January 28, 2010
Lawyer For Buju Banton Claims Entrapment In Sarasota Drug Case, Wants Paid Informant Revealed
Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT
The drug trial of reggae star Buju Banton in a federal courtroom in Tampa hasn’t begun yet but the musician’s criminal defense attorney has already begun to set up his criminal defense strategy. Banton’s lawyer has accused the government of entrapping his client in a drug deal that involved a brick of cocaine being exchanged at a police-controlled warehouse in Sarasota according to a story on TampaBay.com. He is also requesting that the identity of a paid informant central to the case be revealed.
Banton’s trial is set to begin in March and he is currently being held in a Pinellas County jail.…
January 26, 2010
Man Charged With Drug Trafficking Has Links To Pain Clinics In Tampa, St. Pete, Orlando, Lakeland and Jacksonville
Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT
A pair of men from Dunedin and Tampa have been charged with drug trafficking for supplying oxycodone to drug addicts through their pain management clinics. According to authorities as reported on TBO.com three other people have been charged and two have already pled guilty to drug distribution charges. The pair that has already pled guilty admitted to distributing morphine, oxycodone, hydrocodone and alprazolam. The drugs were allegedly dealt out of pain center clinics in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Orlando, Lakeland and Jacksonville.
On top of the charges for drug trafficking , Troy Wubbena of Tampa is being charged with cheating more than $200,000 from Medicare.…
January 26, 2010
Track Star And Former LSU Football Player Xavier Carter Arrested On Drug Charges In Tampa
Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT
The man who became the first runner since Jesse Owens to win four NCAA championships, was arrested on drug charges in Tampa on Monday. Xavier Carter was charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, carrying a concealed weapon and failure to accept a traffic citation according to TBO.com. Carter was arrested by Tampa Police near Nebraska and Fowler avenues.
According to the story, Carter has one previous arrest for carrying a gun and that came in 2008 in Gainesville. That arrest stemmed from a traffic stop where Carter was allegedly playing his car stereo too loudly. Carter is a former Palm Bay High star and appeared in a limited role on the LSU football team.…
January 12, 2010
Hillsborough County Man Arrested For Running A Marijuana Grow House
Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies uncovered a marijuana grow house in Tampa on Sunday. Deputies arrested Jose Saborit on charges of trafficking in marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, cultivation of marijuana and possession of a house to manufacture a controlled substance. The arrest took place in Tampa’s Carrollwood neighborhood.
Deputies found 55 plants that measured 4 to 5 feet in height according to a story on TampaBay.com. Hillsborough County Sheriffs also uncovered growing equipment inside the home. The only things they found outside of the drugs and paraphernalia was a sleeping cot and a few personal belongings they believe belong to the 53-year-old Saborit.…
January 6, 2010
Buju Banton Arrives In Pinellas County Jail As He Awaits Trial On Federal Drug Charges
Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT
U.S. Marshalls transported reggae star Buju Banton to a Pinellas County jail this morning where he will wait for a trial on federal drug charges. The singer is charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine. The charges stem from a drug bust in Sarasota where Banton and two other men were caught on video tape entering into a drug transaction with undercover officers according to reports and a story on TampaBay.com.
Banton’s arraignment is scheduled for Thursday in Tampa. His lawyer was quoted as saying that Banton will plead not guilty. The reggae star is nominated for a Grammy this year and is 36 years old.…
December 16, 2009
Haines City Man Charged With Three Counts Of DUI Manslaughter By Polk County Deputies
Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT
William Coe of Haines City has been charged with three counts of DUI manslaughter according to a story on TBO.com. The article cites Polk County deputies who allege Coe was driving under the influence of drugs. The police allege he was high when he crashed his Oldsmobile killing three passengers including a woman who was five-months pregnant at the time and her 11-month old baby.
The crash occurred September 15 on U.S. 27. Coe’s Oldsmobile Aero drove into the path of a minivan. He was ejected and suffered non-life threatening injuries. The only person injured in the minivan was an 18-year-old girl who suffered a broken leg.…
December 16, 2009
Tampa Courtroom Will Be Site For Cocaine Distribution Trial Of Raggae Star Buju Banton
Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT
Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton will fight charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine in a Tampa courtroom after waiving his bail hearing in a Miami federal court. The charges stem from a cocaine purchase in Sarasota last week. According to an Associated Press story, the singer and two others attempted to purchase a “large amount” of cocaine from an undercover officer. The maximum prison sentence in Florida for the drug crime could be life in prison.
According to a DEA affidavit, law enforcement officers were tipped off about the cocaine deal by a confidential informant. Banton’s attorney has proclaimed the Jamaican singer “completely innocent” of the drug charges.…
