Charge Reduced
Aggravated Battery and Possession of a Firearm
CF 9282: Mr. Miller's client was arrested and charged by Information with Aggravated Battery and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. The initial offer on this case by the Sate Attorney's Office was Twenty (20) years in prison. Because an active warrant was issued for the client, Mr. Miller contacted the Sarasota Sheriff's Office and worked out a date and time for the client to turn himself in without embarrassment. The client was able to bond out within a few hours of the arrest. Because this case was difficult and the prosecutor listed many people alleged to have seen the shooting, Mr. Miller enlisted the help of a private investigator (A retired Police Detective) to help him mount a defense. The investigator spoke with witnesses, found other witnesses the police either ignored or did not know about, and reviewed the crime scene to take measurements, photographs, and review the forensic expert's ballistic results. Mr. Miller determined this case would go to trial because the prosecutor's case had significant weaknesses, and the client would never agree to a prison term. Within days of jury selection, the prosecutor reduced the Aggravated Battery with a Firearm charge to Aggravated Assault (no firearm) and dropped the Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon charge entirely. Mr. Miller's client agreed to three months county jail followed by a short amount of probation, a far cry from the original twenty year prison offer.