Georgia Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

Savannah-Chatham Metro Police arrested four people this week on charges of racketeering and forgery for allegedly spending counterfeit money. Authorities say the four spent thousands of dollars in phony bills.

WTOC has the story.

The four allegedly spent around $2,000 of counterfeit money at the Target on East Victory Drive. Police believe they then returned around $800 worth of merchandise to the Savannah Mall Target. So far all of the bills were in $20 and $50 denominations.

According to police, a Target loss prevention officer followed one of the suspect’s cars and wrote down a tag number. That information led to the arrest of Necshelle Smart, Shauawquinette Smart, Tyler Murphy and Monica Miller. The four are believed to be related.

All of the arrested individuals were given a bond except Necshelle who apparently has a prior forgery conviction. They are expected to appear in court on February 8.

Under Georgia law, forgery can lead to a 10 year sentence while racketeering can result in a five to 20 year sentence.

Our criminal defense attorneys have successfully handled numerous racketeering and forgery charges. In some counterfeit cases, individuals are recorded on videotape exchanging cash for merchandise. In other cases, a tip will point police to a home where a counterfeit operation is being conducted. Whatever the case may be, a good criminal defense attorney will explore every step of a police investigation to determine if there was probable cause to arrest an individual or search a home. If police conducted an illegal search or seizure, the evidence used against that person will generally be suppressed.

In this case, as in any other criminal case, all of the individuals charged are presumed innocent. There will need to be proof beyond a reasonable doubt to convict any of them at trial.

Our firm was hired last year to represent a Savannah man accused of being a co-conspirator in a major drug trafficking case. The alleged drug conspiracy involved 10 kilograms of cocaine that was being transported by van from Atlanta to Savannah.

After we successfully suppressed an illegal wiretap and our client's statements, prosecutors agreed to drop all charges against our client. The dismissal was filed in open court yesterday.

The case began a couple of years ago when the Chatham Counter Narcotics Team placed a wiretap on an individual accused of trafficking cocaine from Atlanta to Savannah. Based on the tap and other information, the Chatham County Sheriff’s Department pulled over a van being driven by a different individual in November 2008. Inside the van, police found 10 kilos of cocaine. Police then began arresting individuals they believed they heard on the wire tap.

Our client was one of those individuals. Police interrogated our client without ever reading him his Miranda warnings in the hopes of eliciting incriminating statements. He was then indicted for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and trafficking in cocaine. The trafficking in cocaine charge alone carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison.

We fought and won a motion to suppress the statements our client made to police during his interrogation. Under Georgia and federal law, only voluntary statements may be used against a defendant in a criminal trial. For a statement during a custodial interrogation to be voluntary, police must first give the defendant his Miranda warnings. In this case, such a warning was not given, and as a result, our client’s statements were suppressed.

Along with a Savannah criminal lawyer who represented a co-defendant, we were also able to suppress all phone conversations recorded on the wiretap.

With the wiretap and statements suppressed, the state had no evidence which linked our client to the 10 kilos of cocaine, other than the fact that our client may have known some of the alleged co-conspirators.

We were fortunate to have been successful in our pretrial motions. Drug conspiracy cases like this one can lead to very long prison sentences if the person is convicted at trial, regardless of the person's alleged role in the conspiracy.

A single-car wreck near Savannah Georgia left a 9-year-old boy dead this past weekend. The driver, James Malcolm Bell, has been charged with vehicular homicide, DUI, and reckless driving.

The Savannah Morning News has the story.

Police reported that Bell, 23, was driving a 1998 Corvette when it skidded off a road and crashed into one or more trees before becoming partly submerged. The vehicle, which only had two seats, was carrying four people at the time of the accident. None of the occupants were wearing seatbelts. The 9-year-old passenger was unresponsive at the scene and pronounced dead at Memorial University Medical center.

Bell turned himself into authorities earlier this week after being released from the hospital on Sunday evening.

His defense lawyer will likely attempt to convince a judge to release him on bond sometime this week. Under Georgia law, vehicular homicide in the first degree is a felony and carries with it a sentence of between three and 15 years. Homicide by vehicle in the second degree is a misdemeanor.

Pate & Brody is an accomplished Georgia law firm with offices in Atlanta, Macon and Madison. Our lawyers are dedicated to pursuing justice for people charged with serious crimes. We have successfully represented clients facing serious federal criminal charges and state criminal charges in courts across Georgia. Our lawyers have been recognized on the list of Georgia's "Super Lawyers", and included among Georgia's "Legal Elite" by Georgia Trend Magazine. Page Pate was recently the Chairman of the Criminal Law Section of the Atlanta Bar Association.

On Tuesday, jurors in a Chatham County courtroom heard testimony of how a Savannah man urged the killing of a convenient store clerk during an armed robbery.

The Savannah Morning News has the story.

On December 23, 2005, Vipin Patel, 65, was gunned down while working at his Kwik Way Food Mart in Garden City during an apparent armed robbery. Prosecutors believe four men entered the convenient store with the intention of robbing it while a fifth man remained outside in a getaway car. After the shooting, the getaway car ran out of gas and the men had to run from the scene on foot.

It is alleged that the shooter, 23 year-old Hector Gibson, fired his gun at the urging of 35 year-old Harry Roosevelt Newkirk. It was Newkirk’s cousin, 23 year-old Anthony Gerald Haynes, who told jurors that Newkirk instructed Gibson to shoot Patel, and that Newkirk was one of the men who had planned the robbery. Prosecutors also offered evidence showing Newkirk carrying the store’s safe out the front door immediately following the shooting.

Newkirk’s defense attorney argued that Newkirk was by himself when the other men enticed him into joining. Defense counsel also alleged that prosecutors made deals with the co-defendants in exchange for testimony against Newkirk. In fact, Haynes was able to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter in return for his testimony against Newkirk and the other men. Newkirk’s attorney also introduced evidence showing that Haynes had given conflicting statements about what had occurred.

Gibson, the shooter, was convicted of murder last year.

Pate & Brody is an accomplished Georgia law firm with offices in Atlanta, Macon and Madison. Our lawyers are dedicated to pursuing justice for people charged with serious crimes. We have successfully represented clients facing serious federal criminal charges and state criminal charges in courts across Georgia. Our lawyers have been recognized on the list of Georgia's "Super Lawyers", and included among Georgia's "Legal Elite" by Georgia Trend Magazine. Page Pate was recently the Chairman of the Criminal Law Section of the Atlanta Bar Association.

Arthur James Marshall Jr., 40, was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly swindling more then $1 million from banks. Prosecutors say Marshall used false information to obtain loans for his real estate enterprises.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution has the story here.

A grand jury in Savannah indicted Marshall last week on 22 counts including bank fraud, money laundering, and mail fraud. On Wednesday, Marshall was arrested in Miami. The indictment states that Marshall provided three banks with false information on documents to qualify for loans to buy and build on seven properties in Augusta and Evans. The documents in question included financial statements, sales contracts, and pre-approval letters. The loans were taken out in 2007 and 2008.

The indictment also alleges that Marshall deceived a mortgage lender in 2007 by using a fake buyer to apply for a loan in order to buy a home Marshall wanted. Allegedly, Marshall gave the fake buyer falsified paperwork and a down payment to carry out the fraud. Additionally, Marshall is accused of taking $100,000 from an Evans couple in 2008 who paid Marshall to build a house. Prosecutors say that Marshall did little work on the home and refused to hand over the property’s title to the couple.

Marshall is known for playing as a wide receiver for the Denver Broncos and the New York Giants from 1991 to 1996. He also played for the University of Georgia between 1988 and 1991. After his career in the NFL, Marshall moved to Augusta where he operated four real estate and construction businesses. One of his businesses, Custom Contractors and Associates, filed for bankruptcy last year after owing more than $10 million to creditors.

Marshall is expected to appear in court for his initial appearance this week.

Pate & Brody is an accomplished Georgia law firm with offices in Atlanta, Macon and Madison. Our lawyers are dedicated to pursuing justice for people charged with serious crimes. We have successfully represented clients facing serious federal criminal charges and state criminal charges in courts across Georgia. Our lawyers have been recognized on the list of Georgia's "Super Lawyers", and included among Georgia's "Legal Elite" by Georgia Trend Magazine. Page Pate was recently the Chairman of the Criminal Law Section of the Atlanta Bar Association.