring car makers to install technology that was developed over a decade ago.

Unfortunately legislators are stalling the passage of this law, one which would save hundreds of lives at a nominal cost. Of course rearview cameras cannot guarantee that drivers will not harm someone in a rollover accident or cause some other form of car accident injury. However, the installation of these cameras gives drivers one more tool in their safe driving arsenal.

There is another alternative for increasing backward driving safety and reducing preventable injuries. Back up sensors and side sensors alert the driver when they reach a dangerous proximity to an object or person. Backup sensors have been around a long time as well and are standard in many vehicles in Europe. Although they are currently available on some models, many car makers do not include them as standard options. Laws requiring car makers to include backup sensors would help reduce the amount of back rollover injuries and deaths as well.

While many find it frustrating that proposed laws as well-intentioned and simple as this one encounter road blocks in legislation, at least the ball is rolling in the right direction. Because the NHTSA brought this proposal into public light, many supporters will continue to advocate for the cause. Hopefully legislators and car makers will come to an agreement in the near future and implement this much needed law. Let’s just hope that no more preventable accident injuries or rollover deaths occur in the interim.

Guest post by Robert Simmons, a practicing attorney in Texas. If you or someone has been injured and in need of a Houston Car Accident Attorney please visit www.simmonsandfletcher.com for more information.

The nation is torn into two segments; those who think Zimmerman had the right to shoot young Trayvon and those who think it was a rationally motivated murder.  The Martin family attorney is filing suit. Still mourning the death of their beloved son, they are livid with local law enforcement for how they handled the evidence and their alleged failure to indict Zimmerman immediately.  On the other side of the argument are those who vehemently believe that Zimmerman felt threatened and had the right to protect himself.

This case has all the makings of a police crime drama: guns, death, the possibility of public lynching, allegations of a police cover-up, riots, racial profiling, and Zimmerman is even the son of a judge.  However, the death of Trayvon Martin is fact, and the uncertain fate of Zimmerman is real.

Recordings of a man screaming for help are being compared to Zimmerman’s voice to indicate whether there is a possibility that he was in fact in real danger.  However, there must be at least ten words compared between the two tapes to legally make the findings of the voice analysis valid.  Further still, the recordings may not even be admissible in court as evidence.

Martin is already dead, and some extremists even called for the public lynching of Zimmerman.  While the level of passion people feel for either side of this case is justified and understandable, calling for the death of another human being does not ameliorate the situation.  Two wrongs don’t make a right.

Some believe Trayvon was gunned down intentionally and without provocation because of his race.  Only time will tell if these allegations are true, but we’re hoping optimistically that another life was not taken because of such a trivial difference.  To this argument, opponents argue that Zimmerman himself is Hispanic and does not harbor racial bigotry.

Trayvon’s untimely death incited riots across the country and piqued the interest of regular people worldwide.  The mysterious angles of this case provoke exactly the intrigue that inspired many people to go to law school and become attorneys.  So many unanswered questions remain in the minds of Trayvon’s family, the American public, and the investigators involved in the case.  The fact is only Zimmerman knows exactly what happened.  Our hope is that the trial is carried out fairly and ethically, and that Trayvon’s family and friends find peace.

Guest blog by Nora V. Law, a practicing attorney in Texas. If you or someone you know is in need of a Houston family attorney please visit http://www.vlawattorney.com for more information.

Driving under influence (DUI) or driving while intoxicated (DWI) is a constant headache of traffic enforcers worldwide and particularly in the United States of America. This is a traffic violation wherein a driver of a motor vehicle has alcohol in his blood levels that are beyond the legal amount allowed.

The police are always in hot pursuit against people who are committing DUI or DWI because they are easy causes of road accidents and mishaps. However they can’t just go accusing people that they are drunk driving. They need scientific proof and this has been the role played to perfection by the Intoxilyzer 5000.

The Intoxilyzer 5000 in a Nutshell

The Intoxilyzer 5000 or fondly called by the police as the breathalyzer is a device which tests the quality of breath of people and determines whether their alcohol levels in their blood streams are off the charts. This effectively ends all arguments about the state of intoxication of a person because of its scientific and objective data.

For over 25 years, the Intoxilyzer 5000 has helped law enforcement agencies track down potential traffic accidents waiting to happen by nipping intoxicated drivers in the bud before they cause any more damages or deaths.

The Science behind the Breathalyzer

The Intoxilyzer 5000 uses infrared spectrometry to immediately identify the quality and alcoholic content of a person’s breath. The suspected intoxicated driver will be requested to blow their breath into the tube as this leads to the breath chamber cylinder.

The infrared light within the device will cause the molecules of alcohol to vibrate or to absorb light. To maintain the credibility of its results, filter wheel are located inside the breathalyzer to screen out possible contaminants.

If you have been confused by the term spectrometry, it describes a branch of science which tackles the infrared region of the electromagnetic light spectrum. We’re more interested in the infrared region because it has a heating capacity although it is invisible to the naked eye. When the infrared beam is passed through a certain specific breath sample, the Intoxilyzer 5000 will try to judge if the energy of the breath is faster than the usual. Alcohol has the capability to excite molecules.

Similarly, a person with a fever may also have an accidental higher breath test. So it is important to closely coordinate with the police about your situation.

Aid to Law Enforcement and Judicial Situations

The Intoxilyzer 5000 has been a trusty ally of the police force and even the courts because of its impeccable accuracy with its objective data. The data from this device is admissible as evidence in criminal courts. This is an important aspect of this device because it helps solve petty traffic incidents more efficiently and fairly.

The Breathalyzer is being utilized by over 20 states in the United States of America and even in Canada. With its dimensions of over 19 inches wide, 17.35 deep and 5.75 high, the Intoxilyzer 5000 is very portable. It also weighs approximately thirty pounds.

If you are suspected of drunk driving or OUI in the state of Maine and need a Maine DUI Lawyer, call Matt Nichols or John Webb at Nichols, Webb & Loranger for help with your case.