Pre-Trial Victories

capital murder - not charged State v. Murray; In 1997 Mr. Murray's wife was gunned down in front of her house as she was leaving for work. Chandler Detectives claim that because Mr. Murray wasn't present at the house he had committed the murder. After a thorough investigation (including an eye-witness from across the street who happened to be a DPS Homicide Investigator), we were able to prove Mr. Murray had nothing to do with his wife's murder. In addition, we arranged to have a civil lawsuit filed against Chandler P.D. for defamation of character.

capital murder - not charged State v. Chang; In 2001, Mr. Chang was accused of an execution style murder in which the body was found in the parking lot of the Arizona Mills Mall in Tempe. The police allege that Mr. Chang and the victim were rival rap artists and this was his motivation for committing the crime. After a thorough investigation (including DNA samples and hair samples), we were able to show that he had absolutely no connection to this crime.

vehicular manslaughter - not charged State v. Peterson; In 2004, Mr. Peterson passed out while behind the wheel of his car, subsequently jumping a curb, striking and killing a 15-year-old boy walking home from high-school. In this high-profile case we were able to show that Mr. Peterson blood sugar-level was at dangerously low levels at the time of the accident. In addition, we demonstrated that he had lost 105 pounds in the previous 120 days on the Atkins diet and that he was not under the influence of an Ambien sleeping pill which he had taken the night before.

vehicular manslaughter - not charged State v. Weaver; In 2004, in northern Arizona, Mr. Weaver was driving his logging truck back from the lumber mill when he came upon a scene of an accident on a road he had previously traveled. It was determined that three Native American men had been drunk, and one of them had laid down in the middle of the road and passed out. Apparently, he had been struck and run over by Mr. Weaver's vehicle while he was on the way to the lumber mill without Mr. Weaver's knowledge. By conducting and accident reconstruction and demonstrating that the height of his truck and lights would not have allowed him to see a body which was a mere twelve inches high in the resting position, charges were not brought against Mr. Weaver and his truck was released back to him from police impound.

vehicular manslaughter - not charged State v. Theisman; In 2004, Mr. Theisman was driving in the middle of the day when a 65-year-old man rode his bicycle directly in front of his vehicle. We were able to show that although Mr. Theisman had a small amount of a marijuana metabolite in his system, it did not contribute to the accident. Through interviews, we discovered that the 65-year-old man suffered from Alzheimer's and had gotten out of the house without his family's knowledge. The accident reconstruction proved that no person would have been able to stop their vehicle in time in order to avoid hitting this man after he road directly into traffic.

2 counts vehicular manslaughter - charges reduced State v. Connelly; Ms. Connelly was accused of traveling 80 miles per hour in a 55 mile per hour zone with barbiturates in her system when an accident occurred taking the lives of two people. We were able to show that there was a faulty drug analysis and were not barbiturates in her system. In addition, by performing an accident reconstruction, along with analyzing the "black box" (data recorder) in her vehicle, we proved that her speed was not 80 miles per hour. After numerous plea negotiations we finally obtained a plea for Negligent Homicide, which involved probation and two years of jail (with work release). Her original exposure was as high as 42 years in prison.

2 counts 2nd degree murder - charges reduced State v. Martinez; In this 2003 high-profile case, Mr. Martinez and a co-defendant were accused of drag racing down a highway with another vehicle. Mr. Martinez was accused of taking a baseball bat and striking the driver of the other vehicle as he drove down the road. We were able to show that he did not strike the other driver and that his actions were not the causal factor in the wreck. After several accident reconstructions and numerous witness interviews, his charges were reduced to an Aggravated Assault and he received 4 ½ years in prison. His original exposure was up to 44 years in prison.

bank and wire fraud - not charged U.S. v. Day; In 2001, The International Bank Mr. Day operated based in North Scottsdale suffered financial collapse. Mr. Day was accused of selling fraudulent securities and misrepresenting financial statements in regard to real estate deals. We were able to demonstrate that these issues were "civil" in nature and should be resolved by the civil courts and not through the criminal process. The amounts involved were close to 10 million dollars and no criminal charges were brought against Mr. Day.

bank and wire fraud - not charged U.S. v. Navin; In 2006, Mr. Navin, an investment broker, was accused of selling unlicensed securities. By working with the Plaintiff's attorney, we were able to liquidate all securities involved and provide the Plaintiff all of his invested money back (plus interest). This resolved the case through the civil process rather than the criminal courts. The amounts involved were close to 1 million dollars.

sexual misconduct with minor / child molest. - not charged State v. Archer; In 2006, Mr. Archer was accused by two of his teenage grand-daughters of fondling them while in the swimming pool. We were able to show that the two girls were upset with their grandfather because he would not provide them with money because he was currently in a dispute with his own daughter (their mother). Upon further investigation, Mr. Archer passed a polygraph test and both alleged victims admitted that they had made up the story because they were upset, and because their mother had pressured them.

sexual misconduct with minor / child molest. - not charged State v. Hawkins; In 2005, Mr. Hawkins was accused by his 35-year-old daughter of being molested when she was in grade school. We were able to show that his daughter was now a methamphetamine addict and was attempting to extort money from Mr. Hawkins through these allegations. No charges were brought against Mr. Hawkins (which could have resulted in a minimum of 35 to life), and his daughter was placed under investigation.

sexual misconduct with minor / child molest. - not charged State v.Constant; In 1999, Mr. Constant was accused of molesting his infant daughter. He was going through a custody battle at the time, and we had him take and pass a polygraph examination. We also were able to show (through interviewing his ex-wife's "friends") that she had indicated she was going to make up these allegations in order to gain custody. She later refused to cooperate with the police when they sought to question her about her false allegations.

sexual misconduct with minor / child molest. - not charged State v. McClain; In 2006, Mr. McClain, a juvenile correctional officer, was accused of molesting one of the inmates. We had Mr. McClain pass a polygraph, and the inmate refused to do the same when requested to do so by Detectives. It was fairly easy to show that this was a retaliatory claim by an inmate against one of his jailers. He was not charged by the Prosecutor or by a Grand Jury.

sexual misconduct w/minor / child molest. - charges reduced State v. Beck; In 2001, Mr. Beck was accused by his adopted daughter of molesting her. We were able to show that the adopted daughter was using methamphetamine and was seeking to garner money out of Mr. Beck, while also siding with her mom in a custody dispute. By interviewing her older sister, we were able to show that she had made up the allegations, and the Prosecutor agreed to dismiss the most serious charges (which carried a mandatory minimum of 65 years in prison), and plead Mr. Beck to a Furnishing Harmful Materials to a Minor. He was subsequently placed on probation and did 2 days in jail.

child pornography - not charged State v. Mark T.; Mark was at a local Walgreens pharmacy picking up film from his 5-year-old daughter's birthday party when police showed up and took him in for questioning. It had turned out that another child had obtained one of the many disposable cameras available to the children at the party and had taken photos of Mr. T's daughter's private parts. By reconstructing the height of the photographer and the angle of the camera (which showed the photographer was 3-feet tall), we were able to prove that another child had taken the photos and not Mark. He went from facing a mandatory minimum 30 years in prison to not being charged at all.

child abuse - not charged State v. Wahl; Ms. Wahl was accused of child abuse by a local day care center after she had dropped her daughter off one morning. Because Ms. Wahl had a previous conviction for child abuse, the police immediately arrested her. We were able to point out that Ms. Wahl had gotten into a dispute with the day care center owner regarding unpaid bills and that a yelling match had ensued the morning that the owner called the police. Not only did Ms. Wahl pass a polygraph, we also presented the Prosecutor with interviews of some of the day care center staff. She was not charged by the Prosecutor or by a Grand Jury.

sexual assault, kidnapping - charges dismissed State v. Russo; In 2007, Mr. Russo was accused of sexually assaulting a girl in a bar parking lot. We were able to show that, through witnesses, the girl willingly went with Mr. Russo into a parking lot vehicle and, was not kidnapped. In addition, the bar in question had a parking lot surveillance tape and the police were ordered by the Court to seize that tape. Because the police did not act for several months, the entire video system was replaced and the tape was lost forever. Motions were filed regarding the destruction of potentially exculpatory evidence, and the State dropped all charges.

misconduct with weapons - charges dismissed State v. Ladd; Mr. Ladd was charged with Misconduct involving weapons while on probation and with two prior felony convictions. His mandatory minimum exposure was 10 years in prison. One week prior to Trial beginning, we filed a Motion to Remand to the Grand Jury for a Re-determination of probable cause, along with a Motion for Failure to Provide Defense with potential exculpatory evidence. The State moved to dismiss all charges.