Aggravated Battery

An Englewood man was charged with Aggravated Battery for stabbing two men in a bar room fight on Superbowl Sunday.  One man was seriously injured with a severe knife wound on his neck.  Without immediate medical attention he would have died.  The best offer from the State Attorney was 10 years.  The client elected to turn down the offer and wanted Mr. Lee to represent him at a Jury Trial.  The Defense was self-defense, which was challenging, as the only person armed was Mr. Lee’s client.  Extensive trial preparation revealed witnesses who saw the victim attack the accused.  Mr. Lee was able to convince the jury there was reasonable doubt as to his client’s guilt.  The jury found him Not Guilty.  Mr. Lee’s client left the courtroom a free man

Homicide

A Sarasota man was accused of Murder for beating his wife to death.  He was facing life in prison.  Trial preparation revealed the Sheriff’s Office crime scene work was sloppy and the case was largely circumstantial.  Mr. Lee used his extensive experience, trying homicide cases, to poke holes in the States case during the trial.  He pointed out to the jury the State failed to prove what happened, where it happened, why it happened and who did it.  The jury found the client Not Guilty.  His client was a free man.

DUI – Driving Under the Influence

A Sarasota man was arrested for DUI.  He was stopped after driving on the wrong side of US 301 at 2:45 AM.  He smelled of alcohol and failed all roadside sobriety tests.  He later refused the breath test at the jail.  It was the accused second DUI so he was facing a substantial jail sentence if convicted.  At trial, Mr. Lee pointed out that his client was from a country that drove on the left side of the road.  His client suffered from acute anxiety attacks, which explained his poor performance on the sobriety tests and refusal to take the breath test.  A jury of his peers found him Not Guilty.

DUI

A Sarasota man was arrested for DUI.  He was stopped after the arresting officer observed him weaving at 3:00 AM.  He was ordered out of his vehicle, failed the sobriety tests and took the breath test.  His breath was over twice the legal limit.  Mr. Lee challenged the stop and subsequent illegal seizure, by filing a Suppression Motion.  The motion was granted and all charges were Dismissed.

Drug Trafficking

Police stopped a Bradenton man for having a burnt out tail light.  Subsequently the police learned that his driver’s license was suspended.  He was arrested for Driving on a Suspended License and his car was searched.  Inside his car was found 121 grams of cocaine.  He was then charged also with Trafficking in Cocaine and was looking at between three to thirty years.  Mr. Lee with his extensive experience in search and seizure law, realized the stop was invalid after taking depositions of the arresting officers.  Mr. Lee filed a Suppression Motion demanding all evidence seized as a result of this illegal stop be suppressed.  The motion was granted and all charges were Dismissed.