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Delray Beach Fire Rescue Division Chief Robert Hoecherl Arrested on DUI Charge

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adult-beer-bottle-blur-174936-300x225Delray Beach Fire Rescue Division Chief Robert Hoecherl was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence on Interstate 95 last Thursday.

Hoecherl, 62, faces a DUI charge. He was booked into Palm Beach County Jail and was released on his own recognizance. It is unclear if he has acquired the services of an attorney.

According to the arrest report, a Florida Highway Patrol trooper found Hoecherl’s department-issued vehicle stopped on the shoulder of southbound I-95 near Gateway Boulevard in Boynton Beach. The vehicle matched the description of one that was reported for traveling with a flat tire on the interstate.

The trooper noted that the vehicle was missing a rear tire and was sitting on the rim. The driver, identified as Hoecherl, smelled of alcohol and had slurred speech, the report said. He agreed to take, and failed, a series of field sobriety tests. He was taken to jail, where he reportedly refused to submit a breath sample.

Hoecherl has been a fire rescue division chief since May 2018. He was previously the Fort Lauderdale Fire Department fire chief for five years.

Cases of driving under the influence aren’t uncommon in South Florida, but they can sometimes lead to injury. Last month, Miami Police Officer Mario Gonzalez suffered injuries after being struck by Belkis Salgado, who was reportedly intoxicated at the time.

Salgado, 33, was charged with DUI causing serious bodily injury and DUI. Her bond was set at $10,000. The press did not name an attorney for her.

According to Miami police, the alleged incident occurred at around 3 a.m. September 12 at NW 14th Street and NW Third Avenue. Gonzalez was sitting in an unmarked patrol car, blocking access to a construction site when Salgado allegedly crashed into him.

Gonzalez was off-duty at the time. He was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital with head trauma and a broken shoulder blade. He was released later that day.

It is unclear if Salgado was injured in the crash. She reportedly had slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, and smelled of alcohol. She wasn’t cooperative when taking field sobriety exercises and reportedly refused to take a breathalyzer test, the arrest report said. She was taken into custody on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Florida has some of the toughest DUI laws in the U.S. because of all the deaths, particularly of youth, that were the result of drunk drivers. Law enforcement agencies are required to enforce those laws with a zero tolerance standard, and as a result, the state prosecutes a large number of DUI cases every year.

A DUI conviction will have a combined sentence that includes several requirements, such driver’s license suspension, vehicle impoundment, drunk driving classes, psychosocial evaluation, community service, court costs, fines, and restitution if appropriate.

First-time DUI offenses that don’t involve any injury or death might be charged as a misdemeanor, which is why it is important for anyone charged with DUI to hire an attorney to guide them through the legal system and help them obtain the best possible outcome.

South Florida DUI Attorney

If you have been arrested for a DUI, then you should hire an attorney. Contact us to set up a free initial consultation and work with one of South Florida’s most experienced DUI attorneys.

Delray Beach Deputy Marques Brown Charged With DUI After Weekend Crash

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auto-automobile-blur-532001-300x200Delray Beach patrol officer Marques Brown was arrested over the weekend for allegedly driving under the influence and causing a car accident.

Brown, 41, was charged with misdemeanor driving under the influence and causing $5,000 in property damage. He was taken to Palm Beach County Jail and was released on his own recognizance a few hours later. The press did not name an attorney for him.

According to the arrest report, the crash occurred a little after 10 p.m. on April 28 in the 400 block of North Ocean Boulevard. Brown, who was driving a Tesla, reportedly rear-ended a Ford driven by a woman identified as Tatum Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick smashed her mouth into her steering wheel when Brown crashed into the back of her vehicle, her sworn witness statement said. Brown purportedly told her that he was an off-duty police officer and asked if she was all right, but didn’t call 911. Fitzpatrick had to do it, according to her statement.

The trooper who arrived at the scene reported that Brown had bloodshot, glassy eyes, he was swaying on his feet, his speech was slurred, and his breath smelled of alcohol. He allegedly admitted to having drunk alcohol earlier that night.

Brown agreed to field sobriety exercises on the side of road, but was unable to perform them properly. He refused to take a breathalyzer test and signed a document confirming his decision, records indicate.

Brown has been a Delray Beach patrol officer since October 2008. He has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation and the highway patrol’s criminal investigation.

Another DUI incident was reported in Miami Beach two weeks ago. Ceairia Deveaux of Cutler Bay was arrested on April 14 for her alleged involvement in two car crashes, including one that severely injured someone on a scooter.

Deveaux, 28, was charged with DUI causing serious bodily injury and reckless driving causing serious bodily injury. It is unclear if she has acquired the services of an attorney.

According to the arrest report, two crashes caused by the same vehicle were reported on the night of April 14. The first one was a hit-and-run crash involving a Chevrolet Cruze near Lincoln Road and Washington Avenue. The driver of the Chevrolet Cruze attempted to flee from the scene but crashed into a scooter at Collins Avenue and 15th Street.

The unidentified scooter driver suffered severe injuries and is purportedly still in a coma at Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center. The driver of the Chevrolet Cruze was identified as Deveaux. She was also taken to the hospital after she complained about abdominal pains. No one else was injured in the two crashes.

The troopers who arrested Deveaux reported that she had droopy eyelids, slurred speech, and strong smell of smoked cannabis. They also allegedly heard her tell hospital workers that she had consumed alcohol. A blood sample was taken to test her alcohol content, the report said.

South Florida DUI Attorney

If you have been involved in a DUI car crash, then you should hire an attorney. Contact us to set up a free initial consultation and work with one of Florida’s most experienced DUI attorneys.

Source: 4.29.19 Delray beach officer refuses DUI breath test after crash.pdf

Jeremy Beren Banner Killed in West Delray Crash Involving Tesla Electric Vehicle

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abstract-action-auto-258083-300x200Jeremy Beren Banner, 50, is the latest South Florida resident to die in an accident involving a Tesla electric vehicle. According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, the crash occurred on March 1 on State Road 7 just north of Atlantic Avenue in West Delray.

Banner was southbound in a 2018 Tesla Model 3 when his vehicle hit the side of tractor-tailor that was turning left onto a divided highway. The impact sheared off the roof of the Tesla as it passed under the trailer. It is unclear if the Tesla’s autopilot or automatic emergency braking systems were functioning.

Banner’s crash is currently being investigated by two federal agencies: the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which has authority to seek recalls, levy fines, and implement regulations; and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which makes recommendations to prevent car accidents.

Both agencies will likely be checking to see if Banner’s vehicle was using the semi-autonomous driving system at the time of the crash.

The Banner crash is eerily similar to another accident involving a Tesla Model S that occurred in May 2016 in Alachua County. The driver of that Tesla, identified as Joshua Brown of Ohio, was driving on a divided highway using the autopilot when he crashed into a tractor-trailer. Neither Brown nor the Tesla braked before the impact, which tore off the roof of the vehicle as it also went beneath the trailer.

In a 2017 report, the NTSB wrote that the limitations of the Tesla’s autopilot system played a big role in Brown’s death. Tesla reportedly told Model S owners that the autopilot system should primarily be used on interstates and highways with limited access, but the automaker didn’t add any safeguards against the use of the system on other types of roads.

The NTSB found that the radar and cameras on the Model S couldn’t detect a vehicle turning into its path as they were primarily designed to detect cars in front of it.

The NHTSA also launched an investigation into the Brown crash in 2017. The agency concluded that Tesla’s autopilot system had no safety defects, but it warned automakers and drivers not to treat vehicles that use the system as self-driving.

Tesla has stated that its autopilot system and automatic emergency braking are meant to assist drivers, and that drivers must continuously monitor the road and be ready to take over.

The NHTSA has sent a team to look into Banner crash in Delray Beach. The agency is working together with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office in the probe. It will likely incorporate the Banner crash into other investigations from the previous year involving Tesla vehicles.

South Florida Personal Injury Attorney

If you have been injured in an accident, then you should hire an attorney. Contact us to set up a free initial consultation and work with one of Florida’s most experienced personal injury attorneys.

Source: 3.3.19 NTSB sending investigators to fatal Tesla crash.pdf

Paul Wilson Streater Identified as Driver in Delray Beach Crash That Killed Four

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paul_streater_crash-300x169Paul Wilson Streater of Fort Lauderdale, Florida has been identified as the driver of the pickup truck that crashed into a minivan on Saturday in Delray Beach, killing four people.

Streater, 21, remained on the scene and hasn’t been charged. He is reportedly cooperating with investigators.

“He is cooperating with investigators and was released from police custody pending the conclusion of the traffic homicide investigation,” the Delray Beach Police Department said on its Twitter account.

According to police spokesperson Dani Moschella, the alleged crash occurred at around 7:20 p.m. on Saturday night. A gray Chevy Silverado pickup was driving at “a very high rate of speed” south on Federal Highway when it encountered traffic.

The driver of the pickup truck swerved into a turning lane to avoid the traffic, but there was a white minivan waiting to make a left turn on that lane. The Silverado rear-ended the minivan and the impact pushed both cars into the northbound lane, where they crashed into a Buick Encore SUV.

Fire rescue workers used a winch to separate the three entangled vehicles, and cut open the disfigured minivan using multiple hydraulic tools to reach the four people inside. Streater was not injured and the two men in the Buick were unharmed. The four people inside the minivan were killed in the crash. Their names have not been released.

Investigators are trying to determine whether drugs or alcohol were a factor in the crash. Streater’s attorney, Samuel Halpern, told the press his client was not drunk or on drugs at the time of the crash. He reportedly allowed police to take a blood sample.

“It’s a nightmare. I can just say that his heart is going out to the family and he couldn’t be more remorseful that this happened,” Halpern told The Palm Beach Post. “It was an accident. he’s just extremely, extremely distraught.”

Halpern wouldn’t comment on if Streater was speeding stating that “witnesses can be wrong,” and couldn’t speculate whether his client will face charges for the crash.

“It’s up to the police whether they want to pursue a criminal case for this accident or not. It’s a question of do they legally believe that he was violating a criminal statute as opposed to a civil infraction,” Halpern said. “Unfortunately traffic accidents happen all the time and criminal charges are rare, and I would hope there are no criminal charges. If there are then we’ll deal with it.”

Halpern added that Streater comes from a “warm and loving family” and they support him “100 percent.”

Personal Injury Attorney

If you have been involved in a car accident, then you should hire an attorney. Contact us to set up a free initial consultation and work with one of Florida’s most experienced personal injury defense attorneys.

Source: 4.29.18 Delray crash driver identified as Paul Streater, 21, of Fort Lauderdale.pdf

Lewis Bennett of Delray Beach, Florida Accused of Killing His Wife, Who Was Lost at Sea

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Isabella-Hellman-300x168Lewis Bennett of Delray Beach, Florida got seven months in federal prison for stealing gold and silver coins worth over $38,000. After he was sentenced for the theft, he was taken into custody by the FBI for allegedly killing his wife, Isabella Hellman, who was thought to have disappeared at sea in May 2017.

Bennett, 40, now faces a second-degree murder charge and a much longer prison sentence. The press did not name his attorney.

According to news sources, Bennett and Hellman were sailing a catamaran in the Caribbean last May on a belated honeymoon voyage to St. Maarten, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. Hellman was reported missing on May 15, 2017, after the catamaran capsized in an alleged accident near Cay Sal Bank in the Bahamas. The couple were on their way back to Florida when the boat capsized.

Bennett is now accused of killing Hellman and intentionally capsizing their catamaran to make it look like there was a boating accident. He told investigators that he was sleeping when he heard “a crash underneath” that woke him up.

He said the boat started to take on water and he couldn’t see his wife. Bennett reportedly admitted he not only didn’t try to find the leak or do anything about it, but he also didn’t make any effort to locate his wife. He didn’t light any flares to search the area or yell for his wife while in a life raft, the affidavit says.

“In fact, Bennett, stated that once on board the life raft, he cut the line that tethered the life raft to the vessel,” the complaint says. “Bennett explained that he did this because he was afraid of being pulled under water if the vessel were to sink.”

The FBI believes Bennett falsely claimed his wife disappeared after the alleged accident. Her body was never located despite an intensive search. A Coast Guard expert felt that someone with Bennett’s sailing skill should have been able to save the catamaran despite the damage to the hulls. The expert also noted that the damage appeared to have come from inside the boat in nearly the same place on each hull.

The escape hatches of both hulls were reportedly open, something the boat manufacturer said shouldn’t have happened when the boat is in the water unless someone was trying to escape.

“The opening of both escape hatches is unexplainable as an accident and defies prudent seamanship,” the FBI quoted a Coast Guard expert. “It appears the vessel was intentionally scuttled.”

Bennett filed for a presumptive death certificate in court on September 20. Under Florida law, a missing adult is only presumed dead after five years.

“Since Hellman had been missing approximately [four] months, and a husband would normally want his wife to be found alive, this request is extremely early,” wrote FBI Special Agent James Kelley wrote in an affidavit filed in Miami federal court.

The affidavit suggests financial greed as the likely motive for Bennett’s alleged actions. Hellman’s property and money would be transferred to him under Florida family law, Kelley notes in the affidavit.

Criminal Defense Attorney

If you have been accused of committing a crime, then you should hire a lawyer. Contact us to set up a free initial consultation and work with one of Florida’s most experienced criminal defense attorneys.

Source: 2.20.18 He said his wife vanished while they were sailing. Now he’s charged with killing her.pdf